After ending his livestream, Ai Xia naturally had no idea that a single phrase—one well-known among Pokémon enthusiasts from his past life—had already cemented his image in the eyes of his viewers as a top-tier trainer with both vision and skill.
At that moment, he had already stepped into the small backyard, bending down to pick up his exhausted Caterpie.
"Haaah..."
The Caterpie's eyes were closed, its mouth letting out steady breaths.
'Sigh...'
Realizing the little guy had already fallen asleep from exhaustion, Ai Xia let out a sigh like a doting father fretting over his child.
A glance at the system panel showed that the proficiency of Dragon Ascent had improved, and he couldn't help but marvel at Caterpie's sheer determination and effort.
Still, the System's assistance ensured Caterpie's body was protected to the greatest extent, so Ai Xia wasn't worried that such intense training would leave any lasting damage.
This was probably the one thing the system did right by him.
If not for that... even if Groudon and Kyogre came knocking one day and Rayquaza's strength fell short due to insufficient mastery of Dragon Ascent, Ai Xia would never have allowed his current Caterpie to push itself so hard training this move.
"Alright, rest up. You've really been working hard lately."
After settling Caterpie into its little nest, Ai Xia sat at the living room table, munching on his now-cold takeout while mulling over his plans.
--+--
Meanwhile, having witnessed Ai Xia's lightning-fast stream exit, Red—now satisfied after watching the battle—closed the livestream and casually browsed the channel.
"Hey, this streamer doesn't just do battles—he seems pretty skilled at Pokémon training too?"
Yellow followed Red's gaze to the thumbnails of Ai Xia's videos—each one featuring daily snippets of him and his Caterpie. The contrast between the handsome trainer and the big green worm somehow worked, and thanks to Ai Xia's looks and Caterpie's cooperation, their witty banter and solid entertainment value made for decent view counts.
Of course, Yellow, already smitten with someone else, wasn't about to be swayed by Ai Xia's charm.
As an experienced trainer in her own right, she noticed something far more noteworthy.
"That Caterpie is exceptionally well-raised. You can tell he's poured a ton of care and effort into training and nurturing it."
Even she couldn't help but voice her admiration as she took in the Caterpie in the thumbnails—already at least a meter long, with pink antennae and glossy green scales dusted with powder, its bright eyes full of vitality.
She was a Butterfree trainer herself, after all, so she knew Caterpie-types inside and out.
But Ai Xia's Caterpie still managed to impress her—even her Caterpie, raised with the power of Viridian Power, hadn't developed this well before evolving into a Butterfree.
"Yeah, I actually followed him because of his training videos first."
Red didn't hesitate to agree.
"Judging by his tactics in today's stream, his main team probably has a powerful Butterfree as a support. This Caterpie is likely the offspring of that main-team Butterfree—good potential, so Ai Xia's giving it special attention. It'll probably be a core member of his second team in the future."
"Using Butterfree as a main-team Pokémon... twice?"
Yellow couldn't hide her surprise at Red's deduction.
She never expected that aside from herself and a few Bug-specialist Gym Leaders, there'd actually be a trainer this strong who'd use Butterfree as a mainstay.
Logically, trainers Ai Xia's age usually chased after powerful Pokémon—Pseudo-Legendaries, Starters, anything with high stats—not frail Bug-types. Especially when he already had one Butterfree on his main team...
"That's exactly why I respect him."
When it came to Ai Xia, Red seemed unusually talkative. Normally a man of few words, today he was practically gushing, leaving Yellow a little bemused.
"He became a top-tier trainer even with what people call 'weak' Bug-types. On top of that, he's developed brilliant strategies to make up for their natural shortcomings."
The more Red thought about it, the more impressed he grew. His curiosity was quickly turning into admiration—like Ai Xia was a rival he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with.
"His understanding of his Pokémon is on another level—a true master of theory and tactics. Someone like that has to be strong in reality, too."
"And he even said he'd keep sharing more ways to use 'weak' Pokémon. That's basically him saying he's gonna change the way people look down on Bug-types and their trainers. For them... he's practically a hero."
Red couldn't help but reminisce.
Back when he was young, one of his old friends—a skilled breeder—had dismissed his team as "inferior" Pokémon with "limited potential," doomed from birth.
But Red was Red.
Those so-called "inferior" Pokémon still shone under his guidance.
Through sweat, grit, and countless battles, they grew alongside him, eventually surpassing even that rival's "superior" team.
Now, seeing Ai Xia—someone who not only defied expectations but was also willing to share his hard-earned strategies—Red felt like he'd found a kindred spirit.
He remembered Ai Xia's heartfelt words at the start of the stream:
'There's no such thing as a worthless Pokémon—only trainers who fail to bring out their potential.'
Red couldn't agree more.
"Now that's vision. A real trainer."
"Wow... that's amazing..."
Yellow was genuinely stunned by Red's praise.
Even after knowing him for so long, she'd never seen him shower a trainer with this much admiration. Not even Professor Oak or the other Dex Holders had gotten this kind of recognition.
"Definitely made the right call befriending him."
Gradually, Red's excited grin settled back into his usual poker face.
But the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his inner satisfaction.
"Next time, I'll introduce Green to him."
Thinking of his rival, Red was sure the two would hit it off.
"They're both trainers who excel at raising Pokémon and tactical theory. They'd have a lot to talk about—might even inspire each other to improve further..."
Without Green or Ai Xia having any say in the matter, Red had already conveniently planned everything out for them.
--+--
T/N: I don't know if this Green is Male(Gary) or if it's Green Female(Blue) yet.