Say what you would about him, Xia Chi really did have the looks.
His first appearance on camera in ages instantly sent the chat into overdrive.
"After a whole month, Mr. Water finally shows his face!"
"Aaaaaah! Hubby, hubby, hubby!"
"Streamer, streamer, guess where I put my phone?"
"Tell us something we don't know."
"So old Water really is a Trainer! You must be pretty strong, right? Can you show me your trophies?"
Xia Chi replied to the chat with exasperation written all over his face. "I'm a rookie Trainer, guys. I don't have any skill, and I don't have any... ahem. Let's look at my Sprigatito instead, everyone."
With that, Xia Chi pointed the camera back at Sprigatito, who was playing nearby.
The early morning sunlight slanted through the branches, scattering flecks of gold that traced the forest's mottled autumn colors. The little Pokémon bounced excitedly over the carpet of fallen leaves.
That adorable sight instantly won over everyone in the stream.
"Being this cute should be illegal!"
"Quick, take its batteries out!"
Comments like those kept scrolling past.
Xia Chi promptly steered things back on track. "All right, back to business. Over the next two days, Sprigatito and I will be doing a forty-eight-hour wilderness training challenge on the outskirts of Mingchong Mountain. We'll also see if we can catch a Pokémon I like along the way."
As he led Sprigatito deeper into the mountains, Xia Chi kept chatting with his viewers.
"Do I really dare head into the wild with just one Sprigatito? You bet I do, bro. There aren't any particularly dangerous Pokémon in this area. Don't underestimate my intel-gathering skills!"
That was true. Xia Chi was cautious, and he had done plenty of preparation when choosing the location.
There hadn't been a major incident involving Trainer casualties in Mingchong Mountain's open-access area for several years.
It was easily one of the best places for rookie Trainers to train in the wild.
Besides, being a Trainer was a profession that went hand in hand with danger.
If he wouldn't even take this much of a risk, he might as well go home and settle for streaming games.
Perhaps humans really had been a kind of Pokémon millions of years ago.
Xia Chi felt that his current physical fitness was more than a cut above what it had been in his previous life.
He had spent over an hour walking while chatting and bantering with his viewers, yet he still wasn't tired.
What he could definitely feel, though, was that the path underfoot was getting harder to navigate, and there were more and more wild Pokémon around him.
Most were weak, common Pokémon like Oddish, Caterpie, Wurmple, Seedot, and Cherubi.
Xia Chi had no desire to catch them, nor did he see any point in having Sprigatito bully them.
So he hurried past beneath their curious, inquisitive gazes.
Xia Chi's first destination was a dense forest on the southern slopes of Mingchong Mountain.
While looking up guides on the Little Blue Book before coming, he had seen someone mention spotting Grovyle and Ivysaur there.
Both were Grass-type Pokémon Xia Chi was considering, so of course he wanted to try his luck.
It was just rather far away. Without a Ride Pokémon, Xia Chi would need at least three or four hours to get there on foot.
That was undoubtedly a long journey, especially for a livestream.
Although Xia Chi's gift of gab and Sprigatito's good looks were carrying the stream, content without battles or anything happening was still a little dull.
As time passed, some viewers began leaving one after another.
But a turning point soon arrived.
Just over halfway through the journey, Xia Chi and Sprigatito encountered their first incident.
When it came to the most common "villain Pokémon" in the mountain forests of regions like Donghuang and Kanto, there was one clear answer.
It was undoubtedly Beedrill, fiercely territorial, bad-tempered, and extremely united.
The Spearow that had pecked at Ash and his legendary Pikachu could also be said to fall into the same category.
Humans weren't the only ones who couldn't escape their poisonous stingers; other Pokémon couldn't either.
They were the bullies of the mountains, the thugs of the forest.
At that moment, a swarm of Beedrill nearby was sharpening its gleaming stingers, with a Pachirisu surrounded in the middle.
Pachirisu faced down the swarm with a stubborn look, clutching several Oran Berries and Yache Berries and refusing to let go.
Clearly, this was a struggle over resources, something utterly commonplace in the wild.
"It's the White Demon! Streamer, don't just leave it to die!"
"Easy for you to say. There are ten Beedrill, and they've all evolved twice. How's he supposed to save it? With a Sprigatito that hasn't evolved even once?"
"Agreed. Safety comes first. Run before the Beedrill notice us!"
"I became a fan after that game where Pachirisu beat Raihan, but I still don't think that's a reason to get involved."
"."
Though the chat usually joked around, when something actually happened, most viewers supported Xia Chi putting his own safety first.
Out in the wild, that was also the most normal course of action.
But Xia Chi stayed where he was without moving.
He hadn't frozen in fear, nor was he about to start milking his viewers for gifts with something like, "Send me one Master Ball, and I'll save Pachirisu."
He was considering whether he could defeat this swarm of Beedrill.
One against ten, and a base form against third-stage evolutions at that. It seemed like an impossible fantasy, but that wasn't necessarily the case.
Bug-type Pokémon were famous for developing quickly.
In the games, a Weedle evolved into Metapod at level seven and could become Beedrill at level ten.
Reality wasn't much different.
Even in the wild, without any human training, a Weedle only needed a month or two to evolve into Kakuna and then transform into Beedrill.
Perhaps not even that long.
So although these swaggering Beedrill were already third-stage evolutions, individually, they were most likely weaker than Sprigatito was now. The disparity in numbers, however, was undeniably considerable.
Xia Chi glanced down at Sprigatito. A fierce hunger for battle was already blazing in those eyes, as though the Pokémon was only waiting for a command.
In that case, they would fight!
Xia Chi said quietly, "Not yet, Sprigatito. Use Hone Claws first."
Time spent honing claws wouldn't delay the bee-slaying. There were plenty of enemies, after all. If a stat boost let them knock one out immediately, the rest would be much easier to handle.
But the Beedrill weren't stupid either. When they sensed Dark-type energy spreading nearby, one of their scouts spotted Xia Chi and Sprigatito hiding behind the bushes.
At that point, Sprigatito had only just finished the first Hone Claws, its effect merely equivalent to half a Swords Dance.
The first strike held the advantage. Xia Chi immediately shouted, "Sprigatito, the closest one! Acrobatics!"
Already primed for battle, Sprigatito shot forward.
Slender yet powerful limbs gripped the ground firmly, and a single leap sent the Pokémon charging up to the scout Beedrill.
At the same time, Flying-type energy gathered beneath those claws.
The [protean] Ability also changed Sprigatito into the same Flying type as the move, making the Pokémon's whole body look lighter and more freely extended.
Flying-type energy, fierce as a gale, kept gathering at Sprigatito's claw tips, giving off faint, piercing cracks.
Then the claws suddenly came down.
Smack!
Before the scout Beedrill could react at all, its head tilted to one side, and it dropped straight toward the ground like an overripe Berry.
One-hit knockout!
Never mind the other Beedrill-even the viewers were stunned by this completely unexpected scene.
A baby Pokémon that had never evolved had knocked out a powerful Beedrill in one hit?
All right, Beedrill's strength certainly didn't qualify as "powerful."
But treating it like some roadside pest to be kicked dead was still a little excessive, wasn't it?
Before you continue