Chapter Twenty-Four: A Distant Gaze from a Certain Fan in Shenhe Town

After obtaining the training materials for Sprigatito, Xia Chi found himself unable to focus on classes, editing videos, or even hosting his livestream. He simply posted a status update saying "No stream today," and spent the entire afternoon and evening immersed in studying the two sets of insights.

It was no wonder that Geeta, the Top Champion of Paldea, and Brassius, a gym leader friendly to beginners, were so highly regarded; there was a clear disparity in the quality of their notes. Geeta’s insights revealed a level of ingenuity and perspective that stood out significantly. Brassius positioned Meowscarada as a speed-based assassin, whereas Geeta argued that, given the extremely rare "Protean" ability, Meowscarada could be developed into a warrior capable of both offense and defense. Neither approach was inherently superior—one focused on playing to strengths while avoiding weaknesses, while the other utilized the Pokémon's unique ability—but both were valid.

Xia Chi, however, leaned toward Geeta’s philosophy. The reason was simple: he had a "cheat," and he could afford to be bold. He was still in the early stages, but the all-attribute support provided by his bond and equipment for Sprigatito was already staggering, and it would only grow stronger. Furthermore, Sprigatito possessed a Grass-type bond capable of providing sustained combat endurance; it would be a shame not to cultivate it into a well-rounded warrior. In fact, his previous two equipment choices had already set Sprigatito on the path of an all-around fighter.

Nevertheless, as a Grass-type expert, Brassius’s notes were not without merit. Xia Chi ultimately decided to use Geeta’s material as the foundation, supplementing it with parts of Brassius’s insights, and blending them with his own specific circumstances to create a unique training path for his Sprigatito.

Because he had already purchased the necessary items for Sprigatito recently, Xia Chi did not go on a shopping spree after finishing his research. Well, the primary reason was that his pockets were empty. The items used by top-tier trainers like Geeta were of the highest quality and far beyond his current budget. Fortunately, things should improve next month; after all, the spending by his fans in the livestream—led by the top donor, Iono—had been quite intense this month.

Come to think of it, in less than half a year of making videos and livestreaming, his follower count on the Poggie platform had nearly reached half a million, which was nothing short of a miracle. Only about 100,000 of those were likely from his "Mythical Beast Secrets" and "Regional Legends" historical video series; the bulk were livestream fans. Especially after his recent "collision" with Iono and Raihan, his follower count had doubled, cementing his status as a creator with a respectable following. Because he had leveraged his identity as a student at a prestigious university in Shanghai and his handsome looks early on, his reputation at school had also risen. Aside from the attention of strangers—he already turned heads due to his appearance—a noticeable change in recent days was that several fellow students had approached him to chat and take photos.

He spent most of his time cooped up in his dorm editing videos or livestreaming; otherwise, the frequency would likely be even higher.

***

In any case, when Xia Chi finished organizing the training materials, he realized it had just turned past midnight. It was December 1st, 224, in the Eastern Alliance calendar—the day for his monthly "Mythical Legends" video. Driven by the logic that "staying up late is bad for you, so I’ll just pull an all-nighter," he decided to add the final polish to his video, "The Genesis of Arceus (Part I): The Origin of the Universe and the Three Creation Dragons."

Thinking about it was one thing; doing it was another. A "little bit" of polishing inevitably turned into a whole lot. By the time the horizon outside his window began to break with the first light of dawn, Xia Chi finally clicked "Publish" with satisfaction. After preparing breakfast and a berry platter for Sprigatito, he yawned and crawled into his comfortable bed.

***

Meanwhile, in Celestic Town, Sinnoh Region.

While the sun was rising over the Eastern lands, thousands of miles away, this region was still wrapped in the quiet of deep night. As the major town closest to Mount Coronet, the heart of Sinnoh, one could best feel the majesty and awe of the towering mountain range here.

At this moment, lights glowed softly in a house not far from the Celestic Historical Research Center. A graceful blonde woman sat at her desk reading. Behind her, a Togekiss acted like a hairdryer, diligently blowing warm air from its mouth to dry her damp golden hair. Outside the window, the silhouette of a bulky, half-shark, half-dragon Pokémon flickered in and out of view. Celestic Town, Togekiss, Garchomp—the elements were all there; the woman was Cynthia.

"Ding~"

A crisp sound suddenly rang out by the bedside. Cynthia set down her book and lazily stretched, the beautiful curves of her figure visible beneath her simple black pajamas.

"Roserade, could you get my phone for me?"

Roserade, elegant as a gentleman, nodded slightly. "Rade~"

Beneath its blooming roses, a vine reached out and delivered the phone from the nightstand to Cynthia. There were no messages for her, only a notification from an app.

"The creator you follow, 'Shuiye Shuiye,' has just uploaded a new video!"

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. This dawdling guy updated so early this month? As a fanatical enthusiast of mythology and history, Cynthia had followed "Shuiye" since his first video went viral. She was an old-school fan. She occasionally caught his livestreams, though due to the time difference, she didn't watch them often. However, she had never missed a single one of his history videos. The content was interesting and the ideas were novel; even if some parts were impossible to verify and likely just made up, it wasn't a flaw since it wasn't a serious academic lecture.

At the end of his previous video, "Shuiye" had asked his audience which region they wanted him to cover next. Cynthia had used a burner account to comment, "Can the host talk about the myths and legends of the Sinnoh region?" and the comment had unexpectedly been voted to the top.

So, was this episode about Sinnoh mythology?

Cynthia clicked on it with curiosity, and then she saw the title of the video:

*The Genesis of Arceus (Part I): The Origin of the Universe and the Three Creation Dragons*

*Hah, what a bold claim!*

Cynthia’s first reaction was skepticism. Compared to his previous topics—Ho-Oh and the resurrected Legendary Beasts at the Burned Tower, or the Guardian of the Seas and the Legendary Birds—this topic was on an entirely different level. Genesis? The origin of the universe? Was he trying to start a new school of thought?

Based on currently excavated murals, statues, and verifiable historical documents, Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia were confirmed legendary Pokémon that had once existed and were revered by the ancient people of Sinnoh. But where did the claim of "creation" come from? And how could the origin of the universe be verified?

Filled with questions, Cynthia unconsciously straightened her back and clicked play.