Looks Like I Wasn't Evil Enough After All

Nemona left soon after agreeing to become an apprentice at the Sunshine Gym.

After a morning of training and a heart-stopping battle (with an outcome that was never in doubt), Eevee was quietly enjoying an afternoon nap in Qingyu's arms.

"I never thought Nemona would actually become an apprentice at the Sunshine Gym..."

Recalling what had just happened, Qingyu couldn't help marveling at it.

"If Nemona becomes a Champion next year, won't the challengers coming to the Sunshine Gym practically trample the doorstep flat...?"

"If I come across any more promising talents, maybe I can lure a few of them over, too."

"If I manage to get all four members of Paldea's main cast together, wouldn't that make the Sunshine Gym outright invincible?"

It was time to dream!

As Qingyu relaxed, several lines of small text soon appeared before his eyes.

[Although your streaming career is going very well, drawing fans from around the world to the remote Sunshine Gym is clearly no easy task.]

[Fortunately, a local viewer still came to challenge you. After a thoroughly satisfying battle, you finally scraped out your first victory since taking over as Gym Leader.]

Qingyu slowly conjured up a question mark.

Did I really scrape it out?

Sure, Eevee's "King Engine" nearly threw me for a loop, but the whole thing went pretty smoothly, didn't it?

This system was as wildly off the mark as ever...

[Mission: Take responsibility as the gym's successor and earn your first victory against a gym challenger. (Completed)]

[Reward: Elesa's Guide to Gym Management.]

After he lightly tapped the screen, a thin guide soon appeared in his palm.

It was called a guide, but it looked more like a magazine.

Compared with Blue's notebook last time, the sheer thinness of this reward showed a complete lack of effort...

Not that Qingyu had expected this reward to be useful in the first place.

Intensely curious, Qingyu looked at the cover.

Then he immediately understood why Elesa had been able to take the Nimbasa Gym to international fame.

With a face and figure that perfect, it'd be a crime if you didn't become famous!

But how am I supposed to learn from that?

Am I supposed to follow the example of a certain three-time Pokémon Contest champion...?

The thought had barely formed before he shook his head furiously and banished it.

Anything but that!

There had to be another way!

Qingyu quickly turned the page and began reading the guide's main text.

Okay, good. It wasn't the sort of content I'd imagined.

Although he felt strangely disappointed, Qingyu patiently read through it all.

In the end, he reached a conclusion:

Elesa's method might work, but it probably wouldn't work for him.

In short, Elesa's philosophy was extremely radical, yet still offered something he could learn from-

Identify your gym's unique appeal and amplify it without limit.

Since Elesa had entered the modeling industry at a very young age, she had launched sweeping reforms as soon as she took over as Gym Leader.

She had converted most of the gym into a brilliantly lit fashion runway, selected exceptionally attractive Trainers as gym apprentices, and would even incorporate the nearby Roller Coaster into the gym in the future.

"So improving the gym's reputation among Trainers matters more than constantly improving your own strength?"

Qingyu quickly summed up Elesa's thinking.

It felt a little unorthodox, but he had to admit it worked, especially for "influencer" Gym Leaders who already had huge fan bases.

This novel approach had actually proven itself with plenty of young Gym Leaders.

Iono of the Levincia Gym, for instance.

It really was an approach that suited his current circumstances.

"So what should the Sunshine Gym focus on developing right now?"

Rhythmically stroking Eevee's fur, Qingyu lowered his head in thought.

Entertaining streams like Iono's?

"That might be part of it, but it doesn't quite fit."

Besides, after two streams, he could clearly tell that unless he changed something, streaming would have a negligible effect on the gym's popularity.

Ultimately, people followed me to learn how I thought or discover interesting tactics, not for the Sunshine Gym itself.

Wait...

"So the key word was learning all along?"

A flash of inspiration struck Qingyu, and he felt he had found the crux of the matter.

Under his influence, most viewers in his streams and video comments now called themselves students.

Wouldn't that make me the teacher?

If challenging the gym could also teach them something useful, and even leave a stronger impression than learning online, wouldn't that connect it to my streams?

"So how do I highlight the gym's unique appeal?"

Qingyu continued following that train of thought.

The rookie Trainers in this world really were more or less equivalent to students in his previous life.

And if I remember correctly, Naranja Academy's atmosphere was probably still a complete mess right now. Wasn't it basically a school for the nobility?

It wasn't until Penny founded Team Star and blew things up with the school that Naranja Academy finally got back on track.

In other words, Paldea's students were currently crying out for knowledge.

I'd found the local population's most fundamental need!

"What's the best way to gauge a student's level?"

"An exam!"

Paldea's gyms already had a tradition of adding minigames before challenges, so he could simply set up a placement test.

No, no.

Looks like I still wasn't evil enough.

"Exams alone aren't enough to help students improve."

Just like Naranja Academy's midterms and finals, questions that easy would make even elementary schoolers shake their heads.

So he needed some obscure yet genuinely useful material-knowledge that would pay off as soon as they learned it.

What if the Q&A segments in my videos formed part of the gym test's question bank?

That would take the online-offline integration straight to the max!

Qingyu felt like an absolute genius.

At his current pace, by the time the gym became somewhat popular, his pool of questions would probably have grown considerably.

Want to challenge the gym? Go watch all my instructional videos carefully first!

The Sunshine Gym would help you catch up on everything Naranja Academy had failed to teach you;

And if we became one of Victory Road's designated gyms, wouldn't that let me really torment... educate a whole bunch of rookie Trainers?

Just then, the text gradually fading before Qingyu's eyes began scrolling again.

[With your first challenger having arrived, you can expect more Trainers to come knocking.]

[Under your leadership, the Sunshine Gym is steadily flourishing. Passing the gym assessment is surely only a matter of time.]

[Having been given a second life, you know very well how important this gym assessment is.]

[Besides preserving the gym's official status, becoming one of the "Eight Gyms" is another goal you must strive toward.]

[New mission unlocked: Pass the Paldea League's gym qualification assessment.]

[Reward: Determined by your assessment results.]

Just as I thought!

The information supplied by the system matched Qingyu's own thinking perfectly.

That made him even more certain his idea was right. Perhaps he could start trying it out on Nemona tomorrow.

Nemona's command skills and ability to read a battle weren't bad. Learning a more flexible style would definitely do wonders for her growth.

Still, it might give her a bit of a headache at first.

"Well, you have to suffer a little to get stronger, right? Nemona should understand... probably?"

Qingyu muttered under his breath.

Just then, his phone on the table suddenly vibrated twice.

Had someone replied to him?

Qingyu quickly caught on, set Eevee down on the other side of the sofa, and picked up his phone.

It was a message from Iono.

[Iono: Ciallo~(∠ω<)⌒★, you should feel honored that Iono-sama herself added you as a friend~]

Readers who've played Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have probably all suffered under the final exams, right? Personally, when I played, all I could think was how annoying they were. Why did I have to take remedial lessons, too...?

In this book, that memory was repaid a hundredfold to the people of Paldea in a strange way. ()