Chapter 019: The Unseen Rivalry

In just one night, Gastly had already mastered the 'Substitute' move with remarkable ease.

This left Natsume with a rather peculiar expression on his face.

While it was true that 'Substitute' was a relatively simple move, most Pokémon would take at least three days to learn it.

How on earth did you manage to pull it off in just one night?

Feeling a headache coming on, Natsume rubbed his temples.

Calm down!

Sure, Gastly had successfully created a Substitute, but it might just be a flawed version, not necessarily practical.

However, the System's move list clearly displayed the 'Substitute' move, leaving Natsume somewhat bewildered.

"Holy crap, did it really learn it?!"

Gastly still looked a bit worn out, but the corners of its mouth curled up uncontrollably, revealing a smug grin.

Natsume patted Gastly's head and sighed, "You've worked hard!"

Since Gastly had exhausted a lot of HP from training the move, Natsume decided to make a Pokéblock using a Leppa Berry.

[Leppa Berry Block: Restores a Pokémon's energy after using moves, and slightly increases the duration of training.]

In the games, Leppa Berries restore a Pokémon's PP, which determines how many times a move can be used.

In reality, there's no such thing as PP, only the maximum threshold of how many times a Pokémon can use a move.

Moves like Stone Edge or Earthquake, which consume a massive amount of energy, are hard to train more than a few times a day without a steady supply of Leppa Berries.

Turning them into Pokéblocks also somewhat increases the nutritional efficiency of the Leppa Berry.

"Alright, open up!"

Gastly opened its mouth wide and gobbled down the sweet and sour Leppa Berry Block, immediately shuddering with delight and showing an expression of pure bliss.

Gastly: (*≧▽≦)

Natsume chuckled, "Alright, after you finish that, go get some rest..."

Before he could finish, Gastly was already back at it, training again.

A murky gas flew out from Gastly's black mist, forming two Gastly clones in the air, cackling mischievously.

Gastly was having a blast, effortlessly summoning and dismissing its 'Substitute'!

"You're actually having fun training a move?!"

"Gastly!"

Gastly had its own little determination.

Since its Trainer had said that the opponents in the group stage wouldn't be a problem, it was all the more reason to train hard and aim for the finals!

Gastly: (?ω?)

Over the next two days, Gastly began experimenting with how to coordinate with its Substitute.

One moment it was flying around the room like a deflated balloon, the next it stood still like a wooden post.

Unable to bear the disturbance any longer, Natsume couldn't help but offer some advice.

"You can't train like this," Natsume said seriously. "If both the original and the Substitute use the same move, it's pointless."

"For example, even if both use Confuse Ray, it would just confuse the opponent."

"But if the original uses Will-O-Wisp and the Substitute uses Confuse Ray, you can inflict two status conditions at once."

Natsume grinned. "Once you master Double Team, you might even be able to inflict four, no, five status conditions at once!"

Sleep, Paralysis, Burn, Poison, Confusion...

Just thinking about all those status conditions stacking up made Natsume a little excited.

He almost felt sorry for his opponents.

If they added the SubProtect Toxic strategy to the mix, Gastly would have an incredible amount of power even before evolving!

"Gastly!"

Gastly's eyes sparkled as if it had just discovered a whole new world.

With a pencil in its mouth, Gastly spread out a sheet of paper on the floor and eagerly began taking notes.

Watching Gastly's enthusiasm, Natsume couldn't help but feel a bit strange.

"I only mentioned it in passing..."

"Could it really figure out SubProtect Toxic?"

Currently, Gastly had only mastered a budget version of 'SubProtect Toxic.'

The 'Toxic' part could be replaced with 'Will-O-Wisp.'

But the most crucial move, 'Protect,' was still missing.

An officially authorized 'Protect' Technical Machine would cost at least 100,000 Pokémon Coins on the market.

This just goes to show how much of a money sink the Trainer profession can be.

With only 10,000 to his name, Natsume was feeling the pinch.

In the System's Shop, the 'Protect' Technical Machine cost 10,000 BP.

While it was a better deal than the real world, it was still out of Natsume's reach for now.

Natsume sighed. "The path of a Trainer is long and arduous!"

"Guess I'll just stick to being a Gaming section Content Creator for now."

His series, Natsume-sensei Teaches Battling, had seen episodes '03' and '04' break two million views, rapidly approaching three million.

As for '01' and '02,' due to rough editing and less-than-dirty tactics, the perfectionist Natsume had deleted them.

In just a month, Natsume's follower count had surpassed 700,000 and was growing at an astonishing rate.

Each view provided a tiny amount of BP, with roughly 100 BP earned for every 10,000 views.

While it wasn't as fast as battling, it was much less risky than actual Pokémon battles.

[Remaining BP: 2380]

Natsume was tempted to do a 10x gacha pull, but thinking about Gastly's hard work, he hesitated.

"Maybe I should save up for the 'Protect' move instead."

Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday morning.

The first round of the Group A matches had officially begun.

As the rumored protagonist, Natsume's Gastly became the center of attention as soon as it appeared.

What surprised the audience even more was that Natsume hadn't even shown up for the group stage!

"We can see that Contestant Natsume is still absent!" the Commentator exclaimed in surprise.

"And his opponent for this match is another freshman from the Battle Department, Contestant Kaito from the Kyoto Institute of Technology!"

Gastly floated in mid-air, sticking out its tongue and making faces at the Vigoroth across from it, doing everything it could to provoke it.

The hot-tempered Vigoroth couldn't stand such disrespect, roaring angrily and flailing its arms.

Kaito hadn't expected to face a Pokémon without a Trainer.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Kaito's expression turned strange.

"Is Natsume seriously underestimating me?"

"Maybe he's just really confident in Gastly's strength?"

"Whoa, that's fast!"

As soon as the match began, a mass of black mist closed in on Vigoroth like a ghost.

The black mist formed a sinisterly grinning Gastly in mid-air, with three clusters of dark Will-O-Wisp swirling around it, rushing toward Vigoroth!

Kaito panicked and shouted, "Vigoroth, use Pursuit!"

"Vigoroth—!!"

The spirited Vigoroth crossed its arms, blocking the Will-O-Wisp while slashing out with its sharp claws!

"The Dark-type move 'Pursuit' is a deadly threat to Gastly!" the Commentator yelled.

Before the words had even left his mouth, a dark mist separated from Gastly's body.

Vigoroth's claws slashed through the mist, but to its shock, they passed right through, leaving it wide-eyed.

At the same time, two identical Gastly floated in mid-air, cackling with sinister grins!

"Using Substitute to dodge damage at the last second?"

"Whoa, whose Pokémon is this?!"

A eerie light shone from the 'Substitute,' forcing Vigoroth to close its eyes.

At the same time, Gastly teleported behind Vigoroth, and three clusters of raging Will-O-Wisp surged toward it with a deafening roar!

[Received awe from onlookers, BP+1, BP+1, BP+1...]

[Gastly, dodge! BP+10]

[Battle victory achieved, evaluation: Is that all? (BP+50)]

Meanwhile, Natsume, who was at home editing videos, rubbed his temples in frustration.

 1 分享 Chapter 018: Gastly's Substitute 新功能 昨天 收起

The rumors about the Gastly from Arena 7 and "that man" continued to spread like wildfire within the trainer community.

Some claimed it was a big shot who had just caught a Gastly and was using this rookie tournament to level it up.

Others believed the Gastly was overhyped, and its first-round opponent was simply too weak.

There were even those who thought it was all just a publicity stunt by the organizers.

Regardless, thanks to the buzz surrounding this Gastly, the Piplup Cup's popularity kept rising.

This made the tournament manager ecstatic.

To prepare for the group stage, Gastly trained harder than ever.

According to the Pokédex in the system, Gastly hadn't learned any new moves yet.

But so far, it had devoured every bit of knowledge from Blue Oak's Breeding Guide.

Further knowledge would have to wait until Gastly evolved into a Haunter.

Meanwhile, as the influence of the "SubProtect Toxic" and "Minimize Team" videos continued to grow, Natsume's livestream subscriptions officially surpassed 100,000.

[Ding—Mission "I'm Really Not an Attractive Streamer" completed!]

[Mission Description: Reach the small goal of 100,000 subscriptions.]

[Mission Reward: 1000 BP, Random Skill Lv1, Technical Machine 'Substitute'1]

[Cooking Lv1: Improves your culinary skills, including knife work and fire control. (Your dishes will remind people of the flavors of home.)]

Natsume, who usually ordered takeout, found this skill useful for occasionally improving his meals.

The other reward was a small gray USB drive—the Technical Machine for "Substitute."

The USB contained detailed instructions on how to use "Substitute," training techniques, and practical battle applications for different Pokémon.

Generally, with the help of a Technical Machine, a simple move could be learned within three days.

Technical Machines were reusable, and their contents could be copied.

However, compared to the officially authorized versions, pirated copies on the market often had missing or incorrect information.

"Never skimp on education, never neglect your Pokémon."

Thus, trainers were willing to pay a premium for genuine Technical Machines.

Most people used Technical Machines by studying alongside their Pokémon, figuring out the most scientific training methods.

But Natsume's approach was to simply toss the USB drive to Gastly, saying, "Ask me if you don't understand!"

"Gastly?"

Gastly was stunned but obediently took the USB in its mouth, plugged it into the laptop, and used its tongue to move the cursor.

Opening the file named "#092 Gastly," Gastly focused intently, ready to learn.

In the video, a Gastly, under its trainer's command, used black mist to perform Substitute.

The black mist split into two clouds of gas, one large and one small, slowly forming two grinning Gastlys.

After blocking a move, the slightly faded Gastly quietly dissipated.

"Gastly!" Gastly nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder my trainer told me to learn from the video.

This is so simple, there's no need to ask him!

Gastly even started brainstorming, holding a pencil in its mouth and scribbling on a piece of paper.

I can use Substitute to chain Will-O-Wisp...

I can also use it to distract the enemy and then launch a sneak attack...

And maybe...

Before it knew it, Gastly had filled an entire page with notes.

After racking its brain, Gastly looked pale, holding a pencil in its mouth, looking utterly exhausted.

Turns out this "Substitute" move is so complicated!

Should I ask my trainer after all?

Or is there a better method I haven't thought of yet?

Taking a deep breath, Gastly used its long tongue to roll two Oran Berry Blocks into its mouth and then chugged a can of Moomoo Milk.

Gastly: (￣～￣) Chew!

Instantly, Gastly's eyes lit up, and its fighting spirit was reignited.

Feeling energized, it dove back into studying!

That night, Natsume's livestream caused quite a stir.

For one, it was Natsume-sensei's first stream since the release of the "Minimize Team" video.

Secondly, it was Natsume-sensei's first face reveal stream, and the viewership skyrocketed past a million!

On camera, the sharp-featured, deep-eyed young man rested his chin on his hand, quietly watching the game interface.

His androgynous beauty was undoubtedly a heart-stopping sight.

But the moment Natsume-sensei opened his mouth, the serene atmosphere shattered.

"You dare use Roar?!" Natsume shouted. "Incineroar, use Roar back!"

"Seriously, how did that miss?! I'm about to lose it!"

Today, Natsume-sensei showed viewers what it meant to have the worst luck.

Despite flawless strategy and prediction, his moves kept missing.

His opponent landed critical hits left and right, pulling off triple Protects, leaving viewers in awe.

"I can't take this anymore!"

"Starting off with a full-course meal, huh?"

"This is a full-on assault on my stomach!"

By the end of the night, Natsume's ranking had dropped instead of rising.

The stream was filled with laughter and a lively atmosphere.

Despite the disastrous gameplay, the stream broke records in both donations and viewership.

This made Natsume sigh deeply, "Stop donating, seriously, stop!"

"Thank you 'Natsume-sensei's Fan Club' for the rocket... Moderator, ban this rocket donor."

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm really a skill-based streamer!"

Despite ending the stream in shame, the entertainment value was through the roof. Natsume earned nearly 5,000 Pokémon Coins in donations that night, and his BP increased by over 300 points.

[Remaining BP Points: 1780]

In theory, the 10x gacha pool included not only Pokémon items but also things like Lego Star Destroyers and life-sized Snorlax plushies.

But every time Natsume did a 10x gacha, the items ended up benefiting Gastly, and this time was no exception.

[10x Gacha List: Petaya Berry1, Soda Pop2, Leppa Berry4, Moomoo Milk3]

Out of the ten pulls, only one was a purple-quality Petaya Berry.

But in the system shop, a single Petaya Berry cost 500 BP, so it was still a small win.

Among the remaining items, "Soda Pop" was a carbonated drink that tasted similar to soda.

Leppa Berries were highly sought-after berries.

They alleviated the fatigue Pokémon felt after using moves, allowing them to train longer, and were widely used in the trainer community.

"Turning these into Pokéblocks should help ease Gastly's fatigue, right?" Natsume muttered.

Stepping out of the room, he found Gastly still holding a pencil in its mouth, fully absorbed in its notes.

Seeing Natsume, the pale-faced Gastly slowly looked up and gave a weak smile.

"Whoa! You're grinding way too hard!"

"Gastly~~!!" Gastly's eyes widened, bloodshot and intense.

As Gastly cried out, a sinister gas separated from its black mist, slowly forming another grinning Gastly.

This "Substitute" blended into the shadows but didn't dissipate, standing guard like a sentinel.

Noticing Natsume's surprised expression, Gastly gave a sinister smile.

At the same time, the hidden "Substitute" in the shadows unleashed a dazzling Confuse Ray!

"This is..." Natsume gulped.

"A Substitute attack?"