Chapter 3: Dinner's Ready, Brothers!
As soon as Lu Ye's livestream started, the comments exploded. "Dinner's ready, brothers!" one viewer wrote. Another added, "I'm here from a Bilibili video; Substitute-Protect-Toxic is seriously nasty!"
While launching Pokémon: Battle, Lu Ye read the comments aloud. "Why isn't the streamer turning on the camera?" he read. Then, he answered, "I will do a face reveal after I reach 100,000 subscribers."
A flood of question marks filled the screen, with many viewers curious about the streamer's personality. One fan praised him: "I've been a fan for 10 years, Teacher Lu is definitely a good-looking streamer!"
Lu Ye responded casually, "Good-looking is an overstatement. I'm just an average guy—maybe barely movie-star level." He continued to thank his viewers for their gifts. "Thanks to 'When's Teacher Lu's New Movie Coming Out' for the airplane gift... Soon. I just need to discuss the script with Karen."
He then announced the topic for today's stream: a Pokémon battle tutorial. The comments immediately filled with requests for a Substitute-Protect-Toxic tutorial, specifically for Bulbasaur. "Thanks to 'How to Substitute-Protect-Toxic with Bulbasaur' for the airplane gift," Lu Ye responded.
He chose a Venusaur for the demonstration. "Venusaur has many versatile strategies," he explained. "For example, in a Sunny Day team, it can use Chlorophyll to boost speed and attack. Or, using Substitute-Protect-Toxic as a foundation, it can learn Synthesis and Leech Seed to stay on the field longer."
"Less talk, more action—let's jump into a match so I can show you," he said. He was then matched with a player from the Johto Alliance named "Billiard Boy in the Wind." Lu Ye greeted his opponent in Japanese, "Konnichiwa," and selected Venusaur. His opponent led with a Typhlosion named "Blast Taro."
Meanwhile, in Pallet Town, Kanto, a girl with an orange ponytail, Yellow, nervously patted her cheeks. "It's fine. We're just watching a movie together. He won't think too much of it."
She was a bit hesitant, but her curiosity was too strong. "Shouldn't he be training right now?" she wondered. She pushed the door open, and a small Pikachu suddenly leaped down from the second floor into her arms. "Pika-chuuu~!"
"Pikachu, long time no see," Yellow said, gently petting the Pokémon. "Pika!" the Pokémon happily hopped down and climbed the stairs. Yellow looked up, her face flushing as she saw a young man with short black hair. He caught Pikachu and set it on his shoulder, grinning. "Yellow, I found a really interesting Trainer today!"
Inside Red's room, she noticed a shelf full of trophies, a simple bed, and a computer. "Sit anywhere!" Red said. Yellow sat on the bed. Red was excited. "Oh, Yellow, come look at this!" He showed her his computer screen.
Yellow noticed it was the game he always played. "Pokémon: Battle," he explained. "It's very similar to real battles. I play it to unwind when I'm tired from training."
Yellow's cheeks reddened slightly. "You... even when you're resting, all you think about is battles."
Red didn't notice. "Look, you have to check out this guy's stream! His understanding of Venusaur's tactics is incredible! Ahhh, I'd love to battle him and exchange Venusaur-raising strategies!"
"Pika-chuuu~!"
"Pikachu, you want to battle him too, huh?" Yellow watched the stream with curiosity. It was a 6-on-6 match. Lu Ye's Venusaur defeated a Typhlosion despite the type disadvantage. It then went on to defeat an Ambipom and a Sunflora. The chat filled with question marks. "Venusaur actually defeated Typhlosion in a type disadvantage battle with full health left?!"
"Yellow," she murmured, "Red, that username... could it be Gold?"
Red coughed, "Yeah, that's probably Gold. I remember he loves playing this game too."
On screen, Venusaur's Leech Seed vines then wrapped around a Togekiss. Lu Ye's voice explained, "Toxic pairs perfectly with Leech Seed; together, they're even more effective!" Togekiss was poisoned, and the vines sapped its strength. The screen was filled with comments.
"The timing is just perfect!" Yellow couldn't help but murmur in admiration.
"Even Gold doesn't stand a chance against him," Red nodded. He told Yellow, "Watching high-level Trainers is an important part of training too!" With her curiosity piqued, Yellow and Red continued to watch the stream.