The early morning sunlight was like molten gold, slowly flowing along the wooden boardwalk of the Dewford Town pier.
The salty sea breeze carried a faint scent of seaweed, brushing past the slightly thin figure by the seaside and causing the light green hair on his forehead to sway gently.
Lionel lowered his head to check the livestreaming equipment floating in mid-air. This was an exclusive filming tool generated by the "Livestream System" that had accompanied his transmigration; it could circle him to provide 360-degree recording without any blind spots.
With a crisp notification sound in his ear, the online viewer count in the upper right corner of his phone screen began to jump at a visible speed—10, 37, 129, 586... the numbers continued to climb, and bullet comments instantly flooded the area below the screen like a tide.
"Good morning, everyone."
Lionel's voice carried the characteristic clarity of a youth, transmitted clearly through the microphone pinned to his collar.
"The weather is great today. Dewford Town's long-awaited annual Water-type Pokémon Swimming Sprint is about to begin."
Lionel turned slightly to the side, allowing the lens to clearly capture the amber-colored sea surface behind him, dyed by the sunlight.
"Let me show you today's competition venue first!"
The camera slowly panned across the shallow waters ahead, showing a rectangular area enclosed by buoys. A red flag marked the starting point, while a conspicuous yellow flag marked the finish line.
The bullet comments immediately exploded.
"Finally, the competition is here! The streamer looks so energetic today!"
"The sea in Dewford Town looks so clean. I envy people living by the seaside!"
"Come on, come on, place your bets! I'm betting on what rank Feebas can get!"
"I bet fifty bucks that Feebas takes first. This is my virtual pet Pokémon, how could it lose to others!"
"..."
Lionel looked at the bullet comments on his phone, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning upward.
He looked down into the water, where a strange-looking fish Pokémon was restlessly wagging its tail.
This little fellow had a very peculiar appearance; its body was a rare purple, while its dorsal, ventral, and caudal fins were a faint silver.
Its eyes were particularly large, and its mouth was slightly pouted, making it look somewhat clumsy.
The scales on its body were not neatly arranged, and some parts even looked like they were missing a piece, appearing somewhat "ugly"—yet its face carried a hint of innocence. Combined with that unique purple and silver color scheme, it had become a new "little internet celebrity" in the Pokémon livestreaming world.
"Alright, everyone, as per the old rules, let me introduce our little protagonist first."
Lionel aimed the camera at Feebas, his voice carrying a touch of tenderness. "You should all be very familiar with it—come on, say hello, Little Jewel."
The Feebas called "Little Jewel" seemed to understand Lionel's words. It suddenly flicked its tail, splashing several drops of water that landed right on the lens, momentarily blurring the screen.
The bullet comments were instantly filled with "Hahaha."
"Feebas is as lively as ever!"
"That Splash was so accurate, it must have been on purpose, right?"
"The name Little Jewel is truly something. The streamer's naming sense... well, it's very unique (survival instinct maxed out)."
"To the person above, the word 'unique' is used brilliantly!"
"Seriously, why does it look better and better the more I see it?"
Lionel smiled and wiped the lens with his sleeve. His gaze fell upon Feebas, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes as his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to eight months ago.
Back then, he wasn't Lionel, but an ordinary college student from another world.
A sudden car accident caused him to open his eyes again only to find himself lying in a dilapidated small house, his body transformed into that of a fourteen-year-old boy.
After carefully recalling the memories in his mind, he realized he had transmigrated to this world where Pokémon existed, becoming an orphan in Dewford Town who had just lost his only relative.
At that time, he only had a small amount of relief funds from the League in his pocket, unable to afford even a decent Poké Ball, let alone going out to travel and challenge Gyms like the protagonist Ash in the anime.
Fortunately, there's always a way out. Behind the small house where he lived, there were a few sets of old fishing gear left behind.
At the same time, while organizing the memories in his head, a cold mechanical voice sounded in his ear—[Livestream System Binding Successful].
This was Lionel's cheat. Its function was simple: after he started streaming on this world's entertainment platform, he could perform lucky draws based on the "popularity points" converted from the number of viewers.
The rewards were varied, including energy clusters, Technical Machines, and various items.
"Maybe I can go to the seaside to stream fishing for Pokémon, attract viewers to gain popularity points, and simultaneously start my own Pokémon journey?"
With this thought, and also to earn living expenses, Lionel registered a streaming account and began broadcasting.
The title of the stream was simple and direct: [New Streamer, Challenging to Catch a Pokémon with a Fishing Rod as a Partner]
He still remembered the embarrassment of his first stream.
Lionel originally thought he could easily catch a Pokémon, but reality slapped him hard in the face. In the end, he relied on the guidance of several veteran anglers in the stream who were attracted by his name to figure out the correct way to use the fishing rod.
"Streamer, that's not how you use a fishing rod, you're doing it wrong."
"The water there is too shallow; you won't catch anything good."
"Hook the bait more securely, or it'll fall off as soon as you cast."
With the help of these veteran anglers, Lionel began to seriously learn fishing techniques. He started his stream on time every day, chatting with viewers and sharing his life.
Although there weren't many viewers and the donations were pitifully few, it at least gave him a glimmer of hope.
His biggest goal at the time was to catch a Magikarp.
Among all known Water-type Pokémon, Magikarp should be the easiest to capture, and Magikarp becomes very powerful after evolving into Gyarados.
Lionel had even planned it out: once he caught a Magikarp, he would save money to buy a Poké Ball first, then start training it, and gradually accumulate popularity to begin his path as a Trainer.
But he never expected that catching a Pokémon would be so difficult. Catching small fish and shrimp was easy enough, but when he encountered a Pokémon, they would repeatedly escape right after biting the hook, leaving him helpless.
Fortunately, after about half a month, Lionel's fishing skills gradually became proficient. People would occasionally drop by the stream, and the "popularity points" accumulated by the system reached nearly a thousand.
Until that afternoon, the sky was somewhat overcast, and a moderate wind was blowing over the sea.
Lionel cast his hook as usual. As his gaze fell on the water surface, waiting quietly for a fish to take the bait, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind:
"Congratulations to the host for popularity points exceeding one thousand. The system is officially activated. The Newbie Opportunity has been delivered."
Before Lionel could think carefully, the fishing line suddenly sank heavily, the force so great it almost dragged him into the sea.
"Whoa, what is this? Such strength!"
Lionel instantly cried out in surprise, gripping the fishing rod tightly, the veins on his arms bulging from the exertion.
Some viewers in the stream also got excited.
"Such great strength, could it be a Shellder?"
"Doesn't look like it, Shellder doesn't have this much power. Maybe a Kingler?"
"Go Lionel! Don't get pulled in!"
Lionel grit his teeth and held the fishing rod with both hands, engaging in a tug-of-war with the creature beneath the water.
The fishing line made a "buzzing" sound, as if it would snap at any second.
This time was different from before; the fellow that took the bait kept its Bite on the hook without letting go, as if attracted by some special magic.
Following the techniques taught by the veteran anglers, Lionel alternately released and reeled in the line. After a stalemate lasting a full ten minutes, his arms so sore he could barely lift them, he finally managed to pull the thing underwater closer to the shore.
After the ten-minute tug-of-war, Lionel had exhausted almost all his strength before finally pulling that "big fellow" out of the water.
When that figure emerged from the water, Lionel and all the viewers in the stream were stunned.
It was a strange-looking fish; its color was a peculiar purple, its body was plump, its scales were crooked, its eyes protruded, and its mouth was disproportionately large and agape, revealing uneven teeth inside. It looked bizarre no matter how one viewed it.
Lionel recognized this Pokémon, but he really couldn't believe that he would actually catch this particular Pokémon;
Meanwhile, the bullet comments in the stream also froze for a few seconds before exploding into an unprecedentedly heated discussion.
"My god! What kind of weird thing is this?!"
"My eyes are poisoned, what the hell is this..."
"It looks like a fish Pokémon, but it's definitely not a Magikarp, nor any Water-type Pokémon I know."
"Could it be an undiscovered new Pokémon?"
"..."
Lionel was extremely excited. He recognized this Pokémon at a glance, but he didn't reveal it to the viewers. Instead, he deliberately acted like a complete newbie, speculating along with everyone else.
After all, he was someone who had experienced the era of internet hype in his previous life; he knew how to create buzz. The unknown was what attracted the most attention and could help him garner more interest.
As Lionel's gaze fixed on that Pokémon, a blue glow gradually flickered in his field of vision, followed by the emotionless mechanical voice of the system:
"Newbie Opportunity obtained. Data panel activated."
Immediately after, a data panel appeared clearly before his eyes.
[Pokémon: Feebas (shiny)]
[Type: Water]
[Classification: Fish Pokémon]
[Ability: Swift Swim (Speed increases during rainy weather)]
[Skills: Splash (Proficient), Tackle (Beginner)]
[Today's Stream Duration: 1 hour 12 minutes]
[Peak Online Viewers: 98]
[Total popularity points: 1046]