The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the wooden floor of the Fighting Dojo a warm orange-red. After a day of noise, the Dojo felt exceptionally peaceful.
In the center of the hall, a small green figure was still tirelessly swinging its arm-blades.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Darr's gaze was focused. Over and over, he swung his sharp blades forward, his movements standard and swift, creating the sound of whistling air.
The little mantis was completely immersed in his training, showing a level of self-discipline that was breathtaking.
Shidou walked over carrying a warm glass of Moomoo Milk, a gratified smile on his face. "Alright, Darr, take a break. Drink something to recover your strength."
The little mantis stopped and looked at Shidou with large black eyes, then at the milk, leaning in curiously.
Shidou handed the glass to him. He carefully touched the rim with the edge of his blade before lowering his head to take small sips.
"Moo~"
As the sweet milk hit his tongue, Darr's eyes seemed to light up instantly. He clearly loved the taste, drinking faster and making satisfied little "clack" sounds.
"Glad you like it. You'll have some every day from now on."
Shidou gently stroked Darr's smooth, hard head. Darr didn't dodge; instead, he gently rubbed against Shidou's palm while enjoying the delicious milk.
Under the sunset, the figures of the man and the spirit looked incredibly warm. Their bond was quietly deepening in the silence.
However, the shock in Shidou's heart went far beyond this.
Just this afternoon, this little mantis, who had arrived less than a day ago, had already crushed all the remaining Pokémon in the Dojo.
Machop, Tyrogue, and even a relatively strong Hitmonlee... all were defeated!
Especially the Machop that usually practiced on the sandbags—Darr had used him as a sandbag, beating him five times in a single day...
The little mantis's fighting style was efficient and fierce. His speed was incredible, especially that move [Fury Cutter]. With the [Sharpness] boost, its power scaled insanely with consecutive hits; almost no opponent could survive the third strike. Even scarier was his self-discipline; he didn't need to be told—he would seize every moment to hone his skills.
A spirit that trains itself... this is fucking perfect!
Shidou saw all this and was ecstatic.
Is this the potential of a future God?
So much power~
If I enter him in a "Baby Cup" tournament later, he might win the whole thing automatically.
As night fell completely, Darr continued his repetitive blade swings under the moonlight. Shidou returned to his room, his excitement cooling as reality set back in.
The system was tied to "Dojo Popularity." But in Saffron City today, every trainer's eyes were fixed on that flashy and powerful Psychic Gym. Who would pay attention to his remote, dilapidated Fighting Dojo whose official status was on the verge of being revoked?
Popularity... where would it come from?
Shidou pondered. Suddenly, his instincts from his past life made his eyes light up. "Right! I can do live streaming!"
In his past life, Shidou was a minor influencer on a certain video site with 100,000 followers. He mainly streamed Pokémon battles and tactical breakdowns; he was no stranger to the game.
Shidou immediately opened this world's popular streaming platform—
Piplup TV.
The homepage was bustling with various Pokémon-related streams.
Shidou's finger instinctively typed a name into the search bar: Iono.
The page jumped, and a high-energy stream popped up. The title was [Iono-zone Stream~! Even Yamper will get zapped dizzy~!], and the subscriber count was a staggering 1,000,000+!
On the screen, the Electric-type Gym Leader from the Paldea region, Iono, was doing her intro with her signature twin tails and energetic movements. "Everyone~! Iono-zone~! Hyper-Electric~ Entrance~! Ta-da~! Ehe☆!"
"Catching your eyes with my Electroweb! Who's in the zone? It's me, Iono! Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Hello-Ciao~!"
The chat scrolled like a flood:
"Ciallo~!"
"Wow, Iono-chan is just too cute."
"The Paldea region's official cutie!"
"So cute! I'm zapped!"
"She's my wife."
"To the guy above: my piss is yellow, let me wake you up."
"Voting for Lady Iono!"
Iono perfectly combined her Gym Leader status with the "VTuber" business model. Her popularity was terrifying.
"If I copy Iono... maybe I can get a piece of the pie and build popularity fast!"
Shidou thought he saw a shortcut. But a second later, he calmed down.
The problem was: who would skip a top-tier cutie like Iono to watch a rough guy like him in a broken Dojo?
Shidou had enough self-awareness to sigh.
Pure chatting and acting cute definitely wouldn't work.
So, the only way left was—hardcore skill.
Shidou scanned the platform's trending list and found many topics revolving around one name: "Pokémon · Masters".
"Pokémon · Masters" was a cross-era online battle game developed by Silph Co. in collaboration with Devon Corp. It perfectly simulated real-life Pokémon battle data, move effects, and tactical environments. It was known as the "Trainer's Online Sandbox."
Due to its high realism and competitiveness, it was popular not just among ordinary trainers, but even Kanto Champion Red, Elite Four members, and League officials played it. It was a global phenomenon.
The ladder ranks were divided into five major tiers: Beginner, Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and the supreme honor reserved for the top 100 players in the world—
Master Ball Tier.
And the ID currently sitting at rank #1 in the Master Ball tier was simple and domineering: [Red].
"That's it!" Fighting spirit ignited in Shidou's eyes. He muttered to himself, "Since no one is coming to the Dojo in real life yet, I'll make a name for myself in "Pokémon · Masters" first. I'll use hardcore battle tactics to attract viewers! Once I have enough fans, people will find out about my Fighting Dojo, and the system's popularity points will soar!"
Thinking of this, Shidou immediately acted, finding the download link for the game.
"Starting today, the goal is the Master Ball Tier. I'll let this world witness the 'dirty strategies' and tactical understanding from another world."
Shidou said confidently.
He then opened the Piplup TV streaming software.
Step one: create a room and pick a catchy ID and title.
"The name... needs to be unique, something people remember."
Shidou thought about it. Suddenly, the image of a certain Champion from his past life who loved using Hydro Pump and his signature "content" flooded his mind. A wicked smile played on his lips as he typed into the ID bar:
[Kricketune Man Fan AG]
"Hmm, although it's a bit of a jinx—the legend of four Hydro Pump misses in a row still rings in my ears—it'll do. A little tribute."
Shidou nodded in satisfaction.
Next, he needed a title that was eye-catching, maybe even a bit provocative. After a moment's thought, his fingers tapped on the keyboard:
[Random Team. Climbing the ladder live. From Zero to Master Ball in one month. Come watch if you don't believe it!]