In the live chat, some people even closed their eyes, unable to bear watching Pichu's impending doom.
"Gooom~"
Seeing Pichu right in front of it, Golem's face twisted viciously as it jumped high and frantically channeled Ground-type energy within its body.
BOOM!
As its massive, heavy body came crashing down, the ground violently trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, the scene of Pichu being swallowed up by the earthquake never materialized.
Instead, a wave of water appeared out of nowhere, lifting Pichu up.
Not only did it spare Pichu from the earthquake's wrath, but the wave also came crashing down hard on Golem.
"Gooom~"
With a cry of pain, Golem was completely engulfed by the water.
Silence!
The entire arena fell into stunned quiet.
This sudden turn of events left everyone, both at the scene and in the live chat, completely dumbfounded.
After quite a while, people finally started posting comments.
"That wave just now... that was a Water-type move, right?"
"If I'm not mistaken, that should be Surf. It creates a wave to attack opponents; pretty powerful. And Golem's a Ground/Rock Pokémon, so it has a quadruple weakness to Water..."
"This Pichu knows Water-type moves too? How many moves does it know? As far as I'm aware, even taught moves are pretty hard to master when they're off-type."
"For real! Compared to the streamer's Pichu, my Rattata is basically trash. All it knows is Tackle and Tail Whip. They're both rodent Pokémon; why's the gap so huge?"
"A Pichu that knows Surf? That's so cool!"
...
It wasn't just the viewers; even Clair and Flint, both gym trainers, were stunned.
Clair especially felt completely blown away!
This kid always manages to pull something new out of his hat!
After a long moment, when the waves finally subsided, the heavy, sturdy Golem hadn't fainted but was barely propping itself up on one arm, half-kneeling on the ground and panting heavily.
"Quadruple damage and it still didn't get one-shot? This Golem really is a gym trainer's Pokémon. Impressive!"
Caster raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but comment.
But to Flint's ears, this only made his face flush red.
As Golem's trainer, Flint knew full well that Golem's ability was Sturdy, which prevented it from being knocked out in one hit. That was the only reason it could barely hang on.
Otherwise, Golem would have collapsed long ago.
"Dude, you're not just killing him; you're twisting the knife!"
"Look, everyone! He's turning red! Hahaha!"
"Streamer, Golem's health is hanging by a thread. Finish it off now!"
"Watch out; he might use Self-Destruct and take you down with him."
"Self-Destruct? Nah, that won't happen. Even if he does blow up, the streamer still wins. After all, he's still got one Pokémon that hasn't battled yet."
...
And indeed, things played out just as the viewers predicted. Flint didn't order Golem to use Self-Destruct.
Mwah!
With Pichu blowing a kiss from a distance, Golem's flickering health finally gave out. Its eyes spun in circles as it collapsed to the ground, clearly knocked out.
As the battle concluded, Caster's live stream erupted with various special effects and animations as viewers began showering him with donations.
After all, Pichu had swept through two opponents with a type disadvantage, which was truly remarkable.
"Thanks to Drago for the rocket!"
Watching the donations rolling in one after another.
Caster grinned: "Your support is my greatest motivation to keep going. As long as you keep supporting me, forget gym battles and regional leagues; I'll lead you all straight to the moon..."
"Young man, you're quite strong."
Just then, Flint walked over and held out a badge crafted from rock: "This is the Boulder Badge. Please accept it."
"Thank you!"
Caster bowed, then happily accepted the Boulder Badge.
"My third Boulder Badge; I got it!"
Caster showed it off to the camera.
"Pi~"
At the same time, the MVP Pichu climbed onto Caster's head, showing its adorable face to the camera with that same cute, innocent look.
If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, who would believe that this tiny, adorable creature had defeated heavyweight opponents like Onix and Golem with a type disadvantage, and without a scratch?
Watching the triumphant Caster and Pichu, the live chat buzzed with discussion, comments flooding the screen.
"Congrats! The Indigo League is within reach!"
"Hey, you! You're blocking my precious little Pichu from the camera again. So annoying!"
"Go, Caster! Sweep the Indigo Conference for me! See you on the Champion's Road!"
"Sweeping the Indigo Conference might be asking too much of Caster, though. He's got talent and potential, but he's still a rookie trainer."
"Speaking of someone who swept a regional conference on their first journey and conquered the Champion's Road, I'm reminded of an old acquaintance. Come to think of it, that person was about 80% similar to our current streamer. Even their Pokémon were so alike. Just missing a hat..."
"Don't say it! You really shouldn't say it! What happened then is happening now!"
...
The threshold for participating in a regional league tournament was eight badges, and without anyone really noticing, Caster had already collected nearly half.
At this moment, no one doubted anymore that Caster could participate in this year's Indigo Conference.
They were only curious about how far he'd go.
Round robin?
Elimination rounds?
Or maybe... the finals?
"Let's go, Pichu. Extra food tonight!"
Patting Pichu's fluffy, round little head, Caster smiled and turned off the stream before heading out the door.
"Pi~"
Pichu's eyes lit up at those words.
Extra food was its favorite!
But just then, Clair, who had been hiding outside the door, suddenly stepped out.
Caster, who was playing with the cute Pichu on his shoulder, nearly bumped right into her.
"Miss Clair?"
Looking at the striking woman in a cape and holding a whip, Caster was momentarily stunned.
With that outfit and appearance, there wasn't a second person in the entire Pokémon world who looked like this.
But the question was, why would Clair, the gym trainer from Blackthorn Gym in the Johto region, appear here?
So Caster was puzzled.
"So you do know me? That saves me some trouble explaining."
Clair nodded, no longer bringing up the unanswered friend request or the seven days of waiting.
She looked at Caster with piercing eyes: "You're 'Fishing Dreamer,' right? I've watched your videos. I know your Gyarados mastered Bounce while it was still a Magikarp. You taught it that, didn't you?"
"Move tutor?"
Caster's heart suddenly tightened.
Whenever he caught a Pokémon, his cheat ability rewarded him with various items, nearly half of which were TMs.
That was why his Pokémon had such extensive movesets.
But he'd never revealed this to anyone.
Yet now, someone from the Dragon Tamer clan had tracked him down. Naturally, he was nervous.
"Could the Dragon Tamer clan have figured something out?"
Cold sweat formed on Caster's back as anxiety gripped his heart.