"Use my body as bait? Look, I might be obsessed with fishing, but not that obsessed. Besides, why would any Pokémon even be interested in my body?"
Caster scrolled through the live chat, picking out comments here and there to respond to as he bantered with his viewers.
"Hm? I heard I'm being kept by a rich woman? Who told you that? This is news to me!"
Caster put on an exaggerated look of surprise and joked, "If some rich woman really wanted to keep me, I wouldn't even bother streaming anymore.
I mean, think about it. Before I'm living the kept life, I stream to make money. After I'm living the kept life, I'm still streaming to make money? What's the point then?"
But his gossip-hungry fans clearly weren't willing to let it go, continuing to flood the chat with skeptical comments.
"Host, quit playing dumb! We basically know everything already, and we have eyewitnesses who saw you hop on Miss Clair's ride from Blackthorn Gym.
The two of you flew off into the sky together on her dragon. You still gonna claim nothing's going on between you two?!"
"Yeah, host. Miss Clair is gorgeous, and she comes from a Dragon Master family. If this thing between you two works out, you'll basically have hit the jackpot."
"But real talk, I heard Miss Clair has a hell of a temper.
The slightest thing sets her off and she loves to whip out her riding crop. Host, you must have been through hell these past few weeks, right?"
"Damn, Miss Clair sounds kinky as hell!!! I'm into it!"
The comments kept flooding in, each one sounding more believable than the last, with occasional jokers throwing in their two cents.
"Fake news!"
Caster's face turned serious as he set the record straight.
"I admit it. I do know Miss Clair from Blackthorn City, but we're completely innocent. Nothing like what you're all thinking is going on. We just talked shop about Pokémon training..."
But the viewers obviously didn't buy it, immediately calling him out: "Talked shop about Pokémon training? Where? For a whole month?"
"There might have been some exchange, but I'm pretty sure it's not the kind of 'exchange' you're thinking of."
"Host, give us the juicy details on this 'exchange'!!!"
Seeing the conversation getting out of hand, Caster's expression turned stern as he scoffed, "I may come from nothing, but I have my pride.
Besides, I'm a grown man. How could I be content living under someone else's thumb? Anyway, as far as being a kept man goes, I'd rather starve to death, die out there, jump off this very building, than take a single handout!"
Seeing Caster speak with such conviction, the viewers finally started to believe him.
After all, anyone with eyes could see that Caster was incredibly talented with a bright future ahead.
There really was no need for him to mooch off anyone!
"Phew! Good, good! As long as the host isn't being kept, I can rest easy!"
"Bro, I totally get you. When I first heard that the host was being kept by a rich woman, I tossed and turned all night, couldn't sleep, lost hair by the handful. Now I can finally sleep well."
Watching the endless stream of comments, Caster was left speechless for a long moment.
Clearly, these fans were both worried he was suffering and worried he was living the high life without them!
After the rumor was cleared up, some fans asked what Caster had actually been up to this whole time. Caster quickly filled them in.
However, he left out any mention of the Dragon's Holy Land, since that place wasn't meant for public knowledge.
Otherwise, it could easily attract the attention of criminals and poachers.
After all, the Dragon's Holy Land was home to far too many rare Dragon-type Pokémon.
Clair had warned Caster about this a while ago.
This was also the main reason why Caster hadn't been streaming or uploading videos during this period.
"Truth is, I've been putting my Pokémon through intensive training this whole time.
The results have been incredible. Both Gyarados and Pichu's strength have improved dramatically."
As Caster was speaking, Pichu's head popped out from behind him, waving its tiny paws to greet the fans in the stream: "Pi~ Pichu~"
"Waaah~ It's our Pichu host!"
"Aww~ Pichu just keeps getting cuter and cuter!"
"Hey, you! Stop hogging the camera. People who don't know might think you're the actual host. Know your place, will you?"
The moment Pichu appeared, Caster was completely upstaged. Gifts started popping up one after another, making Caster's eyes widen in disbelief.
At the same time, the viewer count in Caster's stream began to skyrocket.
"Not even as popular as a mouse? But I'm the trainer here!"
Caster scratched his head, thinking to himself: "Next time I should just let Pichu host. It's pretty lazy anyway and barely trains. Plus, the money still goes into my account..."
"Pi~"
After showing off to the camera for a bit, Pichu, unable to read the comments, got bored and tried to climb onto the bed for a nap, but Caster caught it mid-climb.
"Don't let Pichu's cuteness fool you. It's actually really strong now."
Caster held Pichu in his arms, grinning. "To prove the results of our training, I've decided to challenge the Vermilion Gym tomorrow, and the Pokémon I'm using will be Pichu!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a long string of question marks flooded the chat.
"Host, have you lost your mind? The Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge's Pokémon is Raichu, Pichu's final evolution.
You're going to challenge him with Pichu? That's like throwing an egg at a rock! At least let Pichu evolve once before challenging him!"
"Exactly! An unevolved Pokémon fighting its evolved form is even harder than fighting with a type disadvantage.
After all, whatever you know, your opponent probably knows too. But whatever you don't know, your opponent might still know.
Plus, because of evolution, your opponent's base stats across the board will crush yours. How are you supposed to win?"
"Host, please spare Pichu! From what I know, Lt. Surge is notorious for being ruthless and showing no mercy.
If Pichu loses, don't expect to leave the Pokémon Center for three to five days."
"Host! Confidence is fine, but overconfidence is dangerous! Last time you beat Golem by catching it off guard with Surf for that quad damage one-shot.
But Raichu doesn't have any quad weaknesses, and its only weakness is Ground-type. As far as I know, Pichu can't learn any Ground-type moves, right?"
"Host, think this through!"
The viewers in the stream didn't know that Pichu's ability was Lightningrod, but even if they did, they probably wouldn't be confident in Pichu's ability to absorb and use electrical energy effectively.
The mood was overwhelmingly pessimistic.
Seeing this, Caster just smiled confidently. "Don't worry, everyone. After all that training, Pichu is seriously strong now."
As he spoke, Pichu stood up, raising both paws and making fist-pumping and flexing gestures.
Of course, Pichu clearly had no muscles to speak of.
"The Thunder Badge is ours tomorrow, guaranteed."
Caster declared victory alongside Pichu, while also adding a disclaimer: "Of course, I get that you're worried about Pichu's safety.
But rest assured, if Pichu shows any sign of being overwhelmed, I'll immediately recall it and forfeit. I absolutely won't let Pichu get hurt."
Seeing Caster promise so earnestly, most viewers stopped objecting.
Meanwhile, some of the die-hard fans were secretly wondering what new tricks Caster would pull off tomorrow.
After all, since his debut, every bold claim Caster had made seemed to come true.
After confirming tomorrow's live stream for the Vermilion Gym challenge, the Pichu host signed off.
The viewer count immediately dropped at a visible rate, making Caster's eye twitch.
Who's the actual host here?
In the early morning hours, Caster was already fast asleep.
Pichu was under the covers, nestled in Caster's arms, sleeping soundly.
Dratini was also on the bed, but coiled up at the foot on top of the blanket, using the scale it had obtained from the sea today as a pillow.
As for Gyarados, due to its massive size, it could only rest inside its Poké Ball.
Buzz!
Just then, the scale suddenly began to emit a soft glow, with wisps of energy radiating outward.
"Yoorrr~"
Dratini woke with a start.
It sensed an energy of the same origin, and more importantly, incredibly pure.
Blinking, and seeing that Caster was still sound asleep, Dratini decided not to disturb him. Instead, it drew the radiating energy toward itself and absorbed it all.
"Yoorrr~"
Dratini closed its eyes, completely entranced.
It had thought Caster's energy orbs were already some of the finest things in the world, but compared to this scale, they seemed almost insignificant.
Because it could feel that the mysterious energy contained within the scale was somehow transforming its body and increasing its potential!
Gurgle~ Gurgle~
As it absorbed and digested the wisps of energy, Dratini suddenly felt hungry.
This surprised it greatly!
After all, it had eaten its fill at dinner!
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after getting ready, Caster headed to Vermilion Gym with Pichu.