Although she had already suspected something was off, Iono knew that the situation had reached a point of no return—the game was bought, the promise was made to her viewers… There was no backing out now.
She sighed softly in her heart and refocused her attention on the game in front of her.
"Is it the classic WASD movement?"
She tested the controls, moving her character out of the back of the truck, and the scene that appeared made her eyes widen slightly.
She had played plenty of pixel-art games before, but the visuals of this one were on a level far beyond normal—so refined it could practically be called a piece of art.
The chat exploded in amazement.
[A pixel game with visuals this good? Are you sure this was made by one person?]
[This looks better than half the games in my library… no wonder it's expensive!]
[But looking nice is useless if it's not fun. Gameplay matters most!]
Following the tutorial, Iono quickly progressed through the opening scenario—choosing one Pokémon in the tall grass north of town to help Professor Birch fend off a Poochyena.
After a brief thought, she chose Torchic.
Upon returning to the lab with Professor Birch, the moment he said he would give her a starter Pokémon, a system message suddenly popped up:
[Attention: Intelligent Interaction feature unlocked!]
[Press "E" to interact via voice or typed commands. All NPCs and Pokémon in the game can be interacted with.]
Reading this, Iono raised her eyebrows.
Oh? It's actually doing this??
But… that seems unlikely…
Still, with a "just try it and see" attitude, she pressed E in front of Professor Birch and spoke into her microphone:
"Hello Professor Birch, I want an Electric-type Pokémon as my starter—would that be possible?"
She honestly had very low expectations.
Obviously, the starter choices were fixed—otherwise the game wouldn't have just offered three Pokémon moments ago.
But the next moment surprised her.
Professor Birch nodded and replied:
"Oh? You like Electric-type Pokémon? You should've said so earlier! I actually do have a special Pokémon here."
"But if you want to receive her, you'll have to tell me why you like Electric types."
Iono froze.
"Eh? Is it really artificial intelligence?"
Then she shook her head slightly.
No… it must've triggered a keyword.
Maybe the dev set "Electric-type starter" as a hidden trigger and wrote a special dialogue for it.
But even so, for a game like this to go to such lengths… the developer was clearly serious.
From what she'd seen so far, the game was performing far better than she expected.
Chat shared similar thoughts:
[This must be a prewritten answer. As long as you prep enough lines, it's like "AI junior edition" lol]
[+1]
[Still not real AI though. This would be false advertising—super easy lawsuit!]
Meanwhile, faced with Professor Birch's question, Iono's expression turned serious.
Even if this was a game, her love for Electric Pokémon was real.
She pressed E and spoke earnestly:
"Because Electric-type Pokémon feel full of energy—like living lightning with speed and power. Being around them fills me with vitality!"
The next moment, Birch's voice responded—with applause.
"Wonderful! I didn't expect you to have such passion for Electric Pokémon!"
"Actually, I feel the same way. And just between us, my favorite Pokémon is Pikachu. I just can't resist those lightning-shaped tails. Too cute!"
Hearing this, something clicked in Iono's mind.
Wait—
If this were just preset answers…
The developer's preparation would have to be absurdly detailed.
And for some reason, this conversation didn't feel scripted at all—it felt like she was speaking to a real Pokémon Professor.
Could the NPCs actually have independent awareness?
Her thoughts raced. The best test would be to ask something extremely random—
A question the developer would never expect and couldn't possibly prepare for.
A question with no standard answer.
Decision made, she hit E.
"Professor Birch, off-topic question: which tastes better—miso soup or curry rice? And tell me why."
On screen, Birch's sprite appeared to pause, and his confused voice followed:
"Huh? Why that question all of a sudden?"
"…But if I must answer, I think curry tastes better. Potatoes and carrots are mandatory ingredients."
"And also, I don't like adding chicken—I prefer beef. That's how you get the richest flavor!"
Iono's eyes widened.
It was real.
This game's NPCs really did have full AI coverage.
Otherwise, they could never answer like that.
But how was this possible?
A pixel game only a few hundred megabytes…
How could it achieve something like this?!
Chat, too, realized things were off.
[Wait wait wait—this might actually be real AI??]
[Yeah, there's no way preset lines can cover this. Absolutely impossible.]
[Bro, is this game actually cracked-level insane??]
[Where's the guy who said he'd sue for false advertising? SHOW YOURSELF]
While Iono and the chat reeled, Birch's voice pulled them back:
"All right, back on topic—since you want an Electric-type Pokémon, I just recalled there's one in the lab who'd make a great starter."
He stepped to a machine, tapped a few buttons, and a Poké Ball marked with a lightning symbol appeared.
"Take a look. Do you like this little one?"
He opened the ball. A flash of light revealed a fluffy sheep-like Pokémon covered in pale white wool.
Even as pixels, it was lively and adorable.
Mareep—an Electric-type Pokémon. Cute on the outside, but able to store electricity in its wool and release powerful shocks when needed.
The moment Iono saw the Mareep, her eyes sparkled.
She had never raised one before.
"This one! Thank you, Professor!"
After receiving her starter, Iono walked around town interacting with NPCs—confirming her conclusion:
The game truly had full AI coverage.
Even the Pokémon.
When she typed "pet Mareep's wool on its head," her character actually crouched down and petted it.
Mareep closed its eyes happily, baa-ing with joy, then rubbed against Iono's ankles with hearts floating above its head.
Chat exploded again:
[HOLY—THIS IS POSSIBLE?? This is basically real-life interaction!]
[Didn't Dream Factory release a Pokémon interaction game before? This Emerald blows that one out of the water…]
[Are we sure this is a pixel game??]
[THE FREEDOM IS INSANE]
Iono, with her gaming experience, understood exactly what this meant.
This was not a small indie project.
It had to be the work of a massive game company—on the scale of Dream Factory—secretly developing a new product.
Why they hid their identity, she didn't know.
But she had to admit—her expectations were rising fast.
She played with her Mareep for a full two minutes at home, then left Littleroot Town to begin her journey.
Unlike Cynthia's playthrough, she didn't fight the "Rival" at the top of Route 103. She simply found him, returned to the lab, and received her Pokédex.
For fun, she named her rival "Banana King."
Viewers who watched Cynthia's stream were confused.
[Huh?? What happened? I was waiting for the rival to show her the cruelty of the world—why no battle?!]
[Yeah, did the update skip it?? I wanted to watch her get destroyed!]
Spectators naturally enjoyed seeing streamers fail in tough fights.
But now, Banana King didn't even challenge her!
After receiving her Pokédex and Running Shoes, Iono opened her map and began traveling—slightly disappointed.
"Even though it's turn-based, I think the battles are pretty fun."
"I wonder when I'll get to battle a Trainer…"
Just as she said that, a cloud of gray-brown smoke suddenly burst out of the grass ahead, covering the entire screen.
Silhouettes slowly emerged from within.
"Eh? Is this some kind of hidden event?"
Right then, a dramatic orchestral theme exploded through her headphones.
Followed by a man's voice:
"I believe someone just asked a question, correct?"
A blue-haired man in uniform stepped out from the fog, a rose between his teeth.
"Since you've sincerely asked—!"
A red-haired woman strode out behind him, flipping her hair with flair:
—We shall answer with grace!"
A dazzling galactic background lit up. Their silhouettes danced like a theatrical performance.
To protect the world from devastation!
To unite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars