Hoenn Region, Rustboro City.
Located in the western part of Hoenn, this large city, adjacent to Meteor Falls, serves as a significant commercial hub for the region.
The headquarters of the giant monopoly, Devon Corporation, is situated right here in Rustboro City.
Devon Corporation started with the energy industry.
However, aside from the energy sector, the game industry contributes a whopping 25% to their financial report data.
One of their well-known products, the game platform 'ORAS,' has also gained considerable market share overseas.
Among the games, the top-downloaded title is the real-time virtual "Pokémon: Battle."
On 'ORAS,' hundreds of new games are released daily, but only a handful truly make it big.
In August, a tower defense genre game unexpectedly broke into the top ten of the new game charts.
Rustboro City, Trainer School.
"Did you try that game I recommended to you yesterday?"
"Ugh, my Sunkern keeps getting eaten by Rattata!"
"Haha, you need to place Seedot in the front row, you dummy!"
The bell rang, but the group of boys continued to chatter about the game.
"I brought my tablet, watch me play!" one of the boys said, his eyes gleaming.
"Huh? But this is Teacher Roxanne's class..."
"It's fine, as long as she doesn't catch us!"
Before he could finish, a slender teacher walked through the front door of the tiered classroom.
With her hair tied in a bun and two ponytails secured by red ribbons, Roxanne looked younger than her age. She wore a wide-brimmed skirt and pink stockings, carrying a stack of books into the classroom.
Placing the textbooks on the podium, Roxanne cleared her throat and said, "Today, we'll be covering the use and countermeasures for status conditions..."
Suddenly, a roar erupted from the back of the class: "Protect or not protect!"
"I, Natsume-sensei, think you're not up to it!"
"I can't believe it, Natsume-sensei's followers are everywhere!"
The class burst into laughter.
Roxanne paused for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "Is this... some new meme? It seems I'm out of the loop again."
The class representative kindly explained, "It's a content creator on Nico Dou who specializes in strategy and team-building!"
"But he's just an outsider..." Roxanne muttered.
"Teacher, Natsume-sensei has already taught us all about status conditions!"
"He explained the 'Poison' status way better than the textbook!"
Roxanne looked defeated, muttering, "Anyway, everyone, please turn to page 36..."
Suddenly, Roxanne's eyebrows shot up, and she quickly walked over to two students who were whispering and looking down at something.
She confiscated the tablet from their hands and smirked, "Come to my office after class!"
After all these years of teaching, she finally managed to confiscate something!
The two students turned pale, "I just barely managed to beat Dr. Malamar!"
"Teacher, let me finish this level!"
"Playing games during class..." Roxanne grumbled, "No, we'll talk later!"
The bell rang, and Roxanne returned to her office, examining the confiscated tablet with curiosity.
"Plants vs. Zombies!" the student replied, "I just downloaded it from ORAS today!"
"It's only twenty Pokémon Coins!" another boy chimed in, his eyes sparkling, "Teacher Roxanne, you should try it too!"
Roxanne scoffed, "I would never play such a boring tower defense game!"
Twenty minutes later...
"Teacher Roxanne, aren't you going to class? It's been ten minutes since it started," a staff member reminded her.
"Let me just finish this level..."
Roxanne suddenly froze, stammering, "What? Class has already started?!"
"I-I'll go right now!"
Roxanne frantically shut off the tablet, forgetting to save her progress, and suddenly burst into tears.
"Can't this be paused? Why is it so addictive?!"
Similar scenes were playing out all over Hoenn.
Thanks to the widespread popularity of ORAS in the Hoenn Region, "Plants vs. Zombies" had unexpectedly become a hit overseas.
As one of the members of the chat group.
Wattson, an old man from Mauville City, called Natsume early in the morning.
Wattson laughed heartily, "Natsume, can you send me a copy of the guide? Or maybe a cheat code?"
"Who asks the creator for cheat codes?!"
"Hahaha, no worries, it's just so much fun, I had to tell you!"
The speed at which "Plants vs. Zombies" became a hit was beyond Natsume's expectations.
Released on August 1st, with only a small "new game" recommendation, it managed to break into the top ten of the new game charts in just three days.
Priced at twenty Pokémon Coins, the game sold over five thousand copies in three days, all with almost no advertising.
With a 95% positive review rate and "overwhelmingly positive" feedback, it received long recommendations from nearly ten game reviewers.
This kind of organic growth and praise was rare even for games from major studios.
"It's hard to believe this was made by a small studio. Both the gameplay and polish deserve five stars!"
"I'm a follower of Natsume-sensei, and I bought the game as soon as I watched his video. I thought it was just a fan project, but it's so addictive! Five-star review!"
"I stayed up all night beating Dr. Malamar, and now I have to challenge the gym in the morning... I'm exhausted."
"Natsume-sensei makes games too? And they're this fun? I'm jealous, highly recommended!"
"I asked my mom for twenty Pokémon Coins to buy a textbook. She asked what it was, and I said it helps you remember Pokémon evolutions, abilities, type matchups, and moves... That's right, it's 'Plants vs. Zombies'!"
Looking at the flood of positive reviews and the constantly updating backend data, Kazuya grabbed Natsume's hair in excitement, "Brother Natsume, you're famous!"
"Stop pulling," Natsume said calmly.
With the System's skill enhancement, Natsume had managed to capture the essence of the original game while integrating elements of the Pokémon world.
Overall, Natsume was confident in his work.
"You played a part in this too," Natsume said with a smile.
"I'm just a coder... Besides, we have a contract. It's employment, not a partnership," Kazuya shook his head.
It wasn't that he wasn't envious.
But Kazuya, who had studied law, had a strong sense of justice and felt he was fairly compensated.
Without Natsume's creativity, Kazuya knew he could never have created such a hit game.
"Just make sure my name is on the studio's credits!" Kazuya said with a grin.
"By the way, what's our studio's name again?"
Natsume thought for a moment. Since it was a studio, he initially wanted to call it "GameFreak."
But eventually, they would have to form a company...
When it came to Pokémon's IP, one couldn't help but think of the world's gaming giant, Nintendo.
Unfortunately, without the foundation of the FC era, the plumber from the pipes wouldn't leave much of an impression.
Fire Emblem, as the pioneer of SRPGs, made it clear that tactical games weren't the best choice now.
MOBA games were just starting to rise in this world...
If they borrowed from the success of future games...
"Let's call it Pokémon Studio," Natsume said.
"The main theme will still revolve around Pokémon, allowing those who can't catch Pokémon to experience their charm!"
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