Chapter 6: The First Gym
It's not just Diana who is attracted to Pikachu's cute looks. Other players playing "Pokémon" have also joined the Pikachu catching frenzy. On the V-Blog hot search list, Pikachu's related entry soared to the 25th place, surpassing even the main "Pokémon" entry itself. A nationwide activity to capture Pikachu is in full swing.
"Hoo~ I finally caught Pikachu," Diana sighed in relief as she finally caught her first Pikachu during her PaidTube live stream. She began to leave Viridian Forest and head towards the next city—Pewter City. After visiting the Pokémon Center, Diana confidently approached the first gym.
"It is said that there are eight gyms in this game, and this is the first," Diana explained to her fans on the live stream. "Today, we will pass the first Gym and then stop the stream." Taking a look at the time, Diana noticed that her live broadcast had gone on for quite a while. She was tired from playing continuously, and it was probably exhausting for her viewers too.
Walking into the first gym, Diana first faced off against the minor trainers on the way. With her LV15 Squirtle, she easily defeated their Geodude with a single Water Gun attack. "This is too simple!" Diana laughed. "Wait for the leader, watch me use Pikachu to win!"
"Nah, I don't believe it 🌚!"
"Looks like the stream is not going to end anytime soon, right? 😴"
"I beg your pardon?!!"
"Thank you for the superchat from 'Mommy's Child'... don't worry, brother, I won't be defeated by the leader!" Diana was amused by her lively fans. "Watch me, as I defeat the leader with Pikachu!"
Adjusting Pikachu to the first spot, Diana triggered the battle against Pewter Gym Leader. LV8 Pikachu versus LV12 Geodude.
"Let's test the damage with a Thunder Shock first~" Diana instructed Pikachu to use Thunder Shock. However, the game page displayed:
[Pikachu uses Thunder Shock... It doesn't seem to work!]
"What's the matter? Why isn't it working?" Diana was shocked. "Why doesn't Geodude take any damage?" Before she could figure it out, the Leader's Geodude used Rock Throw, instantly knocking out Pikachu.
"Hahaha! As fast as he came, as fast as he went 😆!"
"It's getting better, it's getting better!!"
"NICE, Diana never fails to disappoint us 🤣!"
"It's interesting now. Diana still has one left, and the leader has two full-scale Pokémons!"
Seeing Pikachu's ineffective attack and Geodude's counterattack, the fans in the live stream started their own carnival.
"It won't be a bug again, will it?" Diana angrily sent out her ace—Squirtle. "Why is the attack ineffective? And what does this effect mean?" She quickly thought of Indra and sent him another private message.
[Diana: GC, can you explain to me why Pikachu's attack doesn't work on Geodude?]
Diana vaguely felt that this must have its own trigger mechanism. It couldn't be random luck. However, Indra was busy supervising the production of GBA and game physical cassettes in the system background and had no time to reply.
After waiting for a few minutes without a reply, Diana switched back to the game and controlled Squirtle to defeat the Leader's Geodude. Now, both sides had only one last Pokémon left. The fans in the live stream watched with excitement. Under their watchful eyes, the Gym Leader released his second Pokémon—Onix!
"F**k, what is this?!"
"A big snake made of rocks? This is so cool!"
"The designer of this game is absolutely talented. The setting of Onix is impossible for ordinary people to imagine!"
"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely!"
"This game only sells for $9? It's not too expensive to sell it for $30 at least!"
The appearance of Onix surprised the fans. "Wow, this Pokémon is kinda cool, it looks tough," Diana remarked, also impressed by Onix. "I don't know if my Squirtle can beat it!"
The tension was high as LV15 Squirtle faced off against LV14 Onix. A single Water Gun from Squirtle took 65% of Onix's HP with outstanding effect. Onix retaliated with a Rock Throw, consuming half of Squirtle's HP. In the end, Squirtle's type advantage prevailed. Diana defeated Onix with another Water Gun, winning the Gym Leader battle!
"What?" Diana was amazed as Squirtle, who gained victory experience points, reached level 16 and evolved into Wartortle.
"This is... Evolution?" Diana exclaimed. "My Squirtle has evolved into a Wartortle!" The fans in the live stream were equally excited.
"This game actually has an Evolution mechanism?"
"Is Onix the evolved form of Geodude?"
"I wonder what my Charmander will evolve into!"
The new Evolution mechanism in "Pokémon" caused a heated discussion among fans.
"Finally passed the first Gym, and there are seven more...f**k! More to go," Diana said, still immersed in the joy of her victory. "There are still seven gyms to fight!" From catching a small Pokémon to clearing the first Gym had been so challenging. Seven more gyms to go? This game had so much content!
Not just Diana, but in the V-Blog and PaidTube discussion areas, "Pokémon" related topics were in full swing. People seemed to forget that this was just a 5.8MB game. "Pokémon" had introduced so many new concepts that it refreshed people's perception of "games."
Later, a prominent V-Blogger posted with the title:
"This is a 'small' game that can change the game industry!"
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