Luke officially won the match as his opponent's last Politoed collapsed.
Throughout the entire battle, Luke had used only a single Venusaur, yet it had managed to wear down and defeat all six of his opponent's Pokémon with the infamous Substitute + Protect + Toxic strategy.
Defeating six Pokémon with just one should have been every Trainer's greatest triumph.
Yet in Teacher Luke's livestream…
…it was downright infuriating.
"How can there be such a disgusting strategy?!"
"The strategy isn't dirty—Teacher Luke is!"
Luke recalled Venusaur to its Poké Ball, though he still felt a little uneasy.
Pokémon: Battle wasn't a turn-based game. Trainers had to issue real-time voice commands throughout the fight.
If he hadn't been battling from the fifth floor, and if his opponent hadn't charged in so recklessly, he might have actually lost.
"That was close. Good thing I'm just better," Luke muttered.
To everyone watching, the remark sounded like pure mockery.
Your Venusaur had just swept an entire team and still had nearly full HP, and you were calling that close?
The cruelest victory was breaking your opponent's spirit first.
"I just argued with the Gym Leader. If you have even a shred of decency, come visit me in the hospital!"
"This strategy is way too dangerous! It's not that Pokémon is in danger, it's that Trainer's personal safety is in danger!"
"Teacher Luke, come outside! I just want to talk!"
Luke remained completely unfazed.
"Thanks to 'Is Teacher Luke a Trainer?' for the Plane gift. Teacher Luke isn't a Trainer—it's just a hobby."
The viewers nearly wanted to spit through their screens.
A hobby?
Your hobby was inventing the dirtiest strategies imaginable?
And you just happened to wipe out six Pokémon with one Venusaur?
You're still claiming you're not a Trainer?
"Thanks to 'Fighter' for the Rocket! Boss, you're too generous!"
Luke, who had sounded half-dead only moments ago, instantly became energetic as the Rocket gift animation exploded across the stream.
"Thanks, boss… Wait, isn't this account an alt? How come…"
The chat immediately filled with mournful cries.
"The boss has lost his mind!"
"Red, stop donating to Teacher Luke! He's going to corrupt you!"
"Holy crap! It's really the World Champion! The World Champion just sent Teacher Luke a Rocket!"
Standing in front of his computer, Luke stared at the familiar username for exactly 0.05 seconds.
Then, at lightning speed, he promoted Red to moderator and sent him a private message.
[Did Teacher Luke Eat Today?: Red, here's my LINE ID: XXXX. Let's chat sometime!]
The message was even thoughtfully translated into Japanese.
Luke couldn't help giving himself a mental thumbs-up.
Perfect.
As soon as Red entered the stream, the viewer count exploded past 500,000, fueled by the attention surrounding the World Champion.
The donation counter climbed at an astonishing pace, while the chat raced by so quickly that it was nearly impossible to read.
"Teacher Luke, you're famous now!!"
"Can you get me Red's autograph?"
"Red, Mommy loves you!"
Since it was an international streaming platform, the audience wasn't limited to viewers from Kanto. Fans from Unova, Hoenn, Kalos, and countless other regions poured into the stream.
Before long, messages in every imaginable language flooded the chat, making the livestream even livelier.
"Hello? Is the streamer AFK? Why isn't he saying anything?"
"Teacher Luke, teach us the Substitute + Protect + Toxic strategy again!"
"Protect… Protect… Ah! I get it now!"
Red had never imagined that sending a single Rocket would cause such chaos.
He glanced at Yellow, who smiled helplessly.
"You're already the World Champion. You're a public figure now."
Red scratched his head.
"The battle was just so exciting… I couldn't help myself."
"If Gold saw you showering his rival with gifts, I wonder how angry he'd be."
Yellow chuckled softly.
Red laughed awkwardly.
Just then, a private message popped up from the user "Did Teacher Luke Eat Today?"
Red's eyes lit up.
"He wants to battle me?!"
Yellow smiled wryly.
"I think he just wants you to send more gifts."
"I remember you studied English, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
Red nodded.
"I studied it for a while."
[Fighter: We'll have a chance to chat another time. 🙂]
After replying, Red suddenly slapped his forehead.
"I almost forgot! I'm supposed to spar with Blue at Viridian Gym today!"
"It's still not too late."
"Come on, let's go!"
Yellow blinked in surprise as she watched Red hurry away.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she sighed quietly.
"So… I never got the chance to bring up the movie."
At the moment, Luke only knew three things about Red.
First, the guy was unbelievably famous. His face seemed to be everywhere online.
Second, he was now Luke's biggest benefactor, so naturally Luke had to stay on his good side.
Third…
Could someone please explain what all those ellipses in Red's messages were supposed to mean?
And that smiley face…
Was he making fun of him?
"Just say what you mean! Stop using ellipses all the time. It's exhausting trying to guess what you're thinking…"
Luke sighed deeply before speaking to the stream.
"That's it for today's broadcast. See you next time."
Before anyone could react, he ended the stream with practiced speed.
The viewers were left completely stunned.
"What?! We just hit one million viewers, and you're ending the stream already?"
"Why are you so good at ending broadcasts?"
"You looked pretty panicked at the end there, but that one-versus-six victory was incredible!"
"Luke! Mommy loves you!"
Luke never noticed that after Red's Rocket gift, his follower count had begun climbing at an astonishing speed.
The promised face reveal at 100,000 followers was getting closer and closer.
"Come on, everyone! Keep following! We'll get Teacher Luke's face reveal soon!"
"Does anyone actually think Teacher Luke is some handsome streamer?"
"Who cares what he looks like? I'm here for the comedy!"
Even after the broadcast ended, the follower count continued to rise.
Meanwhile, Luke had already closed the streaming app and started carefully studying Pokémon: Battle.
"That was way too close today… This stupid game actually uses real-time voice commands!"
He continued scrolling through the game interface.
"Wait… there's no four-move limit?"
His eyes widened.
"Doesn't that make me completely overpowered?"
[Ding… System binding in progress…]
[Binding successful.]
[Host: Luke]
Luke froze.
"Who's there?!"
[Current BP: 1720]
[Tap to view detailed information.]
[Current Functions: 10x Gacha, Shop… Additional functions will unlock over time.]
[Thank you for using the system.]
Luke blinked.
"Oh."
"I thought it was somebody else."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"You should've introduced yourself sooner."
"So this is my cheat code."