Chapter 23 - ch23

"It's so despicable! You actually attacked my Charmander!"

"Damn it! You are too shameless! If you have the ability, you can do it with real swords!"

"Hiding there and erupting is a hero move!"

"Ahhh! Charmander, knock out that sly fox for me!"

The defense is broken~ As the battle continued, the pretty girl in the video obviously lost her cool.

Jack couldn't help but laugh at her angry but charming gestures, and as expected, the final result was Charmander being knocked out by Vulpix.

At the end of the video, Charmander woke up after the boy, who was the referee, sprayed Potion on it. The girl then comforted Charmander and, while doing so, expressed her disdain for a certain fox and its trainer. The scene shifted again.

It was the same boy, with the beautiful Diancie next to him.

"Hello everyone, was this 'heavyweight' fight exciting? Diancie thinks it's an epic battle!" the boy said with a smile, and Diancie nodded cooperatively.

"I believe many of you have questions, right? The competitive activity you saw in the video is called a Pokémon battle."

"It's an activity where Trainers direct Pokémon in friendly competitions. It's friendly."

"It's not humans! It's not humans! It's not humans! Important things must be said thrice."

The boy said seriously, clearly not wanting viewers to think this was a malicious man-made animal fight.

"Charmander and Vulpix in the video are pets known as Pokémon. Do you want to have them? Do you want to battle with the same intensity as the video's protagonists?"

"Then visit my store to buy one. I've pinned the address of the pet store at the top of the comment section. Interested friends are welcome to visit."

"Goodbye~"

The boy smiled and waved goodbye, ending the video.

By the end of the video, Jack had calmed down considerably, staring at the computer screen in deep thought.

"What do you think, cousin? How was my performance?" Ryan asked proudly.

Jack snapped back to reality and glanced at Ryan.

"Bullying a rookie like that, and you're still so smug? That's disappointing," Jack replied with a hint of annoyance.

Anyone could see that the girl in the video was a complete novice.

"Come on, I'm a novice too," Ryan protested.

"Alright, alright. Can your fox really erupt like that?"

Jack was tired of Ryan's boasting and wanted to confirm it again.

"Of course. If Vulpix wasn't asleep now, I'd show you right away."

"So, what the boss said was true? Are there other pets like this at his store?"

Jack was intrigued. Just having a pet capable of such an eruption was cool enough, forget about Pokémon battles.

"Definitely, and there should be many more," Ryan replied confidently. His high IQ had helped him notice the sequence number problem with the Pokémon Pokédex, making it easy to analyze.

"But the boss's pets are quite pricey."

"How much did you pay for your Vulpix?" Jack asked, looking at Vulpix and recalling Ryan had borrowed 40,000 from him that afternoon.

"180,000," Ryan replied honestly.

"180,000 and it's still considered expensive?" Jack was shocked.

Wow, getting an erupting pet fox for 180,000, with such a cute appearance, isn't that a steal?

"Brother, I'm your cousin. Don't compare me to you," Ryan replied sourly.

Ryan's family was well-off, at least wealthy in this city, but he felt embarrassed to ask his parents for money to buy pets.

However, Jack's family was a leading conglomerate in the city. Jack's allowance and pocket money were substantial.

Not to mention, Jack had started his own business two years ago and was already quite successful.

"Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking," Jack waved him off.

"Hehe~ Thanks, brother," Ryan beamed, knowing Jack had agreed.

Haha~ The second Pokémon is coming!

"Is that store open now?" Jack was eager, looking at the Vulpix.

Such an amazing pet.

"It's nine o'clock; it's probably closed. Let's go tomorrow, brother. It's Sunday, and I don't have school. I'll go with you."

"Fine."

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

The girl's extremely embarrassed shriek echoed.

"Jenny Jennie!!"

Squirtle, who was already drifting to sleep, woke up with a start, looking around in panic—was it an earthquake?

"Keep your voice down! What's the matter?" Lily scolded Hannah, grateful for the house's soundproofing.

"Woooo~ The boss posted the afternoon video online!"

"Woooooo... my goddess image!"

Hannah was pitifully indignant, having just planned to rest, only to find herself the subject of a viral video.

"Ah?" Lily was taken aback.

She looked at Hannah's phone and saw the video of Hannah and Ryan's battle from the afternoon.

"Pfft~" Watching the video with interest, Lily laughed heartily, especially at the poor defensive words in the video.

Lily turned to the comment section. The video had been up for several hours, and its popularity had soared, with comments exceeding 30,000.

"Tsk tsk~ The boss is famous."

Lily was a bit surprised; the data was overwhelming.

"Can any expert verify if this isn't CG animation?"

"Pfft~ The girl in the video is adorable. I can feel her frustration through the screen, haha~"

"Hannah... Isn't she a big name here in the city? I even compared her photos on the school forum, and it's true. But she lost so badly..."

"It's not just Hannah; Lily, the big school beauty, is also there. They're best friends, but Lily is just an observer, appearing briefly."

"This young lady is impressive. I could do it, but that fox really got her."

"Doesn't anyone think Charmander is cute? And tough, love it."

Lily kept scrolling through the comments, noticing discussions about the video's authenticity and recognition of Hannah and herself.

As a well-known figure in the city, she and Hannah were quite famous at school.

But...

"Hannah~ You might just become an internet sensation."

Patting Hannah's shoulder, Lily said earnestly, the video's popularity was sure to rise.

Well, it's about becoming famous, but for being outmatched.

"Ahhhh! That darn boss!"

Hannah's wails of grief and indignation woke Squirtle, who had just settled down again.

As a leading socialite in the city, how could she show her face in public after this?