After agreeing to become an apprentice at Sunlight Gym, Nemona soon took her leave.
And after a full morning of training plus one heart-pounding (utterly one-sided) battle, Eevee was now quietly napping in Qingyu's arms.
"I really didn't expect Nemona to actually become an apprentice at Sunlight Gym…"
Recalling what had just happened, Qingyu couldn't help but sigh.
"If Nemona really does become Champion next year, then people lining up to challenge Sunlight Gym would probably trample the doorstep flat…"
"And if I run into more promising kids, maybe I can trick—ahem, recruit a few more."
"If I somehow gather the entire Paldea protagonist quartet, wouldn't Sunlight Gym just be straight-up unbeatable?"
Now then—
Fantasy Time!
As his mind relaxed, a few lines of small text quickly appeared before Qingyu's eyes.
[Although your streaming career is progressing smoothly, drawing fans from all over the world to the remote Sunlight Gym is clearly no easy task.]
[Fortunately, local viewers have begun to appear. After an exhilarating battle, you ultimately secured your first victory since inheriting the Gym—with great difficulty.]
?
Qingyu slowly typed out a question mark in his mind.
Great difficulty?
Sure, Eevee's "King Engine" almost short-circuited his brain, but overall everything went pretty smoothly, didn't it?
This system really was—as always—wrong in the most spectacular way…
[Mission: Take on the responsibility of the Gym's successor and obtain your first victory against a challenger. (Completed)]
[Reward: Elesa's Gym Management Guide.]
After tapping the screen, a thin booklet quickly appeared in his palm.
Calling it a "guide" was generous—it looked more like a magazine.
Compared to Blue's notebook from before, this one had so little content it felt almost insulting…
Then again, Qingyu hadn't been expecting much from the reward anyway.
Driven by intense curiosity, he looked at the cover.
And instantly, he understood why Elesa had been able to take the Nimbasa Gym international.
With a face and body that perfect, not becoming famous would be a crime against nature!
…But how am I supposed to learn from this?
Am I supposed to imitate a certain three-time Contest Champion or something…?
The thought existed for only a split second before Qingyu violently shook his head and flung it straight out of his mind.
Nope. Absolutely not. Don't even think about it.
There had to be another viable approach!
Qingyu quickly flipped the page and began reading the main content of the guide.
Mm. Thankfully, it wasn't that kind of material.
Although he felt a strange hint of disappointment, Qingyu still patiently read through it in full.
In the end, he reached a conclusion:
Elesa's method might work—but it also kind of… might not.
In short, Elesa's philosophy was extremely radical, yet still somewhat worth referencing—
Discover your Gym's unique traits, and then amplify them without limit.
Because Elesa debuted in the modeling industry at a very young age, she made drastic reforms the moment she inherited the Gym.
She transformed most of the Gym into a dazzling fashion runway, selected visually striking Trainers as Gym apprentices, and even incorporated a nearby roller coaster into the Gym itself later on.
"So compared to endlessly improving one's own strength, raising the Gym's reputation among Trainers is actually the top priority?"
Qingyu quickly distilled Elesa's core idea.
It felt a bit… unorthodox, but he had to admit it worked—especially for "internet celebrity" Gym Leaders who naturally came with massive fanbases.
This novel concept had also been validated by many younger Gym Leaders over the years.
For example—Iono of Levincia Gym.
It really was a path that suited his current stage.
"Then what exactly is Sunlight Gym's development focus right now?"
Gently stroking Eevee's fur in a steady rhythm, Qingyu lowered his head and began thinking.
Fun livestream content like Iono's?
"Maybe partially—but it doesn't quite fit."
And after two streams, he could clearly feel that if nothing changed, livestreaming alone had almost no effect on the Gym's popularity.
At the end of the day, people followed him to learn his thought processes or see interesting tactics—not because of Sunlight Gym itself.
Wait a second…
"So the key word was actually learning?"
A spark of insight flashed through Qingyu's mind.
Under his influence, viewers in the stream and comment sections had already started calling themselves students.
Then didn't that make his role… a teacher?
If challenging the Gym could also teach them something genuinely useful—something that left an even deeper impression than online content—then wouldn't that perfectly connect the Gym with the streams?
"Then how do I highlight the Gym's unique traits?"
Qingyu continued along this line of thought.
Newbie Trainers in this world were basically equivalent to students from his previous life anyway.
And if he remembered correctly, Orange Academy at this point was probably still a complete mess—basically a full-on aristocratic school.
It wasn't until Penny formed Team Star and blew the whole thing up that the academy finally got back on track.
In other words, Paldea's students right now were desperately starving for proper knowledge.
He'd grabbed the most fundamental local demand!
"What's the best way to understand students' actual skill levels?"
"Exams!"
Paldea Gyms already had the tradition of adding mini-games before challenges—he could just straight-up turn it into a diagnostic test.
…No, no.
Looks like I'm still not cursed enough.
"Just exams alone aren't enough to make students improve."
Just like Orange Academy's midterms and finals—those questions were so easy even elementary schoolers would shake their heads.
So he needed some niche but high-value material—stuff where learning it was pure profit.
For example, what if the Q&A segments from his videos became part of the Gym's test question pool?
That would instantly max out online–offline synergy!
Qingyu felt like an actual genius.
At this rate, by the time the Gym gained a bit of popularity, the question bank would probably have expanded nicely too.
Want to challenge the Gym?Go watch all my tutorial videos first!
The classes Orange Academy failed to teach?Sunlight Gym will make up for them.
And if Sunlight Gym somehow became one of the designated Champion Path Gyms in the future, wouldn't that mean he could thoroughly torment—educate—a massive wave of rookie Trainers?
At that moment, the fading text before Qingyu's eyes began scrolling once more.
[With the arrival of the first challenger, more Trainers can be expected to come and test the Gym.]
[Under your leadership, Sunlight Gym is steadily advancing along a path of growth. Passing the Gym qualification assessment is only a matter of time.]
[Having lived a second life, you understand how important this Gym assessment truly is.]
[Beyond preserving the Gym's qualification, striving to become one of the "Eight Gyms" is an even greater goal you must pursue.]
[New Mission Unlocked: Pass the Paldea League Gym Qualification Assessment.]
[Reward: Determined by assessment results.]
Just as expected!
The system's information perfectly aligned with Qingyu's own thoughts.
This only strengthened his confidence that his plan was correct. Starting tomorrow, he could probably begin experimenting—starting with Nemona.
Nemona's command skills and battle-reading ability were already quite solid. If she could learn a more flexible style, it would be hugely beneficial to her growth.
Though… the beginning might be a bit painful.
"Well, suffering a bit is how you get stronger, right? Nemona should be able to understand that… probably?"
Qingyu muttered quietly.
Just then, the phone on the desk suddenly vibrated twice.
Someone replied to him?
Qingyu reacted immediately, gently setting Eevee down on the sofa before picking up his phone.
It was a message from Iono.
[Iono: Ciallo～(∠・ω<)⌒★ Being personally added as a friend by Iono-sama… you should feel honored, you know~]
patreon.com/Hoshino_Sora
for Advance Chapter