Kanto Region, Pallet Town.
"What a shame, right Pikachu?"
A young man in his early twenties stood outside his house, wearing a black vest over a red jacket. His face showed a bright, cheerful smile that seemed to light up the entire street.
On his shoulder perched a sleek Pikachu, its yellow fur gleaming in the afternoon sun.
This was the legendary Red—the Battle Master from Mount Silver. Known for being cheerful and expressive in manga adaptations, calm and collected in anime versions, and practically silent in the video games, Red had earned his place in Pokémon history through countless victories.
"Pika!" his Pikachu chirped in agreement.
Red had just returned to Pallet Town after cutting short his special training session with Blue at Mount Silver. Blue had received an urgent call and needed to leave immediately, so they decided to postpone their training for another day.
Ding!
Red's phone buzzed with a notification. One of his followed accounts—Jubilife Breeding Center—had just uploaded a new video.
Red had discovered this fascinating content creator recently, thanks to a recommendation from Ethan. The channel focused on Pokémon breeding and care, and Red found the trainer's approach incredibly interesting.
Meanwhile, outside Red's house, a girl with long orange hair tied in a high ponytail stood nervously at the doorstep.
Her cheeks were flushed with a light pink color as she tried to gather her courage.
"I can do this... I can definitely do this," the girl, Yellow—also known as the Healer—whispered to herself. She clenched her fists in determination.
On her shoulder sat her own Pikachu, distinguished by a small pink flower tucked behind its ear.
Taking a deep breath, Yellow pressed the doorbell with a trembling finger.
Ding-dong!
"Yellow! Come on in!" Red's voice called from inside.
Yellow's face turned even redder at the sound of his voice.
Red's Pikachu immediately leaped down from his shoulder and bounded into Yellow's arms. "Pika, pika!" it cried happily.
"I missed you too, Pikachu!" Yellow said warmly, hugging the Electric-type Pokémon close to her chest. A gentle smile spread across her face as she stroked its soft fur.
"Don't just stand there outside—come in!" Red called again.
Yellow took another moment to compose herself before climbing the steps to Red's front door.
As soon as she entered the house, Yellow noticed Red sitting at his computer desk. The monitor displayed a paused video on the Eevee Video Network website.
Yellow knew Red enjoyed browsing the Eevee Video Network during his downtime. She had created an account there herself, though she only followed a handful of people: Red, Blue, and their mutual friend Green. Champion Lance didn't have an account—he was far too busy with his Elite Four duties to watch online videos.
In the past, Red's homepage had been filled entirely with battle videos and tournament highlights.
People often joked: "All Red cares about is battling."
However, this time the paused video on his screen caught Yellow's attention. This definitely wasn't a battle video!
Yellow gathered her courage and asked, "What are you watching?"
"Oh, this is a Trainer I've been really interested in lately!" Red replied enthusiastically.
Seeing that the video featured a male trainer, Yellow felt a wave of relief wash over her. Then suddenly, something felt off about her reaction.
Wait... doesn't he already have Green?
Yellow mentally shook her head. She'd been reading too many romance novels recently, and it was clearly affecting her thoughts.
"Come here! Let's watch it together!" Red invited her cheerfully.
The distance between them was only two chair armrests apart. Yellow's cheeks flushed slightly as she settled into the seat beside him.
However, Red's complete attention remained fixed on the computer screen, completely oblivious to her nervousness.
"Look at these—they're all high-quality Pokéblocks!" Red said, pointing at the screen.
Yellow nodded. "They really are impressive."
Since the video had been published for some time, viewer comments scrolled across the screen occasionally.
"The Pokémon's expressions don't lie—those Pokéblocks must taste amazing!"
"He genuinely wants to teach us how to make these!"
"This is so thoughtful! Could he be any more considerate? Maybe he could just mail them directly to my house!"
As Arcanine and the other Pokémon in the video turned their noses up at the regular high-quality Pokéblocks on the table, more comments appeared:
"I'd eat those rejected Pokéblocks! Just pour them straight into my mouth!"
Yellow's eyes brightened as she observed the screen more carefully. "His Pokémon really trust and love him," she whispered.
Red nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! I noticed that in his earlier videos too. I really want to battle against him someday!"
There's an old saying: casual viewers watch for entertainment, but experts can see the true skill beneath the surface.
Yellow possessed a rare and special ability—she could sense and understand Pokémon emotions more deeply than most people.
From watching Lucario, Arcanine, and Metang in the video, she felt powerful waves of affection and loyalty.
This clearly demonstrated the strong bond between the trainer Wayne and his Pokémon partners.
Red and Yellow exchanged meaningful glances.
"The quality of this Tamato Berry Pokéblock seems to be..." Red began, squinting at the screen.
However, neither Red nor Yellow possessed Blue's encyclopedic knowledge of Pokémon nutrition. They couldn't identify the exact specifications just by looking, unlike their friend who could probably recite the nutritional composition from memory.
Still, they could sense something exceptional about these particular Tamato Berry Pokéblocks.
The impatient behavior of Arcanine and Lucario in the video made it abundantly clear—these weren't ordinary Pokéblocks.
What captivated viewers most was the video's climactic ending: Metang's evolution.
"Wait—it's evolving?! Right now?!"
"My grandmother would be shocked if she saw this!"
The nearly perfect Pokéblocks, the competitive scrambling of Arcanine and Metang, Lucario's conflicted expression as it tried to maintain dignity while clearly wanting more—and then the sudden evolution of the silver Metang into Metagross.
This video had created an incredible dramatic effect that kept viewers engaged from start to finish.
The impressive presentation caused Wayne's video statistics to surge dramatically. Views, likes, and new subscribers poured in steadily.
"That's a very well-trained Metagross!" Red commented admiringly.
Red seemed determined to share his newfound interest with Yellow, playing three of Wayne's videos back-to-back.
By the time the third video ended, Yellow had completely forgotten her original reason for visiting Red today.
Maybe... maybe it's enough just to spend a quiet afternoon with him like this, she thought contentedly.
Red's eyes sparkled with excitement as he watched, completely unaware of the peaceful smile on Yellow's face.
"Oh right! I just remembered—that trainer mentioned he's traveling to Johto region soon. I should message him and ask if he wants to meet up!" Red said suddenly, already reaching for his phone.
Yellow blinked in surprise.
"He's going to Johto?" she asked.
Meanwhile, Wayne's fourth video continued spreading across the Pokémon training community. He was currently browsing through the comment section, selecting interesting comments to respond to personally.
This particular video had attracted attention from another master trainer.
The silver Metagross featured in the thumbnail had drawn someone very special out of the shadows.
Although the commenter was using a secondary account, nobody had recognized his true identity yet.
[Mining Champion]: Metagross possesses exceptional computational abilities that make it ideal for both battling and complex problem-solving. The way this Metagross processed battle information during evolution suggests advanced training methods...
Because Mining Champion demonstrated deep knowledge about Metagross specifically, his comment quickly accumulated likes and continued climbing the comment rankings.
The winner is me, strong and amazing—that was the motto of Steven Stone, the former Hoenn Champion and current mining enthusiast.
Steven decided to send Wayne a private message.
[Mining Champion]: Hello, I am Steven Stone. If you're interested, I can send you a comprehensive Metagross breeding manual that I've compiled over years of experience. If you'd like to receive it, please share your Line account information.
As a permanent Eevee Video Network member and wealthy individual whose family owned shares in the platform, Steven's private messages appeared with special highlighting that made them impossible to miss.
Wayne easily spotted the message. Steven's profile picture was equally eye-catching: a brooch embedded with a Key Stone.
A Key Stone brooch—the essential tool for triggering Mega Evolution.
Wayne looked at it with undisguised envy.
Mega Evolution had already been discovered and was gradually becoming integrated into competitive battles, though it remained relatively rare and difficult to access.
[Jubilife Breeding Center]: Mr. Steven, this is Wayne. Here's my Line account information. Please do send the manual—I would be incredibly grateful. I'd love to communicate with you more about Pokémon training in the future.
After adding Red as a friend recently, Wayne now had the opportunity to connect with Steven Stone as well.
His backend video statistics continued surging with new activity, but Wayne didn't pay attention to the numbers. He was far more focused on Steven's promised file.
Steven had already sent a document through Line.
[metagross_breeding_manual.pdf]
[Wayne]: Received! Thank you so much, Mr. Steven.
[Steven]: No problem at all. Feel free to ask me questions anytime. Just keep in mind that sometimes I'm deep in mines exploring for rare stones, so I might not reply immediately.
After exchanging just a few messages, Steven mentioned he was heading out for another mining expedition.
Soon enough, Steven's profile icon turned gray, indicating he was offline. For most people, this might seem like a polite excuse to end a conversation, but Steven was genuinely passionate about mining rare stones and minerals.
Wayne glanced at Steven's profile page. His personalized status message read: "Currently mining... Call if urgent."
Wayne opened the PDF file Steven had sent.
The manual's cover page displayed a detailed illustration of Metagross, with the title "Complete Metagross Training and Care Manual - Compiled by Steven Stone."
Wayne's eyes lit up with excitement as he began reading through the comprehensive guide.