The Impact
A live stream was happening.
Warren was about to try out this new game at the request of his fans.
At that moment, he noticed a comment popping up in the chat.
"Streamer, what happens if you don't choose a starter Pokémon and just walk away?"
"Yeah, try it, streamer!"
"Give it a shot!"
"Alright, alright, I'll give it a try. Anything for my fans. Remember to follow and smash that like button, guys!"
Knowing that he could always register another game account if this one got messed up, Warren agreed casually.
When the three starter Pokémon appeared, Warren didn't choose any of them and started walking away instead.
"Looks like these three Pokémon are following me," Warren noted as he saw the Pokémon trailing him on his phone screen. This intrigued him.
"Well, the more they follow, the more I don't want to choose them." Warren raised an eyebrow. "If I run fast enough, I bet they can't keep up!"
With that, Warren began to run.
After a while, his phone buzzed, prompting him to stop and check it.
The three starter Pokémon were gone, and a yellow Pikachu appeared on his screen.
He was stunned. As someone who played Pokémon Kill, he recognized Pikachu and knew it was a highly popular Pokémon. Despite the game being out for a while, no one had managed to catch a Pikachu yet.
To his surprise, here it was, appearing right at the start!
Both Warren and his viewers were shocked. The chat exploded with comments:
"No way, you get Pikachu at the start?"
"No wonder no one could catch it!"
Wasting no time, Warren captured Pikachu and started a battle with a nearby Pokémon.
Seeing Pikachu's initial moves, the chat buzzed with excitement.
"Pikachu starts with Thunder Shock and Thunder Wave?"
"I love it! I'm making a new account right now. Glad I just started yesterday."
"Picca Comics is blowing my mind with this. If no one ran around like a madman, we'd never find Pikachu?"
As the download numbers increased, more players searched for Pokémon in various city corners.
People even battled each other over Pokémon.
It wasn't just in China.
Ren knew how popular Pokémon GO had been worldwide in his previous life, so he ensured the game department created multiple versions for international release.
While Pokémon Kill was only popular in China, this AR game model was entirely new to players. The experience of running around the streets playing a game was exhilarating.
It was a way to exercise while enjoying a game.
The collection and evolution features in the game also delighted many players.
Moreover, the cute, cartoony designs of the Pokémon attracted many female players.
As more women played, their boyfriends joined in to accompany them.
Men enjoyed playing in groups, so their friends joined in too.
Originally, the guys who joined because of their girlfriends weren't too interested in the game.
They found the cute Pokémon less appealing than guns and explosions. However...
PvP battles, Pokémon attributes, skill counters, and various evolutions slowly drew them in.
Pokémon GO had a huge impact on the gaming community on its first day. Videos of the game flooded video websites.
In parks and shopping plazas, it was common to see groups of young people wandering around with their phones. Some shop owners even mistook them for criminal gangs scoping out the area and called the police.
Others rode electric scooters with multiple phones mounted, wandering around.
This puzzled people who didn't know about Pokémon GO, wondering what was going on with these groups.
But as the game grew, many comments started to appear.
"Wow, I didn't expect China to make such a fun game!"
"It's even better than Aunt Susan next door!"
"Don't be fooled, this is a Chinese plot! Look, this game can track all the places you visit. It's a spy game!"
"Exactly, we must boycott it!"
Of course, these didn't affect the game's popularity.
The Picca Games team was ecstatic about the game's success.
During breaks, everyone discussed the game excitedly.
Pokémon Kill had been a big hit in China, but now Pokémon GO was popular worldwide.
The game often made the news.
Stories like people wandering into military bases while playing Pokémon GO, or falling into open manholes because they were too engrossed in the game, or even celebrities catching rare Pokémon, kept popping up.
…
While others played Pokémon GO, Ren also enjoyed the game.
He had just returned home from a walk, and as he opened the door, he saw Jada and Yueyue standing there.
"Wow, you two are here to greet me today? Come here, give me a hug!"
"Hmph!" Yueyue turned away and pouted, making Ren curious. "What's wrong with her?"
"You have the nerve to ask?" Jada snapped. "You forgot to pick Yueyue up today! Her teacher called me to find out why!"
Jada was furious.
Recently, Ren had been obsessed with catching Pokémon, to the point of bumping into doors. Today, he even forgot to pick up their daughter!
"What?" Ren was stunned, his face full of embarrassment.
"Tripping on flat ground was you, getting lost in the next city while driving to catch Pokémon was you. Can you stop playing the game?" Jada glared at him.
"Yes."
"And don't forget to pick up Yueyue next time, okay?"
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Good."
"Thanks for understanding."
Ren felt both guilty and relieved as he hugged his family, resolving to balance his game time better from now on.
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