After ending his stream, Alex remained oblivious to the fact that a single phrase—common knowledge among Pokémon veterans from his past life—had already cemented his status in the chat's eyes as a visionary trainer of both grand ambition and undeniable skill.
He strode into the backyard without hesitation, crouching to gather the limp Caterpie into his arms—its antennae drooping like wilted flowers after a marathon training session.
"Whsshh..."
The Caterpie lay still, eyes shut tight as rhythmic breaths rose and fell from its tiny mouth—each exhale stirring the dewy grass beneath it.
Discovering the green worm had collapsed into exhausted slumber, Alex exhaled a sigh weighted with parental vexation.
A glance at the system interface revealed the improved proficiency level of Dragon Ascent—Alex couldn't help but marvel at Caterpie's tenacity. Each incremental progress bar filled with sacrifice invisible to the naked eye: frayed silk from endless training sessions, antennae trembling mid-maneuver, and the quiet resolve to master a draconic technique far beyond its evolutionary stage.
However, the system's safeguards for Caterpie maximize its physical safety, so Alex isn't concerned that such high-intensity training will cause lasting harm to the little one.
This was perhaps the system's only saving grace in Alex's view.
Without this safeguard, even when Groudon and Kyogre eventually came knocking—with Rayquaza's compromised strength due to insufficient Dragon Ascent mastery—Alex would never permit his current Caterpie to endure such a grueling regimen for the technique's development.
"Alright, time to rest. You've earned these days off."
Alex settled Caterpie into its silk pod before slumping at the table. Halfheartedly pushing around congealed noodles, his free hand already scribbled type-matchup charts—each stroke darker, as if compensating for the takeout's lost heat with tactical intensity.
Meanwhile, having seen enough battles, Red—satisfied with Alex's lightning-quick stream sign-off—closed the live channel and browsed through the streamer's past content.
"Huh, this streamer seems to know his stuff with raising Pokémon too, not just battles?"
Yellow followed Red's gaze to Alex's video thumbnails—all featuring his Caterpie daily updates. The oddball charm of a photogenic teen co-starring with a giant green worm, paired with witty humor and solid editing, had earned the videos surprisingly decent view counts.
Being a skilled veteran trainer herself, Yellow spotted details worth noting.
This Caterpie has been raised remarkably well—you can tell he's poured significant care into both its training and nurturing.
The Caterpie in the video thumbnail—measuring at least a meter long with vibrant pink antennae, iridescent green scales, and luminous eyes radiating vitality—showed physical development far surpassing its species' norms. Even Yellow couldn't suppress an impressed murmur.
As a Butterfree trainer who knew Caterpie's growth patterns intimately.
Yellow found herself genuinely astonished—even her own Butterfree, raised with her Viridian Blessing ability, hadn't exhibited such optimal development during its Caterpie stage as this streamer's specimen.
"Honestly, I only followed him initially for his Caterpie raising tutorials."
Red admitted without hesitation, nodding at Yellow's analysis.
"Judging by Alex's battle tactics today, his main team must have a competitively-bred Butterfree in a support role," Red mused, stroking his chin as he analyzed the Caterpie's lineage. "This little one in the videos is likely the offspring of that Butterfree—with solid potential that earned Alex's focused training. It's probably being groomed as a cornerstone for his secondary squad."
"Using Butterfree as a core team member... across two separate squads?"
Yellow's eyes widened at Red's analysis, her surprise breaking through years of experience with Bug-type specialists.
The girl clearly hadn't anticipated that trainers of such caliber—beyond herself and a handful of dedicated Bug-type specialists like Gym Leaders—actually existed who would employ Butterfree as a mainstay in competitive teams.
Logically, a trainer Alex's age should be fixated on high-BST powerhouses like pseudo-legendaries or starters, rarely prioritizing 'weak' Bug-types—especially when his main team already includes a Butterfree. Conventional wisdom dictates abandoning such Pokémon after evolution for stronger options.
"That's precisely why he commands respect,"
Red asserted, his typically stoic demeanor dissolving into rare fervor whenever Alex's strategies surfaced. The usually taciturn champion now dissected the streamer's unconventional team-building with tournament-level scrutiny, his analytical torrent leaving Yellow subtly miffed at the attention lavished on this newcomer.
"Even with Bug-type Pokémon dismissed as 'weak' by conventional standards, he's mastered intricate tactics to overcome their limitations and emerged as an elite-tier trainer."
Red grew increasingly intrigued, his curiosity toward Alex transforming into genuine admiration and anticipation—as if facing a rival on equal footing. "Alex's understanding of his Pokémon surpasses ordinary comprehension,"he declared. "A master of theory and tactics, such a person would undoubtedly be formidable in reality."
"Beyond that, he's vowed to keep sharing strategies for so-called 'weak' Pokémon—proof of his mission to dismantle societal bias against Bug-types through sheer effort. A hero... at least for those trainers daring enough to champion undervalued species, Alex has become precisely that."
Red's thoughts drifted to his own past. In his younger days, even his starter Pokémon had been dismissed as 'inferior'—deemed to have limited potential from birth—by a breeding-savvy companion who saw their future as hopeless.
Yet this was Red—the trainer who turned so-called 'defective' Pokémon with 'limited potential' into beings that defied every expectation. Under his command, they didn't just thrive—they became legends.
Through relentless effort and unyielding resolve, they fought alongside him—evolving into formidable forces under Red's guidance that repeatedly toppled his rival's so-called 'superior' specimens in battle after battle.
Now, seeing Alex—who not only defied conventional wisdom but was also preparing to selflessly share his hard-earned tactics and theories—Red couldn't help but recognize a kindred spirit. In the battle-scarred champion's eyes, this streamer was nothing less than a kindred soul who'd walked the same road of proving 'unworthy' Pokémon could shake the world.
There are no inherently worthless Pokémon,' Red murmured, the words resonating with the gravity of a champion who'd rewritten destiny itself, 'only trainers incapable of awakening their latent potential.' The truth of that statement vibrated in his bones—an axiom forged through every battle where underdogs had shattered so-called 'elite' expectations.
A million times yes to that, Red nodded solemnly. "This is a trainer's true caliber—making the dismissed excel where 'superior' types falter."
"That's... impressive,"
Yellow stammered, caught off-guard by Red's uncharacteristic torrent of praise—the taciturn champion's sudden verbosity about this streamer carrying more weight than a dozen tournament endorsements.
For even after years of knowing Red, Yellow had never witnessed him lavish such praise upon any trainer—not the 'Breeding Prodigy,' nor any subsequent generation of Dex Holders blessed by Professor Oak's Pokédex. This recognition was reserved solely for Alex's defiant alchemy of turning perceived weakness into competitive weaponry.
"This alliance was the right call."
As his brief smile faded, Red resumed his trademark stoicism—a champion's mask of focus that had weathered everything from Legendary showdowns to the weight of a thousand battles.
Yet the faint upturn of the Battle-Scarred Champion's lips betrayed the satisfaction beneath—a ghost of approval reserved solely for those who proved Pokémon's worth transcends base stats.
"Later, I'll introduce Blue to Alex,' Red concluded, certain his rival and the streamer would click—both having proven 'weak' Pokémon could shatter ceilings."
"Both specialize in maximizing overlooked potential through breeding and battle theory—their conversations would spark new insights. Mutual growth is inevitable."
Unbeknownst to Blue and Alex, Red had already mapped out 'optimal' collaborations between the two—a champion's strategic calculus overriding social formalities.