Chapter 2: Becoming a Trainer? Never in This Lifetime!
After calming himself, Lu Ye went online to gather information. His priority was to understand what exactly had changed in this world. It appeared that, due to a "world-line convergence," the reality he knew had merged with the Pokémon world. However, Lu Ye seemed to be the only one who noticed this profound shift.
Even history textbooks had been rewritten. According to records on Pokémon, history was now roughly divided into the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary periods. In the Ancient era, the number of Mew gradually dwindled, and the earliest prehistoric Pokémon were born.
The Medieval period saw a meteor strike the Hoenn region, awakening ancient Pokémon. This crisis was eventually calmed by Rayquaza. Later, in the Modern era, a scientist from the Kanto region, Professor Nishinomori, invented the Poké Ball in 1925, marking the official beginning of "Pokémon Studies."
"This is actually required history content now?" Lu Ye murmured, a peculiar expression on his face.
The world's timeline was now filled with significant Pokémon-related events. For example, in the year 1700, the Barphalm Shrine was completed, and in 1896, the first Pokémon League Tournament was held. Trying to memorize all of it sounded exhausting to Lu Ye.
"It looks like being a top student isn't easy, even in the Pokémon world!" he sighed, before opening the online version of his High School Political Science, Volume 3 textbook.
With the advent of Pokémon, a centralized organization called the Alliance was formed. In this parallel world, Lu Ye was located in the Tōhō Alliance's Modu City. Other regions, like the Kalos Alliance and Unova Alliance, also existed just as he remembered from the games.
"So, it really is a fusion of the Pokémon world and reality," Lu Ye said, staring at the screen before letting out a long sigh. "Does this mean… I have a chance to become a Pokémon Trainer?"
Becoming a Pokémon Trainer had always been Lu Ye's dream. But after some research, he felt a wave of hesitation.
"The mortality rate is that high?!"
In this world, becoming a Trainer was no simple feat. Mastery of several languages was only the foundation; Trainers were expected to learn Mandarin, Japanese, French, and English. Money, education, resources, and connections were all considered necessary.
With the extremely high mortality rate, Trainers were classified as a "high-risk occupation," and even Pokémon battles were considered "extreme sports." Compared to other professions, the high risks and strict requirements made Trainers exceedingly rare. Of course, Poké Balls were still popular among the general public, and many regular people owned Pokémon as pets.
Lu Ye froze for a moment as if something had just dawned on him. "Why even become a Trainer? Isn't being a content creator easier?"
With the rise of Pokémon, the costs for special effects in movies and games had plummeted, but their quality had also declined. Take, for instance, a recent blockbuster, Brycen Man, produced by Pokémon Hollywood. The film starred Brycen, the Gym Leader of Icirrus City from the Unova region. The plot was formulaic and the heroism clichéd, yet it still made it to the Top 250 on Douban. Lu Ye saw no reason he wouldn't become popular in this world.
As for gaming, due to the nature of this parallel world, none of the hit titles from his previous life existed here. The most popular game was Pokémon: Battle, developed by the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, which Lu Ye streamed daily. Pokémon: Battle was based on real Pokémon battles, using virtual imaging technology to create a real-time experience with a vast audience.
Some Trainer academies even used this game to train their students' tactical skills. Many famous Trainers, including the "Battle Legend" Red, were fans of the game. Due to the high entry barriers in real Pokémon battling, popular tactics from his previous life hadn't caught on yet. This was why Lu Ye could reach millions of views with just the "Substitute-Protect-Toxic" strategy.
"It seems just making a few more videos could get me into the top content creators..."
With his knowledge of Pokémon battles, producing more videos with millions of views would be a breeze. But first, he needed to understand how platforms like Bilibili ran in this parallel world.
Lu Ye took a bite of roast duck with green onions and continued browsing. Unlike his previous life, Bilibili, YouTube, Twitch, Niconico, and other platforms were popular, with almost the same lineup of creators. For example, one of YouTube's top creators, Nessa, the Water-type Gym Leader from the Galar Alliance, known as the "Black Pearl," was also a sensation on Bilibili.
Her long, toned legs and healthy tan skin, combined with a scene of her leaping from the sea on a Milotic with sparkling water droplets, had an artistic beauty that left Lu Ye a bit stunned.
"She's… actually Nessa!"
"Come to think of it, with Red around, it makes sense that Gym Leaders would also be here." The swimsuit video had topped Bilibili's fashion section, and the uploader was none other than Nessa herself.
The comment section was buzzing with fans. "Nessa did a photoshoot for LV? My youth is back!" one fan wrote. "Nessa, my little angel, I love you!" another commented. "Is that love? That's lust, you shameless perv!" a third replied.
Driven by curiosity, Lu Ye clicked into the dance section, expecting to see the usual dances. He was surprised to find a man instead: the popular Instagram influencer and Dragon-type Gym Leader from Galar, Raihan. With his well-proportioned body and slightly mischievous vibe, Raihan wore an orange headband, flashing a bright smile and gleaming white teeth.
Although he wasn't as handsome as Lu Ye, Raihan had a massive following thanks to his dancing skills and status as a Dragon-type Gym Leader. In the film category, the cover featured Hollywood star Karen's new movie trailer.
"It seems that being a content creator really has potential," Lu Ye murmured to himself. "I'll continue streaming tonight and observe things before making any big moves."
Lu Ye already had a rough plan for his future. Becoming a Trainer was out of the question. Not in this lifetime. Only by writing novels and making videos could he make a living. Though he had no intention of becoming a Trainer, the idea of keeping a few Pokémon as pets was appealing.
"What Pokémon would be good to keep?" he wondered. "Since I'm not battling, something cute should be the priority! Eevee? Pikachu? Just imagine cuddling an Eevee and a Pikachu every day; wouldn't that be bliss?"
A Poké Ball cost about 500 yuan. After checking his balance and factoring in bonuses from his viral videos, Lu Ye had about 20,000 yuan. He planned to visit the dedicated Pokémon store in Modu tomorrow to buy some Poké Balls.
That night, Lu Ye went live as usual. Thanks to the hype around his recent videos, his viewer count soared past 200,000 as soon as he started streaming.