When Ai Xia first entered the wild area of Ancient Sword Mountain, he could still frequently spot the figures of trainers and Pokémon flickering between the dense trees.
Most of them were rookies or relatively inexperienced trainers.
These people couldn't help but shoot Ai Xia and his Caterpie strange looks—because seriously, bringing a Caterpie as your guardian Pokémon was practically performance art.
Not that anyone actually bothered to mock him.
After all, everyone was busy. Nobody had time for that classic "Arrogant Young Master" nonsense...
Ai Xia and Caterpie simply ignored the occasional stares and pressed deeper into Ancient Sword Mountain.
The former had already developed thick skin from being a streamer.
The latter, meanwhile, had literally faced power beyond comprehension—its only two opponents being Legendary Pokémon—so a few judgmental glances meant nothing.
Besides, Ai Xia had a solid training plan. The areas they were exploring shouldn't have any Pokémon too strong for them to handle.
Even if they ran into something unbeatable, they could always retreat.
As long as he didn't make any stupid mistakes, neither he nor Caterpie were in real danger.
"Ancient Sword Mountain has a great ecosystem—forests, mountains, lakes, cliffs, even caves. Plenty of Pokémon species live here, making it perfect for training or finding new team members."
Standing before a towering tree, Ai Xia scanned the area. Weak Pokémon like Rattata and Oddish occasionally peeked out from the grass, their wide eyes full of wariness as they stared at him. He pocketed his phone, which had been displaying the mountain's map.
He and Caterpie were still at the outskirts of Ancient Sword Mountain.
The local Pokémon were weak and non-aggressive, hence the abundance of rookie trainers.
Most of them were probably wandering around hoping to stumble upon rare items or challenge other trainers for practice.
Ai Xia had no interest in wasting time here.
His goal was the deeper, less-traveled regions—places where stronger Pokémon roamed, possibly even wild herds. Perfect for grinding EXP for Caterpie.
After about an hour, once Ai Xia was sure no other trainers were around, he finally released his pre-programmed streaming drone.
"Alright, time to start."
He pulled out his phone and glanced at Caterpie, who had been dutifully guarding him the whole way.
They had run into a few wild Pokémon along the journey—Rattata, Spearow, the usual suspects—but Caterpie had handled them easily with its String Shot + Electroweb combo.
[Caterpie's Glow-Up: Brutal Wild Training in Ancient Sword Mountain! No Fakes, Just Pain!]
After setting the stream title, Ai Xia went live.
"Alright, let's do this!"
With his usual catchphrase, the feed from his drone linked to his phone, broadcasting the scene to his viewers.
The moment they saw Ai Xia and Caterpie deep in the wilderness—with two completely silk-wrapped Paras lying defeated nearby—the chat exploded.
You're actually serious?!
[You really went to Ancient Sword Mountain to train?!]
This message came from his top donor, "Ghost-Type Otaku." The likely-rich fan was clearly shocked he'd followed through.
"Of course. Coach Ai doesn't do fake challenges."
Seeing the donor's message, Ai Xia flashed a perfectly wholesome smile.
Ghost-Type Otaku didn't have any official verification, but from what Ai Xia had observed, this viewer always dropped scary-accurate insights during his online battles. Probably a skilled but low-key trainer.
Or maybe some bigshot's alt account.
Sure, he technically had Red's backing now, but this donor was still his top supporter—gotta keep 'em happy.
"Now, let me introduce today's star—Coach Ai's very own Caterpie!"
Stepping back, he angled the drone's camera toward Caterpie.
"Mii!"
Instantly, the camera-savvy bug struck a "bodybuilding" pose, wriggling proudly.
Sure, a giant caterpillar flexing was bizarre to look at...
But the viewers weren't laughing.
Because Ai Xia's Caterpie was freakishly well-developed.
[That thing's a Caterpie?!]
[LOL!]
[Damn… no wonder you're a breeding prodigy. That thing's jacked.]
[Yo, lemme check how 'developed' it is—]
[Bro, don't. That Caterpie could probably solo most Butterfree without breaking a sweat. Unless you want Coach Ai to come for you.]
Even Green, watching from his own phone, was stunned.
And honestly? The reactions were justified.
According to the Pokédex, the average Caterpie was 0.3 meters long.
Ai Xia's Caterpie? Over a meter. A monstrous worm oozing across the ground.
Yet, despite being three times the size of a normal Caterpie, it didn't give off the usual "weak and gross" vibe people expected from Bug-types.
Its sheer size was somehow not off-putting—especially with those bright, sharp eyes. If anything, it looked powerful, like some kind of… mini-dragon.
"So? This is the star of today's solo training run. For this trip, I'm clearing the wilds with just this one Pokémon!"
Scooping Caterpie into a hug, Ai Xia grinned at the camera and dropped an even bigger bombshell.
The chat lost it.
[I didn't believe Coach Ai when he said he'd solo Ancient Sword Mountain with a Caterpie…]
[At this point, if you told me this was a baby Rayquaza, I'd believe you.]
[Hot guy and giant bug… heh. I'm into it.]
[Mods, ban that last one. Too weird.]
[Ngl, I kinda wanna see it too… flower-eating insect vibes.]
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