Kanto region, Celadon City.
At the lakeside restaurant of the Pokémon Center, Caster was feasting heartily.
"From this stream alone, the donation income exceeded ₽30,000. Add in this month's video revenue, and exceeding ₽50,000 shouldn't be a problem."
After eating his fill, Caster opened his PokéTube homepage to estimate his earnings.
Video revenue from the site was calculated monthly, but fan donations could be withdrawn immediately.
Of course, it required three business days for review; that was standard procedure.
"Already earning ₽50,000 a month?"
Caster was overjoyed, feeling somewhat incredulous.
It had only been just over a month since he'd transmigrated!
"Before transmigrating, I was a fishing content creator for two and a half years. Not only was I out in the sun and wind every day, but I also uploaded videos daily, and I barely managed to earn 10,000 a month. But now..."
Caster couldn't help but sigh. "Money really is easier to make in the Pokémon world!"
But thinking again, Caster felt this assessment didn't seem quite right.
His ability to reach this level; the biggest contributor wasn't him or Magikarp, but his cheat ability.
"However, the cheat is mine, so rounding up, it's my achievement. Saying it this way seems fine too."
Caster grinned and began operating his phone to request withdrawal of the donations.
Thirty thousand; enough for him to do many things!
Walking out of the restaurant, Caster came to the lakeside and released Gyarados.
"ROAAR~"
The Gyarados, obviously a size larger and more robust than others of its species, appeared and immediately attracted the attention of quite a few people nearby.
"Wow! Such a tall, magnificent Gyarados, so cool!"
"This young guy actually owns a fierce Pokémon like Gyarados; he must be a powerful trainer."
"Gyarados is cool, but the guy seems even cooler!"
...
Hearing the discussions around him and feeling their envious gazes, Caster felt his vanity greatly satisfied.
Compared to pre-evolution Magikarp, post-evolution Gyarados had not only become powerful in strength but also undergone tremendous changes in personality.
Gyarados's eyes were fierce and highly aggressive, as if it could attack anyone at any moment. Its personality had also become impulsive and irritable.
According to the Pokédex, this was because during evolution its brain cells underwent restructuring, which was why its temperament became violent.
However, in front of Caster, Gyarados was no different from before evolution.
Seeing Caster approach, it immediately lowered its head and nuzzled against him, allowing Caster to pet it, like a gentle kitten.
"Hungry, right? First eat some pokéblocks!"
Caster smiled, took out a box from his backpack, removed the pokéblocks inside and stuffed them into Gyarados's mouth.
Chomp! Chomp!
Gyarados swallowed the pokéblocks in big gulps, finishing all of them in just a few bites. It still looked unsatisfied, clearly not full.
"That was supposed to be your rations for a whole week..."
Caster was stunned at first, then realized his Magikarp had evolved into Gyarados.
Compared to Magikarp, Gyarados's body size had increased more than tenfold; naturally its appetite and food intake had risen accordingly.
To feed this massive creature, he'd need to purchase higher quality, more concentrated pokéblocks.
Pokéblocks were specialized food for Pokémon that provided necessary nutrition and energy. The higher the quality, the more expensive the price.
And the more powerful the Pokémon, the higher the grade of pokéblocks required for daily consumption. After all, they needed to eat their fill to have the energy to battle!
Thinking about the price of high-quality pokéblocks, cold sweat appeared on Caster's forehead.
"Before evolution, as Magikarp's size grew, its monthly food costs went from an initial ₽500 all the way up to ₽2,000. Now that it's evolved into Gyarados and its size has exploded tenfold, I'm afraid even ₽20,000 won't be enough, right?"
Looking at the massive Gyarados whose mouth had to stay open most of the time, Caster felt this wasn't a mouth but a bottomless pit.
Its function was specifically to make him, the little trainer, bleed money!
As everyone knows, Pokémon training encompasses multiple aspects, and food is just the most economical part.
Glancing at the ₽30,000 still under review, Caster suddenly felt it wasn't so appealing anymore.
Because the big chunk was destined to be spent on Gyarados.
"Before transmigrating I worked for capitalism; after transmigrating I'm working for Pokémon?"
Caster said indignantly, "Then didn't I transmigrate for nothing?"
Pokémon capitalism, you win!!!
"Whatever, whatever. I chose this Pokémon myself and even registered it at the Pokémon Center. Can I abandon it now?"
After sighing quietly, Caster collected himself and silently encouraged himself: "Training Pokémon is an investment. As long as my Pokémon become strong, I can become a famous trainer. Then all the money invested upfront can be earned back ten or a hundred times over..."
"The prerequisite is that my Pokémon are strong enough!"
Thinking of this, Caster's gaze sharpened. He patted Gyarados. "Come, I'll teach you a few more moves."
"Roar~"
Hearing this, Gyarados's eyes immediately lit up. Its fierce expression disappeared, looking somewhat docile.
Excellent!
Time to learn new things again!
And Gyarados knew very well that learning new things meant getting stronger.
What Pokémon could resist this kind of temptation?
Trainer, level me up!
Let me see your limits!
His consciousness sinking into the fishing space, Caster searched through the TMs stored there; these were all rewarded when he caught Water-type Pokémon.
It was just that some of them couldn't be learned by Magikarp before, so they could only be stored temporarily.
However, after evolution, Gyarados's move pool had broadened considerably; quite a lot of moves could now be learned.
"Rain Dance! Protect! Chilling Water! Icy Wind!"
Finding four TMs among them, Caster activated them all at once and infused them into Gyarados.
"ROAAR~"
Gyarados closed its eyes, working hard to digest the various knowledge suddenly flooding its mind.
Although it covered Water, Ice, and Normal-type moves and the content was somewhat chaotic, Gyarados still quickly memorized and mastered them, as if they were burned into its brain; it couldn't forget them even if it wanted to.
Before long, Gyarados opened its eyes again, indicating it had learned everything.
"Come on! Show me!"
Caster extended his hand. He wanted to see the effects of Gyarados's new moves.
After all, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle.
"Hey, are you this Gyarados's trainer?"
But just then, an arrogant voice rang out, interrupting Caster's train of thought.
Caster turned to look and saw a spiky-haired youth jump down from a luxury convertible, examining his Gyarados with a face full of curiosity.
In the car behind him sat several long-legged beauties.
"Gary!"
Caster was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting to meet Gary here.
Seeing Caster remain silent, Gary directly stated his purpose: "My name is Gary, and I'm a Pokémon trainer on a journey. You've trained this Gyarados very well. Interested in having a Pokémon battle?"
"Sure!"
Caster smiled slightly and readily agreed. "By the way, my name is Caster."
Gyarados had just evolved; its true strength hadn't been fully revealed yet. He'd been wanting to find someone to spar with in a real battle!
And Gary happened to be a good opponent.
Amazing potential, but having just started his journey not long ago. His Pokémon weren't weak, but their strength was limited.
Glancing at the calm lake, Caster pointed behind the Pokémon Center. "Let's go to the battle field."