CH 5 Let the Streaming Begin

Levincia City

Ash and Arven had just arrived in Levincia, while Ash was planning on heading to Cortando first he had to come here first. He received a strange letter in his academy room that had asked him to come to a location in Levincia alone. There was no name on it that indicated who sent it, perhaps the sender had someone in the academy deliver it. The letter gave a meeting place of a seafood restaurant called "Seafood Fresco" located in the south of the city.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Ash?" Arven asked as they walked through the bustling streets. He was certainly suspicious of the whole situation, there was no sender listed and it didn't even list why they wanted to meet him. He had told Ash he thought it was a bad idea but he had insisted on checking it out.

"I'm curious about the letter, besides I have my Pokemon with me in case things go bad."

"Alright fine, since I can't convince you otherwise just be careful."

"What about you, what's your plan?"

"I'm gonna check out some of the delis here for sandwich ingredients and maybe some new shoes,"Arven answered," when we're done let's meet by the north entrance to the city."

Ash and Arven went their separate ways to opposite ends of the city. Ash made his way to the designated restaurant. He had no clue what the person even looked like so he wondered how he would even know when he found the person. After a bit of searching he found the place. You could tell it was a seafood place considering all the aquatic artwork on the building. He stepped inside the place to find it was relatively empty. It was kinda surprising because the rest of the city was pretty busy.

"Hello, we've been expecting you, Ash Ketchum." He looked ahead to see a waitress waiting for him.

"You have?"

"Yes, the person who summoned you here is in the back room, normally reserved for parties,"the waitress said pointing to a door in the back.

Ash nodded as he headed for the door, he was feeling a little nervous now. He slowly opened the door and stepped in only to be greeted by confetti, air horns, strobe lights and a short girl standing on a make-shift stage at the center of the room.

"Well look who just walked in chat, the World Champion!" Iono shouted as two monitors behind her lit up with the stream chat and music started to play.

"Welcome to the Iono Zone Mr. World Champ!" Iono shouted as she started to dance.

There were very few times in his life where he was rendered speechless, this was one of those times. He had no clue what was going on, the strobe lights, the loud music, the giant monitors, the confetti and the girl who was now… twerking on the stage, that's what he remembered it being called.

"I've rendered you speechless I see, my superb dance moves have you thunderstruck," she said as she continued her provocative dance," well have no fear because Iono is here… to SUPERCHARGE YOUR CAREER!"

Ash could still not form any word, even Pikachu watched on in disbelief. Iono ceased her "dancing" as messages began to flood in on the dual monitors behind her.

"Still dumbfounded I see, my electrifying and awe inspiring presence has blown your mind!"

"Uhh who are you…"Ash trailed off still feeling totally confused.

"Iono, the Levincia Gym Leader and Paldea's number one streamer!"

The strobe lights shut off as the confetti stopped falling and the normal ceiling lights turned on. She hopped off the stage and started to vacuum up all the confetti.

"Did you need something from me?"

"I did Ash, I actually had a proposal for you, but first I have a small intro for you,"she snapped her fingers and wait staff filed in placing plates of food on a table near them,"this is for a video called Tasting the Menu, we'll try all the food on the menu and give our opinions."

Ash wasn't about to say no to free food but he was still confused,"you need my help with this?"

"Well it wouldn't be a fun video if it was just me, besides I doubt you have much experience as a content creator."

"Uhh no, but why did you want me here for this?"

"You'll find out after this video, now then let's get started,"Iono clapped her hands and ushered Ash to sit at the table with food.

"Hello lovely viewers and welcome back to the Iono Zone, today I'm doing a live tasting test with a special guest, the World Monarch Ash Ketchum!"

The stream chat went crazy as messages flooded in along with donations,"come on Ash say something."

"Umm hey glad to be here."

"We'll need to work on your greeting but I digress. Everyone, we're here to try the most popular menu items here at Seafood Fresco. We got a few dishes to try out so let's get to it."

"Now here's the first dish, their famous Seafood Pasta. Made with shrimp, spaghetti, alfredo sauce and broccoli. This is the most popular dish among the kiddies."

Ash decided to play along and tried the pasta. Much to his enjoyment it was quite great tasting. He quickly dug into it, he had been hungry after all.

"It seems Ash likes it, so what do you want the audience to know?"

"The dish is fantastic, the noodles are soft, the sauce is great and so is the shrimp."

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu was in agreement as he ate some of the food too.

"This is my favorite dish here so it seems it gets all our approval," Iono said taking a big bite,"now onto the next dish, a classic fish and chips!"

Ash couldn't believe how good all the food looked, it really reminded him of Brock's cooking. He took a bite into the fish and was instantly impressed.

"Oh wow the fish is nice and flaky, plus it's cooked super well too,"he marveled before trying the fries,"these are good too, just enough salt and crispy."

"Ooh now you're getting into the spirit, this dish is really popular with the kids especially,'Ionno added,"the tartar sauce is homemade, they even make their own ketchup for the fries."

Pikachu was happy just eating the ketchup on his plate,"Pika pika!"

"He seems to prefer the ketchup so we'll count that as a win. The last dish we are going to try today are their fish tacos, another popular dish among the kids here."

Ash dug into the last dish and was again happy with it,"this is just as good as everything else we've had so far."

"Yes, they are just the right size so you can have multiple without feeling guilty about it. To all my lovely viewers you all need to come to Levincia to try the food out."

"I think the fish and chips was my favorite,"Ash declared.

"You heard it here chat, the fish and chips get the world champ seal of approval. Let me know in the chat which you think would be your favorite. Anyway guys I'm gonna end the stream here but tune in tomorrow cause I have a big stream planned."

Ash and Iono finished off their food before getting back to business. Ash was still unsure about what just happened, he did at least enjoy the food though.

"Uh so what do you want exactly?"

"I want to travel with you and help you build your online popularity,"Iono answered,"you're the World Monarch, everyone online loves you already."

Ash admittedly had never paid any attention to that so he wasn't sure how to handle it,"look I don't really know much about online streaming or making videos and stuff."

"We all start somewhere, just think if you get the hang of this your popularity will sky-rocket."

She did have a point, after beating Leon he suddenly became ten times more famous and he had no clue how to handle his fame or what to do with it. Perhaps she could help him with that.

"So you want to travel with me and make videos together?"

"That, live streams, you name it. I already have lots of great ideas for us."

"You really think this would help me?"

"One thousand percent yes, besides you may end up loving this, especially with me here to help you."

"Well it is true that all the other champions have side gigs, like Cynthia's archaeology or Lance's work as a G-Man."

Iono eagerly nodded," exactly yes, this could be yours, plus it can be a good income source for you."

"Okay I'll give it a shot, I want to at least give it an honest try."

"Yay I was hoping you'd say that!" Iono cheered excitedly.

"Well then what's the next step?"

"They're holding a big event outside of Levincia tomorrow, I want us to join so I can live stream it," Iono said handing him a flier.

Ash looked at the flier,"the Great Finizen Race?"

"Yes it's an annual event here, the people who compete are given a Finizen and race each other. The top three get to keep the Pokemon they use."

"That does sound really cool actually," Ash admitted as he looked over the flier,"especially if the first three finishers get to keep the Pokemon they use."

"Exactly, it'd make for an exciting live stream, I can have my drone follow us as we race."

"Count me in then, I have a friend with me in town who'd probably enter too."

"The more the merrier I say, it'll make for a more interesting stream." How about we meet up before the event starts outside the south gate tomorrow?"

"That sounds good to me, I'll let my friend know and see you then."

Later

"Well that's quite the story Ash." Arven and Ash had reconvened at their designated meeting spot just north of the city.

"Yeah so I hope you don't mind her tagging along, honestly it was so crazy I forgot to even ask about her gym."

"I don't mind at all, I just wasn't expecting Iono to drag you into this."

"Arven, is she really that popular?"

He nodded,"yeah she's insanely popular here in Paldea, pretty much everyone here knows who she is."

"She must be a really big deal then."

"Yes, people would kill for a chance to host streams or videos with her, especially her fan-boys."

Ash was impressed by that, he had never heard of her but perhaps that was because he wasn't from figured that she was only known here in the Paldea region, but not world-wide, not yet at least. There must be more to it, he thought, she wouldn't just decide to help him without a reason. It was already clear that she'd be perhaps his most interesting and exuberant companion yet.

"We can stay at the local hotel for the night and leave for the event after breakfast,"Arven said pointing to a nearby hotel. The two gathered their stuff and headed for the hotel to check in for the night ahead.

That Evening

"Welcome everyone to the Iono Zone," Iono greeted her stream chat,"I hope you all enjoyed this afternoon's food stream. I think it went great but I promise tomorrow will have an even more exciting stream!"

The chat was lighting up all eagerly anticipating the big stream,"now I can officially confirm that Ash is on board to join me for streams, vlogs and more. In fact he and a friend of his will be participating in the festivities tomorrow. In the morning we'll be having the special outdoor stream and later that evening Ash will be joining me for a Q&A stream right here in the Iono Zone."

"I want you all to start thinking of some exciting questions, just don't get too personal, don't wanna scare him off. I'm thinking I should also give him some tutoring sessions on live-streaming on the side, he is pretty much new to all of this."

The chat started flooding in with questions about her plans for future projects with Ash, questions for him and more. "Guys save questions for him for tomorrow please. I want to have as many questions for him tomorrow night when we do the Q&A stream."

"Now then let's move onto tonight's gaming session!"

The Next Day

Ash and Arven left through the north gate to see a small crowd of people gathered. There were a decent number of people but not as many as they were expecting. The event seemed to be more of a local thing, perhaps Iono's stream would get people more interested for the next race. There was a table with a few Pokeballs on it, Ash assumed those were the Finizens people would be racing on.

Both he and Arven had changed into purple and white swim trunks, the official colors for Uva Academy. Ash had been super excited for the event, he could barely sleep ;ast night with all the anticipation.

"Hello Ash and friend." Ash and Arven looked behind them to see Iono, dressed in a red two-piece swimsuit. She had a bag with what looked to be a drone inside it.

"I'm Arven, pleasure to meet you Iono."

Iono happily shook his hand,"pleasure is all mine, I hope you both are ready for the race."

"I sure am,"Ash answered excitedly,"I could barely sleep last night."

"Oooh good, that means the stream will be even better. I already got permission from the event organizers to stream the race. I'll be doing that with my drone," Iono explained showing the drone in her bag.

"This is sure to be good advertising for them."

Iono nodded in agreement,"exactly Arven, this is usually just a small local event but this is the first time it'll be live streamed. This will hopefully get it even more attention for the next time they host it. They do this twice each year."

"Do we have to do anything special for the stream?" Ash asked.

"Nope, I may just do an intro as an opener but I want you both to just focus on the race. The stream chat will just be our audience, not much interaction in this one."

"We'll all say hi to the stream chat then," Ash said as Iono pulled out her drone and phone.

She began to set everything up as the drone took to the air,"well hello to all my lovely fans out there. Iono here and we are about to get underway with the special event stream. With me today are our guests Ash and Arven, who have a few words to share with you all."

"Hello to everyone, I'm Arven and I'll be joining this stream, something I've never done before admittedly."

"Hey steam chat Ash here again, thanks for the warm welcome yesterday and I look forward to getting to know you all."

"Make sure to show them some love in the chat guys and gals. Now this stream won't be as interactive since we'll be racing but I'll still be checking in every now and then, so keep the positive messages rolling."

"Alright competitors everyone gather around,"the announcer called out as everyone crowded around," for this race you'll be racing from here to the goal on the island in the distance. Once you reach the island grab a flag from the ones out on the coastline and bring it back here. The top three finishers will get to keep the Finizen they race on. Attacking other racers is against the rules and will result in a disqualification."

Everyone grabbed a Pokeball from the table before lining up on the coastline. Ash stood between Arven and Iono as they all readied their Pokeballs. One by one they released their Finizens and hopped on. This was his first time seeing a Finizen so he was excited.

"Everyone get ready for the countdown. 3…2…1.. Go!" The announcer raised a flag as everyone took off into the ocean.

Ash was impressed at the speed of Finizen as he blazed through the water. He saw Iono's drone flying around catching every possible angle of the action, he waved to it as his Finizen made its way through the water. There were buoys set up on the sides to show the intended path they were supposed to take as well as flags that served as checkpoints.

Looking behind him he saw Iono quickly gaining speed while Arven was trailing behind them, he seemed to be enjoying the scenery more than the actual race.

"Hey everyone Iono back here and I'm neck and neck with Ash,"Ash looked over to see Iono chatting with the stream as she caught up to him,"say hello the stream chat Ash!"

"Hey all, I'm totally gonna win this race!"

"We'll see about that, stream chat quickly vote on who you think will win the race."

Iono kept an eye on the chat as her Finizen pulled ahead of Ash. The chat was split between her and Ash as they were both close at the head of the pack. She saw some votes for Arven making a comeback but they were far and few between.

Iono continued to pull ahead of Ash, who looked behind him to see that Arven was starting to catch up, with a few other racers hot on his tail. Ash could see the island off in the distance, they were getting closer and closer to it.

However, as he passed a checkpoint, he felt like the water around them was shaking,"uh do you feel that Iono?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah it feels like the ocean is shaking a bit. I wonder what it…"

Iono was cut off when a giant mechanical Wailord appeared. Ash looked on as a hatch opened up and the Rocket trio popped out of it.

"We're terribly sorry to interrupt your little race but we're here for your Pokemon!" Jessie declared.

"Aww why couldn't we join the race Jess?" James asked disappointed , which made Meowth smack him with his tail.

"We're here to steal Pokemon not play games!"

"No way did that Meowth just talk?" Iono asked in awe.

"I sure did, is dis another new twerp?"

"Holy cow this is exactly what the stream needed!"

"Wait what?" Ash, James, Jessie and Meowth all asked in confusion.

"Excitement, that's what every good stream needs, a plot twist of sorts!"

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double…"

James was cut off by Iono," can you guys not do that, the chat says it's too corny to be funny."

"Wait are you recording this?" Jessie asked noticing the drone.

"Yeah this is being broadcasted live on the internet, it has been since the race started."

"Oooh we're gonna be famous," James said excitedly,"can I say hi to the stream chat?"

"Sure thing dude."

The drone flew over to James who waved excitedly,"I'm so excited I get to be on the internet, don't worry we'll take excellent care of all the Pokemon!"

"James we aren't here to cater to their little stream,"Jessie scolded,"we're here to nab the Finizens and get out!"

"Aww okay,"James sighed in disappointment.

"Now then let's catch us some fishies!" The trio popped back into their giant submarine as they attempted to suck up the Finizen and the people on them.

"Pikachu let's stop them…"

"Wait Ash we can't use electricity here while we're all in the water!" Arven called out from behind him.

"Oh yeah that's right, I can't use Charcadet either."

"Don't worry I got this,"Iono said pulling out a Pokeball,"come on out Mismagius!" Iono's Mismagius floated in front of her.

"What do you plan on doing?" Ash asked as his Finizen tried to not get sucked up. Team Rocket had succeeded in getting a few so far.

"Mismagius, go into their submarine."

Mismagius turned invisible and was able to phase into the interior of the sub where the Rocket trio was.

"Uh guys,"Meowth said worriedly,"I think there's something here inside with us."

True to his feeling, Mismagius rematerialized in front of them.

"Uhh maybe it's here to help,"Jessie said before Mismagius smirked and let loose a blast of electricity.

Everyone on the outside could hear the trio cry out as their submarine exploded, Mismagius getting out safely as all the captured Finizens were launched out safely.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!" Everyone watched Team Rocket blast off into the sky before returning to their Finizens.

"Should we be worried about them?" Iono asked watching them disappear into the sky.

"No they'll be back,"Ash sighed before the race resumed.

The Rocket trio's interruption had caused a minor set-back but everyone was able to resume racing as soon as they had disappeared. In the aftermath of the confusion, Arven had managed to speed past everyone, including Ash and Iono.

"Sorry but I'm going ahead!" He called out as he took the lead.

"Well the people who voted for him in stream chat will be happy,"Iono said looking at the chat,"oh and apparently they all liked that purple haired villain."

"Well I'm sure James will be happy the next time they show up,"Ash sighed as they began to try and catch up to Arven.

The three of them, along with two other competitors, were the first ones to reach the island. They all grabbed a flag before turning around and headed back to the start.

"Okay chat, now I want you all to vote again on who you think will win now." Iono looked at the chat as she sped up. Much to her surprise, almost everyone had voted for Arven.

"He might actually win it," Iono agreed as she tried to catch up.

Arven had risen to first place while Ash dropped to second and Iono in third. The trio surfed along, all three nearing the starting point once again. It was a close call but Arven managed to secure first with Iono in second and Ash in third. The other entrants slowly trickled in behind Ash.

"There you have it folks, our top three finishers are Arven, Iono and Ash!"

Later

Ash, Arven and Iono had moved on to one of the local cafes, Seabreeze Cafe. The three had plates with cake and other sweets on the table, all trying a little of each.

"Wow this place is really good,"Ash was amazed at how tasty everything was.

"I'm gonna have to get some stuff to take back, this is too good to not try everything," Arven added.

"I love coming here between streams,"Iono said taking a big bite of cake,"bet you're glad you got to keep the Finizen huh Ash?"

"I am yeah, being able to surf is gonna be a major help traveling around. Everything here in Paldea is so spread out."

Ash's new Finizen were both out of their balls, eating with Charcadet, Pikachu and Sprigatito. All the Pokemon were enjoying the food from the cafe's special Pokemon food menu.

"Oh by the way Iono, I have a question."

"Yeah what is it Ash?"

"Well if you're traveling with us how are you going to battle challengers to your gym?"

"Easy, that's because everywhere is my gym!"

"Uhh everywhere?" Arven asked confused.

"All of Paldea is my gym fam! Anywhere I can stream becomes my gym. Challenger sees me on the street and wants to battle? It's light fam we get that battle crackalackin!"

Ash was confused still,"oh wait so you stream all your gym battles?"

"Why wouldn't I, gym battles are great for my stream views. I love sharing my electrifying battles with all my peeps."

Ash had to admit that was a cool concept, a traveling gym leader was certainly unique. Arven was also impressed with how Iono handled everything with relative ease.

"So Ash, are you still down to do that Q&A stream?"

"Of course yes."

"Excellent, meet me at my gym tonight at 8PM and we'll get to it."

The three continued their snack, discussing future plans before heading out to continue the day.

That Evening

"Hello my lovely fans and welcome to The Late Night Show with Iono!" Iono had just started up her evening stream, a very special one,""I hope you all enjoyed today's event so I got something a lot more chill for tonight. Featuring my special guest!"

Ash appeared on camera, still a bit nervous about the whole ordeal,"uhh thanks for having me on here Iono."

"Of course streamer boy, everyone was looking forward to this,"Iono chirped,"now then we are doing an informal Q&A session tonight. Please keep your questions respectful and he has every right to refuse a question if he does not wish to answer."

"Don't worry I doubt it'll come to that though."

"Alright folks so here's how it's gonna work, the first few questions will be posed by this month's top donors,"Iono explained,"after that I'll open the floor to general stream chat questions."

"Okay so the first question is from the top donator of the month, JaspertheCat. His question is as follows, after all your league battles, which would you say was your toughest loss?"

"That's a big question right off the bat,"Ash said taking a moment to think,"I'd have to say my loss at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto. I lost due to my inexperience, namely my Charizard not obeying. It was tough knowing I lost because I couldn't control my own Pokemon, he and I are much better off now but back then it was devastating.

"Yeah losing like that is the worst, onto the next question from NerfThis. NerfThis is asking why Pikachu was your starter and not one of the Kanto starters?"

Ash couldn't help but laugh as he recounted the story,"well on the day I was supposed to get my first Pokemon I overslept. I got to the lab and the regular starters were all taken already. Professor Oak ended up giving me Pikachu and the rest is history."

"Well then maybe it's best you were late after all. Our next question is from KilledByLag. Their question is what was your most satisfying victory outside the ones in the Master's Eight?"

He had to think about that one for a minute. There were a lot of ways he could respond to the question. "I'd have to say my battle in the Sinnoh League against my rival Paul. Up to that point we had been bitter opposites, yet he always seemed to finish ahead of me too. Beating him with my training strategies was satisfying, like I finally proved myself to him."

"Now that's a good pick, two trainers with different ideals duking it out. That is what battles are all about!"

"Obviously there are plenty of memorable battles I've had but that's one of the standouts."

"This is some good stuff chat, keep the questions coming and we'll keep the stream rolling!" The two would go on to stream for another hour before calling it a night.