"Hey, hey, speak properly! And why the sudden need for a backup server?"
Stephen was clearly puzzled. To him, the world was a playground of logic and code, and he hadn't been paying much attention to the shifting political winds of the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Things have been calm on the Luofu lately," Julian explained, "but there are still undercurrents of unrest. I'm not worried about the Cloud Knights losing control, but if the ship is forced into a total lockdown or a 'closed-world' state to contain a threat, our server data won't be able to broadcast across the galaxy. The game would effectively go dark for everyone outside the Luofu."
The moment Stephen heard the words "the game would go dark," his demeanor shifted from playful to intensely focused.
"We absolutely need a backup server!" Stephen declared. "I'll handle the negotiations with Herta. You just worry about getting a second set of high-spec hardware to the Space Station."
Stephen was supremely confident in the security of the Herta Space Station. After all, it housed the Simulated Universe, one of the most protected projects in the galaxy. Julian had been prepared to spend hours persuading Stephen to talk to Herta, but it seemed the mere threat of a server crash was enough to turn the socially anxious genius into a man of action.
"I'll leave it in your hands, then," Julian said.
Stephen disconnected immediately, likely heading straight to Herta's office to secure the server rack space. Julian sighed with relief. Having an "internet-addicted teenager" as a business partner had its perks.
With the backup plan in motion, Julian finally sat down to look at what the IPC's Traditional Gaming Department had produced. It hadn't taken long for the search results to flood in—the IPC's marketing machine was running at full throttle.
"Wait... Aetherium Wars?"
Julian stared at the promotional videos. The IPC had taken their existing Aetherium Wars tech—which previously relied on localized, physical "Victory Zones"—and retooled it into a global online platform. It featured matchmaking, team-up modes, and elemental counters.
"They just... copied the Pokémon model," Julian said, shaking his head. "I was hoping for some creative competition to inspire me, but they just went for a reskin."
The IPC's game used familiar entities as "spirits"—Antimatter Legion Voidrangers, Abominations of Abundance, and IPC Automatons. While this appealed to players within the IPC's immediate sphere of influence, Julian saw the fatal flaw.
"Aetherium Wars is too grounded in the grim reality of the universe," Julian noted. Many civilizations had suffered under the Legion or the Swarm. For those people, seeing a Voidranger wasn't "fun"—it was a trauma trigger. Pokémon, with its whimsical and varied designs, was a universal language of charm.
Julian knew that once Topaz's Strategic Investment Department began officially promoting Pokémon within the IPC system, the Traditional Department's clone would be crushed by its own lack of soul.
Julian closed the IPC's project and opened a livestream. He found Guinaifen's channel. She was already mid-download, her chat scrolling with thousands of questions about the new version.
"Haha, family! I was lucky enough to get the download started before the traffic peaked," Guinaifen shouted into her mic. "Let's look at the official Gold/Silver Update Announcement together and see what Boss Julian has in store for us!"
She pulled up the patch notes, and the chat went silent as the bullet points appeared:
[Cross-Region Travel]: Player data from the Kanto region can be transferred. After completing the Johto league, players can travel between regions via public transport or the treacherous Mt. Silver.[Expanded Pokédex]: 100 new species added, bringing the total to 251.[Shiny Pokémon]: Rare, shimmering color variants added for all species.[The Dark Type]: Introduction of the Dark-type and Steel-type to rebalance the competitive meta.[Enhanced AI]: Pokémon now feature more complex expressions, moods, and interactive behaviors.[Hold Items & Weather]: Items can now be held for in-battle effects, and a dynamic weather system (Rain, Sandstorm, Sun) has been added.[Doubles Mode]: Dedicated 2v2 modes for both Pokémon and Trainers, featuring "Cooperative Moves."[Proficiency Rebalance]: The difficulty of mastering moves has increased. Highly-practiced moves receive a bonus, while low-proficiency moves are now weaker.[Technical Machine (TM) Recycling]: A new machine allows for the transfer of experience between moves, with a slight loss in efficiency.[Legendary Adventure Mode]: Special story triggers for encounters with Mythical Beasts. Will you forge a bond, or perish in their wrath?
"My goodness," Guinaifen gasped. "I thought this was just a small update while we waited for the 'Real World' version, but this is a massive overhaul!"
The comments were a storm of excitement and worry:
"The Dark-type is here! Finally, a counter to the Psychic-type monopoly!""100 new species? The production speed at Arceus Studio is insane.""Doubles mode! I can finally play with my friends instead of against them.""Wait, they increased the difficulty of mastering moves? Why? I just got my Charizard's Flamethrower to Max!"
Julian watched the reactions with a satisfied smile. The proficiency change was necessary to separate the casual players from the true Masters like Fu Xuan and Silver Wolf. The world of Pokémon was growing up, and the journey through Johto was just the beginning.
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