Even Aarav himself felt stuffed by the grand vision he had painted.
For the rest of the afternoon, he was brimming with motivation, writing an epic script about Arceus's creation myth—grand in diction and overwhelming in momentum.
And from time to time, the system's notifications echoed in his mind:
"Sprigatito has defeated Mankey."
They reminded Aarav that, somewhere else, Sprigatito was also working hard.
Of course, behind that effort, there were probably quite a few Mankey paying the price for their past bullying.
After the tracker showed that Sprigatito had officially started its return journey, Aarav calculated its final results for the day.
Seven Mankey, four Aipom, and 2.4 Fear points from the Dark-type Bond.
On the surface, it seemed that in just over forty days, Sprigatito could reach one hundred Fear stacks—boosting its damage by 10% and unlocking the first reward.
But reality was never that ideal.
There weren't many troublesome Pokémon around the campus to begin with, and at Sprigatito's current level, the number it could actually defeat was even smaller—
Those it couldn't beat were irrelevant, and defeating weaker ones barely contributed any Fear points.
From this perspective, the upcoming Shanghai Cup looked like a perfect place to farm Fear points.
Very good.
Now he had yet another reason to participate in the Shanghai Cup.
Sprigatito returned bathed in the glow of the sunset.
Compared to the morning, the fatigue in its eyes and body was far more obvious.
Clearly, the short rest at noon wasn't enough to support an entire afternoon of continuous battles.
Feeling sorry for it, Aarav forcibly ordered Sprigatito to rest in the dorm that night, forbidding it from going anywhere.
He justified it by calling it a "tactical awareness class," watching livestreams beside him to improve its battle sense.
Sprigatito naturally had no way to object and could only passively enjoy the rare peace and tranquility.
Meanwhile, after a full day and night of fermentation, Aarav's match with Raihan had completely swept across the internet.
The heat was even higher than when Aarav had defeated Iono twice not long ago.
After all, although both were Gym Leaders, there were clear differences in strength among them.
The upper limit was the leader of the world's largest dark organization, Team Rocket, the underground emperor of Kanto and Johto—the Master of the Earth, Giovanni.
The lower limit included Gym Leaders whose strength was rumored to be inversely proportional to their looks, constantly rumored to be on the verge of losing their Gym status, barely surviving on water shows—the Cerulean Sisters.
As for why their Gym status had never actually been revoked…
Maybe because even the League inspectors enjoyed watching them?
Anyway.
The gap between Iono and Raihan wasn't that extreme, but the latter carried the title of "Strongest Gym Leader."
Even if that title was about as reliable as a random Forbes ranking, it was still an official No.1 on the surface.
Naturally, the attention and prestige were on an entirely different level.
So when Aarav went live that day, the atmosphere in his livestream was unprecedentedly intense.
Passersby who disliked Raihan's lofty status were cheering him on.
Raihan's loyal fans, who had rushed over after hearing the news, were trash-talking him.
Aarav's original viewers were holding their breath.
Iono's fans, who had been redirected over the past few days, were enjoying the chaos.
And Aarav himself?
By enabling paid fan comments and harvesting traffic until it overflowed, he was the ultimate winner.
In short, there were no fancy tricks, no matches with famous Trainers, and no donations from Iono.
Using the account of his second-biggest supporter, Aarav built a Space-themed team and cruised through the Great Ball rank.
Another day of easy money.
——————
Over the next few days, Aarav's life fell into a steady loop of classes, video editing, streaming, and remote-training Sprigatito.
Occasionally, he also maintained his relationship with his top supporter—
discussing the feasibility of using Pawmi to replace Rillaboom in a double Fake Out ambush strategy.
Complaining together about annoying Gym challengers or obsessive fans she encountered daily.
And delivering emotional support with his refined skill of "subtle praise disguised as teasing."
All in all, after a few days, Iono's frequency of messaging Aarav kept increasing.
Sprigatito's progress was equally remarkable.
Its Fear points had surpassed 20, and its system level had reached Lv.14.
If the system's levels corresponded to the Pokémon games from Aarav's previous life,
then it meant that after just two more levels, Sprigatito would evolve into Floragato.
Could the little cat stand up before the Shanghai Cup arrived?
Since the system couldn't display an exact experience bar, Aarav couldn't be sure.
And the Sprigatito training materials he had been longing for finally arrived on the last day of November.
Once again, the familiar avatar of a cute electric frog flashed brightly.
"Sorry for the wait! The training materials were scattered and needed organizing, so it took a while. (Bellibolt lying flat.jpg)"
"Attachment: (Geeta's Sprigatito Training Notes.rar)"
"Attachment: (Kofu's Sprigatito Training Notes.rar)"
Aarav, who had just finished editing a video and was lying limply in his chair, instantly sprang up like a Magikarp using Splash.
He double-clicked the files at lightning speed.
Aarav: "Files successfully received ×2"
Aarav: "Much obliged! Please come in and have a seat—I'll pour you some tea! (Sinistea smiling politely.gif)"
Aarav: "By the way, were these compiled by those two big shots themselves, or…?"
Iono: "They're way too busy. It's already impressive that they helped me find them. Who has time to organize them? (Pawmi sigh.gif)"
Aarav: "!!!"
Aarav: "I've drifted through life for half a lifetime, regretting only that I never met a true patron. If you don't abandon me, I'm willing to call you my godfather! (Squirtle crying.jpg)"
Iono: "(Bellibolt stunned.jpg)"
Aarav: "Wait, no—godmother!"
Iono: "That's not the point!"
Aarav: "Anyway, Teacher Iono, you really saved me this time!"
Iono: "Forget it. I promised I'd help you, so there's no need to be so polite."
Iono: "I've got a Gym challenge match soon, so I'm heading out. (Pawmi waving goodbye.gif)"
Aarav: "Good luck! I'm going to study the materials too!"
After closing the chat window with Iono, Aarav rubbed his hands excitedly and decompressed the two archives.
There was a saying in this world:
A top-tier Trainer is always an outstanding breeder.
Iono was no exception. The Sprigatito training materials she organized were extremely clear and structured.
The entire document was divided into three stages: Sprigatito, Floragato, and Meowscarada.
Each stage was further split into six categories such as diet, training, moves, and more.
Every category was comprehensive.
For example, the diet section covered daily nutritional requirements, optimal berry ratios, energy distribution across meals, and much more.
It was practically nanny-level guidance.
Just as Iono had said, there was no way Geeta or Kofu would have spent the time to organize something this detailed.
So the true contributor behind it was obvious.
Although these materials were part of an unfinished deal, Iono could have easily done the bare minimum.
Yet she had gone out of her way to help this much.
Aarav sighed quietly to himself.
This time, he really owed Iono a huge favor.
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