Chapter 4: One Million Views Reached!
The young man tightened his grip on the hilt and pivoted his body, putting his strength into the movement.
The tip of his sword moved with pinpoint accuracy, rising from below to block the beam of light. He angled the entire blade, pushing diagonally against the rushing torrent of energy.
Zzrrraa—!
The sheer impact of the light-beam-slash pushed the young man's body back, forcing him to slide several meters.
"Hah—!"
With a sharp kiai, the young man's forward lunge locked in place, as firm as a pine tree. He gripped the hilt with both hands and pushed, veins bulging on his arms.
The stalemate lasted for several seconds before he finally managed to deflect the Solar Blade, redirecting its force and sending it shooting into the sky.
Boom!
The beam exploded in the twilight sky like a celebratory firework, dazzling and brilliant.
This incredibly cinematic scene left Iono's entire audience stunned.
[What just happened?!]
[He even blocked a Solar Blade? Is this uploader a Ditto or something?!]
[A Ditto that can block Solar Blade like that? You might as well say my Sprigatito can do a backflip!]
[...But Sprigatito can do that.]
[Iono, my beloved, you should try it too!]
[Who's your beloved? Someone get this guy. Don't give him the time of day!]
Although some people suspected the person in the video was a Ditto in disguise, he hadn't used a single Pokémon move from start to finish.
He had accomplished this purely through sword skills.
That alone was terrifying!
The video faded to black under the exploding "firework," leaving only a few lines of text.
[The Sword of the Land (Dojo)]
[Opening soon in Stow-on-Side, Galar. All are welcome to visit and learn about the ancient cross-guard sword art, a thousand-year-old tradition.]
Seeing this, the direction of the chat's discussion immediately changed.
[Galar? No wonder that Farfetch'd looked different!]
[A thousand-year-old ancient sword art?!]
[Wait, I've heard of Stow-on-Side. Isn't that an ancient art town? How did a total beast like this suddenly pop up there?]
[Uh, what's the connection? Galar's Fighting-type Gym is right there.]
[I get all that! But seriously, how did he DO that?!]
"Wow! That was a totally electrifying scene! Like an Eelektross leaping over a waterfall!"
Iono finally snapped back to reality, unable to hold back her praise.
It was the first time she had ever seen someone use swordsmanship to block a Solar Blade. That was a serious flex!
She was actually pretty interested in this dojo, but as a professional streamer and Gym Leader, she didn't have that much free time.
After a moment's thought, Iono decided to share the video on her own feed.
Everyone, come look at this god-tier player!
...
Asher was woken by the sunlight.
His body ran on a strict schedule. After all, to practice his swordsmanship, he usually had to get up and train before dawn.
But yesterday was different. Two intense sparring sessions in a row had been incredibly draining.
"Kabu~"
Farfetch'd was sprawled out on the bed, hugging its leek and fast asleep. It seemed yesterday's training had taken a lot out of it, too.
"Whew. Time to get up and make breakfast."
Asher ruffled the Farfetch'd's head and stretched.
He opened his phone to check the time. It was already 9:00 AM.
No wonder the sun was so bright.
Asher casually opened the [PokéTV] app. He was just about to look up some new curry recipes when he saw his own video thumbnail on the "Trending" list.
Normally, given [PokéTV]'s recommendation algorithm, you needed a significant amount of data to hit the trending list, even with smart recommendations.
Asher clicked on the video.
A dense flood of comments flew by. The video's view count had already surpassed one million, and the comments were over five thousand.
The locals here are so wonderfully earnest!
Dojo Revitalization Plan, Step One: Complete!
Asher curiously opened the comment section, wanting to see what people thought of the ancient sword art.
[Holy sh*t! The video title wasn't clickbait! A human really can rival a Pokémon! This uploader is amazing!]
[Uploader used Strength! It's super effective!]
[A mere Pokémon stands no chance against a well-trained human body!]
[Now I get why there's a rule that Trainers can't join the battle. Some people really are just like Pokémon!]
[Did you guys see the end? It's a thousand-year-old ancient sword art! Is it really that surprising he can do this?]
[You kidding? You think anyone else could pull this off?]
[I've figured it out! It's definitely a Ditto! Or else it's just CGI!]
The comments were like this. For the most part, the people of the Pokémon world were pretty decent, with most comments being praise and astonishment.
As for the few skeptical ones, Asher wasn't angry.
After all, being accused of using special effects or "hacking" was, in its own way, a compliment.
The entire video was about five minutes long. It had only accumulated so many views in such a short time by being constantly shared and reposted.
Of course, his [PokéTV] inbox was also full of messages, including inquiries about his sword techniques, business collaboration offers, and even... a flirty "cat girl."
Asher ignored them and went straight to his earnings.
[31,450 Poké Dollars]
It seemed like a lot, but when he remembered that the starting fare for a cab in Lumiose City was 710 Poké Dollars, this amount suddenly seemed like nothing.
It probably wasn't even enough to buy the equipment needed for the dojo.
He still had to work harder.
"But this is just from less than a day."
"Today's view count will be the real earner. It should be enough to buy the basic equipment."
Asher didn't pay it any more attention.
He focused on preparing breakfast for himself and his Pokémon.
Today's breakfast was relatively light. He prepared some Berries for Farfetch'd.
Soon, the aroma of curry filled the room.
"Kabu!"
Smelling the food, the sleeping Farfetch'd rushed into the living room, waving its leek in anticipation.
Its Trainer was so strong!
Yesterday, he even blocked a Solar Blade!
It had to work hard too, and strive to be able to do that someday!
"Let's eat first."
Asher smiled, placing the breakfast on the table with a pudding cup on the side.
After yesterday's test, he'd discovered that by using the "Partner" function of the RPG module, he could check his Pokémon's stats.
Thinking of this, Asher looked over at the Farfetch'd, which was already digging in.
A line of text flashed before his eyes.
[RPG Module loading... Load complete!]
[Partner: Farfetch'd (Male)]
[Type: Fighting]
[Moves: Solar Blade, Fury Cutter, Detect, Brutal Swing]
[Nature: Very Brave]
[Hatched in Stow-on-Side on June 15th, where you met.]
[Likes spicy food, dislikes sweet food.]
[Goal: Become stronger]
It was about what he expected. Farfetch'd's nature was decent enough.
While it wasn't as good as Adamant or Jolly, Asher wasn't too worried. Besides the RPG module, he had other modules.
Its moveset was a bit of a mess, but he could rearrange that after it evolved.
He had more than one way to increase his Farfetch'd's power.
And even in the worst-case scenario...
Didn't a certain Masters Eight champion rely entirely on his Farfetch'd to tank hits, while his Dragonite looked like it was throwing the match, lying down on the job from start to finish? A total pseudo-legendary fraud.
Asher sat at the table, eating his own breakfast while he mused.
"After we eat, it's time to get back to building the dojo."
"I wonder if I can level up."