Theo was holding Feebas in his arms, accepting the wave-like cheers and applause from the crowd inside the Gym, when the phone in his pocket suddenly began vibrating violently.
A rapid series of notification sounds rang out—so densely packed it felt like beads strung together, the buzzing almost strong enough to make the phone leap out of his pocket.
Instinctively freeing one hand, he fished out his phone. The moment the screen lit up, the densely stacked notification banners nearly made him lose his grip.
They were all notifications from the livestream platform:
"Popularity Surge!"
"Large Donation Received!"
The red numbers refreshed so quickly that they blurred before his eyes.
But the most eye-catching popup was unmistakable:
"Your livestream has been officially pinned to the Home Page Recommendation Slot."
"...What?"
Theo froze on the spot. His fingertip slid across the screen, and there at the top of his stream interface were two golden, glowing comments hovering motionlessly. Beside them, the viewer count displayed a bright red number:
1,023,567
Still rising at alarming speed.
"We broke one million viewers!"
Only then did Theo finally come back to his senses. It was because Former Champion Steven Stone and Master Coordinator and Champion Wallace Waterford had suddenly appeared in his stream, even sending words of praise and showering him with donations.
He hurriedly hugged Feebas closer and turned toward the camera, bowing deeply. His voice couldn't hide his excitement:
"Thank you, Champion Steven and Champion Wallace, for your praise, encouragement, and donations! This is really too much of a surprise!"
The moment Theo finished speaking, the barrage in the livestream instantly surged into another wave of uncontrollable excitement. Comment after comment poured down like torrential rain, nearly drowning the entire screen:
"Who is this streamer?! Both Champion Steven and Champion Wallace tipped him? That's insane!"
"Seriously! Hoenn's two top champions watching a new trainer's Gym battle—am I dreaming?!"
"Calm down, calm down, newbies! Don't forget—Tyrunt was a gift from Champion Steven! Makes perfect sense!"
"I'm a bit curious though. Steven appearing, okay, but why is Champion Wallace here too?"
"Steven and Wallace sending messages together… I feel like I'm sensing something interesting here."
"Are the two Champions… like… together right now? Is the bromance real?"
"..."
Just as the viewers were losing themselves in speculation, Wallace's golden comment glided across the screen again, accompanied by dazzling glowing effects. It instantly seized everyone's attention:
[Wallace: I'll take this chance to announce that I will serve as a special judge for the upcoming Rustboro Contest. Registration closes in two days. I look forward to seeing trainers and their partners showcase their finest performances~]
"!!!The Top Master Coordinator Wallace Waterford is going to be a Special Judge?!"
"Rustboro Contest, I'm coming!!"
"Streamer! Feebas has to participate! Even Champion Wallace praised its move control!"
"You must go! Getting direct feedback from Wallace himself—this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
"I'm going to the venue in person! I want to see Wallace live!"
The atmosphere in the livestream exploded to its limit. Viewers who were previously focused on the Gym battle instantly shifted to discussing the upcoming Contest. Discussion volume skyrocketed, and related keywords surged straight into the platform's trending list.
Theo looked at the flood of scrolling comments on screen, then lowered his head to gaze at the Feebas in his arms. He gently scratched its head with a finger, eyes full of warmth.
"You see? The stage is already set. Next—it's all up to your performance."
Feebas seemed to somewhat understand. It swished its tail, its violet scales reflecting tiny sparkles under the Gym lights. With a burst of excitement, it rubbed its head against Theo's palm.
…
At that moment, Gym Leader Roxanne walked out from the back of the Gym, holding a palm-sized, silver-white stone in her hands.
The stone was smooth and glossy throughout, its surface covered with fine crystalline patterns. Under the light, faint ripples of energy shimmered across it, giving it a refined, almost artistic beauty.
"Take this," she said, handing the stone to Theo with a sincere, gentle tone.
"This is a Hard Stone. It contains pure Rock-type energy. Let your Pokémon carry it, and it will increase their sensitivity to Rock energy. It helps them learn Rock-type moves more easily, and it can also enhance the power of those moves."
Theo quickly waved his hands, startled:
"Gym Leader, this is too valuable. I can't accept it…"
"Take it. It's not nearly as valuable as you think," Roxanne interrupted him, her voice firm but warm.
"This is a standard training tool for Rock-type Pokémon. When a challenger impresses me enough during a Gym battle, besides awarding the badge, I also sometimes give an additional prize."
Her gaze softened further as she continued:
"Besides, Theo—
Your battle today holds special meaning for me."
She paused, looking down at the Feebas in his arms, her eyes filled with unhidden admiration and relief.
"Many of the students in our academy fall into a common trap: believing that only naturally powerful Pokémon are worth training. They become obsessed with winning and losing, blinded by impatience and short-term gains.
And they forget the true essence of being a trainer—
To build a deep, unbreakable bond with their Pokémon.
To patiently uncover the limitless potential hidden within them."
Her voice grew warmer.
"And you and your Pokémon… perfectly embody that truth.
Even a Feebas, often ignored by many, even looked down upon with prejudice, can shine brilliantly if its trainer offers genuine companionship, wholehearted guidance, and unwavering belief.
It can break through all expectations and bloom with its own dazzling brilliance.
This battle video of yours… will become one of my finest teaching materials.
So please—just accept it."
Theo held the cool, smooth Hard Stone in his hand. He could feel the quiet flow of energy within it. His heart warmed, and he no longer refused. Instead, he bowed slightly and said with sincerity:
"Then… thank you very much, Gym Leader Roxanne. Feebas and I are truly grateful for your recognition and your gift. We will keep working hard and we won't let your expectations down!"
"Oh right," Roxanne said suddenly, as if remembering something. She took out her phone with a smile.
"Let's exchange contact information. If you ever have questions about Rock-type Pokémon training or battle techniques, feel free to message me anytime."
Theo eagerly agreed. They exchanged contacts, and seeing Roxanne's name appear in his list filled him with warmth and satisfaction.
...
When the Gym challenge finally concluded, Theo returned to his hotel.
His gaze fell upon his system interface. Lines of glowing numbers shimmered before his eyes, clearly documenting the spectacular results of today's livestream:
[Today's Livestream Duration: 58 minutes]
[Peak Concurrent Viewers: 1,441,645]
[Total Popularity Points: 1,127,896]
In less than an hour, he had accumulated nearly one million popularity points—
enough for a ten-pull Advanced Draw.
Theo stared at the bright red numbers, a powerful surge of excitement and heat rising in his chest.
This rapid influx of popularity meant that his livestream system had finally broken free of its earlier stagnation and could now reveal its true potential.
Before this, he could only rely on scattered clips of daily Pokémon training to slowly accumulate popularity—a painfully slow process.
It wasn't until he coincidentally met Champion Steven and revived Tyrunt that his viewer numbers began to rise steadily.
Compared to how deserted his stream had once been, the improvement was dramatic.
But even so, saving up ten thousand popularity points for each Advanced Draw still required a considerable amount of time.
Yet today, the sudden appearance of Steven and Wallace, two top Champions, arriving together, donating, praising, and interacting—acted like twin rockets propelling his stream upward, detonating a massive wave of attention and sending him straight to the top of the platform.
The name "Theo " had, in a very short time, become known to many trainers.
His popularity soared, breaking through numbers he had never dreamed of.
Theo's conviction deepened—
his long-term strategy for livestreaming had been correct from the start.
Repeating monotonous training streams every day was pointless.
Instead, it was far more effective to lengthen the intervals between livestreams, use short training clips to maintain interest, and then let Gym battles or Contest rounds showcase the full fruits of his work to a broader audience.
Today's first Gym battle had already drawn in a huge number of viewers who loved battle content. Now, his next target was clear:
The Pokémon Contest.
He wanted to appear in the Contest as a rookie Pokémon Coordinator, allowing Feebas to shine with its beautiful water-and-ice combination techniques.
Through dazzling displays, he would attract viewers who favored beauty, creativity, and artistry—expanding his overall audience even further.
Now that his system was finally on the right track, all he needed was to seize the upcoming Contest opportunity and ride the wave of momentum.
If he could make his stream more popular and beloved, he could accumulate enough popularity points to fuel future Advanced Draws.
"Finally… I don't have to worry about Advanced Draw requirements anymore."
Theo let out a soft, relieved laugh to himself.
His fingers glided across the glowing system interface, stopping at the "Advanced Draw" button.
Without hesitation, he tapped it—triggering a ten-pull.
Then, seeing he still had over a hundred thousand remaining points, he made up his mind and invested them all into the Intermediate Draws as well, hoping to get more move-type rewards to enrich the skill pools of both Feebas and Tyrunt.
(End of Chapter)