This was a next generation game developed by Game Freak over five years, and it had been on sale for less than a month. It used Lysandre's holographic imaging technology and Unova Region's global network communication technology, aiming to create the most realistic online Pokemon battles.
Through league channels, it also obtained authorization from regional professors and digitized most of the currently known Pokemon data.
"Holy crap, this is like a sci‑fi movie."
Leon raised his eyebrows.
He must have woken up too hard. Could GF really have this level of tech?
As wild as it sounded, this was indeed the world's first true Pokemon battle game. Because of that, Pokemon·Champion had exploded in popularity online, with extremely high recognition even among the Elite Four and the Champion.
Leon checked PokéTV and confirmed that eight of the top ten trending topics were related to the game.
The other two unrelated videos were both from Kanto Region. One was a daily life short video from Professor Oak. The other was Cerulean Sisters's "Water Waltz"…
somehow.
"Can you even stream like this?"
After skimming through the top ten popular videos, he already had a basic grasp of the current battle environment.
Due to geographic limits, regions had very little interaction for a long time in the past. It was only in the last decade, with the rapid growth of the internet, that people gained some understanding of regions beyond their own.
This led to a problem. Most people could not even recognize every entry in the Pokedex, and fully understanding all local Pokemon already made someone impressive. Using them in battle was even harder.
Even some tactics used by gym leaders looked a bit… simple to Leon.
"Everyone, Infernape turning the fight with low HP and triggering Blaze feels way too good!"
"Three Swords Dance boosts, Garchomp's attack hits thirteen thousand!"
"Don't underestimate my bond with Kricketune! Focus Sash, flip the whole match!"
There were no strange gimmicks or dirty tricks, and trainers were just enjoying pure, passionate battles.
For a while, the entire game environment felt clean and straightforward. Noticing this clearly, Leon let out a quiet laugh.
In his previous life, he was not a professional player, but he had many years of battle experience and often played at high ranks. With his understanding of battles, standing out among these simple local players should not be difficult.
More importantly, in his previous life he had been a variety streamer, so he had plenty of ideas for weird and niche ways to use Pokemon.
There could be highlight moments and there could be disastrous plays, and with both together, how could viewers not be satisfied.
"So the key is how to make a name for myself."
Leon fell back into thought. He had always believed that a gym leader's strength was an important measure of a Gym's level. In reality, that was not always true.
Those strict requirements only applied to the eight official Gym designated for conferences, and in some regions even those eight could be watered down.
For example, Kanto Region's Cerulean Gym had been mocked countless times. They handed out Gym badges with ticket purchases, yet business still boomed until Misty returned to take over.
As long as a gym could support itself, the league was generally quite tolerant of already established Gym.
For an ordinary Gym like Sunlight Gym, this was even more so.
"Uniqueness" was the real key to a Gym.
A good Gym needed something that could attract challengers in order to operate long term. It could specialize in training a single type, or like other Gym in Paldea Region, include fun mini games before the challenge.
When his parents ran it, Sunlight Gym's selling point was two elite trainers with different styles, which attracted many capable challengers.
It followed the same path as the gym leader Norman in the Hoenn Region, gaining fans through strength. But he clearly did not have that level of power yet.
"My only advantage right now is the information gap from being a Transmigration user."
Leon quickly recognized this. With many tactics from his previous life not yet developed in this era, this was the only breakthrough he could think of.
Battles were already the undisputed number one sport in this world, but the high barrier of real battles kept many people away.
Now that Pokemon·Champion had appeared out of nowhere, it was only a matter of time before it became a massive phenomenon. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
So if he wanted to save Sunlight Gym, he needed to debut as a big streamer. First build up popularity, and wait until both he and Eevee became stronger before worrying about Gym management. This was the proven path to reviving a gym.
Get on first, pay later. Make a name for himself before the year end evaluation and push the Gym back on track.
As long as he survived the painful growth period of these two months, everything would get better.
Without delay, Leon decided to act immediately.
"Bui~"
Just as he made up his mind, Eevee outside had finished lunch and trotted in with cheerful little steps. Leon quickly noticed a paintbrush held in its mouth, and after reaching his feet, it jumped straight onto the bed.
Then it showed bright, sparkling eyes and looked at him with eager anticipation.
"…"
Leon wanted to say he still had serious things to do. But facing such a cute creature looking at him with that expression, the words refused to come out. Forget it, he would deal with it tonight.
With a helpless shake of his head, he took out drawing paper from the bedside cabinet and smiled at Eevee.
"What should we draw today?"
Unlike other Pokemon, this Eevee had a very unique hobby. It liked drawing.
From Leon's perspective, it might not just be because it liked watching him draw.
Over the past six months, whenever the original owner fell into sadness, Eevee always noticed immediately and clung to him to play. Many sleepless nights after his parents went missing were spent together with Eevee.
Without it, the original owner might have already had dark thoughts.
"Bui~"
After Leon patted its head, Eevee affectionately rubbed against his palm, then looked toward the window.
Following its gaze, he saw a modern building that looked very grand. Leon vaguely remembered it, and although it had been completed for some time, it seemed no one had ever moved in.
"Alright, we'll draw that."
He nodded and walked over to open the window. Warm sunlight poured into the room, making Leon squint slightly.
"Bui…"
Seeing his action, Eevee's eyes immediately showed clear delight.
"Sorry for making you worry for so long."
Leon turned back, hugged Eevee tightly, and smiled. Pokemon were indeed very sensitive to emotions, and this period must have been hard on it as well.
"From today on, let's revive the Gym together."
"Bui!"
Eevee nodded firmly and stretched out its soft little paw, placing it actively into Leon's hand. As long as its trainer could always be happy, it would work hard together with him.
To be honest, Leon felt he had no real talent for drawing. The picture he finished after an entire afternoon only barely looked like a sketch from life. Whether it actually looked good was a rude question to ask.
But Eevee seemed to love it very much, so in the end Leon still taped it to the bedroom wall. After interacting with Eevee and solving dinner with something simple, he finally remembered the real task at hand.
If he wanted to be a streamer, the first thing was changing his name. A good username and stream title were necessary to attract viewers to click in.
At first, he planned to use the name Pocket Fan Leon, but after thinking about it, that sounded unlucky, like someone who would miss Hydro Pump four times in a row.
So in the end, he chose the more standard username Azure Feather.
Stream title: [League Gym Leader Certified, Climbing to Master Ball from Zero!]
Perhaps because it was a new stream, not long after going live, about a dozen viewers clicked in.