Chapter 32 - 032: Painfully Skilled

Lorelei and Red shared a history. At one point, due to ideological differences, the Elite Four of Kanto joined forces against Red, leading to his entrapment in the icy confines of Mt. Silver, placing him in grave danger. However, during the New Island incident, Lorelei provided significant assistance to Red, and their relationship thawed. What surprised Lorelei was that everyone in this group, including Red, was a renowned Trainer! [Gold: Ah, it's really Aunt Lorelei!] The first message in the group chat hit like a thunderbolt, leaving Lorelei stunned. Aunt... Auntie?! A woman's age is always just sweet sixteen, okay! [Yellow: Gold, that's not a nice thing to say...] [Gold: Huh? But she was already part of the Elite Four when I was a kid!] [Member "Gold" has been muted by admin for one hour.] [Blue Oak: Quite a coincidence, we were just discussing your Perish Song Strategy.] Lorelei rubbed her temples, scanning the member list with a headache. Both admins, Red and Blue Oak, were Champion-level. Group members were at least Masters, with a few Gym Leaders mixed in. All these people were followers of Natsume-sensei?! "I'm starting to regret joining this group..." Sensing trouble, Lorelei sighed helplessly. [Lorelei: My Perish Song Strategy isn't as refined as Natsume-sensei's.] [Blue Oak: Hmm, true.] Lorelei's eye twitched. I was just being polite, and you took it seriously? So what if you're a Champion? Still single! The atmosphere turned awkward. Half an hour later, the group owner came online, sending a confused message. [Natsume-sensei: New member?] Natsume stared blankly at the chat interface. I just finished class, and now there's another Elite Four in the group? So, I'm the only non-Trainer here! But with the precedent of World Champion Red, Natsume was already numb. Even if Giovanni were added to the chat group, Natsume wouldn't bat an eye. Probably. Anyway, the livelier the group, the better. Red, Lorelei, and other Kanto leaders usually exchanged ideas; this was just a new circle. Seeing no one chatting, Natsume opened the computer to check the reception of "Natsume-sensei Teaches Battles 05: Perish Song Team." In just one day, the video had made it to the homepage. Besides surpassing a million views on Nico Dou, it also caused a stir on YouTube and other platforms. The backend management for content creators clearly showed a follower increase: 237,240. You might not know what gaining 200,000 followers with one video means. We usually describe such people with one word. Terrifying! With just three videos, Natsume-sensei, with his deeply impactful dirty strategies, jumped from a small streamer with over 100,000 followers to over 800,000. Just one step away from the million-follower milestone! Several companies had already reached out to Natsume via backend messages, wanting him to do sponsored videos, including many well-known Pokémon shops. But Natsume preferred to maintain video quality. One company even offered 100,000 Pokémon Coins, but Natsume firmly declined. After all, Natsume aimed to be a top content creator. Today's 100,000 Pokémon Coins might equal a million in the future; it's still too cheap for these capitalists. In the system, as the video's influence continued to ferment, Natsume officially completed a small goal. [Video Views surpassed 1M, BP Points +1000] [Video Shares surpassed 100K, BP Points +1000] [...] [Remaining BP Points: 11,720] [Spend 10,000 BP to exchange for 'Protect' Technical Machine?] [Yes/No] "Yes!" System items were stored in a small space, but non-system items couldn't be stored there. Since Technical Machines were reusable, the price of 10,000 BP was reasonable. Taking out the white USB drive from the system's backpack. Natsume played with it for a moment before calling over Gastly, who was licking a textbook. "Do you know why I called you over?" "Gastly?" Gastly tilted its head in confusion, looking at the USB drive in Natsume's hand, then suddenly perked up. "Gastly!" (Got it, got it!) Natsume nodded with a pleased expression. Gastly held the USB drive in its mouth, plugged it into the computer, moved the cursor with its tongue, and skillfully opened the video file. Painfully skilled. But Natsume, having some rare free time, sat in front of the computer with Gastly to study the training of the "Protect" move. The training method was quite simple. Haunter gathered black mist to form a fog shield in front of it, continuously blocking incoming moves. The strength and range of the fog shield were limited by Gastly's own power. In theory, the "Protect" move could block attacks from all 360 degrees. But Gastly's strength was limited, and after several attempts, it could only form a narrow fog shield. This left the little one somewhat disheartened, slumping over the keyboard, almost seeping into the computer's fan. "Take it easy, we'll get there." Natsume took out an Oran Berry Block, waving it like a cat toy above Gastly's head. The listless Gastly lazily glanced at Natsume before reluctantly opening its mouth. "Gastly! ( ̄~ ̄)" After chewing for three seconds, a smile slowly spread across Gastly's face. Gastly: (?′?`?) After comforting Gastly, Natsume turned back to the group chat. [Natsume-sensei: How do you train Protect?] [Gold: You can't even do such a simple move? Just do this, then this, and then that?] [Blue Oak: Mastering Protect is indeed challenging.] [Red: New strategy?] [Natsume-sensei: No, just the basic Protect.] Red pondered for a moment, then understood. As they say, the simplest path leads to greatness. Even the most basic move, when trained to perfection, can surpass the power of Hyper Beam. Red greatly admired Natsume's continuous learning attitude. [Red: I have some personal manuscripts, would you like them?] Natsume raised an eyebrow. Such good fortune? [Natsume-sensei: You're too kind, just DM me.] Witnessing this shady exchange, Lorelei hugged her Lapras plushie, lost in thought. Is Natsume-sensei planning to research more dirty strategies? He even got training manuscripts from Red... Doesn't that mean his understanding of "Protect" will reach new heights?! Meanwhile, Natsume placed the printed [Protect Manuscript] in front of Gastly. As if seeing a new textbook, Gastly's large eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge. "Slurp—" Watching Gastly drool incessantly, Natsume rubbed his chin and murmured. "Training Pokémon isn't that hard after all..." ???? Join My Patreon and Unlock Exclusive Pokémon Content! ???? Are you a fan of the Pokémon series? Become a member today and enjoy amazing benefits! ???? Membership: Pokémon Series - Gold Champion Unlock access to 10 Chapters in advance! Enjoy daily updates with 2 new chapters every day! ???? Membership: Pokémon Series - Platinum Legend Unlock access to 28 Chapters in advance! 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