Chapter 64: More Fame, More Business

Chapter 64: More Fame, More Business

During the competition and the awards ceremony, Basalt's Pokédex had been on silent, and he hadn't had time to look at it. Now, after receiving his rewards and saying goodbye to the round-faced young lady, he took a look and found that it was full of messages.

First was the class group chat, which had completely exploded. The screen showed 999+ messages. Basalt casually scrolled through them. They were all celebrating his victory. Some were singing his praises, some were suggesting a party to celebrate, and others were asking him to treat them to a meal. It was everything imaginable.

With this championship win, Basalt had made a huge profit. Treating everyone to a few tables in the county town honestly wouldn't cost much. However, at this moment, all he could think about was going to the desert in Prairie Province. Because after becoming a Junior Trainer, the upper limit of Pokémon he could catch had increased to three. In other words, he could now catch new Pokémon.

Coincidentally, there was a one-week break between the end of the competition and the start of the Metro City training camp. He had the goal, and he had the time. All that was left was to put it into practice. All those sandstorm Pokémon in the desert were waiting for him to grace them with his presence. Basalt was truly impatient.

In the prime of your youth, and you want to spend it at a party? As third-year high school students, don't you feel guilty?

After thinking for a long time, Basalt edited a message and sent it to the group chat. The general idea was: The Metro City training camp is about to start. I want to use every moment to train and strive to get into the city team. Treating you all is no problem, but it will have to be a little later, after the dust has settled.

At the end, Basalt added his apologies.

"Wow! Basalt is so level-headed. He's not letting victory get to his head at all."

"This… I call this 'unwavering resolve'!"

"Now I finally understand. We're all taught by the same teacher, but Basalt is so much stronger than us. Damn it, I'm never slacking off in the group chat again. I'm going to train!"

"Handsome Basalt, focus on your training. When you and your Drilbur achieve even greater things, we'll celebrate with you then, drinking and chatting merrily."

"Go, Basalt!"

"Class 1, we will always support you!"

…

Basalt's message didn't arouse any resentment from his classmates. On the contrary, they admired him even more. If they put themselves in his shoes, if they had won the championship, they would probably be over the moon. But look at Basalt—he was doing what he needed to do. Not only was he not relaxing, but he was also planning to train even more. They were all classmates in the same class, so why was the gap between them so huge?

Exiting the class group chat, Basalt found that the family group chat was in a similar state. His mom had gone completely crazy and was planning to hold a banquet at home, gathering all their friends and relatives to celebrate.

With no other choice, Basalt could only send the same message he had just posted in the class group chat. His relatives and elders were left speechless. The child was motivated and wanted to work even harder. As an elder, you couldn't possibly stand in his way, right? Besides, from his tone, it was clear that even if they tried, they couldn't stop him.

…

Just after leaving the county government building, the reporter, Joy Bai, called again, inviting Basalt for a special feature interview. This was to be expected; he was the champion, after all.

During this interview, Basalt once again took the opportunity to strengthen his public persona, keeping his performance more or less by the book. However, Basalt believed that after today, his popularity in Seaside County would rise even further.

Just after finishing the interview, Jack's call came. He was calling to discuss image rights. With this championship win, Basalt and Drilbur were now completely famous, at least within Seaside County. So, Jack was preparing to incorporate the images of Basalt and Drilbur into his new autumn collection as material, and also to invite Basalt to participate in the new product launch event.

Basalt was stunned for a long time before four words finally popped into his mind: "Making paid appearances?"

For big stars, making paid appearances was a sign of decline and could seem very low-class. But for Basalt at this stage, it was the best way to make money.

Making money isn't shameful! As long as the pay is right, I'll make so many appearances the circuit will wear out.

Little mole, I'll make paid appearances to raise you! (o^ω^o)

After some discussion, Basalt and Jack agreed on the compensation. The image rights were licensed for 200,000 Pokédollars, but only for this year's autumn collection. If they wanted to renew, they would have to negotiate again. The compensation for attending the new product launch event was 100,000 Pokédollars. The main task was to wear the new clothes, interact with the fans, play some small games, and maybe have an exhibition match if any fans really came to challenge him. (_)

It had to be said, the money was coming in really fast.

Doing a quick calculation, he had already gotten 350,000 from Jack, another 100,000 in prize money, and with the previous balance of over 30,000 in his card, Basalt's savings were now close to 500,000. And that didn't even include the money for the image rights and the appearance fee, as that was just an agreement; the money hadn't arrived yet.

If he had to rely on working a part-time job, how long would that take?

"Being a trainer is a promising career! Being a genius trainer is a very promising career!" Basalt clenched his fists.

Getting stronger allows you to make money? This feeling was too good! He could make money and get stronger at the same time.

After hanging up Jack's call, Basalt took out his folding bicycle. Just as he was about to get on, the phone rang again.

"Hello, Second Aunt."

Basalt answered the call. It was his second aunt. She once again invited him to visit Prairie Province when he had time, which played right into his hands. He immediately agreed. He quickly searched for plane tickets and found a flight from Metro City to Chifeng City for the next day. He decisively booked it.

"Hello, Second Aunt. I've already booked the plane ticket. I'll probably land around six in the evening tomorrow… A whole roasted lamb isn't necessary, right? That's too extravagant! Alright, alright, then I'll see you tomorrow."

With everything settled, Basalt hung up the phone. The Prairie Province desert trip was now on the schedule.

Not long after he started riding his bicycle, Coach Miles's call came. Besides congratulating him on winning the championship, Miles also sent him the secret technique for "Aqua Jet," as they had agreed before the match. However, the hint of resentment in Miles's tone was long-lasting and left Basalt feeling baffled.

"More fame, more business, I guess," Basalt said with a slight sigh. How many calls had he received today? Just winning a championship in Seaside County had already brought so many things, his phone ringing off the hook. If he were to continue to shine in the upcoming selection tournaments and achieve greater things, wouldn't he ascend to the heavens?

…

Back home, although his mom complained a little about him unilaterally vetoing the idea of a celebratory banquet without consulting her, she still gave him the best treatment, making a full table of dishes to reward him and his little mole for winning the championship.

After dinner, Basalt and Drilbur decided not to do any extra training for today. They took a shower early and prepared to rest.

"Chari~" (><)

On the bed, Drilbur was hugging the Ground-type Gem, absorbing the pure energy from within, so comfortable it was almost moaning. Before, it was just small fragments, but this time it had hit the jackpot and could absorb as much as it wanted, which made the little mole ecstatic. Fortunately, its body had been transformed by the Smooth Rock Crystal, and its physical potential far exceeded that of its peers, so there was no need to worry about it overdoing it.

As for Basalt, he was already packing his luggage.