"Alright, everyone."
After receiving a message from Professor Oak, Rei Akagi inserted the game cartridge into the Pokédex in his hand. With a crisp confirmation sound, the game officially launched.
"Professor Oak's side is ready too. Let's start the game."
Unlike the test version Red had received earlier, the officially released version had been polished meticulously down to the smallest details.
Whether it was the refined art style or the immersive background music, everything had been repeatedly refined and optimized by a professional team.
The screen lit up.
A pixelated meteor streaked across the night sky, followed by the brilliant appearance of the Pokémon Studio logo.
The pitch-black background gradually brightened, revealing the scene from behind a Gengar.
It stood facing a Nidorino.
After a brief but precise exchange of movements, the screen suddenly flashed.
Red, Green, and Blue appeared, each standing alongside the starter Pokémon, occupying the center of the screen.
Finally, the image froze on a title surrounded by flames and twisting vines.
Pokémon: FireRed / LeafGreen
"Holy crap! The animation quality! This is insane!"
"Red my boy! My Red!"
"Am I the only one paying attention to that opening battle? That was clearly high-level command!"
"Have you even played Pokémon before? Stop making stuff up."
"Opening scene with Gengar as the main spotlight! What style!"
Rei Akagi glanced at the scrolling chat and gestured for Gastly to change its expression into a grin before continuing his explanation.
"The Pokémon project will release two versions, FireRed and LeafGreen. Besides the Pokémon that both versions share, each version will also have exclusive Pokémon."
"But since this is just a demonstration version, I won't be separating the versions today."
"And this leads to the game's second core feature—social interaction and trading."
"You can connect your Pokédex with a friend's and trade Pokémon with each other, ultimately completing the full Pokédex collection."
"Wait—what about me?! You know someone as handsome as me doesn't have any friends. Hurry up and add online multiplayer!"
"No problem. Just buy both versions and trade with yourself."
"There's a trading feature too? That means I can use my own trained Pokémon to battle my friends? Damn, cyber trainers!"
Rei Akagi naturally noticed the audience's reactions and smiled as he explained further.
"Of course. Pokémon trading also includes random trades."
"Because Pokémon will support global online connectivity. Even if you don't have friends, you can still trade with players online."
"And that's not all."
"Pokémon will also support a ranked battle system."
"Just like real-world League Conferences, you can use the Pokémon you've raised to participate in ranked command battles. Each season will have rankings, and different rankings will reward different prizes."
"In addition, there's also a co-op multiplayer feature."
"That means you can bring your Pokémon into your friend's world and explore together."
"But keep in mind—the story progression follows the host player's progress."
"I was just joking earlier and you actually implemented it?!"
"Friends entering the same world together?! I saw dangerous wilderness areas and villain organizations in the PV! If I bring enough friends, won't I become unstoppable?"
"In-game League tournaments? Heh… looks like it's finally time for me to come out of retirement. First place is mine."
"You've been talking for ages. When does the game release? I've already pre-ordered both versions!"
"As for the release date…"
Rei Akagi paused deliberately.
"All I can say is—soon. Just a few days after this stream."
He quickly skipped through the control instructions.
On the screen, the familiar figure of Professor Oak appeared, delivering that classic opening speech.
"Ahem, the game's starting. It's starting."
Rei Akagi reminded the viewers.
The character selection screen appeared, with illustrated portraits of Red and Blue on either side.
"You know, Professor Oak really does look gentle and kind."
"Fun fact: Professor Oak was actually the first Champion of the Kanto League. Don't let his appearance fool you—he could punch your head open."
"Pick Blue! Pick Blue! Choose the girl! Give Red to Green!"
Ignoring the mischievous comments, Rei Akagi decisively selected Red.
If he were playing privately, he would definitely pick Blue.
But this was an official demonstration, so he couldn't indulge himself.
Soon after, the rival Green appeared.
His iconic smug attitude instantly triggered another wave of comments.
"Lord Green!"
"The rival has arrived!"
The default names were kept as they were when Red originally played the game:
Red and Green.
The screen lit up.
Red opened his eyes in his bedroom, officially entering the player control interface.
"The game uses a third-person follow camera by default, but you can manually switch to a first-person immersive perspective."
"At the same time, the game includes a complete dynamic weather system and day–night cycle."
"At different times and under different weather conditions, the Pokémon and events you encounter may change."
While explaining, Rei Akagi controlled Red as he explored the room.
"Remember—many things on the map are interactive. And exploring them often leads to unexpected rewards."
On the screen, Red walked over to the computer. After interacting with it, he found a Potion item inside.
"This interaction system! They even made animations for small details like this!"
"Hurry up! What do we do next?"
"So this is Red's legendary bedroom? Pretty simple and minimalistic. Teacher Salted Fish, check out the other furniture interactions!"
"We won't show every interaction here. Once the full version releases, everyone can explore them yourselves. For now, let's go downstairs and find Mom."
Rei Akagi guided Red downstairs.
After a warm conversation with his mother, the first step of the adventure was revealed.
Visit Professor Oak's house next door.
The door opened.
The full view of Pallet Town unfolded before the player's eyes, accompanied by gentle, relaxing background music.
Green grass stretched across the landscape.
Houses were scattered peacefully across the town.
In the distance, the entrance to Route 1 could faintly be seen.
"The map is open-world, but there's still a clear main storyline—"
"Become the Pokémon League Champion."
"Besides that, there are many hidden storylines waiting for players to discover."
Rei Akagi made Red do a couple of somersaults on the spot before hopping down the main road toward the neighboring villa.
He continued explaining:
"Today I'll mainly follow the main story so everyone can see the overall structure."
"After the game releases and people have played for a while, I'll livestream strategy guides to help everyone find the things they missed."
Red entered the villa.
After talking with Daisy Oak and a Handsome Researcher, he obtained the Town Map and his next objective.
Go to the laboratory north of town to find Professor Oak.
"Wait, Green has a sister? If anyone has her contact info please send it to me, thanks."
"This really is a seamless open world! No loading screens from the bedroom to the town!"
"And if Pallet Town is already this big, I can't even imagine how huge Viridian City or Saffron City will be!"
"Main quest updated: Find the missing (?) Professor Oak."
"I don't care about anything else—who is this Handsome Researcher? That character model is irresistible!"
"According to the normal story progression, after finding Professor Oak in the lab, he'll give the player the chance to choose their starter Pokémon."
Rei Akagi's voice sounded slightly teasing.
However, Red did not leave the room.
Instead, he kept interacting repeatedly with the Handsome Researcher.
"But let me tell you a little trick."
"Since Pallet Town is the starting town, it actually hides quite a few secrets."
"For example…"
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