The first batch of viewers in the stream numbered only a few, all drawn in by the title, and the questions they asked were mostly exactly what Leon had expected.
The chat quickly filled with guesses about his identity and why he did not show his face. The atmosphere was casual and a little noisy, like any new stream just getting started.
"I am not Aoki. I am the current Gym Leader of Sunlight Gym in Xiaoshi Town." Leon replied with a laugh, silently admiring the audience's imagination.
That was Aoki, a man holding multiple jobs and somehow working forty eight hours a day, so there was no way he would have time to stream.
"As for why I am not showing my face, the answer is simple." He spoke in a calm tone, without any attempt to soften it. "I did not prepare a camera, and I am too lazy to go out and buy one."
Because he spoke so frankly, he left a decent first impression on the viewers, and the chat soon started joking around.
Leon nodded to himself, already guessing that these people would likely become his first group of followers. Now he needed to find a way to make them stay.
When someone mentioned Sunlight Gym, the chat grew more active, with people recalling a Gym in Paldea that had been closed for half a year.
A viewer named Joey sent several messages in a row, saying they worked in nearby Pingdie Town and still remembered the Gym because of its unusual name.
Leon confirmed it and explained that the Gym had paused operations due to some issues, feeling a bit surprised that anyone still remembered it.
"Since there are already viewers here, then everyone, today we are going to play Pokemon·Champion." He smoothly steered the conversation back on track while opening the game.
It was a new account, so the rank was still at the beginner level, with five major tiers: Beginner, Poke Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and Master Ball.
As the chat reacted to the title about climbing to Master Ball, doubts quickly appeared.
Many people questioned whether an unknown Gym Leader could really reach the top hundred in the world rankings. Leon did not explain anything, since he understood the skepticism, and decided it was better to let his actions speak.
He opened the team editor and stared at the massive pool of Pokemon, scratching his head in hesitation.
Knowing too much actually made it harder to choose, since he could already picture strategies at a glance. To save his limited mental energy, he decisively pressed the random team button.
Seeing this, most viewers immediately labeled him as a beginner.
The game's database covered most Pokemon from nine major regions, and even experts could not recognize them all, let alone use a random team to battle. Some people in the chat were already looking forward to seeing him lose.
The empty slots quickly filled up after the random selection. Hippowdon, Snom, Talonflame, Aron, Mareep, and Gardevoir appeared on the screen.
The chat exploded, especially at the sight of Gardevoir, which was clearly popular in this world as well.
Looking at the lineup, Leon felt his luck was not bad. Most of the team could be found in Paldea Region, and he even had two fully evolved Pokemon to rely on.
With Talonflame and Gardevoir holding the line, this team was more than enough to climb ranks.
When someone in the chat praised the white Pokemon as extremely strong, a bold idea popped into Leon's mind. Aron had a well known tactic, and the rest of the team happened to support it. Not trying it would be a waste of such a lineup.
"You really understand things. Aron is indeed very strong, so today we will use it as our main force." He eagerly placed Aron in the center position, adjusted the items, and immediately started matchmaking. His movements were so smooth that the viewers barely caught what he did.
Most of the chat was still pessimistic, warning others not to believe him so easily. Leon simply hummed to himself, acting as if he did not see any of it.
There was no rush, he could let things play out.
Because the account had not played any ranked matches yet, matchmaking was extremely fast.
The opponent was locked in almost instantly, and the standard 6v6 ranked battle rules loaded up. Voice commands were used for real time battles, and aside from that, the system felt very similar to what he remembered.
When he saw the opponent's team, Leon raised an eyebrow.
"Gyarados, Charizard, Aerodactyl, Ampharos, Crawdaunt, Tropius… that is a lot of Pokemon with dragon in their names, yet not a single true dragon."
The chat burst into laughter, bringing up jokes about the Kanto Elite Four and their famous lineup.
Remembering an old meme from his past life, Leon could not help but laugh out loud. He quickly told himself to stay respectful, even though he was really just amused by the thought. The stream was filled with laughter over the strange enemy team.
Just then, one message caught his eye. "Did the streamer adjust levels? Why is your Aron only level one?"