The Vermilion Gym was a modern facility, but its facade was decorated with several enormous lightning bolt emblems that made it instantly clear this gym specialized in Electric-type Pokémon.
"Let me start the livestream first!"
At the entrance, Caster pulled out his phone and started streaming before officially challenging the gym.
"Hey everyone, we've made it to the Vermilion Gym. Now you're all about to watch Pichu work its magic!"
Caster greeted his audience first, and the adorable Pichu poked its head out from behind him right on cue, waving hello to the viewers watching the stream.
"Let's go, let's go!"
"Go Pichu! If you win, I'll donate a Master Ball. But if you lose, ditch this loser trainer and come to me! I'll treat you right!"
"Back off! If Pichu's gonna switch trainers, it should come to me since I'm actually in Vermilion City right now. Alright, heading to the Vermilion Gym entrance now to camp out and swoop in."
Since he'd announced the stream time in advance, quite a few viewers were already waiting, and a flood of comments scrolled by as soon as he went live.
"Don't worry, everyone! This battle's in the bag!"
Caster was brimming with confidence.
The Raichu that Lt. Surge would be using wasn't his actual ace Pokémon, but rather a hastily trained fighter he kept around specifically for gym challenges.
This Raichu's weakness was that it had evolved too quickly and lacked a solid foundation. It hadn't even learned any speed-boosting moves.
In the anime, this Raichu had initially crushed Ash's Pikachu with powerful Electric-type attacks.
But when Pikachu came back for a rematch and used Agility to run circles around it, the Raichu was completely helpless.
Pichu's current move list was way more impressive than Ash's Pikachu had been back then.
Add in the Lightning Rod ability that made it immune to Electric-type moves, and how could it possibly lose?
Boom!
Phone in hand, Caster pushed open the large door emblazoned with a lightning symbol and strode inside. "Hello? Anyone here? I'm Caster from Cerulean City, and I'm here to challenge the Vermilion Gym."
The interior was pitch dark, making it impossible to see the far end, but standing near the entrance were a man and a woman, both trainers with stern expressions.
Seeing that Caster was just a teenager, the red-haired female trainer with an athletic build immediately called out, "Gym Leader, another challenger's here!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a trainer with a massive, imposing physique stood up from a seat in the shadows. It was none other than Lt. Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader.
"Let me take a look!"
Lt. Surge stepped out from the shadows, each footstep radiating intimidation and authority.
Caster had to crane his neck back just to see his face clearly.
Caster wasn't short himself, but standing in front of Lt. Surge, he might as well have been a kid.
"There he is! Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge!"
"That guy's gotta be over six and a half feet tall, at least."
"Wait, isn't that the captain of the S.S. Anne? I saw him on the ship last time!"
"Are you serious? Don't you know that pretty much every Gym Leader has a side gig?"
When Lt. Surge appeared, the comment section immediately lit up.
Trainers who had challenged the Vermilion Gym before understood just how intimidating Lt. Surge could be.
"So you're today's challenger?"
Lt. Surge stopped in his tracks, looking down at Caster, but surprisingly his tone wasn't harsh. Instead, he said enthusiastically, "Welcome to Vermilion City, kid! But don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're young."
After saying this, Lt. Surge even reached out to pat Caster's head, but Caster had seen it coming and quickly dodged to the side.
Lt. Surge awkwardly withdrew his hand, then spotted Pichu on Caster's back and couldn't help but laugh. "A Pichu? A while back someone came in here with a Pikachu, which actually surprised me a bit. But a Pichu? Is that thing even old enough to battle?"
After that, Lt. Surge and his two subordinate trainers all burst into unrestrained laughter.
Caster didn't say much because he knew Lt. Surge looked down on unevolved Pokémon, believing that only evolved Pokémon were truly strong.
To Lt. Surge, unevolved Pokémon were all just kids.
Caster scoffed. "Lt. Surge, I'm here to challenge the gym. Is this how the Vermilion Gym treats its challengers?"
Hearing this, the group quickly suppressed their laughter.
"Alright! My bad just now!"
Lt. Surge spread his hands in a verbal apology, though he clearly wasn't sorry at all, and walked over to his position at the battlefield on his own.
Seeing this, the male trainer quickly stepped into his role as referee, announcing loudly, "Vermilion Gym challenge rules: both sides are limited to one Pokémon each, with no time limit for the battle."
"Kid! Watch closely and see what a real Pokémon looks like!"
With a smirk, Lt. Surge threw out a Poké Ball.
"Raichu~"
In a flash of light, a Pokémon appeared with dark orange fur covering its body and white fur on its belly. It looked similar to Pikachu but was much larger in size.
It was the Electric-type Pokémon, Raichu!
The referee pointed at Caster. "Gym Leader Lt. Surge's Pokémon is Raichu. Challenger, please send out your Pokémon."
"Go, Pichu!"
Caster patted Pichu on his back, and it immediately hopped down and ran onto the field, facing off against Raichu from across the battlefield.
Pichu's size was average for its species, standing only about a foot tall.
The opposing Raichu, on the other hand, was clearly well-trained, standing a full three feet tall. It was remarkably large for its species.
The two Pokémon standing together really did look like a toddler next to an adult. The difference was just too obvious.
"Whoa, you're seriously using a Pichu for this challenge?"
Lt. Surge looked genuinely shocked.
Last time he'd gotten careless and lost to Ash's Pikachu.
But what could a Pichu possibly do?
Nothing!
Lt. Surge crossed his arms and taunted, "With such a tiny little Pokémon, one punch from Raichu should have it crying for hours, right? Hahaha!"
As soon as he finished, all three of them burst into unrestrained laughter.
"This Gym Leader is so obnoxious. Does he have to be this rude?"
"Seriously! Streamer, if this doesn't work out, just forget it! Sabrina in Saffron City is still waiting for you to challenge her!"
"Sabrina, my favorite! Hehehe!"
"If we're talking hot, Lorelei of the Elite Four is the real deal, okay?"
The atmosphere in the livestream had been somewhat tense, but as soon as the discussion shifted to female trainers, the tone changed completely.
"We'll see who wins after we battle!"
Caster shot back, "Lt. Surge, your Raichu already lost to a Pikachu once, so it's not impossible for it to lose to a Pichu either."
Lt. Surge's smile immediately vanished, his expression darkening, and he said coldly, "Looks like I'll have to zap you until you go numb before you understand how terrifying electricity really is!"
"Both sides, take your positions. The gym challenge officially begins!"
With the referee's command, the battle officially started.
"Raichu, charge in and use Mega Punch!"
Lt. Surge launched the first attack with a smirk. "Let's show this kid what a real powerhouse looks like!"
"Raichu~"
Hearing the command, Raichu immediately rushed toward Pichu on all fours at high speed, radiating aggression.
As it closed in, Raichu clenched its right fist, which began glowing with a blinding white light.
Mega Punch. Just from the name alone, you could tell this was a move packed with serious power.
At the same time, across the world in Paldea region, Levincia City.
After getting up, washing up, and finishing breakfast, Iono put on her oversized punk outfit, ready to start her day's livestream.
However, before going live, Iono browsed through the trending videos on PokéTube like she always did.
She leaned back in her chair, her slender fingers tapping the keyboard, her feet dangling and swaying in the air.
Thanks to her lively, cheerful personality and her talent for engaging with her audience during streams, Iono's follower count had skyrocketed by millions in just one month, now reaching an impressive five million.
Becoming a mega internet celebrity with tens of millions of fans was just a matter of time for her.
After browsing the trending channels for a while, Iono felt kind of bored and started checking her list of followed streamers.
These were all streamers she respected or whose content was worth studying.
"Huh? Fishing Dreamer? That guy's streaming again?"