Granite Cave

The docks remained bustling after the match. Many townsfolk and tourists gathered around Lin Mo, their eyes all focused on the Feebas in his arms—

Most of them were seeing this kind of Pokémon for the first time. They quietly discussed its appearance with curiosity while taking out their cameras and carefully adjusting their angles, afraid of startling the well-behaved Feebas.

Feebas seemed somewhat unaccustomed to being the center of so much attention. It wriggled uneasily in Lin Mo's arms, its little tail lightly patting his wrist as though seeking reassurance.

"Thank you all for your support."

Lin Mo smiled and nodded to the people around him. At the same time, he adjusted his position so that the camera could capture both himself and Feebas in his arms.

"Today's second place was entirely thanks to Feebas's own hard work, as well as everyone watching who has supported us all this time."

He looked down at Feebas in his arms, gently brushing his fingers over its slightly rough scales. "Look, everyone's happy for you."

Feebas seemed to understand. It tilted its head, blinked its protruding eyes, then suddenly flicked its tail hard, splashing the remaining droplets of water onto Lin Mo's face.

The familiar gesture made everyone around them laugh, while the livestream chat was instantly flooded with "hahaha" and all sorts of reaction stickers.

"Feebas is still this mischievous!"

"That was definitely on purpose. It's getting revenge on the streamer for holding it too tightly just now. (doge)"

"Why do I suddenly think Feebas is kind of beautiful? Is something wrong with my taste?"

"+1. The more I look at Feebas's face now, the more pleasing it gets..."

Lin Mo wiped the water off his face with his sleeve and looked helplessly yet fondly at the little one in his arms. "All right, I know you're amazing. Stop messing around."

He turned toward the camera, excitement coloring his voice.

"I just checked the dashboard. The peak viewer count for this livestream surpassed twenty thousand! Next, I'll be doing a giveaway to thank everyone for your support these past days!"

The chat immediately erupted.

"Twenty thousand! The streamer's finally made it!"

"Congratulations, streamer! Your popularity is rising way too fast!"

"It's been almost a year already. Why hasn't Feebas evolved yet? I really want to see what it'll evolve into! Does anyone know? Please explain!"

At the mention of evolution, the discussion in the livestream became even livelier.

"Yeah! Can Feebas evolve? What does it look like after evolving?"

"Has any trainer raised a Feebas before? Come say something!"

"..."

Lin Mo looked at his phone screen, his gaze sweeping over the questions about "evolution" filling the chat. He did not explain anything, merely gently stroking Feebas—

It was holding a small piece of Pokémon food in its mouth, occasionally looking up at Lin Mo with an especially obedient expression.

A new plan had already formed in Lin Mo's mind.

Now that Feebas could skillfully use Water Pulse and Icy Wind, it was strong enough. Next, he could take it to explore Granite Cave in Dewford Town.

Lin Mo smiled, cleared his throat, and held up the giveaway wheel prop in his hand toward the camera.

"All right, everyone, stop arguing about evolution for now. Let's do the giveaway first—

"This time, I've prepared twenty bottles of universal Pokémon nutrient solution, along with five sets of limited-edition Pokédex stickers. This is to thank everyone for encouraging Feebas and me over the past year. Just send 'Feebas is beautiful' in the chat for a chance to enter!"

"How can you even say that, streamer?"

"Exactly! For rewards like these, I absolutely won't betray my conscience!"

"..."

The viewers joked around, but before long, the screen was flooded with dense waves of "Feebas is beautiful," scrolling so quickly that individual usernames were nearly impossible to see.

Feebas seemed drawn in by the excitement in the livestream. It wriggled restlessly in Lin Mo's arms, poking its little head toward the camera and staring curiously with its protruding eyes at the constantly jumping chat messages. Its tail lightly patted Lin Mo's arm again, as if urging him to take a screenshot and start the drawing already.

"Don't rush, don't rush. We're starting now."

Once the IDs of all twenty winners appeared, the livestream immediately filled with cheers and wails.

The winning viewers excitedly spammed "Thank you, streamer," while those who had missed out wailed, "I'm cursed with bad luck" and "Next time for sure"...

"All right, the giveaways are done. It's time to talk about something important."

Lin Mo's tone became slightly more serious as the camera returned to him.

"For the next while, I'm planning to take Feebas into Granite Cave to do some exploring."

"Granite Cave in Dewford Town? I saw people talk about it on the forums. Apparently, it's very deep and really dark, and there are groups of Zubat inside. They're pretty aggressive, so be careful!"

"Is it to find opponents for Feebas to train against? But the terrain in there is complicated. Don't let Feebas get hurt!"

"I've been there once. There are so many forks in the road that it's easy to get lost. Streamer, you'd better bring a guide or download a map!"

Lin Mo read the concerned comments.

"Thanks for the reminders, everyone. I've already prepared a simple map of the cave, along with lighting equipment and enough supplies. I won't go too deeply into any dangerous areas.

"The reason I'm going there is, first, to let Feebas train its practical combat skills in a more complex environment, and second... perhaps we might encounter a suitable companion."

He paused, lowering his head to stroke Feebas's head.

"Having Feebas train and compete alone all this time feels a little too lonely. If we can find a Pokémon in the cave whose personality and abilities suit us, then whether it's for daily training or challenging Gyms later on, the two of us will have more confidence."

At the mention of Gyms, the chat's mood instantly surged again.

"Gyms? Is the streamer planning to challenge Gyms?!"

"Are we finally starting the Gym challenge? I've been waiting forever!"

"Are you challenging Dewford Town's Gym first? I think you could challenge Leader Roxanne in Rustboro City first. Feebas is Water-type, so battling Roxanne should be easier!"

"Are you sure you aren't just telling the streamer to go to Rustboro City because you want to see Leader Roxanne?"

"What Pokémon is the streamer going to catch? I recommend Aron. Aggron is insanely cool!"

"Haha, that'll probably eat the streamer into bankruptcy. Even all the money he's saved from streaming over the past year probably wouldn't be enough for Aron's food!"

"..."

Lin Mo smiled and replied.

"I'm not sure yet. Let's see what Pokémon we encounter in Granite Cave first! As for which Gym to challenge, I'll look at everyone's preferences in the livestream and decide then!"

Lin Mo looked at the sky. "That's all for today's livestream. We'll set out in two days, and I'll start the stream then to show everyone what Granite Cave looks like."

After saying goodbye to the viewers, Lin Mo ended the livestream. The townsfolk around him gradually dispersed as well, leaving only a few children still discussing the match from earlier.

After Feebas swallowed the Water Gem, Lin Mo played with it for a while before returning it to its Poké Ball and heading home with it.

By the time Lin Mo and Feebas returned to the little seaside house, the setting sun had already dyed the sea a golden red.