Zhou Yuan finally finished formulating the training plan and nutritional intake chart for the dog for the next few days, stretched, and lay back on his bed.
He opened A-station, preparing to watch cute Pokémon videos to help him Sleep, but when he searched for videos, he found his own video was at the top of the trending topics.
“Oh, this?”
Zhou Yuan couldn’t quite understand how his video got to be number one on the hot search.
After clicking in to understand, Zhou Yuan realized that the culprits were his group of silly viewers. Not only did they randomly guess his identity, but they also tagged the people they guessed, and the most crucial thing was that the actual people replied and even reposted his video, directly causing a large number of users to start watching and discussing his video, which led to the sudden surge in popularity.
Since he was already there, Zhou Yuan simply clicked on his homepage and saw that his follower count had increased by 200,000, reaching 700,000 followers.
The views for his published 【Tactical Video 04】 had already exceeded two million, and the views for the previous three tactical videos had cumulatively increased by one million, bringing the total video views to eight million, not far from ten million.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhou Yuan also collected the creator incentives he had forgotten about earlier. The creator incentives plus the audience’s tips for the videos totaled nearly 50,000 Pokémon coins.
After withdrawing the Pokémon coins to his bank card, looking at the balance of over 60,000, which included his accumulated New Year’s money over the years, Zhou Yuan felt a sense of extravagance, as it was his first time having so much savings. He then opened Taomao, preparing to purchase a batch of Berries and energy cubes. After all, he still needed to try his best to satisfy the energy points for the card pool so he could draw the energy cube production technology earlier.
After searching for the corresponding items, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but look up at the sky,
“Ah… so expensive…”
By converting prices and energy points, Zhou Yuan concluded that the exchange rate between energy points and Pokémon coins was approximately one to twenty for rarer Berries and items. For Berries like shaling fruit, the energy point cost was 500 points per fruit, while the price sold on the official website was 10,000 Pokémon coins per fruit. For items like Fire Gems, the energy point cost was 1,000 points, but Zhou Yuan could not find similar items on the official website, only some posts stating high-price acquisitions of elemental gems, with the lowest one being acquired for 50,000.
After Zhou Yuan looked up information, he found that elemental gems could only be condensed by Elite Level Pokémon after spending a certain amount of time and effort, and after condensing the gem, the Pokémon’s combat power and training efficiency would decrease to some extent, so they were always rare and in high demand.
The price of energy cubes was similar to that of high-grade Berries. energy cubes for five days cost 20,000 Pokémon coins, while buying the same specification of energy cubes with energy points required 1,000 energy points.
However, the price of beginner Berries was very low. For Berries like Oran Berry, the price on the official website was ten Pokémon coins per fruit, and for slightly better ones like Wepear Berry, it was only fifty Pokémon coins per fruit. For these low-level Berries, it was clearly more cost-effective to buy them with Pokémon coins.
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Yuan silently hugged himself as he looked at his bank card balance, which had shrunk to just over 6,000.
For this purchase, he bought two Passho Berries and two grass silkworm fruits, which the limited-time shop hadn't refreshed, ten Wepear Berries, and five days' worth of energy cubes. This directly cost him 60,500 Pokémon coins. The official website had a next-day delivery free shipping event, so he estimated he would receive his purchased items the next day.
On another note, let’s talk about the impact of Koga’s reposting of the video. Because Koga himself was an Elite in the Kanto region, although he had a relatively cold personality, colleagues occasionally communicated with each other. Not long after Koga reposted the video, the various Gym Leaders and Elites in the Kanto region also received notification messages. Out of curiosity, everyone clicked into the video. After watching the video, most people felt that the summary of the Minimize tactic in the video was indeed accurate, and several people went to A Yuan’s homepage to watch his previous three videos, finding them increasingly interesting.
Regardless of the final outcome, at least after Koga reposted the video, the Elites and Gym Leaders in the Kanto region, and even some Gym Leaders in other regions, had a certain impression of “A Yuan.”
In Shuangqing City, at the home of the Fire-type Gym Leader, Yun Duo was holding her Scorbunny and browsing A-station. As she scrolled, she came across Zhou Yuan’s video. After clicking in and watching it, she chuckled with delight. After finishing 【Pokémon Tactics 04】, she still felt unfulfilled, so she clicked on the blogger’s homepage to continue watching his other videos. Substitute even made Yun Duo consider catching a Grass-type Pokémon for her second Pokémon.
When she saw “Bug as Dragon,” Yun Duo was initially cheerful, but the more she watched, the more interesting it became, until the appearance of the Bug-type relay team, which made the smile on Yun Duo’s face gradually disappear.
She recalled the fear of being beaten by three Bug-type Pokémon.
When she saw that the opponent in the video was herself, Yun Duo completely lost it.
“Oh, what are you doing, it’s so annoying! You beat me and then used me as material, I hope I don’t catch this blogger.”
Although she spoke defiantly, Yun Duo also remembered what her father told her after she showed him the saved battle video that day.
...
On the very night Yun Duo battled Zhou Yuan, Yunyang returned home from the Gym. Seeing his daughter running over, Yunyang felt a moment of relief. A little cotton jacket was truly good, much better than his good-for-nothing eldest son, who only knew how to make him angry every day and refused to take over the Fire-type Gym, insisting on becoming a Pokémon researcher.
Looking at his daughter, Yunyang, who was usually known for his fierce demeanor in the Gym, couldn’t help but become kind and benevolent.
“Duo Duo, what do you need from Dad?”
“Dad, why are you talking like that? Can’t a daughter just be welcoming her tired father home after a long day?”
“What nonsense are you talking to your old man? Normally, when I come home, you don’t even leave your room. You never come unless you need something. Tell me, what do you need, my little black-hearted cotton jacket?”
“Oh, Dad~~~”
Yun Duo began to Charm Yunyang’s arm.
“Alright, alright, stop it. Just get to the point. I have an online meeting to attend later.”
“Dad, it’s like this, today I met a player in a virtual battle…”
Yun Duo told her father about the battle that day. Yunyang was also a bit curious. Although his daughter had only just obtained her first Pokémon, she had been learning Pokémon battles since childhood under his tutelage, especially the Sunny Day team, which had received his true teachings. In terms of theoretical knowledge alone, she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage even against a Gym Leader. Yet, she was still defeated by a Bug-type Pokémon. Thinking this, Yunyang asked his daughter to show him the video.
After watching the entire battle video, Yunyang was silent for a moment, then said to his daughter:
“Duo Duo, I probably know why this person won. Their grasp and judgment of the situation, their estimation of your psychology, and their prediction of your next move can all be said to be very mature. And these are also things you need to learn right now. Let’s take this battle as an example…”
Next, Yunyang reviewed the battle with his daughter, telling her where her judgments and commands were wrong and what she should have done.
The recollection ended there. Yun Duo looked at the video on her phone, but her thoughts were no longer on the video. She began to ponder: “Is this blogger really that amazing? Can I learn something from him?”
Just then, Yun Duo heard the sound of the front door opening. She put Scorbunny aside, grabbed her phone, and ran out again.
Yunyang had been training apprentices at the Gym until very late today, returning home late at night. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his daughter running towards him again, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What’s wrong, Duo Duo? What’s up again?”
“Dad, I found the person who beat me that day. He’s a video blogger. He’s posted four videos, and I think they’re all pretty interesting. He even got Koga, the Elite of the Kanto region, to repost his video. Come and watch it.”
Listening to his daughter, Yunyang also became a little interested. Although he didn’t have a good impression of most sensational video bloggers, this one had, after all, defeated his daughter and made her say it was interesting. Most importantly, an Elite had even reposted his video. So, Yunyang asked his daughter to show him the video.
Yun Duo projected the video onto the living room TV. Yunyang got a beer from the fridge and a yogurt for his daughter. The father and daughter then sat on the sofa and started watching A Yuan’s videos.
From the last video, Chansey Also Has Spring, the father and daughter watched all the way to the first tactical video of Butterfree. Throughout, Yunyang said nothing, only switching videos, while Yun Duo often exclaimed beside him:
“Wow, how did he guess that?”
“Wow, his foresight is so amazing!”
“Wow, his tactics are so novel too!”
It was already past three in the morning when the videos finished playing. Yun Duo was feeling sleepy, and she saw Scorbunny already asleep leaning against the sofa.
Fighting off her drowsiness, she asked Yunyang:
“Dad, what do you think of these videos?”
“Just as you said, they’re quite interesting. And as I said before, this blogger’s awareness, prediction, and foresight are quite something, even stronger than I previously estimated. Just like the comments say, he at least has Gym-level strength. You can watch his videos more often when you have time, and learn more about his command and awareness.”
“Alright, it’s past three. Go to Sleep.”
After saying that, Yunyang sent his daughter back to her room, picked up his half-finished beer, and also turned to go back to his room, muttering to himself as he went:
“I’ve been wondering why Gym Leader Meng has been so cheerful in recent video conferences. So it’s because of this blogger. I’ll ask him what’s going on.”
Saying that, he sent a message to Meng Boguang:
“Gym Leader Meng, do you know that video blogger named A Yuan?”
“Oh, Brother Yun, you’re still awake so late. Yes, I know him. What’s up?”
Yunyang didn’t expect Meng Boguang to be such a night owl, able to reply instantly late at night.
“Nothing much, I just watched his video and found it interesting. Can you introduce me to him?”
“Oh, that might not be very convenient. Although I know him, I’m not too familiar with him, so I can’t really tell you that much.”
“No problem, no problem, I understand.”
Yunyang was a bit disappointed. After all, Trainers liked to meet more like-minded people, especially those with similar strength, so they could spar with each other occasionally.
Just as Yunyang was about to turn off his screen and go to Sleep, Meng Boguang’s message came again.
“Brother Yun, although I can’t tell you who he is, I can tell you that he is from your Shuangqing City. I can only say this much.”
Yunyang was a bit dumbfounded. He himself was the peak of combat power in the entire Shuangqing City. He knew everyone else who had similar or slightly weaker combat power, and there was no such person among them. The more he thought, the less he understood. He wanted to ask more, but the other person had already said so much, so it was awkward to ask again. He simply began to eliminate and search for suspected individuals in his mind.
That night, Yunyang suffered from insomnia, but he still couldn’t figure out who this blogger could be.
