"Hiss..."
Inside the Viridian Gym, Blue stared at the live stream feed, his expression unreadably complex.
"Wait, this guy..."
Watching Alex and his Caterpie, Blue felt his brain was short-circuiting.
Admittedly, Alex's Caterpie is exceptionally well-trained.
Its glossy, flexible scales shimmered, legs robust enough to leave no doubt about speed and power. Even the slightly comical pink antennae atop its head radiated extraordinary vitality... paired with a jaw-droppingly well-developed physique.
and downright terrifying.
With just a glance, Blue knew that while Alex's Caterpie possessed superior innate advantages, the true catalyst behind this Pokémon's post-birth development—the mind-blowing factor enabling its astonishing build—lay entirely in the trainer's meticulous nurturing.
"Not just the physique—its move training is masterfully honed."
Glancing at the corner of the live stream feed where two Paras lay immobilized in the grass—cocooned in pure-white silk threads and utterly motionless—Red finally spoke up.
"Hmm..."
Blue scrutinized the two fainted Paras, noting faint charred marks marring their immobilized bodies.
"Probably used String Shot to immobilize, then spammed Electroweb for damage... securing a clean one-hit knockout."
The two trainers exchanged glances, their silent analysis converging in mutual understanding.
That monster Caterpie isn't just for show—it's got the fangs and fury to back it up.
Yet Alex has only been partnered with it for a shockingly short period...
Yet even Blue couldn't help but facepalm at this madness.
"Come on! If Alex has skills this nuts, choosing to go all-in on hyper-training some freaking monster Caterpie—that's completely unhinged, right?"
Blue threw his hands up, venting his bewilderment at Red through a look of pure exasperation.
"Imagine if we handed him a Dratini. Would he end up raising some colossal Kaiju Dragonite to body-slam Lance's so-called 'Flying-type Master' ego into oblivion?"
"No... His deliberate choice to train a Caterpie holds profound intent."
Yet Red, brow furrowed, countered by quoting Alex's own words from the previous night: 'There are no worthless Pokémon—only incompetent trainers who fail to unlock their potential.'
"Tch... Guess my perspective was too narrow."
After hearing Alex's words, Blue scratched at his signature spiky hair, the admission escaping him with begrudging respect.
Come to think of it—the fact that this streamer's grinding where elite trainers won't even tread just cements his rep as a hardcore nonconformist. Chasing meta-slave Base Stats? Not when you're built different.
Blue always had a soft spot for rule-breakers who redefined the game.
"Besides, when you've got master-tier raising skills like his, the species becomes irrelevant—but mark my words, this Caterpie's packing some secret tech that'd make even a Battle Tower legend sweat."
Blue suddenly clamped Red's shoulders, eyes blazing with manic intensity.
"Bro. You better hook me up with this guy—stat."
"...That was the plan all along."
...
Alex's fanbase is the ultimate ride-or-die crew—down to clown with whatever chaos the streamer cooks up, vibing hard with every pixelated shenanigan.
Therefore, even if the streamer temporarily stops online battles to grind wild Pokémon in remote mountains, viewers can still enjoy Alex's appearance and the Caterpie's strong physique.
Moreover, live streams of powerful trainers in the wild... this is exactly the kind of content everyone loves to watch.
Who doesn't like the taste of being a trainer?
Especially since top-tier trainers usually steer clear of public streams, while novices dare not risk their livelihoods and safety broadcasting from the wilderness—making Alex's wilderness streams a rare commodity.
Almost instantly, viewers even started promoting Alex's stream organically.
Casual viewers began filtering into the stream one after another, amplifying Alex's rising popularity.
"The streamer plans to pause online battle streams for now. As a rookie trainer participating in the upcoming 'Rookie Cup' tournament, Caterpie requires urgent combat training."
Alex, not skilled in verbal communication, could only state his plans straightforwardly.
But Alex's announcement sent the chat into overdrive.
"Alex, have a soul!"
"Hold up—you're telling me this Caterpie's gonna evolve into some six-foot freakin' Butterfree? And you're rolling into the Rookie Cup with this beast?!"
"Oh hell—Alex hasn't even started grinding badges and he's already scheming to stomp the Rookie Cup! If he's going full Gym Leader/Champion arc, what's next? I'm scared to imagine—this man's a walking nightmare fuel!"
"Dude's forever smurfing the baby pool—can't resist clapping noob cheeks for that sweet, sweet ego boost."
"Oh crap—I signed up for the Rookie Cup too! Is there still time to bail?! Someone check the rules."
The chat instantly went full Chernobyl—emotes and all-caps howling flooding the screen like a radioactive meme tsunami.
Lurking in the chat were rookie trainers who'd signed up for the same tournament—now low-key panicking as they mentally compared their starter Pokémon to this jacked Caterpie on a warpath.
"Hold up—you're actually entering the Rookie Cup? Are we just supposed to doomscroll through the panic spiral now?!"
Alex's Butterfree defeated Gym Leader Misty's entire team using sleep tactics in a battle replay that's still featured prominently on his channel homepage.
The moment viewers even start to picture Alex's Caterpie—already stretching over a meter—evolving into a Butterfree that'll spam Sleep Powder while trolling opponents, they can't help but shudder at the psychological warfare nightmare.
"Tsk."
Alex grew visibly agitated the moment he glanced at the chat.
"I'm a legit rookie trainer—just graduated high school! Why is no one buying this?"
The chat instantly fired back.
"If you're actually a rookie trainer, I'll eat my Geodude—raw!"
"Right—and toss in a Hoenn trainer munching a Nosepass while we're at it. Extra salty!"
"Hell yeah—throw in a Unova native downing a Roggenrola! Rocky road style!"
"Then I'm chowing down on a Grimer—sludge and all!"
"Chill out, bro—we're not speedrunning the Bad Ending here!"
The chat was spiraling into full-blown cryptid territory, but Alex just vibed through the chaos like it was ASMR background noise.
While briefly checking the live stream visuals, Alex couldn't help but marvel at the terrifyingly advanced technology from Silph Co. This compact drone—despite its modest size—delivered rock-solid stability in flight, along with razor-sharp image capture and transmission, all without disrupting Alex's broadcast.
"Got to admit—this high-end tech lives up to the price tag. Money well spent."
After briefly engaging with the chat, Alex redirected his full attention to surveying the surrounding environment.
Alex was acutely aware—both he and his Caterpie were currently in the wilderness.
Wilderness training officially commenced.
At that precise moment, a peculiar scent wafted into Alex's nostrils.
"Hmm."His eyes narrowed with predatory focus as he swiftly scanned the perimeter, locking onto a bizarre flower twitching unnaturally amidst the grass ahead.
"Caterpie, target that Gloom with String Shot. Entangle it with a web, then close in for a Bug Bite."Alex commanded calmly yet methodically.
"Mweh!" Caterpie swiftly obeyed Alex's command, pinpointing the target. Undulating its stubby legs, it rapidly closed in before launching a viscous strand of silken thread from its mandibles—the silken bindings coiled around the pungent blossom with surgical precision.
The ambusher had sensed the trap but was too late to break free—its signature floral crown now ensnared in silken cables that anchored it to the earth like a grotesque botanical marionette.
Golden lightning surged through the silken threads, coursing mercilessly into its frame. Though the attack sputtered with lackluster potency, it still forced a momentary slowdown—like a predator briefly pinning prey before the kill.
In the next heartbeat, Caterpie—defying its stubby build—surged into the foliage with startling agility. Its mandibles clamped down on the Pokémon's torso in a Bug Bite crackling with insectoid energy.
It was only when the foliage parted that the live-stream audience finally saw their target in crystal clarity—Alex's Caterpie standing triumphantly over a motionless Gloom, the Pokémon's telltale stench lingering like a defeated boss battle's aftermath.
A half-baked Electroweb—and a textbook-perfect Bug Bite.
Gloom, the evolved form of Oddish, succumbed to the onslaught—its combat capabilities utterly neutralized.
"In the wilderness, we must remain vigilant of our surroundings at all times—unusual scents, abnormal sounds, footprints and other traces cannot afford to be overlooked."
After a brief glance at the unconscious Gloom—confirming Caterpie's measured restraint posed no life-threatening risk to the Pokémon—Alex averted his gaze.
He had zero interest in Gloom.
"When encountering wild Pokémon nearby, prioritize striking first to seize the advantage—but stay alert. In the wilderness, enemies never come solo. Master ambush tactics while learning to guard against their stealth strikes."
As the words left his lips, Alex jerked his head sharply to the side.
In the next instant, Caterpie launched upward like a miniature rocket—whooshing past Alex's hair—to collide with the target behind him.
The live-stream audience could've sworn they heard a muffled thud followed by a Pokémon's pained howl.
"that's exactly how it's done."
Alex swung the live-stream drone's camera rearward just in time to capture Caterpie executing a flawless aerial Tackle—the overgrown larva now poised triumphantly atop a battered Pidgey that looked like it had been hit by a freight train.
"Naturally, I strongly advise all Trainers to carry multiple Pokémon in the wild—maintain 360-degree awareness at all times and prioritize safeguarding your personal security above all."
"Solo with one Pokémon? That's a guaranteed recipe for getting overwhelmed." Alex's head snapped toward the rustling foliage of a tree flanking his position—the live-stream drone whirring to reframe the shot with tactical precision.
A flock of Spearow thrummed into view—wings buzzing with feral intensity as they plunged toward him.
Alex executed a tactical retreat of several meters—Caterpie interposing itself as a living shield between him and the incoming threat with millisecond precision.
"Electroweb!"
The air erupted into a scintillating net of gold—crackling with voltaic fury as it snapped into form, intercepting the dive-bombing Spearow mid-assault.
"Screeee!"
The Spearow's shriek tore through the woodland—a sonic blade of pure aggression that sent tremors rippling across every leaf within a 50-meter radius.