Even Ethan Vale himself felt stuffed from the "big picture" he'd just painted.
For the rest of the afternoon, he was fired up, producing a draft of Arceus's creation myth that was grand in diction and majestic in momentum—nothing short of an epic.
From time to time, notifications popped up in his mind:
[Sprigatito defeated Mankey.]
They served as a reminder that, somewhere else, Sprigatito was also working just as hard.
Only… behind that effort, there were probably quite a few Mankey paying the price for their former bullying and tyranny.
Once the tracker showed that Sprigatito had officially started heading back, Ethan Vale tallied up the day's final results:
Seven Mankey, four Aipom, and 2.4 points of Dark-type Bond Fear value.
On the surface, it looked like in just over forty days they could reach one hundred stacks of Fear, granting Sprigatito a 10% damage boost and unlocking the first reward.
But reality was never that optimistic.
There weren't that many troublemaking Pokémon on campus to begin with, and among them, even fewer that Sprigatito could currently beat.
The strong ones were obviously out of reach, while defeating weaker ones barely gave any Fear at all.
Seen this way, the upcoming Shanghai Pokémon Cup next month might actually be an excellent place to farm Fear value.
Very good—another reason added to the ever-growing list of "must participate in the Shanghai Pokémon Cup."
Sprigatito returned bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and its fatigue—both in body and eyes—was far more pronounced than it had been in the morning.
Clearly, the noon break hadn't been enough to sustain an entire afternoon of nonstop battles.
Feeling distressed for it, Ethan Vale forcibly ordered Sprigatito to rest in the dorm that night, no going anywhere.
He gave it a fancy name: "Tactical Literacy Class—learning by watching livestreams at my side to improve battle awareness."
Sprigatito, naturally, had no grounds to object, and could only passively enjoy a rare stretch of peaceful time.
——————
Meanwhile, after a full day and night of fermentation, Ethan Vale's match against Raihan from the previous evening had completely swept the internet.
The hype was even higher than when Ethan Vale had beaten Luna Volt twice before.
After all, while both were Gym Leaders, there were vast differences among them.
The upper bound?
The world's largest criminal organization, Team Rocket's boss, the underground emperor of Kanto and Johto—the Earth King, Giovanni.
The lower bound?
Those whose strength was inversely proportional to their looks—the Cerulean City Sisters, rumored for years to be on the verge of losing their Gym status, surviving purely on aquatic performances.
As for why the revocation never actually happened… perhaps the League inspectors enjoyed watching them too?
Anyway—back on track.
The gap between Luna Volt and Raihan wasn't that extreme, but the latter carried the title of Strongest Gym Leader.
Even if that title was about as reliable as a completely misleading Forbes rich list, it was still a public-facing No.1, with all the attention and prestige that came with it.
So when Ethan Vale went live today, the atmosphere in his stream was more intense than ever.
Passersby who disliked Raihan's exalted status cheered.
Raihan's diehard fans, arriving upon hearing the news, heckled.
Ethan Vale's regular viewers held their breath.
Fans of Luna Volt, drawn in over the past few days, laughed it up.
And Ethan Vale himself?
He simply turned on paid subscriber-only chat and feasted on traffic until his bowl overflowed.
In short—no fancy tricks, no more famous trainers queued into, no Luna Volt footing the bill.
Just Ethan Vale using a big spender's account to run a Trick Room team, cruising through Ultra Ball tier ranked matches like a dragon in water.
Another profitable day.
——————
The following days passed in a steady, fulfilling loop:
classes, video editing, streaming, and "cloud-training" Sprigatito.
Every now and then, he'd also keep up rapport with his top supporter—
Discussing the feasibility of using Pawmi instead of Rillaboom for a double Fake Out strategy.
Complaining together about annoying daily Gym challengers or unhinged fans.
Providing her with generous emotional value using high-level "criticism-that's-actually-praise" techniques.
In short, over the course of a few days, Luna Volt started messaging Ethan Vale more and more frequently.
Sprigatito's progress was just as noticeable.
Not only did its accumulated Fear value surpass 20, but the system-displayed level also ticked up to Lv.14.
If the system's levels matched those of the old Pokémon games…
That meant just two more levels, and Sprigatito could evolve into Floragato.
Could the little cat stand up properly before the Shanghai Pokémon Cup?
The system didn't show an exact progress bar for Pokémon levels, so Ethan Vale couldn't be sure.
And the Sprigatito training materials he'd been eagerly awaiting finally arrived—on the very last day before November ended.
Once again, the cute electric frog avatar he'd been chatting with most frequently lit up.
Luna Volt: "Sorry to keep you waiting~ The materials were scattered and needed organizing, so it took a while. (Pawmi lying flat.jpg)"
Luna Volt: "Attachment (Geeta_Sprigatito_Training_Notes.rar)"
Luna Volt: "Attachment (Brassius_Sprigatito_Training_Notes.rar)"
Ethan Vale, who had just finished editing and was reclining limply in his chair, instantly sprang up like a Magikarp.
He double-clicked the files at lightning speed.
Ethan Vale: "Files received successfully *2"
Ethan Vale: "Much obliged, much obliged! Please come in and have a seat, I'll pour you some tea! (Polteageist propping hands, smiling.gif)"
Ethan Vale: "By the way, were these organized by those two big shots themselves, or…?"
Luna Volt: "They're way too busy—getting them to dig the materials out for me was already impressive. No way they'd have time to organize them. (Pawmi sighing.gif)"
Ethan Vale: "!!!"
Ethan Vale: "I, Ethan Vale, drifting through half a lifetime, regret only not meeting my true lord sooner—if you don't abandon me, I am willing to swear brotherhood! (Squirtle crying.jpg)"
Luna Volt: "(Electric frog stunned.jpg)"
Ethan Vale: "Wait, no—swear sisterhood!"
Luna Volt: "That's not the point!"
Ethan Vale: "Anyway, Luna Volt, you really saved me big time!"
Luna Volt: "It's fine, it was something I promised to do anyway. No need to be so formal."
Luna Volt: "I've got a Gym challenge match soon, gotta get busy. (Pawmi waving goodbye.gif)"
Ethan Vale: "Wishing you victory—I'm off to study the notes!"
Closing the chat window, Ethan Vale rubbed his hands together excitedly like a fly, then decompressed the two archive files.
There was a saying in this world:
A top-tier Trainer must also be an excellent breeder.
Luna Volt clearly fit that description. The Sprigatito training materials she had organized were exceptionally clear and well-structured.
They were divided into three stages: Sprigatito, Floragato, and Meowscarada.
Each stage was further broken down into six categories—diet, training, moves, and so on.
And every category was exhaustive.
For example, diet alone covered daily nutritional requirements, optimal berry ratios, and energy distribution across meals.
It was truly nanny-level material.
Just as Luna Volt had said, Geeta and Brassius definitely wouldn't have taken the time to make things this meticulous.
So who the real contributor was went without saying.
Although these two sets of training notes were part of an unfinished "transaction," Luna Volt could easily have half-assed it.
Yet she went all out.
Ethan Vale couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Looks like I really owe Luna Volt a huge favor now.
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