“Happy!” Green raised a hand and wiped the steam from his face.
“If that guy Gold could just settle down and stop bothering me all day long for no reason, I’d be even happier.”
Red let out a low chuckle and didn’t reply.
He simply sank lower into the water, letting the warm spring wash over his shoulders with a comfortable sigh.
The mountain breeze swept across the water’s surface, carrying a chill that intertwined with the hot spring’s rising steam.
Just then, a soft notification chime broke the tranquility.
The screen of Green’s phone, resting on the pebbles by the edge of the pool, lit up.
He leaned over and reached out to grab it.
Red, whose eyes had been half-closed, peeked through a narrow slit, glancing over curiously.
He saw Green staring intently at the screen.
Piqued, Red silently waded through the water, shifting closer to Green.
The warm currents gently lapped against Green’s arm with his movements.
“What are you looking at so seriously?” Red’s voice sounded right by Green’s ear.
Green didn’t even lift his head, his gaze still fixed on the screen as his finger tapped open a video.
“A fledgling Breeder.”
“Not long ago, at Wallace’s seminar in Hoenn, I chatted a bit with Professor Doran from the Donghuang region.
He recommended this young man to me.”
“I looked him up.
He’s Professor Doran’s graduate student, named Shane.
Twenty-one years old, currently taking the advanced Breeder exam.”
“Oh?” Red’s interest grew.
He leaned in even closer, his shoulder almost touching Green’s, craning his neck to look at the small screen.
“Let me see.”
The screen’s glow reflected on two equally focused faces.
Red watched quietly.
The video showed a heartwarming slice-of-life scene.
Two young men and a few Pokémon were having dinner.
The aroma of the food almost seemed to waft right through the screen.
Next came a second video featuring the same protagonist, but this time, there were two nearly identical Whimsicott happily gorging themselves on the delicious food on the table.
Green then switched over to W-Tube and clicked on a clip filmed from a bystander’s perspective.
Both of them focused heavily on the Pokémon battle that followed.
The video ended, and the screen went dark.
Red withdrew his gaze and leaned back against the edge of the pool, letting the warm spring water envelop him once more.
“This Breeder is quite talented.
That Whimsicott is raised exceptionally well.
They truly treat each other as family and partners.”
Green didn’t say anything, merely offering a grunt of agreement.
That was exactly what he had commented under Shane’s video at the time.
He casually placed his phone face-down on the nearby pebbles with a soft clack.
The rising steam from the hot spring blurred his expression, but Red sharply caught the slight purse of his lips.
A flash of confusion?
Or perhaps, awkwardness?
It crossed his eyes.
“He’s pretty good, but…
I just don’t get it,” Green turned his head, his gaze drifting into the thick mist.
It was as if he were asking Red, or perhaps just muttering to himself.
“Why did he only like and reply to Professor Doran’s comment?”
Red paused for a moment before it immediately clicked.
He recalled the brief glimpse he had of the video’s comment section.
Pinned at the top was Professor Doran’s encouraging message.
Just below that was a comment upvoted by countless people, posted by the ID [Green] with the verified [The Breeder] badge.
And Shane’s reply had indeed only appeared under Professor Doran’s comment, with a timestamp showing it was posted shortly after Green’s own comment.
This meant that Shane had seen Green’s comment, probably even read the whole thing, yet…
he hadn’t responded.
Amusement quickly spread across Red’s eyes.
He tried his hardest to suppress it, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.
He found it absolutely hilarious watching Green clearly care so much while pretending to just be confused.
“Ahem…
did that…” He deliberately dragged out his words, leaning slightly forward toward Green.
“…hurt your fragile little heart?”
“As if!”
The hot spring’s steam seemed to grow thicker, making the tips of Green’s ears burn hot.
Almost as a reflex, he scooped up a handful of water and splashed it right into Red’s face with a loud splash!
Water flew everywhere.
Caught off guard, Red was drenched from head to toe, the warm water streaming down his hair and cheeks.
He wiped his face.
Seeing Green’s defensive, flustered reaction—a dead giveaway of his true feelings—only made Red laugh harder, his shoulders shaking as he flashed a bright, toothy grin.
“Ha!” Red laughed out loud, wiping the water droplets from his eyelashes while scooping up a massive handful of water in retaliation.
“Then why did you secretly follow him on your alt account?”
“I…” Green squinted against the splash, momentarily at a loss for words.
He had indeed used a burner account to follow Shane.
His original intention was simply to avoid drawing too much attention while quietly observing the rookie Professor Doran had recommended.
But having Red call him out to his face like this, especially right after the guy had ignored his comment, made him feel like his petty little secrets had been completely exposed.
It was incredibly awkward.
“The new generation is leaving you in the dust!
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, Green!
Hahaha!”
“Red!”
Green let out a low growl and surged halfway out of the water, sending a massive spray into the air.
He violently churned the surface with both arms, kicking up an enormous wave that crashed menacingly toward Red!
Red was already prepared.
Laughing heartily, he stood up to meet the challenge.
Two grown men, completely naked, were roughhousing in the hot spring.
The water sloshed and roared around them as their muscular figures chased, dodged, and splashed each other through the thick mist.
In the end, it was Green who admitted defeat, panting heavily.
“It’s definitely Gold’s fault.
He’s been a bad influence on me lately.
Just wait until I get back and teach him a lesson.”
…
Although the second video gained some traction thanks to Whimsicott, its popularity was a significant drop compared to the first one.
The first video’s likes had plateaued around forty million, while the new video looked like it would only rake in a little over a million.
But Shane was more than satisfied.
The ticking numbers in his creator dashboard’s revenue section proved that he was finally making real money this time.
Shane swiped his finger across his tablet, sifting through a mountain of direct messages.
Two hours later, a message with an attached document caught his eye:
[User ‘SilentLightGreen’ has sent you a file: “On the Breeding Methods of Whimsicott”.txt]
The moment he opened the document, Shane’s breath hitched.
Over three hundred thousand words of meticulous analysis lay before him.
From Whimsicott’s moveset to the development of its Prankster ability, the precision of the data and the rigor of the logic far surpassed his own breeding notes.
In particular, the chapter on “Substitute Energy Shaping and Main Body Synchronization Rate” surprisingly echoed the core theories found in Professor Doran’s scroll.
It was truly incredible.
[Shane’s Cafe Doesn’t Do Overtime]: This breeding plan has benefited me immensely!
Your data modeling is especially precise.
If you’re willing, I’d like to pay you a consultation fee.