August 15th, Saturday.
The Public Challenge Tournament had just ended, and the school team had no immediate plans. Despite being on the verge of owing 7 million Pokémon Coins, Natsume decided that sleeping in was more important. Besides, cuddling with Eevee was just too comfortable.
Taking advantage of the weekend, Natsume indulged in a rare lazy morning, happily holding Eevee.
Eevee put up a token struggle before eventually dozing off as well.
The alarm rang at noon.
The sun was high, and the day was bright. Natsume threw off the covers.
"Eevee…" Eevee curled up, using its tiny paws to block the sunlight, letting out a small whine of displeasure.
Natsume rubbed Eevee's little head, grinning foolishly, when suddenly his phone vibrated.
"Hey, Kazuya," Natsume yawned. "What's up?"
Kazuya's voice was filled with excitement:
"Have you checked the ORAS backend?! Our data just exploded! We made over a million Pokémon Coins in one go!"
Lately, Plants vs. Zombies had been receiving great feedback, but the traffic hadn't been keeping up. Making over a million Pokémon Coins meant nearly a hundred thousand purchases...
But without any money for promotion, where did this sudden surge of users come from?
"Calm down, there might be a data error," Natsume said calmly.
Even if it was just a drop in the bucket, making a million Pokémon Coins was still worth celebrating. But first, he needed to verify the authenticity of the news.
Kazuya swallowed hard, trying to steady himself.
As expected of Brother Natsume... a million Pokémon Coins and he acts like it's nothing!
"I guess... I was overreacting."
Kazuya spoke seriously: "While you were competing, someone posted a promotional tweet on Twitter."
Natsume poured himself a cup of coffee, stirring it with a spoon. "Hmm... go on..."
"The person seems to be one of your game followers, with nearly 20 million followers."
"Their last tweet was a year ago during the Oscars, and now they're promoting us!"
Kazuya's voice grew more excited, his tone rising:
"It's Sinnoh Champion Cynthia! She's promoting Plants vs. Zombies!"
"Pfft—" Natsume coughed, the coffee suddenly burning his tongue. He dropped his phone and hopped around in pain.
Kazuya was impressed.
Even with such big news, Brother Natsume remains unfazed...
No wonder he's close with the vice president of Devon Corp!
Natsume sucked in a breath, his tongue still tingling, as he picked up his phone again. "No way... really?"
Last time, I was just joking with Cynthia... Did she really promote me?
Wouldn't this cause her any trouble?
"You can see it on Twitter's homepage, several big names have already retweeted it!"
Kazuya chuckled: "We're going to be rich, Brother Natsume!"
Natsume was momentarily stunned.
Getting rich wasn't the goal; paying off the debt was all Natsume wanted.
But now... it seems like he owes Cynthia a huge favor!
After hanging up, Natsume opened Twitter and clicked on the golden-haired beauty's profile.
The first tweet on her page was about the game.
"Really fun game, the author asked me to promote it. @Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?"
"Attached: Plants vs. Zombies"
Natsume was lost in thought.
Her last tweet was a year ago, celebrating Diantha's Oscar win.
After such a long silence, her return to social media was to promote a game based on a joke...
Natsume clutched his chest, muttering:
"Why is my heart beating so fast?"
The comments from netizens were hilarious.
"This game is way too hard! My brain is about to be eaten by Cofagrigus!"
"Crazy Dave is a Grass-type master? His Venusaur doesn't even know Sleep Powder!"
"I thought it was an official announcement, but then I saw the ID... Natsume-sensei!"
"Natsume-sensei, you're killing me! Oh, it's a sponsored post? Never mind then!"
Cynthia's return to Twitter caused quite a stir.
Combined with the high quality of Plants vs. Zombies, the game's sales on ORAS skyrocketed.
With 20 million followers, converting to 100,000 genuine users in just a few hours was an impressive feat.
Of course, it couldn't compare to the traffic stars of his previous life, where fans would sell their blood to buy albums.
Otherwise, Natsume-sensei's net worth would probably be in the billions by now.
Putting down his phone, Natsume-sensei fell into deep thought.
After a year-long hiatus, her first tweet was about a game.
Well... that's Cynthia for you!
At this rate, by the end of the month, the ORAS platform could see nearly 3 million in revenue.
Even though he still owes Cynthia 5 million, it's enough to pay off the other debts!
He might even be able to reward himself by getting gifts for Eevee and Squirtle!
Natsume-sensei suddenly let out a long sigh: "I really miss her..."
"Hmm? Maybe I can make another game and play it with her!"
Natsume-sensei slapped his forehead, deciding that his next game would be a multiplayer one.
After all, with limited liquid funds, large-scale PC games were out of the question. Single-player games were the way to go for quick profits.
Plus, single-player IPs could be adapted into mobile games, killing two birds with one stone!
Natsume didn't plan to bother Cynthia directly.
Everyone has their own life path.
That's why the moments when their paths cross are so touching.
Natsume-sensei called the manager who had delivered the items last time.
"Huh? Mr. Natsume, are you buying more items?" The manager was overjoyed.
Natsume gritted his teeth: "This is the last time, absolutely no more after this!"
The manager paused, then laughed: "I understand, I understand!"
In Sabrina's Calm Mind manuals, the quality requirements for Dawn Stones were even higher.
The manager promised to keep an eye out for Natsume and notify him as soon as one was available at auction.
Natsume stroked his chin, his expression changing slightly.
Even though the total value was around 2 million Pokémon Coins...
Rarity drives up prices, and Dawn Stones at auctions weren't something that could be solved with just 2 million Pokémon Coins!
Could this be Sabrina's real goal?!
Natsume comforted himself: "I made some extra money today, so I'll treat myself!"
Dinner was a berry salad and a pan-seared steak.
Haunter, wearing sunglasses, led Squirtle back from the Training Club, looking like a real big brother.
Haunter & Squirtle: ヾ(??■_■)
"Haunter? (￣▽￣)／" (Is dinner ready?)
Natsume glanced at them: "Wash your hands first!"
The pleasant day passed by.
Natsume instinctively opened Pokémon: Battle, staring at the empty friends list.
A beeping sound alerted him to a new message, and Natsume's heart skipped a beat.
Natsume-sensei: Get lost!
Gold wiped his nose angrily.
Fine, no need to be so rude!
Natsume-sensei zoned out for two hours.
As midnight approached, Natsume yawned, about to log off.
Suddenly, the golden-haired loli's avatar lit up at the bottom of his screen.
Cabbage Ice Cream: Wanna play?
Natsume-sensei: Sure.
Natsume thought, perhaps this was the point where their parallel lines connected.
"The money I owe you might take a while to pay back."
Natsume sighed: "I still have to take care of those three little ones, prepare manuals, buy items, and train Haunter..."
Natsume rambled on like a worried father, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion.
The golden-haired beauty paused for a moment, then smiled softly.
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