Today marks a monumental milestone in our journey together - Virtuadopt's 15th Anniversary! We've come a long way since our humble beginnings on April 1, 2009, and we owe it all to you, our dedicated trainers and adopters.
- Unova Region: Get ready to embark on new adventures as we introduce the Unova region to Virtuadopt! This addition brings a whole new array of Pokémon for you to adopt, raise, and train. Explore the diverse habitats of Unova and expand your collection with some of your favorite fifth-generation Pokémon.
- Expeditions: We're also excited to launch a brand-new mini-game called Expeditions! In this game, your adoptables can explore various biomes, such as forests, mountains, and caves, to discover unique rewards. Send your Pokémon on these thrilling expeditions to uncover rare items and Virtucoins.
Spoiler:
The night’s silence enveloped the mart like a blanket. Inside was Scott, still at work, but not for long, as he prepared for the end of his shift. Today had been an exhausting day, with lots of annoying customers who had asked him about breeding items. He had sold them either Sea Incense or Lax Incense, but just a couple of hours later, the customers had returned and were demanding refunds, because apparently those items that he sold them didn’t have the desired effect on their Sudowoodo or their Mr. Mime.
And every time he just tapped the sign above his counter which read “No Refunds”. This made his customers leave the store with wild insults in his direction. He even learned a new word from one of them today! At least he was out of these items now, so he wouldn’t have to sell them anymore.
But Scott also had those customers with bright smiles on their faces, who bought large amounts of Everstones for their ever-growing collection of Pokémon. Those who had likely never heard of the term “Only sold in household quantities.”
Sometimes, Scott regretted leaving Hoenn. Some days he even regretted having unlocked the mart that day. Today was such a day. And he was glad that it was almost over. Just a couple more minutes before he could return home into his uneventful private life, and be it only for a couple of hours, before the alarm clock would send him off into another day of relentless customers with unrealizable wishes.
Scott always wore sunglasses to cover the dark circles around his eyes, and a fake smile to cover the sadness that tainted his soul. Together with the Alola Shirt it almost made it seem like he was having fun at work. Almost.
He was standing with his back to the mart’s door, when he heard it sliding open.
<Please make it quick.> he thought to himself, before turning around and presenting his smile to the late-night customer. “Good evening, how can I-” Scott began, but froze mid-sentence.
In the door frame stood a ragged man. His facial hair framed his face like a wild mane. His torn clothes were seemingly held together only by the dirt on his body. And his eyes fixated Scott with a fierce look, as he braced himself with one hand on the door.
Scott knew that hobos could be quite dangerous. Last year, a homeless person had vandalized parts of his mart just to sleep in a police cell for a couple of nights.
“I…” began the ragged man, and his voice sounded raspy, “... need something to drink!”
The facade that Scott was trying to keep up was slightly crumbling. “Does this look like a random bar to you?” he asked with all the kindness he was able to put into his voice, and he immediately regretted having said the word “random”, as it sounded way too aggressive for what he was trying to accomplish. He sighed. “Look, I had a hard day, and I just want-”
“A hard day?” the ragged man repeated and began to laugh, but his laughing soon turned into a dry coughing fit. Once he regained his breath, he continued: “You wouldn’t believe the hard eight months I had!”
Something about his voice sounded familiar to Scott. But with so many daily customers, it was hard for him to tell whose voice it was. “If I give you a few coins for a warm meal and something to drink, will you leave me alone then?” he nervously asked the ragged man.
The stranger blinked, seemingly confused. “You have no idea who I am, do you, Scott?”
Scott wanted to shake his head, but something about the way the man pronounced his name made him pause for a moment. From his mouth, it sounded like “Scutt”. And he only knew one man with an accent like that. “Cameron?!”
A smile began to form on Cameron’s face.
~“So there I was, dangling from the cliff of the Forbidden Meadow, crying for help, but no one came!” Ranger Cameron said, after downing a whole bottle of water, and immediately ordering a second one. After Scott had locked the mart, they went to a fastfood outlet, where they sat down. Scott stood true to his word and ordered a warm meal and something to drink for his longtime buddy. Nothing too expensive, though. And while they waited for the food, Cameron began to tell what happened to him in the past eight months. “No one, except for the Mandibuzzes above me, who waited for me to plummet down.”
“And how did you get out of this?” Scott asked.
“After crying for help for a good ten minutes, I decided to take matters in my own hands. I decided to climb down the cliff, very carefully, inch by inch.” he answered.
“Why didn’t you climb back up?”
“And risk getting thrown down again by the angry Tauros at the top? How do you think I got into this situation?” he snorted.
“But climbing down didn’t take you eight months, or did it?” Scott leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Of course not. After I had reached the bottom, I took a well-deserved nap.”
“For eight months?”
“I’m getting to that part later!” he snapped at the shopkeeper. “When I woke up, I wasn’t at the bottom of the cliff anymore. I found myself in an Abandoned Asylum. Turns out that a caring Espeon found me and took me there, but it was gone when I woke up, so I wandered around and got lost. I can still hear the creepy laughter that came from the empty rooms…”
Scott was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, but before he could ask, Cameron continued. “Espeon found me, when I was sitting all crawled-up in a corner, shivering. It showed me the exit, and I was able to continue my search. It was night already, and suddenly the ground became foggy. That’s when I knew I had stepped onto the Creepy Cemetery. I swear, I found a gravestone with my name on it. And also the date of my demise. Hopefully it was just an illusion from the Zorua I spotted hiding behind a tree.
As I was scared, I ran as fast as I could and stumbled into a mine cart that led me into the Lost Mine. The cart must have grazed a wall, though, because suddenly the tunnel caved in behind me, and I had to find another way out in complete darkness. Just when I thought that no one would find my remains in there, an Onix came crashing through the wall left to me and created a way out for me.”
“That sounds made up.” Scott remarked.
“It’s true!” Cameron insisted. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you look for the items yourself?”
“Because I have a shop to keep.” Scott replied, <And a sanity, too.> he thought.
“When I exited the tunnel, the sun was almost blinding me. I heard Wingulls in the air, and I smelled salty ocean water. I was at the Rocky Shore! Apparently, this is Gyarados territory, and let me tell you, the Gyarados that spotted me didn’t like me! It threw me in the ocean, where a vortex pulled me underwater. Not even a Golduck would have managed to escape that one! I held my breath and the vortex drew me into a cave in which the water was rapidly getting warmer and warmer. I didn’t want to get cooked alive, so I swam back to the air pocket I had spotted, and realized that it was a tight tunnel that led to the surface. So I climbed that one as I heard the water underneath me bubbling with heat. And when I reached the surface, I realized that I was in the middle of the Contested Geysers, where two Hariyamas fought for dominance. The geyser that I came out of erupted, and I took the opportunity to flee before the Fighting Pokémon could spot me and think of me as another rival.” Cameron laughed and clapped himself on the belly with the palm of his hand.
Scott didn’t laugh. He gave serious consideration whether Cameron had gone crazy.
“From the Contested Geysers there is a pathway that leads into the Rumbling Volcano. It was the only way back home I knew, so I had to take it. The heat was almost unbearable, and the poisonous gas from a Smogon that crossed my way made me hallucinate for so long that I was still sweating when I reached the Snowbound Power Plant. Imagine the shock that I felt when I accidentally touched a Voltorb. Suddenly, I was freezing, and I sought shelter in the power plant until the snowstorm was over, and I could feel my fingers again.
After that, it was only a trip through the Bitterly Cold Woods before I was about to head home again. The Snorunts were looking pretty scared when they saw me.”
Scott came to the realization that this still didn’t add up. “Even if what you said is true… that’s only a couple of days worth of time. Maybe a week at maximum.”
“On my way back home, I fell into a hole.” Cameron said with an expressionless face. “I was sitting in there for months, unable to get out, had to eat worms and drink-”
“I don’t want to know!” Scott interrupted him quickly. “You are back and that’s all that matters. Have you found the items you were searching for?”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“Good. A lot of my customers are already waiting for them. Where are they?”
“In the Forbidden Meadow, the Abandoned Asylum, the-”
“No, I mean, you have brought them with you, didn’t you?” Scott insisted.
“I was sent there to investigate the issue of the lost items, not to bring them back.” Cameron raised his hands in defense.
“You tell me I’ve waited eight months… for nothing?” Scott’s right eyelid began to twitch under his sunglasses.
Unable to notice that, Cameron smiled. “Well, at least now we know where they are! Scott? Aren’t you feeling well, buddy?”
The frustrated scream of a broken man could be heard even outside the fastfood outlet.
Let's hear some words from the man, the myth, the legend, Cameron himself:
Maybe Pokémon are better suited for searching those missing Items than us humans are. Which brings me to an amazing idea: Expeditions!
Let me just…
*CLANK* BRRRR *CRASH*
Ouch!
*SMASH* *VRRRR* *WHAM*
Tadaa! Welcome to the new Expedition base camp! Don’t worry about the creaking main beam, I promise the roof is as stable as it can get. Come on in! I’ll explain everything inside!
Here's to 15 years of adventures, and many more to come! Let's make this anniversary celebration one to remember!
Happy adopting,
The Virtuadopt Team
Sharing IP every day with my husband derBhaal . 
