He had already pre-edited the hype scenes in his head, down to Cyndaquil evolving mid-battle and turning the tables with a single spectacular move!
Standing before the grand, imposing gates of the Violet Gym, he rubbed his palms together.
“Violet Gym, your boy has officially arrived!” However, when Sean excitedly went to sign up, the Gym staff member dropped a bombshell on him— “Official Gym battles utilize a 3v3 format.
Since you only have one Pokémon, you don’t meet the requirements to register!” Sean immediately tried to haggle: “Is 1v3 cool?
My single Pokémon can sweep the entire Violet Gym solo!” Cyndaquil: “Inaa?!
(Keep me out of your delusions!)” “Absolutely not!” Annoyed by Sean’s arrogant boasting, the staff member kicked him out on the spot.
Standing in front of the firmly shut Gym doors, Sean felt a wave of complex emotions as he stared blankly at the Cyndaquil on his shoulder.
“Uh…
Cyndaquil, looks like the two of us don’t even have the right to register.
Is our debut video dying before we even start filming?” Failing the venture halfway through before the journey even begins—how tragic, how utterly lamentable.
“Inaa…” Cyndaquil looked equally discouraged.
But after being downcast for barely ten seconds, the fire of battle reignited in Sean’s eyes!
“Rules are rigid, but people are adaptable!
Since we’re short on numbers, all we gotta do is go out and catch a new partner!” Sean instantly whipped his phone out of his pocket and pulled up his map app.
“Let’s see where the wild Pokémon gather around here…
Ah, bingo!” His finger pressed firmly down on an area south of Violet City labeled “Ruins of Alph.” “The Ruins of Alph!
I remember that place has tons of ancient ruins and caves.
There’s bound to be plenty of wild Pokémon living there!
We can catch a new partner and film an ancient ruins exploration vlog at the same time—it’s killing two birds with one stone!
Cyndaquil, look at that, our content just practically wrote itself!” “Inaa!” “It’s settled then!
The Gym challenge is officially on hold.
Destination: Ruins of Alph!” …
…
Sean and Cyndaquil arrived at the entrance of the Ruins of Alph in high spirits, but the scene before them left both of them completely stunned.
A sprawling, thoroughly modern concrete plaza greeted them, with a massive sign reading: “Ruins of Alph Scenic Tourist Area.” Inside, tourists dressed in all kinds of outfits walked around in groups, chatting and laughing, while food stalls selling stinky tofu, grilled cold noodles, and starch sausages lined the walkways.
“Uh…
is this place seriously an ancient ruin?” Looking at the bustling, lively carnival before him, the corner of Sean’s mouth twitched violently.
His romantic fantasies of ancient murals, hidden traps, and secret stone chambers shattered into pieces right then and there!!
With no other choice, he reluctantly walked deeper into the scenic area along a meticulously paved tiled path, flanked on both sides by metal streetlights designed in a retro style.
The actual ruins in the distance were blocked off by iron guardrails.
Tourists could only gaze from afar at the surfaces that had been weathered by time, though they had clearly been reinforced with modern bolts.
“Inaa…” Cyndaquil peered around curiously from his shoulder, though the sheer density of the crowd made it feel a bit nervous.
“Don’t panic, Cyndaquil!” Sean quickly adjusted his mindset.
He was a man destined to reach the absolute peak of the internet, after all!
“Look at the bright side.
A tourist area means it’s safe!
Plus, wouldn’t this make a perfect promotional travel vlog?
If the Violet City Tourism Bureau sees this, they might even push traffic to my channel!” No sooner said than done, Sean immediately pulled out his phone to start filming.
In order to capture those “modernized ruins” while avoiding the massive crowds of tourists in his shot, he held his phone up high and spoke into the camera: “Hello, viewers!
I’m your resident rookie creator, Big Papa!
Right now, I am standing in the legendary Ruins of Alph.
Look at these ancient stone walls…” (Right on cue, a few middle-aged women climbed over the guardrails into the frame, posing for photos…) “Uh…
look at this rich, cultural atmosphere…” Sean immediately panned the camera away: “Ahem…
Legend has it that beneath these ruins, which have been so carefully packaged by modern civilization, ancient and mysterious Pokémon still thrive.
Today, your boy Big Papa is going to take you deep inside…
uh, rather, along this official pathway, to track down the traces of these mysterious Pokémon!” Sean tried his best to make his slightly dry commentary sound a bit more passionate: “Look at the patterns carved into this stone wall, it’s as if they are whispering tales from thousands of years ago—” Sean’s voice grew quieter and quieter because he noticed that quite a few tourists nearby had stopped in their tracks and were staring at him with bizarre expressions.
A middle-aged man stood with his arms crossed, making absolutely no effort to hide the massive grin on his face.
A little girl tugged at her mother’s hand, pointing directly at Sean: “Mommy, is that big brother making a comedy video?” The sheer cringe!
A burning sensation rushed straight from the soles of Sean’s feet up to the crown of his head.
The Cyndaquil on his shoulder seemed to feel the suffocating weight of those stares too, hiding its face embarrassedly behind its little paws.
Sean stopped recording instantly, hung his head, and bolted away in utter humiliation.
His very first outdoor video shoot had ended in total failure, crushed by immense awkwardness and the threat of absolute social death!
Sean ran quite a distance, only slowing to a halt once he had completely left the crowded tourist zones behind.
He rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
Cyndaquil hopped down from his shoulder, looking up at him with a face full of concern.
“A-A rough start to our career, Cyndaquil!” “Inaa…” “Sigh—” But just as Sean let out a heavy sigh, his peripheral vision caught a sign hanging on a nearby wire fence: “Danger!
No Entry for Tourists!” On the other side of that wire fence lay an unexcavated, ancient ruins entrance—completely different from the pristine “scenic area” he had just been standing in!
The dim, shadowy ruins radiated a raw, primitive, and mysterious aura.
“So the good stuff was hidden in a place like this all along!” Sean muttered to himself.
This was exactly how a ruins exploration was supposed to look!
Sean’s eyes scanned the corner of the fence, and he discovered a loose bolt!!
He warily checked his surroundings and noticed an elderly security guard with his back turned to him, leisurely sipping tea while gazing out at the distant crowds of tourists.
An opening!
Sean went to work immediately, unscrewing the bolt before using a burst of raw, miraculous strength to bend the wire fence back, creating a small gap.
His heart hammered wildly against his ribs as he whispered to Cyndaquil, “You go in first, Cyndaquil.” With its small, nimble body, Cyndaquil slipped through the gap effortlessly, making it to the other side of the fence.
Sean checked on the elderly security guard one more time.
After confirming they hadn’t been spotted, he pried the fence open a bit wider and slid through smoothly.
“We’re in!” Sean immediately scooped up Cyndaquil and dashed straight into the ruins to avoid being spotted.
Inside the ruins.
A scent mixed with damp earth and wild moss rushed into his nose.
The interior was incredibly quiet, looking like an entirely different universe compared to the noisy tourist area outside.
Sean whipped his phone out once more.
His tone was bursting with excitement as he faced the camera: “Ahem, hello everyone!
This is Big Papa, and this is Cyndaquil!” “Inaa~” “My friends, take a look at what’s behind me.
This is what the real Ruins of Alph looks like!
We’ve got ancient stone walls, floors weathered by countless eons, and…” The camera lens focused deep into the shadows of the ruins.
“Look at this peril-laden domain!
Next up, Cyndaquil and I are going to take you deep into this forbidden zone to uncover the secrets and mysterious Pokémon hidden right here!
If you find this thrilling, don’t forget to hit that Like, Coin, and Favorite button, and drop a follow!
Follow Big Papa, meow~ Follow Big Papa, thank you, meow!” —