Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

city ​​center.

Yuhong Martial Arts Hall is a dreamlike glass palace.

Perhaps to allow more people to appreciate the charm of plants, this secret garden has been opened to the public, with an entrance fee equivalent to the price of a bottle of soda.

A plant exhibition hall with low prices and high quality should, in theory, be packed with people.

However, when Izumi arrived at the dojo, there were very few visitors.

Most of them are rookie trainers who are challenging the Yuhong Gym.

They excitedly challenged the gym with their newly caught Fire-type Pokémon, only to receive disappointing news.

"Gym Leader Rika is off today, and Yuhong Dojo is closed for the day. Please come another day."

Being a dojo owner is a job within the league, and naturally, there are workdays and rest days.

Some dojo owners with innovative ideas will even increase their rest days appropriately, such as the evergreen dojo owner.

It's closed most of the time, but if you're lucky enough to find it open, the challenge can be quite difficult.

Therefore, trainers have never been very eager to challenge the Evergreen Gym.

However, there is an urban legend circulating among a few trainers—if you persistently challenge the Evergreen Gym Leader, he will be moved by your perseverance and award you the Green Badge.

They make it sound so convincing, but nobody knows whether it's true or false.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the eight major dojos, there are other dojos in various regions.

Any gym that is certified by the league can participate in the tournament by collecting eight badges.

But very few people would do that.

Not being able to collect all eight of the most well-known badges means you have a significant gap in hard power compared to other participants.

There's no point in forcing yourself to participate in the conference and then being eliminated in the first round.

Quanshu refreshed the page on his phone, checking the newly released closure information from the Yuhong Dojo's official website.

Rest days are normal, but the announcement is usually made in advance on the official website to make it easier for challengers to schedule their time.

It's quite rare for a museum to close temporarily like today.

The new trainers had no objections and, after being turned away, wisely left.

Their time is the least valuable thing; being a day earlier or later makes no difference.

Some even secretly rejoiced at being forced to postpone their challenge by a day.

Like the students who received notice that the exam was postponed by one day, they thought that studying for an extra day would improve their grades, but in reality, the effect was negligible.

"It's really closed..."

Seeing the staff begin to lock the door, Izumi sighed.

Besides avoiding the limelight, he also had a mission in Yuhong City.

What were the plant communities like in different regions a thousand years ago for some extinct plants?

These are questions that are difficult to answer by relying solely on scattered and unverifiable information found online.

It concerns the set design of the first film, and he doesn't want any random scholars to find fault with the costumes, props, and sets after the film's release.

Yuhong Pavilion owner Lijia has considerable knowledge of plants and may be able to provide guidance for this part of the content.

The key point is that Quanshu is quite confident that the other party is willing to provide assistance.

As for why...

A few days ago, a new name, [Lijia], appeared in his list of friends on the handheld console.

The favorability rating is quite high, starting at ten points.

Lijia couldn't possibly have appeared automatically on the handheld console; she must have had some contact with him.

The only explanation Izumi could think of was that Rika went to the Cerulean Gym to watch the performance and saw him there.

She might be a fan of tragic endings (BEs), and enjoys appreciating the aesthetics of tragedy.

The Little Mermaid deeply moved Rika, which is why she had such a high initial level of goodwill towards her.

Quanshu felt that his guess was very close to the truth, which was a good thing overall.

He stopped the staff member who was locking the door and politely asked, "Hello, will Yuhong Dojo be operating normally tomorrow?"

If Yuhong continues to be closed, Quanshu will have to consider contacting Lijia directly.

"We will be open for business as usual tomorrow..."

The staff member looked at Quanshu's face and the more she looked, the more familiar it seemed. After a moment, she exclaimed in surprise, "You're Quanshu?"

Izumi no Kijima took a half step back without changing his expression and admitted, "If you are referring to Izumi no Kijima of Dark Grey City, then it is indeed me."

"I just saw the Cerulean stage play yesterday. Are you here to challenge the gym?"

The staff members raised their voices several octaves, sounding very excited.

"more or less."

Izumi didn't want to reveal the specific purpose, saying, "But it seems that Director Rika has something to do today, which is a pity."

"No no no!"

The staff member seemed to be a big fan of his, shaking his head repeatedly and saying, "If it were you, perhaps the owner would be willing to accept the challenge."

"I'll go and inform them!"

Before Quanshu could react, she strode inside.

What do you mean?

Is Rika at the dojo right now?

Why is the museum closed?

Quanshu was full of questions, but he couldn't guess the reason, so he could only wait for the staff to return.

...

The staff jogged all the way.

She was quite startled when she saw Principal Lijia this morning—her eyes were red, her hair was stuck behind her ears, and her whole face was flushed.

It's practically a talking, inflated pufferfish.

Startled, she immediately began the closing procedures.

Yesterday evening, while discussing "The Little Mermaid" with my companions, the museum owner gave the creator, Izumi, very high praise.

They seem to hold him in high regard.

With someone like that challenging Yuhong Dojo, the dojo master must feel much better, right?

Thinking of this, she quickened her pace.

...

A few minutes later, the staff returned.

Quanshu had anticipated the outcome.

With ten points of favorability, it's only natural to receive preferential treatment.

"I'm sorry, our curator said he doesn't really want to see you right now."

The little girl's face showed embarrassment and guilt.

Because their owner's exact words were, "Make him leave quickly, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist rushing out and beating him up right now."

Quanshu checked twice to make sure there was nothing wrong with his ears.

The problem lies with the handheld console.

I felt like I'd been tricked by the guy, and angrily opened my friends list.

【Lijia】

[Favorability: -5]

Spring Tree: ?

I need to have my license checked!

When he first encountered a negative number, did he do something impolite?

Quanshu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Chapter 49 begins

[Thoughts flowing freely: If you find any issues with the demo version, please report them to us immediately. This version is prohibited from being uploaded to public networks; violators will be held legally responsible.]

In addition to the game itself, the Navigator also sent me a one-page instruction manual with precautions.

Lijia clicked to download the game and glanced at the precautions. They were basically irrelevant to her, as she only planned to play in private.

"I originally planned to go to the Clarion Dojo to watch the stage play performance in the next two days, but now the plans have changed."

I've already watched a recording online, so it doesn't really matter whether I go to the live event or not.

But she had been looking forward to Izumi's new game for a long time.

Starting with completing Plants vs. Ghosts, Rika's aesthetic sense and appreciation for games became distorted.

To be precise, it's the perception of whether a game is fun.

Whenever she comes across a new mini-game, she can't help but compare it to "Plant Ghost," and they end up being very similar.

My excitement threshold was artificially raised by a game, and after completing it, I couldn't find a replacement of the same level. Those days were bitter, gloomy, and agonizing.

And all of this will end today.

Yuhong Martial Arts Academy closed early, with a "Closed" sign hanging at the entrance.

A dim, yellow light shone from a room deep within the plant palace.

Lijia looked at the new tan icon on her desktop and took a deep breath.

She was actually a little nervous, like a child who had just learned on her birthday that she would receive a long-awaited gift.

The game icon is simple: a Salt Stone Baby carrying a stone pickaxe.

Lijia didn't know how Salt Stone Treasure, who had no hands, managed to do it; perhaps it was some kind of telekinesis at work?

Game Title: Overcoming Challenges with Saltstone

As the name suggests, the well-informed Rika can easily guess from the name that this is most likely a puzzle-solving game.

There are many games of this type on the market, the most famous of which is "Positive and Negative Pat-Pat".

"Don't let me down."

With too many similar games being highly homogenized, she worries that Izumi's new work will also fall into the same trap.

With a mix of tension and anticipation, accompanied by the hum of the fan, the game began.

The screen dimmed for a moment and then brightened again, as snowflakes began to fall.

Light snowflakes drifted down the snow-covered mountaintop, and the camera followed a spinning snowflake as it plummeted down the cliff face.

A few seconds later, the snow visibly thinned out, and the buried withered grass stems could be vaguely seen.

Until the bottom of the cliff, the snow completely disappeared, revealing the bare, yellowish-brown ground.

In the very depths of the valley, a salt stone treasure slowly opened its orange eyes.

There was nothing in front of it except a stone pickaxe stuck in the ground and an old small radio.

A semi-transparent button prompt appears on the left side of the screen.

Following the instructions, Lijia manipulated the Salt Stone to move left and right, and jump up and down.

It feels great to the touch, with no lag, and the Salt Stone will kick up a fine dust cloud when it lands.

"This small detail is well done."

Lijia had developed the habit of commenting on games a long time ago, subconsciously keeping scores in her mind.