Chapter 3: A Trainer's Body, Rivaling a Legendary!
In Asher's memory, his runaway father had once said something.
The true "Sword of the Land" was never the castle standing in their homeland.
It was the inherited skill.
Using this as the dojo's name was perfect.
Asher looked at the Farfetch'd by his side, crouching down to meet its gaze, his expression serious.
"Starting today, we're going to revitalize the dojo. Are you ready?"
"Kabu! Kabu!"
Farfetch'd tucked its leek at its side, patted its chest, and nodded heavily.
A true warrior bravely faces any challenge!
...
After gathering the necessary logs, Asher started recording a video with his phone.
The quality was mediocre, but he had no better options for now. Those expensive sports cameras were not something he could afford.
As for the video's length, considering short-form video was the current mainstream, he had to throw the most exciting part right at the beginning.
The battle with Farfetch'd.
It had to vividly showcase the appeal of the cross-guard sword and the battle between a human and a Pokémon.
A short, fast-paced, and intense fight.
The clash of blades was what users wanted to see.
To put it in one phrase:
The stage is set for an unpredictable destiny!
"Hmm..."
Asher rubbed his chin, opened the [PokéTV] app on his phone, changed his username to [HyperDimensionPlayer], and started typing the title for his first video.
[A Trainer's Body, Rivaling a Legendary Pokémon!!]
After all that, it was almost evening.
Asher stretched, started preparing his curry for dinner, and didn't bother checking the video's stats.
...
Paldea region, Levincia.
Night had just fallen, and some streamers were already starting their broadcasts.
"Wassup, peeps!"
"Are you ready?"
"'Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! Iono's here!"
The beautiful and popular streamer, Iono, who was also the Levincia Electric-type Gym Leader and ran the hit show "The Iono Zone," started her broadcast as usual.
She had a massive following on [PokéTV].
"I'm gonna Electroweb your eyeballs!"
"Good mornight! Bonjourno!"
"It's tiiime for the Iono Zone~!"
The girl flashed a sunny smile.
Her giant Magnemite-like hair ornaments, the bow-shaped highlights in her bangs, her striking serrated shark-like teeth, her mismatched twin-tails, and her mischievous smile.
Combined with her oversized punk jacket and petite frame.
From top to bottom.
She was overflowing with trendy, pop elements.
"Today, your girl Iono~ wants to check out some vids with you all! Let's see what kinda stuff you peeps are watchin' online~!"
Iono waved her baggy sleeves, brimming with energy, instantly setting off a flood of comments.
[Iono is super cute today too!]
[I recommend a new video, 'A Trainer's Body, Rivaling a Legendary Pokémon!!' This new uploader is insane!]
[Oh yeah! I just saw that one too! It's legit!]
[A human rivaling a Pokémon? A Legendary? For real?]
[Well, it's not a Legendary, it's a Farfetch'd. But I'm still wondering if it's special effects. It feels like something straight out of a game! Iono, you gotta check it out!]
[Huh? What are you guys talking about? Is it really that good?]
Seeing the heated discussion in the chat, Iono's interest was piqued.
"Oh-ho! Looks like everyone's eyes have turned into little Magnemites and found something suuuper interesting! Your girl Iono can't miss out!"
Iono blinked and quickly found the video.
It had only been posted for a few hours but already had hundreds of thousands of views. Those were amazing numbers for a new uploader.
This got Iono even more excited.
After all, uploaders and streamers were in different lanes, so she didn't have to worry about him stealing her traffic.
Iono clicked on the video, set her stream delay to the minimum so she and her audience could watch it at the same time.
The video showed an empty yard. A young man with a cross-guard sword stood opposite a Farfetch'd, which was gathering its strength.
Unlike a normal Farfetch'd, this one's eyes were exceptionally sharp. A white light gathered on its leek as it charged the young man like a gale, slashing down hard!
Iono recognized it instantly.
That was the Farfetch'd move—Fury Cutter!
The young man simply held his cross-guard sword, took one step forward, twisted his waist and arm to put power into his swing, and met the attack with a heavy slash of his own!
Leek met cross-guard sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out, the shockwave kicking up fallen leaves.
Completely unharmed, the young man flawlessly blocked the continuous slashes and even pressed forward, forcing the attacking Farfetch'd to retreat.
Iono's eyes went wide, her hand covering her mouth.
At the same time, the comments exploded.
[Holy smokes! Is this Trainer even legit?!]
[Is he trying to scare the Gym Leader into submission with those muscles? I know a little kung fu myself!]
[This isn't something you can do with just muscle! His sword technique is incredible. That power generation just now was not normal!]
[Yeah, yeah, sure. It's probably staged, right?]
[That's it? I could go up there and take a hit without making a sound!]
[Dude, same here! The uploader would have to beg me not to die!]
As the comments flashed by, Iono snapped back to reality and clapped her hands in praise.
"He really is suuuper strong! If it were him, he could probably even knock a Wattrel right out of the sky!"
More than just being strong, she was curious how he did it. Facing Farfetch'd's attack, he acted like he had it all under control, without a hint of panic.
She watched the video intently, anticipating what came next.
On the screen.
Although the Farfetch'd was pushed back, it quickly regrouped. Bright sunlight began to gather on its 'sword,' shining brilliantly.
"Wait... That's!"
As a Gym Leader, Iono was no stranger to this move.
Solar Blade. It requires time to gather sunlight, then focuses that power into the blade for an attack.
Its power is astonishing!
In a type-advantage situation, this one move could instantly one-shot a Pokémon of the same level!
But the young man just stood there. Not only did he not interrupt Farfetch'd's charge, he actually gripped his cross-guard sword with both hands and took a stance.
Iono sucked in a sharp breath.
Wait... Is this guy... planning to tank it?!
In that instant, the chat comments surged exponentially!
[Huh? He's using Solar Blade?!]
[Dude! We said rival a Pokémon, not surpass it!]
[Holy sh*t! If that hits, the uploader is definitely gonna be paying Miss Joy a visit!]
[Is this really not CGI? How can a real person do this? That's just suicidal!]
[Can he win? He will win!]
[That Farfetch'd is awesome too! I bet it's about to evolve!]
[Is this really the time to be talking about that?!]
A stream of comments flew by. On the screen, the Farfetch'd, having gathered its energy, slashed forward. A massive blade of light cleaved the very ground.
It was about to hit!
Iono's face was tense as she clenched her fists, terrified of an accident in the next second.
At that moment, the young man finally moved.