The Vermilion Gym was a modern facility, but its exterior was adorned with several massive lightning bolt symbols, making it clear at a glance that this Gym specialized in Electric-type pokémon.
"Start the stream first!"
Standing at the main entrance, Adrian turned on his phone and started the livestream before officially making his challenge.
"Brothers, we've arrived at the Vermilion Gym. Next, watch as little Pichu shows off its divine might!"
Adrian greeted his audience, and the adorable Pichu popped out from behind his head right on cue, waving to the viewers in the livestream room.
"Let's do this!"
"Go Pichu! If you win, I'll tip you a Master Ball. If you lose, just ditch this dummy Trainer and come to me! I'll take good care of you!"
"Get lost, guy above! If little Pichu is going to switch, it should be to me, because I happen to be in Vermilion City right now."
"Alright, I'm running to the Vermilion Gym now to camp at the entrance and pick up the pieces."
Since the stream time had been announced in advance, there were quite a few viewers waiting, and a large volume of bullet comments flooded in as soon as the stream started.
"Don't worry, everyone! This battle is a guaranteed win!"
Adrian was brimming with confidence.
This was because the Raichu that Lt. Surge would use was not his true ace pokémon, but a fighter pokémon quickly raised specifically to handle Gym challenges.
This Raichu's weakness was that it evolved too quickly, leaving it with a weak foundation; it hadn't even had time to learn moves that increased its speed.
In the anime, although this Raichu initially used high-powered Electric-type moves to easily crush and defeat Ash's Pikachu,
it was helpless during the rematch when faced with the harassment of Pikachu's Agility.
As for Pichu, its skill list was far more luxurious than Ash's Pikachu's.
Combined with the 'Lightning Rod' ability which granted immunity to Electric-type moves, how could he lose?
Boom!
Holding his phone, Adrian pushed open the doors emblazoned with the lightning symbol and strode inside: "Hello, is anyone here? I'm Adrian from Cerulean City, here specifically to challenge the Vermilion Gym."
The interior of the facility was dim, making it hard to see deep inside, but two Trainers—a man and a woman—stood at the entrance with cold expressions.
Seeing that Adrian was just a young boy, the female Trainer with red hair and a hot figure immediately turned back and said, "Leader, another victim has arrived!"
As soon as she spoke, a Trainer with a physique as burly as a giant stood up from a seat in the shadows; it was the Vermilion Gym Leader, Lt. Surge.
"Let me see!"
Lt. Surge stepped out from the shadows, radiating pressure with every step, his presence incredibly imposing.
Adrian had to tilt his head back just to see his face clearly.
Adrian wasn't short, but in front of Lt. Surge, he felt like a dwarf.
"He's here! The Vermilion Gym Leader, Lt. Surge!"
"This guy must be from a race of giants, right? He's at least two meters tall."
"Eh? Isn't that the captain of the S.S. Anne? I saw him on the S.S. Anne last time!"
"Is the guy above stupid? Don't you know that almost every Gym Leader has a side job?"
The bullet comments immediately became active when Lt. Surge appeared.
Trainers who had come to challenge the Vermilion Gym before understood Lt. Surge's terror even better.
"Are you today's challenger?"
Lt. Surge stopped in his tracks and looked down at Adrian. Surprisingly, he wasn't stern, but spoke warmly: "Welcome to Vermilion City, baby! However, I won't go easy on you just because you're a little baby."
After saying this, Lt. Surge reached out to pat Adrian's head, but Adrian had anticipated this and quickly dodged to the side.
Lt. Surge awkwardly withdrew his hand, then saw the Pichu on Adrian's back and couldn't help but laugh: "A Pichu? A challenger came by a while ago with a Pikachu, which did surprise me a bit. But as for a Pichu, are you sure it's even been weaned yet?"
After finishing his sentence, Lt. Surge and his two subordinate Trainers all laughed unrestrainedly.
Adrian didn't say much, as he knew Lt. Surge disliked unevolved pokémon, believing that only evolved pokémon were strong.
Similarly, in Lt. Surge's eyes, all unevolved pokémon were babies.
Adrian snorted and questioned, "Mr. Surge, I'm here to challenge the Gym. Is this how you treat guests at the Vermilion Gym?"
Hearing this, the group quickly stifled their laughter.
"Fine! That was my fault just now!"
Lt. Surge shrugged, saying he was sorry, but in reality, there wasn't a hint of apology in his voice as he walked over to the commander's seat on the battle field.
Seeing this, the male Trainer quickly took on the role of referee and announced loudly, "The challenge rules for the Vermilion Gym: both sides are limited to one pokémon, and there is no time limit for the battle."
"Baby! Take a good look at what a real pokémon is!"
With a sneer, Lt. Surge threw a pokéball.
"Raichu~"
A flash of light appeared, revealing a pokémon with dark orange fur and a white belly. It looked similar to Pikachu but was much larger in size.
It was indeed the Electric-type pokémon—Raichu!
The referee pointed at Adrian and said, "Gym Leader Lt. Surge's pokémon is Raichu. Challenger, please release your pokémon."
"Go, Pichu!"
Adrian patted the little Pichu on his back, and the latter immediately hopped onto the field, facing off against Raichu from a distance.
Pichu's size was normal, so it was only about thirty centimeters tall.
In contrast, the Raichu opposite it had indeed been raised well in terms of size, standing at a full meter tall, which was considered robust for its species.
Standing together, the two pokémon truly looked like a baby and an adult; the gap was just too obvious.
"Ho~ you actually sent out a Pichu to challenge me?"
Lt. Surge looked surprised.
Last time he had been careless and lost to Ash's Pikachu.
But what could a just-weaned Pichu like yours do?
Pichu couldn't do anything!
Lt. Surge crossed his arms and joked, "Such a cute baby pokémon. If Raichu lands one punch, it'll probably cry for a long time, right? Hahaha!"
As soon as he finished, the three of them laughed wantonly.
"This Gym Leader is so annoying, he says such nasty things!"
"Yeah, yeah! Streamer, if it's no good, let's just forget it! Sabrina in Saffron City is still waiting for your challenge!"
"Big sister Sabrina, my favorite! Hehehe!"
"When it comes to big sisters, Elite Lorelei is the true goddess, okay?"
The atmosphere in the livestream room was originally a bit heavy, but as soon as they started discussing female Trainers, the focus began to drift.
"Who wins and who loses, we'll only know after the fight!"
Adrian sneered, "Mr. Surge, since your Raichu could lose to a Pikachu, it won't necessarily not lose to a Pichu."
Lt. Surge's smile immediately vanished, his expression turning dark as he snorted, "It seems if I don't shock you until you're numb, you won't understand the terror of electricity!"
"Both sides, please take your positions. The Gym challenge officially begins!"
Following the referee's command, the battle officially started.
"Raichu, charge in and use Mega Punch!"
Lt. Surge took the initiative to attack, sneering, "Let our baby know what a real iron-blooded tough guy is!"
"Raichu~"
Hearing the command, Raichu immediately dropped to all fours and ran quickly toward Pichu, radiating murderous intent.
As it drew close, Raichu's right hand clenched into a fist while glowing with a piercing white light.
Mega Punch—one could tell from the name that this was an attack move full of power.
Meanwhile...
Levincia, Paldea Region.
After getting up, washing up, and finishing breakfast, Iono put on her oversized punk-style outfit and prepared to start her day of streaming.
However, before starting the stream, Iono followed her routine of browsing the trending videos on PokéStation.
She leaned back in her chair, her slender fingers tapping on the keyboard while her soft, fair feet swung back and forth in the air.
Because of her lively and cheerful personality and her skill at energizing the audience during streams, Iono's follower count had surged by millions in just one month, now reaching a staggering five million.
Becoming a top-tier influencer with tens of millions of followers was only a matter of time for her.
After browsing the trending channels for a while, Iono felt a bit bored and started checking her list of followed Streamers.
These were all Streamers she either acknowledged or felt were worth learning from.
"Eh? Fishing Dreamer? This guy is streaming again?"