Chapter 4: No Double-Crossers, Give Me a Cheat Already!
Lu Ye's Venusaur defeated the opponent's last Pokémon, a Poliwrath, winning the battle. He had won the 6-on-1 battle using only his Venusaur. This victory should have been a source of pride, but the viewers were infuriated. "How can there be such a nasty strategy?!" they wrote. Another viewer added, "It's not the tactic that's dirty; it's Teacher Lu's twisted mind!"
On screen, Lu Ye returned Venusaur to its Poké Ball. He felt a bit uneasy, knowing this game requires real-time voice commands and his skills were top-notch. "Phew, lucky for me, my skills are top-notch," he murmured. To his audience, his words came off as smug.
"Venusaur had almost full HP after a 6-on-1, and he calls that 'close'?! This strategy is making me so mad!" a viewer commented.
Lu Ye's expression didn't change. He thanked a viewer for a gift and answered a question: "Is Teacher Lu Really a Trainer?"
"No, it's just a hobby," he replied. At that moment, every viewer wanted to tell him that his hobby was studying dirty tactics. "You can 6-on-1 with only a Venusaur and it's 'just a hobby'?! Are you sure you're not a real Trainer?!"
Suddenly, a rocket animation flashed on the screen. "Battle Legend" had sent a gift. Lu Ye, who had been half-asleep, perked up instantly. "Thank you, Boss! Huh? Is this ID a fake?"
Fans filled the chat with messages. "No way, it's really the world champion! The world champ is sending rockets to Teacher Lu!"
Lu Ye stared at the familiar ID, Red, on his screen. After a quick thought, he granted Red moderator privileges and sent him a private message: "Boss Red, here's my Line ID: XXXX. Feel free to reach out anytime!" He even translated it into Japanese.
After Red's visit, the viewer count skyrocketed past 500,000. In another room, Red hadn't expected the commotion. He glanced at Yellow, who smiled helplessly. "You're a world champion; you're a public figure now!"
Red replied, "The battle was just too thrilling; I couldn't hold back..." He then noticed a private message notification from Lu Ye. Seeing the message, Red's eyes lit up. "He wants to spar with me in a Pokémon battle!"
Yellow smirked. I bet he just wants you to send him more gifts.
Red let out a sheepish chuckle, then quickly replied. [Battle Legend]: …Sure, we'll have a chance to spar (smile). He then slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot, I'm supposed to spar with Blue at Viridian Gym today!"
"Still in time?" Yellow was taken aback.
Red said, "Blue, I'm coming too!" Watching Red's hurried figure, she sighed regretfully. "Still... I couldn't bring up the movie thing..."
Lu Ye was left with three things to think about Red. First, Red seemed to live online. Second, he was now Lu Ye's golden goose. Third, what did Red's ellipses and smile emoji mean? Just say what you mean! The guessing game was exhausting.
With a long sigh, Lu Ye ended the stream. "That's all for today's broadcast; see you next time." He ended it quickly, leaving viewers bewildered. "Over a million views, and he just signs off?" "Why are you so skilled at ending streams this fast?!"
Lu Ye didn't realize that his subscriber count was climbing fast. He had promised a face reveal at 100,000 subscribers and was already over halfway there. He closed the streaming software and began studying Pokémon: Battle. "I almost wiped out today. This game actually uses real-time voice commands! Oh man, there's no limit on the four-move set either. Does that make me invincible?!"
[Ding… System binding in progress… Binding complete!]
[Host: Lu Ye]
"Who... who's talking?!"
[Current BP: 1720]
[Available functions: 10 Consecutive Draws, Store… more features awaiting unlock]
"Pfft, you should've said so sooner. Turns out you're my cheat!"