When Qingyu woke up, his homepage showed 999+ notifications.
He sucked in a sharp breath and tapped into them, his heart racing and his hands trembling with excitement.
Sure enough, they were for the video he had scheduled to go live at midnight last night.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands..."
"Five hundred thousand views???"
After just one night, the video's view count had actually skyrocketed to five hundred thousand!
Qingyu was stunned. He instinctively scratched his head.
I went viral?
But why?
With absolutely no existing fanbase, wasn't going straight onto the trending list overnight less likely than winning the lottery?
Curious, Qingyu opened his video, "Can a level 1 Pokémon sweep battles too?"
"Hello, everyone! I'm Azure Feather, a new streamer."
"Today, I'm bringing you a level 1 strategy. It isn't ideal for climbing the ranks, but it's pretty fun to mess around with."
As his own voice played from the video, a dense stream of scrolling comments soon swept across the footage of yesterday's livestream.
[Congratulations! You've discovered this site's crown jewel!]
[I'd call this the most creative strategy of the year. This streamer is a genius!]
[Anyone else come here through Steven's PokéNav link?]
[Right here, bro. Right here.]
[No wonder even Hoenn Champion Steven couldn't stop praising this strategy. Sadly, I'm not eloquent enough to say anything except holy freaking shit!]
"Steven?"
Qingyu frowned, quickly realizing there was more to this than met the eye.
He immediately opened the comments section.
Sure enough, right at the top, he found the "culprit" behind his video's sudden explosion in popularity.
The user's ID was "Fossil Maniac Steven," and his avatar showed a blue-haired young gentleman in a black suit, exuding an air of aloof nobility.
An eye-catching lightning-bolt verification badge at the bottom right of his avatar marked his identity.
Looking at the handsome face in the avatar, Qingyu unconsciously swallowed and opened his profile.
Over ten million followers and several official verification labels-he was unquestionably one of the world's biggest names.
Hoenn Champion, heir to the Devon Corporation, and the Master-class Trainer currently ranked second in the world: Steven Stone!
"How did my tiny little corner of the internet attract someone this big?"
A few beads of cold sweat trickled down Qingyu's temple.
Granted, every one of Steven's videos concerned fossils or mining, with barely any content about his daily life.
But those verification labels alone were enough to prove his caliber.
Returning to the comments section, Qingyu suddenly felt curious about exactly what Steven had said about his video.
User "Fossil Maniac Steven," posted at 04:04.
Likes: 50,000+
[Thanks for the invite. I'm out at a mining site and just got online, only to find someone recommending this video to me.
I initially thought it would be an ordinary beginner's strategy. I never expected it to nearly overturn my understanding of Pokémon battles...
Sturdy and Endeavor give a mere level 1 Aron the means to turn the tables on stronger opponents. Add Sandstorm as the icing on the cake and the inspired touch of a Shell Bell, and the result is a perfectly coordinated, truly artistic visual feast.
I have to say, the creator is a genius!
Its strengths are clear: it's easy to understand and quick to pick up. Although its vulnerability to multi-hit moves and Ghost-type Pokémon is a fatal weakness, the odds of encountering them aren't actually that high.
It may be difficult to pull off in a real battle, but the creator's care and effort are evident. This is definitely an excellent, highly polished strategy!]
"He rated it that highly?"
Qingyu raised his eyebrows.
He supposed he could understand Steven's outpouring of praise.
Just as he had said in the video, he had a very clear idea of what this strategy was meant to be: a fun gimmick, nothing more.
Every so often, it could frustrate an opponent and produce a surprising result.
But in the current, straightforward battle environment, where everyone essentially just traded blows, it really was a remarkably fresh strategy.
The fact that even Hoenn Champion Steven freely praised it said enough.
Skipping over a crowd of bot-like comments such as "Master Ball!" and "Ten-year Steven fan, dropping in uninvited," Qingyu spotted another follow-up comment from Steven.
It had been posted at half past five, more than an hour after the first comment.
[It's me again. I'm back.
The question the creator left at the end of the video was too intriguing to ignore. After an hour of researching online, I finally reached a definite conclusion before the answer was revealed.
The Pokémon the creator described as "even better suited to an Endeavor strategy" is the Ground-type Pokémon Donphan, right?
Solving the puzzle was certainly satisfying, but what impressed me even more was the creator's solid knowledge and creativity.
He even accounted for the Egg Move Ice Shard. It seems the creator must be an excellent Trainer himself!]
Qingyu slowly typed a question mark.
"Was that question really so hard that even Steven needed an hour of research?"
Still, in this real world, where information could only be found through the Pokédex and the internet, and people's understanding of Pokémon was nowhere near as comprehensive as that of game players in his previous life, it did seem surprisingly reasonable.
After all, it was precisely because it was a game that people could research everything so thoroughly.
In reality, figuring out every move a Pokémon could learn was far less simple.
Even a Champion couldn't memorize the entire Pokédex.
Steven's answer was unquestionably correct.
Donphan was a Ground-type Pokémon. Like Aron, it was immune to Sandstorm damage, possessed the Sturdy Ability, and could learn Endeavor.
Anything Aron could do, Donphan could do as well.
But one easily overlooked detail made it the best fit for an Endeavor strategy.
Donphan could inherit Ice Shard.
Among Pokémon moves, Ice Shard was a priority move in the same bracket as Quick Attack and Bullet Punch, allowing the user to strike extremely quickly.
Even against an opponent Sandstorm couldn't finish off, Ice Shard could swiftly land the final blow.
Qingyu suddenly felt a little admiration for this Hoenn Champion.
Steven should have had no prior exposure to Endeavor strategies, yet by screening Pokémon in the Pokédex, he had managed to find the optimal answer through sheer elimination...
Damn. No wonder Steven was the king of grinding!
This long-distance assist from the Hoenn Champion had clearly brought Qingyu rewards far beyond his expectations.
Overnight, his account's follower count had jumped a whole digit, rising from the thousand-plus he had after ending his stream to over ten thousand.
That growth rate was already ridiculous, and it was still accelerating rather than slowing down.
Once Qingyu noticed that, his mood brightened too.
After liking Steven's comments and several other popular ones, he pinned a comment revealing the correct answer and added a teaser for tonight's stream.
"No snitches tonight. Let's give our opponents a little Spikes-induced shock~"
With that little online episode dealt with, Qingyu quickly washed up and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself and Eevee.
According to Blue's breeding notes, ready-made meals and Pokéblocks were certainly convenient, but food made with a Trainer's own care was more likely to touch a partner's heart.
If he wanted to become an excellent breeder, he couldn't neglect his cooking skills either.
"I've never cooked in either of my lives, but if I just follow the steps in the notes, nothing should go wrong, right?"
To save himself the trouble yesterday, he and Eevee had eaten assorted Paldea-style meals he had stocked up on. It really was time for a change.
Qingyu figured he probably didn't have a talent for creating culinary abominations.
He was wrong.
Just one hour later.
By the time Eevee woke up naturally and shuffled into the kitchen, still groggy and swaggering as though it owned the place...
"Forget it. I really don't think I'm cut out for this."
Qingyu sighed and poured another pot of bizarre food down the drain. Its color was right, but it had turned into a mass of mush.
The proportions were precise, and the heat should have been just right. Why did it always come out looking wrong, with a taste that was somehow inexplicable too?
It's not like I added water from the Ganges.
Forget it. I'll let someone else earn that money.
"To celebrate hitting ten thousand followers, I'll take Eevee to Flat Dish Town for a feast today."
There was no point forcing something that wasn't meant to be. Sometimes, decisively giving up was a perfectly good choice.
In the end, he chose to accept his shortcomings.
Blindly trusting a book was worse than having no book at all. Blue's theories weren't necessarily entirely right either.
I'll prove I can become an excellent Trainer even without any talent for cooking!
"Vee?"
Watching its Trainer suddenly get fired up for no apparent reason, Eevee slowly sprouted a question mark above its round little head.
Guys, I'm boldly asking you all for a few more comments. Pretty please! ()
During a new book's launch period, reading time and comments are both really important metrics alongside reader retention. I read all your comments!
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