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It was a tranquil, snowy day in the city of Rustboro, and Eddie was dying of boredom. [break][break]

Work at the construction site had been called off due to the weather, and the local 24-hour gym had closed for the same reason. Picking up any extra cash delivering orders for Grubbinhub was also out of the question (a few extra bucks wasn't worth wading through calf-deep snow), so here he was, pacing the floor of his small apartment, waiting for the APK file to finish downloading onto his laptop. [break][break]

Eddie wasn't the most tech-savvy guy in Hoenn, but a youth spent playing video games meant he at least had a passing familiarity with technology. In more recent years, he'd fallen down the rabbit hole of video game emulation, something that had turned into an occasional hobby during times such as this. Now that experience was coming in handy as he strode back over to the laptop seated on his bed. His brow furrowed with concentration as he tapped and dragged his fingers across the touch pad, trying to figure out how to load the APK file onto the smartphone emulator he was running. [break][break]

He hadn't been in Hoenn when Rondez-View of Luv was first released, and subsequently, had only heard secondhand accounts of the uncanny deepfakes of actual, living people used for it's production. Perhaps that was for the best, because the thought of a digital facsimile of himself being used for some game was harrowing, to say the least. But there was a gnawing curiosity that stuck with him ever since he had read about it; there wouldn't be any harm in checking out some of the old files floating around online, right? From what he gathered, the parties responsible had since come under intense scrutiny and investigation. Surely there was no way that downloading some sketchy APK file from a Johtonian image board was a bad idea... right? [break][break]

Before Eddie could stop to give the idea further thought, the emulator's screen lit up brightly with the opening scene, an introduction of the NPC he'd be interacting with. Huh, this was a cool premise; an adventure game was just up Eddie's alley! He grinned with excitement as he made himself comfortable, sitting on his bed with his back pressed against the wall behind him. [break][break]

And of course, like any good adventure RPG, he was presented with the option of his starting class. Ah, this was heart-meltingly nostalgic. It was a very easy choice, too; with no hesitation, Eddie clicked on the option for WARRIOR. He was a big, strong guy, ill-suited to sneakery or sorcery. Maybe he could have been a cleric in another life, but nah, warrior was the way to go!


   

   

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Absentmindedly dragging his fingers across the touchpad, Eddie contemplated his next decision. There wasn't much context given for the place they would be heading, outside of the “levels” indicated. That was probably based on level of difficulty, right? He pondered this as he considered his options. Logic told him that maybe he should start off easy, because he had never played this game before and had no idea what he was getting into. Pride told him that he was just fine at video games, damn it, and he'd probably pick up the controls easily enough. [break][break]

His pride won out as Eddie scrolled over and selected the option for LEVEL-5: MIRAGE PALACE; it was probably middle-to-high levels of difficulty, right? Hopefully that meant he wasn't getting in over his head.


   

   

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'Trecherous', huh? The thought had Eddie grinning ear-to-ear. [break][break]

Now it was time to decide on his ride of choice. A Skuntank would be an... interesting option, to say the least, and the Beedrill would probably be too small to support him. That meant the most realistic option, in this case, would be the Pyroar. Wait, why should be worried about was 'realistic'? This was a video game; real world factors like height or size shouldn't matter here. With that in mind, Eddie found himself considering the second to last selection. [break][break]

In an ideal world, his ride of choice would be his beloved Paldean Tauros, but the bull could hardly stand to wear a saddle. They'd been friends for years, but that was a gap that Eddie had yet to bridge. But in a virtual world, what was to stop him from riding Beau into whatever the heck the 'Mirage Palace' was? Nothing, that's what. With his mind made up, Eddie selected the option to TAKE HIS OWN POKEMON THERE. Surely virtual Beau wouldn't mind... right?


   

   

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Ooo, this place sounded pretty cool! It reminded Eddie of something out of an old RPG, and he half-expected some kind of over-sized dragon Pokemon to show up from beyond the horizon as a combat encounter. But, for the time being, it looked like no such combat encounter would be taking place. [break][break]

Instead, his guide was hopping aboard her Skuntank to bound across the lava pit and land at the palace's gate. Eddie grinned at the thought of himself leaping onto Beau's back, charging full force towards the edge of the pit and leaping across with an unnatural strength to reach the other side. He didn't spend much time considering his other options before selecting the choice to RECKLESSLY FOLLOW HER. Signs be damned, it was time to throw caution to the wind!


   

   

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The architecture of this place was pretty cool; the sculptures of sage-like figures and their mystical Pokemon gave the palace a particularly fantastical bit of flair. Intriguing as it was, Eddie found himself skimming the dialogue as his guide provided exposition for some 'Spectacle Rock' location. Maybe more context would be useful? But truth be told, Eddie really just wanted to get further into the dungeon so he could start beating stuff up. With that, he selected the option to FOLLOW SHALIN THROUGH THE DOUBLE DOORS, hoping that it might trigger some sort of combat encounter with whatever was waiting on the other side.


   

   

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Ah hah, finally! Eddie cracked his knuckles and grinned with delight as he read the details of the combat encounter presented to him. The fox-like Pokemon were ranged fighters, it seemed, so the only logical course of action would be to get up close and give them a good pummeling. He scrolled his cursor over to make his selection but found himself momentarily hesitating. [break][break]

Looking over his choices, Eddie paused as he reconsidered each one. The first option of fighting in melee range was his initial go-to response, but then there was the second; playing on the defensive would make sure his party member wouldn't get hurt during the encounter. Even though she was just a bunch of pixels on the other side of the screen, Eddie felt a pang of guilt at the idea of her taking a hit if he made the wrong choice. [break][break]

He scratched his chin in contemplation. Beau didn't have any defensive moves to speak of, but maybe the Warrior class had some kind of shield he could use to tank the hit? Eddie found himself scrolling around the screen to pull up an inventory list, a menu, something, but came up empty. There was that 'Custom Field' option, though; maybe he could write out a unique response to the encounter, sending his Pokemon to fight the Braixen head-on while he stayed behind to shield Shalin from harm. [break][break]

But who was he kidding? The game probably couldn't handle a response that detailed in the first place, and besides, with his luck, this 'Warrior' class was probably more Berserker than Paladin. With a light sigh of resignation, Eddie scrolled back up to select the first option, to BATTLE WITH HIS POKEMON AT MELEE RANGE. At least he could still be heroic in his own way. [break][break]

bh1vP4Ud


   

   

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As the fight played out, Eddie felt an immediate flush of frustration and guilt as Shalin was struck by the PSYBEAMS. The encounter played out exactly as he feared it would; maybe he should have gone with the 'Custom Field' option after all. Some god damn hero he turned out to be. [break][break]

The bitterness only abated slightly as the battle ended and the map opened up for further exploration. The dining hall only garnered a passing interest from Eddie, but upon reviewing his options, the correct choice was made immediately clear. With a couple of clicks, he selected the choice to FOLLOW SHALIN TO THE END OF THE HALLWAY AND MAKE SURE SHE'S OKAY. There was literally no reason not to; she'd taken a bad hit in the last fight, and the oblique reference to her shivering made Eddie fear that she was either badly injured or was suffering from sort of status condition. Real or no, Eddie was determined not to fail his party member a second time.[break][break]


   

   

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