Shortly after starting his stream, someone in the chat asked a question.
"Streamer, where'd you end up? With all these skyscrapers around, this can't be Cerulean City, right?"
Caster first pointed the camera at himself, then panned around to show the surroundings, grinning.
"This is Celadon City! Your streamer's a man of his word. I said I'd come to Celadon for the Magikarp High Jump Competition and challenge the Celadon Gym, so I hopped on the earliest bus this morning."
"Streamer, you actually came to Celadon? Come meet up with me! My female Machamp is hungry for action."
A comment scrolled by that left Caster's face darkening. "Bro, you can keep your female Machamp and enjoy her yourself. Actually, I'm more interested in Water-type Pokémon."
After some brief banter, Caster turned the camera toward the Celadon Department Store behind him.
The building covered a huge area, standing six stories tall including the rooftop, looking incredibly prosperous.
People constantly streamed in and out through the main entrance, many accompanied by their Pokémon.
Caster even spotted someone descending on a Charizard, making his mouth water.
Sure, Charizard didn't fit a Rain Team, but there was no denying it, Charizard was genuinely cool and genuinely strong!
"Powerful trainers all ride Charizard, Pidgeot, and other Pokémon. Only Old Fish takes the bus, no wonder you're so slow. Left this morning and only just arrived!"
A troll in the chat mocked him. "If you rode a Dragonite, you'd probably get there in half an hour."
Caster chuckled in response. "Got it! I'll go catch a Dratini right away, raise it into a Dragonite, and use it as a flying mount."
"Dratini? Old Fish, you really dare to dream! That's the juvenile form of a late-blooming powerhouse Pokémon. Super rare."
"Still, Dragonite is legitimately awesome. I remember Dragon-type Elite Four member Lance's ace Pokémon is Dragonite. Strong as hell!"
"Correction! He's the Flying-type Elite Four member, not Dragon-type."
"Bold words! Want to taste my fist?"
...
Talking about Dragonite naturally led people to think of Lance.
Even in the Pokémon world, people loved to tease Lance about his team composition. His Pokémon lineup was just too bizarre.
Charizard, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Dragonair, Dragonite, two had the Dragon typing, but four had the Flying typing.
Lance, still saying you're not the Flying-type Elite Four member?
...
Phone in hand, Caster followed the crowd into the Department Store.
"Welcome! What can I help you find today?" In the first-floor general service hall, a beautiful attendant in professional attire approached immediately, graceful and poised.
"I'd like to purchase a fishing rod and a Flying Gem," Caster stated his needs.
In the Pokémon world, standard fishing rods were divided into four tiers, from lowest to highest: Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod, and Master Rod.
Caster hadn't brought his old fishing rod to Celadon this time.
Because the old rod he usually used wasn't even his, he'd borrowed it from his landlord.
The key issue was that the rod was ancient and worn out. Not only did it perform poorly, it couldn't even retract, making it extremely inconvenient to carry. So Caster had decided to buy his own rod.
Thanks to his Cerulean Gym challenge stream, Caster had gained decent popularity and generous tips.
Combined with his recent video views, his wallet was finally looking healthy, giving him the confidence to buy a better rod.
The better the rod, the less likely it was to snap or have the line break. Even if he hooked a monster, he wouldn't have to worry about losing it.
Conversely, if he finally managed to hook a Gyarados or Blastoise but lost it because his rod wasn't up to par, Caster figured he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
As for the Flying Gem, that was for Magikarp to absorb, improving its control over Flying-type energy.
After all, Magikarp's trump card for challenging the Celadon Gym was the Flying-type move Bounce.
With skill proficiency unchanged, boosting energy intensity was still a solid choice.
"Trainer goods are on the second floor. Please follow me, sir."
Led by the attendant, Caster quickly found what he wanted.
The fishing rod cost ₽5,000. Caster thought it was a bit pricey but acceptable—after all, it was his livelihood.
However, the Flying Gem's price tag of ₽10,000 gave him quite a shock.
"Pokémon training resources really are expensive!" Caster felt his teeth ache.
Still, thinking about the upcoming Gym challenge, Caster gritted his teeth and bought the Flying Gem.
Because as long as he succeeded in the challenge, he believed the investment would pay off.
The only problem was that this purchase wiped out the savings Caster had worked so hard to accumulate.
At the same time, comments flooded the chat, viewers reacting with mixed feelings.
"Old Fish, you've changed. Yesterday you were living in a ₽300-a-month rental, and now you're buying luxury items worth tens of thousands without even blinking?"
"I'm just saying, Fish Boy being able to shop at the Celadon Department Store—everyone here shares the blame. (Gritting teeth.JPG)"
"I propose we all stop tipping from now on. Don't let Fish Boy get corrupted by money. You're not helping him, you're hurting him! If you really want to hurt someone, hurt me instead!"
The viewers left indignant comments.
Seeing Caster struggle, they'd felt sympathy and were happy to lend a helping hand.
But now seeing Caster flush with cash, shopping freely in stores, they suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Old Fish, Old Fish, why'd you buy a Flying Gem? If it's for Magikarp, wouldn't a Water Gem make way more sense?
Or at the very least a Normal Gem, since all of Magikarp's current moves are Normal-type."
Someone raised a question, but Caster just laughed it off without giving a direct answer.
The reveal that Magikarp had mastered Bounce was a surprise that still needed to be kept under wraps.
Before long, Caster left the Department Store with his purchases.
"Streamer, streamer, I suggest checking out the perfume shop across from the Department Store. The perfume there is smooth and fragrant. Very nice! Those who know, know!"
"You better be talking about actual perfume!"
"The Celadon perfume shop is supposedly pretty famous. I heard the formula is really special. I've never been to Celadon myself, but I've heard about it."
Seeing the steady stream of comments, Caster looked up across the street and indeed spotted a perfume shop in business.
An idea struck him. "I remember this perfume shop is actually owned by the Celadon Gym. Miss Erika is the shop manager."
Even from across the street, Caster could see through the glass storefront several fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged shop attendants promoting and introducing perfumes.
The shop was packed, mostly with women, a sea of feminine energy.
"As everyone knows, this streamer is a man of iron will. Perfume really doesn't interest me at all. But since you guys are strongly recommending it, I can't spoil your fun."
"In that case, I'll reluctantly go take a look! Consider it doing you guys a favor by checking it out for you."
Caster pretended to be reluctant, but his steps were noticeably light.