"Using my body as bait? Streamer, while obsessed with fishing, hasn't reached that level yet. Besides, pokémon shouldn't be interested in the Streamer's body anyway—"
Adrian scrolled through the Bullet Comments, occasionally selecting a few to respond to, interacting with his fans.
"Hmm? I heard I was being kept by a Wealthy Woman? Who told you that? Why don't I know about it?"
Adrian put on a surprised expression and joked, "If a Wealthy Woman really wanted to keep me, I wouldn't be streaming. After all, if I stream to earn money before being kept, and still stream to earn money after being kept, wouldn't I be eating this soft rice for nothing?"
But the Gossip-loving fans clearly weren't willing to drop the topic and continued to send relentless Bullet Comments questioning him.
"Streamer, stop pretending! We brothers pretty much know everything. We even have eyewitnesses who saw you get into Miss Clair of Ecruteak Gym's Vehicle, riding a dragon together Traveling the Sky. How dare you insist nothing is going on between you two?!"
"That's right, Streamer. Miss Clair is so beautiful and comes from the Dragon Master Family. If things really work out between you two, you'll be marrying into a Prestigious Family."
"But seriously, I heard Miss Clair has a fiery temper and likes to vent her frustration by using a Whip. Streamer, you must have suffered a lot during this time, right?"
"Hiss~ Miss Clair is such a Pervert!!! I love it!"
The Bullet Comments kept flooding the screen, sounding logical and conclusive, occasionally interspersed with some Jokers messing around.
"Fake news!"
Adrian looked serious and clarified, "I admit that I do know Miss Clair of Blackthorn City, but we are innocent; there's nothing going on like what you imagine. We were just exchanging tips on pokémon Training Experiences—"
But the Netizens clearly didn't believe him and immediately questioned, "Exchanging pokémon Training Experiences? Where did you exchange them? For a whole month?"
"There might have been an exchange, but I think this 'exchange' is not that 'exchange'."
"Streamer, elaborate on the exchange!!!"
Seeing the direction of the conversation skewing further, Adrian's expression hardened, and he snorted coldly, "Although I come from humble beginnings, I have integrity. Furthermore, how can a Man live under someone else's shadow for long? Regarding this soft rice business, I swear, I'd rather starve to death, die outside, or jump off this place, but I will never take a bite of it—"
Seeing Adrian speak with such conviction, the Netizens finally started to believe him.
After all, anyone with eyes could see that Adrian's Talent was extremely high, and his future achievements would be significant.
There was really no need for him to eat soft rice!
"Phew! Good, good, good! If the Streamer isn't Eating Soft Rice, then I can rest easy!"
"Brother upstairs, I totally understand you. When I first heard the Streamer was being kept by a Wealthy Woman and Eating Soft Rice, I tossed and turned all night, couldn't sleep well, and lost clumps of eyebrows. Now I can finally get a good night's sleep."
Watching the continuous stream of Bullet Comments, Adrian remained speechless for a long time.
It was obvious that these fans were both afraid of him suffering and afraid of him driving a Range Rover!
After the Rumors were clarified, fans asked Adrian what he had been doing lately, and Adrian quickly responded.
However, Adrian omitted the Dragon Sanctuary because that location was not suitable for public disclosure, or it might attract the attention and covetousness of Criminals.
After all, too many rare Dragon-type Pokémon live in the Dragon Sanctuary.
Clair had mentioned this to Adrian a long time ago.
At the same time, this was the fundamental reason why Adrian hadn't streamed or Filmed Videos recently.
"To be honest with everyone, I've been doing Special Training for my pokémon recently. This training has been highly effective, and the strength of both Gyarados and Pichu has significantly improved."
As Adrian was speaking, Pichu's small head peeked out from behind him, waving its little paws to greet the fans in the Live Stream Room: "Pi~ Pichu~"
"Wuwuwu~ Our Pichu Streamer has arrived."
"Wow~ Pichu is getting cuter and cuter!"
"Hey, who's that? Stop blocking the Camera; people who don't know might think you're the Streamer!
Don't you have any Self-Awareness?"
The moment Pichu appeared, Adrian was instantly overshadowed, and Gifts popped up one after another, making Adrian's eyes widen.
At the same time, the Popularity of Adrian's Live Stream Room began to soar.
"A person is inferior to a mouse? I'm clearly the Trainer!"
Adrian scratched his head, calculating in his mind: "Next time, I might as well just let Pichu be the Streamer. It's usually lazy and barely trains anyway. Besides, even if it earns money, the funds will still be deposited into my card—"
"Pi~"
After Acting Cute for the Camera, Pichu felt bored because it couldn't read and didn't understand the Bullet Comments. It wanted to climb onto the bed for a nap but was held down by Adrian.
"Don't let Pichu's cuteness fool you; its current strength is considerable."
Adrian held Pichu in his arms and chuckled, "To verify the results of the Special Training, I've decided to challenge the Vermilion Gym tomorrow, and the pokémon challenging it will be Pichu!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a long string of Question Mark Bullet Comments immediately floated across the Live Stream Room.
"Streamer, are you crazy? Lt. Surge of the Vermilion Gym's pokémon is Raichu, Pichu's final Evolved Form. You're taking Pichu to challenge it? Isn't that purely hitting a rock with an egg? At least let Pichu evolve once before challenging!"
"Exactly! Using a Devolved Form against an Evolved Form is much harder than a Type Disadvantage. After all, what you know, the opponent likely knows too. But what you don't know, the opponent might know. Plus, due to evolution, the opponent's Base Stats crush yours in every aspect. How are you supposed to fight that?"
"Streamer, please let Pichu go! As far as I know, Lt. Surge is notoriously Ruthless.
If Pichu loses, don't expect it to leave the Pokémon Center for three to five days."
"Streamer! Curiosity is fine, but sensationalism is really not okay! Last time you defeated Golem by using Surf to catch it off guard, instantly knocking it out with Quadruple Damage. But Raichu doesn't have a quadruple weakness. The only weakness is Ground-type, and as far as I know, Pichu can't learn the corresponding Move, right?"
"Streamer, think twice!"
The Netizens in the Live Stream Room didn't know that Pichu's Ability is Lightning Rod, but even if they did, they probably wouldn't be optimistic about Pichu's Electrical Energy Absorption Capacity, hence the widespread pessimism.
Seeing this, Adrian just smiled and said confidently, "Please don't worry, Pichu is very strong after its Special Training."
As he spoke, Pichu also stood up, raised its hands, and made a fist-pumping and Muscle-flexing gesture.
Of course, Pichu clearly doesn't have Muscles.
"We will definitely win the orange badge tomorrow."
—
Adrian, cooperating with Pichu, issued a Declaration of Victory, while also adding a reassurance: "Of course, I know that all you Armchair Trainers are worried about Pichu's safety. But rest assured, as soon as Pichu shows any sign of losing, I will immediately recall it and surrender. I absolutely won't let Pichu get hurt."
Seeing Adrian promise by patting his chest, the many Netizens stopped talking.
Meanwhile, some of his Die-Hard Fans were secretly guessing what New Tricks Adrian would pull off tomorrow.
After all, since his Debut, every boast Adrian has made seems to have come true.
After confirming that he would stream the challenge at the Vermilion Gym tomorrow, the Pichu Streamer Logged Off.
Subsequently, the Popularity of the Live Stream Room plummeted at a visible rate, making Adrian's eyelids twitch.
Who exactly is the Streamer?
In the Early Hours of the morning, Adrian was already asleep.
Pichu was covered by a Blanket, sleeping soundly in Adrian's arms.
—
Dratini was also on the bed, coiled up on the Blanket at the foot of the bed, using the Scale it obtained in the sea today as a Pillow.
As for Gyarados, due to its massive size, it could only rest inside its Pokéball.
Buzz!
Just then, the Scale suddenly emitted a hazy Glow, and wisps of Energy overflowed.
"Yo'er~"
Dratini suddenly woke up.
It felt an Energy that originated from the same source, and crucially, it was Pure.
Blinking its eyes, Dratini saw Adrian sound asleep, so it didn't disturb him. Instead, it naturally drew the overflowing Energy toward itself and absorbed it all.
"Yo'er~"
Dratini squinted its eyes, momentarily lost in pleasure.
It had thought Adrian's energy cube was already a rare treasure, but compared to this Scale, it seemed somewhat insignificant.
Because it could feel that the strange Energy contained within the Scale seemed to be modifying its body and enhancing its Potential?!
"Gulu~ Gulu~"
As the wisps of Energy were absorbed and digested, Dratini suddenly felt hungry.
This greatly surprised it!
Because it had clearly eaten a very full Dinner!
The night passed without incident.
The Next Morning, after Adrian finished preparing, he took Pichu and headed to the Vermilion Gym.