The atmosphere in Guinaifen's livestream had shifted. While she spent the afternoon grinding levels—her Jigglypuff now a formidable level 22—the chat was no longer just talking about Type-effectiveness or where to find a Pikachu.
They were talking about the "Blackout."
"Family members, we're heading for Pewter City today! Level suppression is the name of the game," Guinaifen chirped, trying to maintain her usual energy. But her eyes kept darting to the scrolling comments.
"I'm posting this from a relay satellite in a neutral zone. The IPC just scrubbed the Pokémon Wiki from the Pier Point local net.""The signal is dying in the Sigonia sector. If I go offline, tell my Charmeleon I love him.""They're calling it 'Aetherium Wars' plagiarism on the official news. What a joke.""Anyone got a link for a signal-bypass? I refuse to let the Traditional Department delete my save file!"
Guinaifen felt a cold knot of anxiety. Pokémon had changed her life; the haptic gear Arceus Studio had sent her was the most advanced tech she'd ever touched. She couldn't let it just vanish. Making a quick excuse about a "restroom break," she muted her mic and frantically messaged her contacts.
But Julian Reed was already ahead of her.
Sitting in his office, Julian stared at the screens reflecting the IPC's offensive. "They're really doing it," he muttered. "A multi-trillion credit corporation is playing dirty over a game about pocket monsters."
Cai Xing entered, her fox ears pinned back in frustration. "Boss, I have the briefing from Madam Yukong. She's already deposited the additional 100 million Credits into our account. She knew the IPC would pull the 'Signal Shielding' card."
"Signal Shielding?" Julian looked up.
"The IPC owns the primary Subspace Echo relays," Cai Xing explained, her tail swishing irritably. "It's their ecosystem. They've flagged all data packets originating from Arceus Studio as 'Malware' or 'Infringing Content.' Most citizens won't even know we exist anymore because their search results will be empty."
Julian leaned back, a strange, sharp smile tugging at his lips. The "Joy" of the Path of Elation hummed in his chest. "So they've built a wall. They've made us the forbidden fruit."
"It's a serious problem, Boss," Cai Xing urged. "Switching to a Xianzhou signal relay is expensive and technically difficult for the average person. Most people will just give up and go back to playing whatever the IPC tells them to play."
Julian stood up, pacing the room. In his previous life, he'd seen this before. It was the classic battle between decentralized information and corporate gatekeeping.
"They think they can control the flow of fun," Julian said, his eyes sparking. "But the IPC doesn't understand 'Elation.' The harder you hide something, the more people want to find it."
He looked at the 100 million Credits in the company balance. It was a war chest.
"Cai Xing, forget traditional marketing. We're not going to buy ad space they'll just delete. We're going to build a backdoor."
"A backdoor?"
"A signal-shunter. A small, lightweight piece of firmware that disguises Pokémon data as 'Standard IPC Financial Updates.' We'll distribute it for free. Let the fans be our nodes."
He laughed, and for a moment, that same golden light from the Path of Elation flickered in his pupils. "If the IPC wants to build a wall, we'll just teach every kid in the galaxy how to climb it."