Chapter 8: [Dueling the Fighting-type Gym Leader! How a 1000-Year-Old Sword Art Defeats a Beautiful Girl!]
"Challenge the Gym?"
Hearing this, Asher's expression turned strange.
He only had one Farfetch'd. That wasn't even enough Pokémon for a proper Gym challenge.
What was he supposed to challenge the Gym with? Himself?
Even if he counted himself as a humanoid Pokémon, that still wasn't enough.
"Ah, let's skip that for now. I'm a Trainer, but..." Asher shook his head, changing the subject. "The dojo is still under construction. Let's talk about Gym challenges some other time."
"Alright." Bea didn't insist.
Not everyone was skilled in Pokémon battles. Maybe Asher just wasn't interested, and she certainly couldn't force him. "Well, I'll be going. It's getting late."
Asher nodded. "See you next time."
After seeing Bea out of the dojo, Asher returned to the living room and picked up the camera to check the recording.
He had just bought this camera today, and it had cost him a full 20,000 Poké Dollars.
It was expensive, but the quality was indeed much better than his phone's.
"Hmm... the whole video is about seven or eight minutes. I'll edit it down, add some sound effects, and move the best clips to the front. A mature, action-packed video will be ready."
Asher mused to himself.
Just because the last video went viral didn't mean this one would.
As everyone knows, it's incredibly difficult to consistently produce viral content.
That implies a massive, growing fanbase.
Most uploaders might get lucky once and hit a million views, but their next video might only get a few tens of thousands.
You can't do it on effort alone; you need a large, stable fanbase.
But that just ran into the previous problem.
To get traffic, you need fans. To get fans, you need traffic...
"This video's title... let's go with: [Dueling the Fighting-type Gym Leader! How a 1000-Year-Old Sword Art Defeats a Beautiful Girl!]"
Asher rubbed his chin. "I'll add my own commentary as a voice-over, just so some viewers can follow what's happening."
While this move was kind of using Bea for clout, what could he do? He didn't have enough fans.
As of now, he hadn't even broken ten thousand followers. He had a long way to go to become a major uploader.
After all, one viral video wasn't enough to get noticed.
You had to have the ability to consistently produce excellent work and, more importantly, get approval from the audience—to make them feel some kind of resonance.
"Getting people to connect... it's really a difficult thing," Asher sighed.
He spent two hours organizing the video content and then posted it directly to his account.
He had to strike while the iron was hot from his last video.
Riding his own coattails was the natural choice.
If he waited until the hype died down, attracting fans would only be harder.
After finishing, Asher went about his usual routine: preparing dinner for himself and Farfetch'd.
Farfetch'd had been resting in its Pokéball long enough.
It was time to come out and eat.
Tonight's curry was a brand new flavor!
...
Nine o'clock at night.
"If you're feelin' tingly~ then smash that subscribe button~!"
"See ya~!"
The virtual streamer, Iono, sitting in her armchair in her baggy clothes, was cheerfully ending her stream as usual.
For her, streaming was a passion, especially enjoying the cheers and excitement from her audience. The lively atmosphere was precious.
But just as she was about to hit "End Stream," she suddenly saw a red notification dot on her "Following" list.
Iono clicked it curiously and saw that [HyperDimensionPlayer] had posted a new video.
Dueling the Fighting-type Gym Leader? Defeating a beautiful girl?
This instantly sparked the interest of Iono, who had been about to log off.
The last time she'd watched his sword art video, the clips of her reaction had done really well and even gained her a bunch of new followers.
This new video might have the same effect... or maybe even better?
Thinking of this, Iono blinked. Delaying the end of her stream didn't seem like such a bad idea.
After all, this was free traffic showing up at her door.
It would be a waste not to ride the wave!
With that thought, Iono canceled the "End Stream" command and tilted her head at her audience.
"Oh-ho~! Guess what your girl Iono found? A suuuper-hype vid!"
"I bet none of you peeps have seen it yet~ So let Iono lead the way, and let's watch it together, shining bright like a super-charged Eelektross~!"
Iono's sudden reversal caught the audience completely off guard.
But when they saw the video she clicked on, they immediately understood.
[A thousand-year-old ancient sword art? Why do I get a strong sense of déjà vu?!]
[Wait! This uploader looks super familiar! I've seen him somewhere!]
[Isn't that the creator of that video on the trending list?! He's got new content already?!]
[Last time he fought a Pokémon, this time he's fighting a Gym Leader. Is he trying to forge himself into a Pokémon?]
[True, Fighting-type Gym Leaders look so tough. One punch and I'd probably be on the ground, hugging their leg and begging for mercy!]
[A Gym Leader, huh? Don't tell me it's Bruno of the Elite Four!]
The audience was instantly hooked. They loved this kind of short, fast-paced battle, which, when paired with BGM, felt like watching an anime fight scene.
Battles are hype!!
Soon, the video opened with a much clearer image quality, and the two figures were seen standing on the wooden training floor.
Asher's narration began.
"The Stow-on-Side Stadium Gym Leader from the Galar region—Bea. She will be sparring with me, a duel between her martial arts and my ancient swordsmanship."
"My sword art was passed down from a thousand years ago, from a town called Eindoak, which is now a small town under the Unova League..."
With Asher's commentary, the fight between the two began. A battle between two humans felt completely different from a battle between a human and a Pokémon.
The details of the fight, explained by Asher, allowed the audience (who were just there for the action) to follow along, and they became genuinely interested in this thousand-year-old sword art.
Even Iono was hooked.
Just as she was about to search for this sword art online, she saw Bea get forced back, a bruise forming on her wrist. Iono's eyes went wide.
[Hiss! And that's just a wooden sword. If it were a real one, wouldn't her hand be cut off?!]
[Ehehehe~ Bea is so cute, sluuuuurp!]
[Wake up! She could knock you out with one punch! Evolve first, then you can slurp!]
[Bea spars with Machamp... and she's no match for this uploader!]
[Having a weapon is just cheating!]
[How is it cheating? It's a spar, not a deathmatch!]
Without the narration, the average person would have missed all the strategy and counters in the fight. Even so, the audience was still shouting in excitement.
Even though it wasn't a Pokémon battle, it proved that the uploader had the skills to open a dojo. The thousand-year-old sword art was, most likely, the real deal.
"Wa-wow~! This is even more dazzling than a Shiny Eelektross!"
Iono exclaimed, stunned by the video.
She keenly sensed the potential hidden in this video.
If [HyperDimensionPlayer] kept this up, it wouldn'n't be long before he was an uploader with a massive following!
After all, with skills like these, as long as he stayed consistent, going viral was a certainty.
The last video had already proven his potential.
In that case, if I find a chance to do a collab with this guy...
I could gain a huuuuge wave of new followers~!
Hmm~ Definitely worth a try!