Lionel's gaze lingered on the Feebas's Data Panel for a long time, especially on the words "shiny," and the excitement in his heart was difficult to quell.
Just then, the system's mechanical voice rang out again, explaining the rules for the Popularity Value Lottery in detail:
"When popularity points reaches one thousand points, you can participate in the Primary Lottery; ten thousand points allows participation in the Intermediate Draw; and one hundred thousand points allows participation in the advanced draw.
Lottery prizes are random, including Energy Clusters, Technical Machines, and various other items."
Lionel understood. The rules were simple and clear: the higher the popularity points, the higher the level of the lottery he could participate in, and naturally, the greater the chance of obtaining good items.
One thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand... Lionel silently noted these numbers in his heart. He looked at his current total popularity points of 1046 points, which just exceeded the one thousand points required for the Primary Lottery, and a wave of anticipation immediately surged within him.
After being dragged onto the shore, the Feebas seemed exhausted. It lay in the shallow water, panting heavily, its protruding eyes staring intently at Lionel with a hint of wariness and a trace of inexplicable emotion.
Lionel steadied himself, cautiously approached it, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
He tried reaching out a hand, wanting to touch the Feebas, but it suddenly twisted its body, seemingly trying to evade him.
Lionel did not reach out rashly again. Instead, he slowly tilted the bucket beside him and gently lowered it toward the shallow water.
As soon as the rim of the bucket touched the water near the Feebas, it restlessly flicked its caudal fin again. Lionel held his breath, making his movements even lighter, and slowly lifted the bucket upward. The flow of water gently carried the Feebas into the bucket, with almost no sound of splashing water.
"Alright, everyone, you've all seen today's catch. Although this little guy looks... well, very unique, I'm already very satisfied to have fished up such a special Pokémon."
Lionel showed a slightly tired but smiling expression to the camera,
"It's getting late. I need to take it back and settle it down first. Today's live stream ends here. See you next time!"
The moment he finished speaking, the bullet screen comments immediately flooded the live stream:
"Ah, ending the stream so soon? What is this thing? Can anyone who knows tell me? I'm too curious!"
"Will you stream tomorrow? I'm waiting anxiously for updates on this Pokémon!"
"Just hit the follow button! Streamer, you must show it on camera tomorrow!"
"I've already taken a screenshot. I'm going to check what species it is right now!"
"With something so unique, the Streamer definitely needs to show it off properly tomorrow!"
"..."
Lionel looked at the scrolling bullet screen comments and smiled as he gently waved at the camera:
"Don't worry, I'll continue streaming tomorrow. We can talk about it in detail then. Everyone, get some rest, bye-bye~"
With that, Lionel ended the live stream.
Accompanied by the sound of waves hitting the shore and the faint movement of the Feebas in the bucket, Lionel let out a long sigh of relief. Although the day's live stream had some twists and turns, the harvest was plentiful.
He looked at the Feebas in the bucket and then at the 1046 popularity points on the System Panel, deciding to perform a Primary Lottery draw right now.
"System, initiate Primary Lottery draw," Lionel murmured internally.
"Primary Lottery draw consumes 1000 popularity points. Confirm?" the mechanical voice sounded.
"Confirm."
As soon as he spoke, a virtual turntable seemed to appear before Lionel's eyes, displaying icons of various rewards, including Energy Clusters, Pokémon Food, Technical Machines, and different types of items.
The turntable began to spin rapidly, and Lionel's heart rate accelerated along with it.
After a few seconds, the turntable slowly stopped, and the pointer landed on a red icon—an Energy Cluster.
"Congratulations, Host, you have received the reward: Primary Energy Cluster x1."
As soon as the system notification ended, a fist-sized ball of green light appeared out of thin air in Lionel's palm. It was transparent like condensed morning dew, emitting gentle energy fluctuations, and smelled faintly of fresh herbs and wood when he leaned closer.
He focused his gaze, and a line of light blue descriptive text immediately floated before his eyes—[Primary Energy Cluster: A cluster of light containing weak, pure energy. When used by a Pokémon, it can accelerate growth.]
(Note: Energy Clusters of different grades contain different amounts of energy. Low-grade Energy Clusters will have significantly diminished effects on Pokémon that have reached a certain stage of growth.)
Seeing the explanation for the Energy Cluster, Lionel was instantly ecstatic—as everyone knew, a Pokémon's strength is inherently composed of multiple factors, including Base Stats, Level, Skills, and Attributes.
Pokémon Level is one of the most crucial components. However, in the real world, it is not categorized by the concept of "Level" like game data, but rather defined by Energy Intensity.
This Energy Cluster just happens to correspond to an increase in Energy Intensity, making it an excellent way for his Pokémon to quickly become stronger.
Lionel looked down at the Feebas in the bucket. It seemed drawn by the light, tilting its head and staring curiously at the green glow with its protruding little eyes, its tail unconsciously swaying, creating rings of ripples.
Lionel smiled and extended his palm toward the water surface, carefully loosening his fingers.
The ball of green light seemed alive, slowly sinking into the water. The moment it touched the Feebas's body, it transformed into countless tiny light spots that drilled into the gaps between its scales.
Initially, the Feebas only trembled slightly, seeming confused.
But the next second, its eyes suddenly widened. Its already large eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets, and its mouth slightly opened, revealing an expression of disbelief and surprise.
Lionel held his breath, watching a faint layer of green light appear over the Feebas's body.
"How does it feel?"
Lionel asked softly, keeping his fingers suspended above the water surface, not daring to touch it.
The Feebas suddenly thrashed its tail, swimming back and forth excitedly in the bucket. Its tail slapped the water surface, splashing up a lot of water, and a few drops even landed on Lionel's cheek.
The cool sensation made him pause, and then he saw the Feebas swim to the edge of the bucket and gently nudge his fingertip with its head.
Lionel stroked the Feebas, while tentatively using his finger to gently scratch its abdomen. Its scales were not smooth, but they were coated in the moistness of the water, making the touch surprisingly soft.
Feeling the tickle, the Feebas twisted its body left and right. A faint, human-like smile, similar to when someone is ticklish, slowly appeared on its fish face, making its appearance exceptionally endearing.
At that moment, Lionel's heart felt as if it had been gently nudged by something. An indescribable warmth instantly surged from the bottom of his heart, leaving even his fingertips feeling soft and slightly warm.
"Feebas, you're so cute!"
The Feebas seemed to genuinely understand Lionel's praise. It spun around flexibly in the water, its caudal fin creating fine ripples, and quickly swam back to his hand, gently slapping the water surface with its tail.
The small splashes landed on the back of Lionel's hand, feeling cool, yet they seemed to be joyfully responding to his admiration.
Feeling the Feebas's closeness, Lionel felt warm inside. He knew that a subtle connection had been established between himself and this special Feebas.
As the thought flashed through his mind, Lionel made up his decision: first, he would withdraw the money earned from the live stream in his account and quickly go buy a Fish Tank, a Poké Ball, and food for the Feebas, so it could stay comfortably by his side.
And there was another important task waiting for him: editing today's live stream footage.
Lionel knew very well that catching this shiny Feebas today was an absolute viral moment. As long as the editing was spectacular enough, it would definitely attract a large wave of attention.
Lionel returned to his small cabin and started working on the old computer in the room to edit today's video.
He imported the live stream footage onto the computer and began editing seriously.
Lionel focused on the tug-of-war segment of catching the Feebas, editing it to be thrilling and immersive.
Finally, he intentionally slowed down the close-up shots of the Feebas, allowing everyone to clearly see its unique purple color and strange appearance.
After the editing was complete, Lionel began pondering the title.
A good title was key to attracting viewers. After much thought, he typed out the following title:
[New Streamer Catches Huge News While Fishing by the Sea! Hooks a Strange Fish Pokémon—Has a New Pokémon Been Discovered?]
The title was eye-catching enough. Lionel nodded in satisfaction, then published the video to his streaming account.
He believed this video would definitely bring him more attention.
By the time the notification for successful video upload popped up, the sky outside the window had completely darkened.
The sea breeze blew through the old window frame, carrying the unique slightly cool moisture of the night. Lionel yawned and rubbed his somewhat sore eyes.
Lionel glanced at the Feebas quietly suspended in the Fish Tank. The little guy seemed exhausted, too lazy even to wag its tail, only occasionally blowing a small bubble that spread into a ripple on the water surface.
"Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow will probably be busy."
Lionel said softly. After changing the Feebas's water with clean seawater and adding some food, he finally lay down on the creaking wooden plank bed.
He had expected to be too excited to sleep, but his body's exhaustion ultimately took over, and he soon fell into a deep slumber.