Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

As for the person actually behind the "suit"... who knows?

…………

The popularity of the gym leaders naturally fueled the booming popularity of gym challenges.

For many fans, whether they can beat the gym challenge is another matter; being able to battle Miss Kiju is a more motivating reward than a gym badge.

Even though it was Tuesday afternoon, there was still a long line ahead of Xia Chen and Ming Yi to take on the challenge.

This was even after they had already made an online reservation that morning.

Fortunately, most of the challengers were seasoned novices, and some even failed the gym test.

So even though the line was long, it moved forward quite quickly.

"How are you planning to pass the dojo test? Are you going to pull something special?"

"All the tricks have been exhausted by those who came before, so I've prepared the most direct one: activate captain status on the spot!"

"Holy crap, this is possible?"

"Why not? Pixiv's live streaming mechanism gives a traffic boost to those who stream as captains or admirals. I've seen people in the group have already tried it and it works."

"Wow, this seems more reliable. I'll give it a try."

The girl overheard the conversation between the two people ahead of Xia Chen and Ming Yi, and her expression became complicated.

"You were absolutely right..."

Mingyi said in a low voice.

Dojo challenges are not free; they are part of the gym leader's salary. Furthermore, the Brewmaster Dojo tacitly allows challengers to "spend gifts" to pass the test, revealing the true intentions of the capital behind it.

Having seen countless ways capital manipulates people, Xia Chen wasn't surprised. Instead, he became concerned about Mingyi's test preparations.

"And you? How do you plan to pass the gym test?"

Mingyi hesitated for a moment, "I originally prepared a short, elaborate performance, but now... should I just give a tip directly?"

Xia Chen comforted her, "No need, just do it the way you prepared, there won't be any problems."

Although the words were a bit direct, appearance is also a kind of asset, and Mingyi's mere presence can cause a small climax in the comments.

Xia Chen couldn't be sure if it was a live broadcast of a competition, but those who watched Qishu's live streams would know what was going on.

Mingyi was still a little unsure of herself. "Why don't you go first?"

Xia Chen looked helpless. "I feel like no matter how many gifts the people behind me send, I can't stop the popularity from declining..."

This is not boasting; as a public figure with considerable online fame, this was something that was foreseeable and inevitable.

Mingyi understood Xia Chen's meaning and reluctantly replied, "Okay..."

…………

After queuing for nearly an hour, it was finally Mingyi's turn.

It's worth mentioning that the two guys in front actually passed the test by using the captain's method, but that's about it.

The gym battle went terribly wrong, and they didn't even get to see the second Pokémon that Mirai sent out.

But seeing their nonchalant and even "worth it" smiles, Xia Chen could only sigh, "You're not a dog, how can you know the joy of a dog?"

Next up is Mingyi.

As Xia Chen had predicted, Ming Yi, whose appearance was no less than Qi Shu's and even surpassed it in some aspects, attracted a group of perverts in the comments section as soon as she appeared.

Many people also recognized her as a fellow Pixiv content creator, given the high degree of overlap in the following lists of perverts...

Thus, even before the spectacular performance was finished, the program monitoring the live stream data gave a result indicating that the test had been passed.

Then came the main event: the gym challenge.

Without even thinking, it's obvious that Mingyi's lineup will consist of Serpent Lord, Flame Ace, and Earth King.

Grass Snake is immune to Electric, Earth King is immune to Electric, and Cinderace with the [Free Spirit] ability can also change its type to Ground by using Ground-type moves.

Gym Leader Qi Shufang's team consists of the local bird of the Padina region, the Electric-Flying hybrid Electivire, the pure Electric-type Feraligatr, and the only non-Electric-type Pokémon, Mirage.

In fact, Qishu's lineup isn't too afraid of Ground-types.

Both the Flying-type Electivire and the [Levitate] ability Mismagius are immune to Ground-type Pokémon, so Mei doesn't actually have any Pokémon that are particularly good at defeating Electivire.

In most gym battles, Qishu will choose to start with Giant Electric Seagull and play a tailwind strategy.

The Earth King is inherently slow, and without the ability to open a magic space, it is difficult for it to deal with the incredibly fast Electric Swallow when it is tailwinded.

Considering this situation, Mingyi took a different approach, choosing Cinderace as its starting Pokémon and using the move [Garbage Shot] to lock its type to Poison.

It has an attribute that has no mutual restraint relationship with any of the spirits of the Strange Tree.

It would have been better if Cinderace had moves like Rock Slide or Rock Spike that countered Electric Petrify, but unfortunately, it can't learn them.

Mingyi's idea was good; Qishu had not anticipated the poison-type Flame Ace.

However, the problem lies in the fact that Cinderace's skill level in using trash shots is too low, and its accuracy is frighteningly low. Giant Electric Petrifier can almost always easily dodge the moves and then retaliate with Thunderbolt or even Thunder.

In the high-speed offensive battle, Flame Ace was clearly at a disadvantage, so Naruto had no choice but to switch to Earth Ace.

But this still cannot change the situation.

It's just that the move Giant Electric Pelican has changed from Thunderbolt to Hurricane.

If they couldn't deal with the key element of the Qishu lineup, the Great Electric Sea Swallow, then the subsequent battles were even less likely to succeed.

Throughout the match, Mingyi struggled immensely, and in the end, he only managed to bring the score to 1:3 by forcing a substitution of Da Dian Haiyan through attrition warfare.

…………

Naruto looked really upset about losing the gym battle, but that's obvious; who could possibly feel good about losing a match...?

During the ten-minute break in the dojo challenge, Xia Chen quickly comforted her, "Don't be discouraged. It's normal not to win your first dojo challenge."

Mingyi asked with a dejected pursed lips, "And what about you?"

Xia Chen scratched his head, "I... that's because I challenged the Fairy-type's favorite, the Hidden Dragon Gym."

Mingyi was even more upset, "Ground-type is also effective against Electric-type, and that was more than half a year ago. I'm not even as good as you were half a year ago..."

So you still want to compare yourself to me? But all my Pokémon are overpowered...

Xia Chen felt somewhat helpless and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Fortunately, Mingyi isn't the type to wallow in self-pity; she calmed down after a while.

Forcing herself to cheer up, she looked at Xia Chen and asked, "Okay, I'm fine now. By the way, did you watch the match just now? Can you help me analyze the problems?"

Xia Chen touched Mingyi's bun and smiled, "This is the Mingyi I know. As for the problems..."

After a moment's thought, Xia Chen said, "There's not much to say, because you simply couldn't break Qi Shu's tactics and his tailwind system."

"As you know, Qishu's Electric Pelican has the ability [Wind Power]. After using Tailwind, it can enter a recharge state, doubling the power of the next Electric-type move. It's the icing on the cake for the Tailwind system. So the most direct way to defeat Qishu is to prevent Electric Pelican from using Tailwind."

Mingyi immediately replied, "So you provoked them first?"

The words had barely left her mouth when she immediately dismissed the idea. "But that would mean Cinderace would have to use a Dark-type move against Electric-type Boomerang, and my Cinderace doesn't have [Sucker Punch] inherited, nor does it have any suitable Dark-type moves..."

Xia Chen replied, "It's okay. Just use high-level fire-type moves. There's no need to pursue the power boost of your own type of moves. Or, roaring loudly is also a good option."

Seeing Mingyi lost in thought, Xia Chen said softly, "The gym challenge is a mechanism set up by the League to train trainers. Just enjoy the process. If you can't beat it, just try a few more times. I'll accompany you."

"Um..."

As if she had heard some touching words of love, Mingyi blushed and nodded gently.

The boy next to Xia Chen nodded thoughtfully and opened the small notebook he used to record battle tactics.

Turning to the last blank page, he wrote the words "love tactics" on the first line.

Then, on a new line, write "Example of a sweet nothing: I will be with you."

His friend, who came with him, shook his head and reminded him, "Don't bother remembering it. It's all about looks. If you look like him, you could get a girl just by saying you drink more hot water."

After pondering for a long time, the male passerby closed his notebook and sighed, "Fine, I'll just focus on admiring my Miss Qishu..."

"Next up, challenger number thirty-one, please prepare!"

Inside the preparation room, Rotom began the introductions.

"Alright, I'm going to the match now. Watch how I deal with the tailwind strategy."

"Okay, keep it up!"

Mingyi cheered Xia Chen on with great enthusiasm.

Xia Chen smiled, waved, and walked out of the preparation room, stepping into the main battlefield of the Brewmaster Dojo.

------

The battlefield layout of the Niangguang Dojo is different from other places.

Under the spotlights from all directions, the entire battlefield resembled a stage.

A dozen or so Magnetons or Magneton-3 devices equipped with cameras float in the air, aiming at the area from all angles.

This is what makes the Brewmaster Dojo so special: from the dojo's testing to the actual battles, the entire process is broadcast live on Pilipili in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

On this unremarkable Tuesday afternoon, fans of Qishu from all over the world opened the live stream as usual, and then witnessed... a handsome guy's appearance.

"This guy's good-looking; he's definitely one of the best-looking challengers this month. He just looks kind of familiar..."

"Holy crap, isn't that Master Pigeon? He actually went on a trip to Padiya?"

"You secretly went looking for Mengmeng as soon as you arrived in Padiya, you're really something, Master Pigeon!"

"You're still traveling with Mingyi? That's great, you don't carry people on your back anymore."

"Where's Cynthia? You think you can't do anything to me just because the Sinnoh region is far away?"

"World-famous painting: Bamboo and Orchid Exploring Ruins (laughs)"

"Wait, who is this 'Master Pigeon' you guys are talking about? Is he also a streamer? Is he just trying to ride on Qishu's popularity?"

"Tsk, I, the most sentimental streamer from Donghuang, need to ride on the coattails of other streamers' popularity to go on a trip? Hey bro, give me a show of reciting a menu!"

"Standing before you now is Xia Chen, one of Pixiv's top 100 content creators, champion of the Donghuang Youth Trainer Competition, friend of Kalos, inventor of the Beauty Cube, discoverer of Sylveon and Ghost Zoroark, father of the Grand Contest, rumored boyfriend of Cynthia, and trainer of Master Yi!"

"Damn, could this comment have been posted by Pigeon Master himself? He remembered it so well!"