Iono's last livestream had actually been quite a while ago.
Compared to her previously fixed streaming schedule, her streams lately had become irregular—long stretches of silence, followed by sudden, unscheduled broadcasts.
But strangely enough, this didn't dampen her popularity. If anything, more and more people had started following her channel, and at one point her name was even trending outside her usual audience.
That little trip to Kitakami had basically skyrocketed her from a Paldean local favorite to a cross-region sensation.
Every day, countless people sat by their phones and computers, waiting for her to go live—among them, not just casual viewers, but even some well-known Trainers who had joined her fanbase.
After all, who doesn't love a goofy, shark-toothed shiny Magnemite mascot?
You could say Iono's career had completely hit the jackpot.
It wasn't hard to understand why—after all, a Legendary Pokémon had appeared in her last stream.
And not just any Legendary, but one of unknown identity. That alone was enough to keep people glued to her channel.
Maybe, just maybe, that same Legendary would show up again the next time she went live.
Plenty of viewers were thinking that. They all wanted to seize the chance to study that mysterious Pokémon in detail.
But to their disappointment, today's stream—while hardly "boring"—ended up revolving around yet another Rocket incident.
And the mysterious "male friend" in her stream once again took matters into his own hands, easily thrashing the bumbling Rocket grunts.
Yet the anticipated Legendary never appeared.
At most, the audience occasionally heard its cry in the background, but Iono stubbornly refused to point her camera toward the adorable culprit—deliberately stringing everyone along.
It was pure bait. Like watching a martial artist pull his strike at the very last second, just to tease.
So when the audience assumed today's stream would just be about the fight with Team Rocket and nothing more…
Kieran showed up.
And the viewers watched live as Haru released his Pokémon from its Poké Ball.
At first glance, the Pokémon that appeared wasn't large, imposing, or majestic. It looked like nothing more than a small, pink cat.
But the moment they saw it—even Blue—everyone froze.
And then the chat exploded.
"Zoroark? Ditto? Or one of those rumored Typhlosion impostors?"
"No way… it can't really be that Pokémon, right?"
"Impossible! Someone actually caught a Mythical Pokémon?"
"No, no—that's gotta be an illusion. Totally fake!"
"Streamer, was this your plan all along, keeping us waiting for weeks just to drop a bomb like this? Okay… I admit you got me good."
"I'd sooner believe it's just a Latias or Latios in disguise."
"A Mythical…? That's insane. I'd rather deal with another Legendary!"
"Excuse me, lady, you're blocking the camera—can you let us see the pink kitty?"
"Mew you're a pink Hakimi aaaaaaaaahhh!!!"
Yes—what appeared on stream was none other than Haru's very first partner: Mew.
Had no one seen Ogerpon appear in an earlier stream, the chat might have dismissed today's sighting as another shapeshifting Zoroark or Ditto trick.
After all, fake "Legendaries" had been pulled before. One famous story told of a Trainer who forfeited in fear after seeing a Zapdos, only to discover later it had been a Zoroark's perfect imitation.
That fiasco even sparked ridiculous stunts—like people parading a fake "Suicune" around, demanding fishing net factories shut down in the name of Pokémon rights.
Eventually, Zoroark who had once glimpsed Legendaries became premium commodities, valued more than normal ones.
Why? Because even if it didn't give you real battle power, it gave you bragging rights.
And in this world, you can throw away a lot of things—but never your bragging rights.
So normally, people would've just assumed Haru's Pokémon had seen Mew before. Impressive, yes, but nothing beyond that.
But this was different.
Haru had already revealed an unknown Legendary and shown its power.
Now he brought out Mew.
The audience couldn't help but question—was this really just another disguise, or was it the genuine article?
Blue, in particular, felt the pressure. He had a match with Haru coming up, and for the first time in ages, the usually carefree Champion was sweating.
If that really was Mew, how was he supposed to handle it? Send out his under-trained Charizard? Against a Mythical?
And he couldn't back down now—the challenge had been his idea. If he chickened out just because Haru brought Mew, people would call him a coward.
He could already hear the mocking voices of his old rivals—especially Red. That guy would never let him live it down.
Blue could only pray it was a Ditto or Zoroark after all. Because if it really was Mew, he didn't stand a chance.
Meanwhile, Kieran showed no such concern. He recognized Mew instantly, but scoffed. To him, it was nothing more than a bluff—an illusionary trick to mask Haru's weakness.
"Dragonite, don't be afraid. That Mew is fake. Use Dragon Dance, and then show them what we're made of!"
Dragonite spun into motion, boosting its power.
The chat panicked.
"Why isn't Mew moving?!"
"Do something!"
"C'mon, Trainer, step in already!"
But Haru simply raised an eyebrow, letting the setup play out.
Mew yawned, clearly more interested in returning to her Poké Ball to play games than fighting. Still, she decided to humor her Trainer.
Finally, Haru gave the order:
"Mew, Ice Beam."
The command stunned Kieran. Zoroark couldn't learn Ice Beam. Ditto? Latias? What was he really facing?
His instincts screamed one thing: dodge now.
"Dragonite, take to the skies—then hit it with Hurricane!"
Dragonite barely avoided the beam, proving it was no amateur.
But Haru's voice cut through the chaos:
"Mew… use Imprison."
The effect was immediate. Dragonite plummeted mid-flight, crashing to the ground, thrashing in confusion as its moves slipped from memory.
The audience erupted in disbelief.
Kieran's face went red. "No… it's actually Mew?!"
Haru calmly held out his arm. Mew lazily curled up on it, stretching like she'd just woken from a nap, utterly unbothered by the battle.
Meanwhile, Dragonite scratched its head in panic—its entire move set locked away.
That was the terror of Imprison.
Since Mew could learn virtually any move, once she sealed them off, her opponent's options were reduced to nothing.
It was one-sided domination.
Blue, watching from afar, felt his heart sink. He slammed his fist on the desk.
"Damn it… he really has a Mew. And not just that—one that knows Imprison!"
Still, he clenched his jaw.
I won't lose. Not to anyone but Red.
"I'll win. I have to win!"