Chapter 24: The Goal Is the National Pokédex!

These days, you can’t even be a channel moderator without some special talent.

Qian Lin chuckled, half-amused and half-annoyed: "Can the moderator ban them?"

In theory, it was possible. He just needed to notify the platform administrator, but there was no need; it was just a joke, and he could handle it.

As they walked through the orchard, laughing and chatting, Qian Lin plucked two fruits from a tree. He handed one to Swablu and popped the other into his own mouth. Since the other Pokémon were eating them, it meant they were safe.

Talking to the live chat made it very easy to drift off-topic. One moment they were discussing the "bird" incident, and the next, they had jumped to the beautiful environment and the abundance of Pokémon, expressing their deep love for the wilderness.

It left Qian Lin feeling a bit overwhelmed.

After all, this was only his second livestream. His previous broadcast hadn't had many viewers, and while the chat had been active, he could read every message at a glance. It was nothing like now, where the chat was so dense it was impossible to see anything clearly.

Qian Lin scratched the back of his head and decided the best course of action was to just hold Swablu tightly and stay silent.

The chat was terrifying.

However, just as Qian Lin stepped out of the orchard, his foot caught on something. As his body uncontrollably tumbled to the ground, the Swablu in his arms was driven head-first into the dirt.

"Chirp! Chirp-chirp! ┌╏ º □ º ╏┐" Swablu’s head was buried completely in the mud, its little feet kicking helplessly at the sky.

[Help! Save her!]
[I can understand Swablu again! Wait? Why did I say "again"?]
[Classic recurring segment, right?]
[Poor Swablu, honey, stop following the streamer, come with me instead! I promise I won't shove you into the dirt!]
[I'd just pet her until she's bald!]
[Help, does this have to happen every single stream? Hahahaha!]
[What a silly bird~]
[No, this has nothing to do with Swablu this time. It should be "what a silly streamer~"]

Qian Lin blushed, but he immediately pulled Swablu out of the soil. Since the orchard floor was soft, muddy earth, she wasn't hurt, though her face was once again smeared with a different color of mud.

Qian Lin held the bird awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching my step and tripped over something."

"Chirp, chirp-chirp!!! O(▼皿▼メ;)O" *Don't you know I value cleanliness?*

Indignant, Swablu began pecking at Qian Lin’s arm.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch~" Qian Lin clutched his arm while pulling the struggling Swablu into his embrace, coaxing her quickly. "I was wrong, I was really wrong. There will definitely not be a next time, I promise."

"Chirp! (｡・`ω´･)" Swablu turned her head away, puffed up with anger.

Qian Lin looked at his slightly reddened arm with a wry smile. In reality, Swablu wasn't pecking him hard at all; after all, she actually knew the move "Peck."

Taking out some tissues to wipe Swablu’s face clean, Qian Lin stood up and turned his attention to the object that had tripped him. He let out a soft sound of surprise: "Huh? A backpack?"

In theory, there shouldn't be human activity here. The few people who did come were usually researchers or soldiers, and this backpack didn't look like something either of those groups would use; it looked more like a hiking bag.

Most importantly, while it wasn't brand new, it certainly didn't look like it had been sitting here for months.

An ominous feeling flashed through Qian Lin's mind. He instinctively reached out and lifted the bag. It was heavy.

Qian Lin frowned and examined it closely. "Was it stolen by an Aipom? But even if it were, they wouldn't just leave it here."

Aipom were generally cheerful and mischievous. They would steal human belongings to play with, but once you played with them enough, they would return the items. Food was the exception.

However, if you didn't play with them, they would take the stolen goods back to their nests; they wouldn't just abandon them halfway.

[This bag looks so new.]
[What do you mean new? Isn't it covered in mud?]
[You can't look at it that way. It's covered in mud, yes, but look closely—the parts without mud look clean. And if you look even closer, doesn't it look like someone smeared the mud on? Based on my years of experience, this bag hasn't been here for more than a day.]
[Whoa, now that you mention it, it really does.]
[Years of experience? What do you do for a living, brother?]
[Modest, just a small-town police officer.]
[Holy crap, then I believe you.]
[Are all the people in the chat detectives?]
[So, someone threw this here on purpose?]
[No, if it were intentional, the mud would be messier. It looks like someone dropped it.]
[Could it be... a poacher?]
[Holy crap, death to poachers!]

Qian Lin was speechless as he watched the chat. They were deducing so much from a single dropped backpack—there were truly some talented people in the chat.

The point was, it made him look incredibly stupid.

"Don't get carried away," Qian Lin chuckled, saying, "Poachers stealing Pokémon? Do you really think that's possible?"

Given how much humans currently understood about Pokémon, to put it bluntly, poaching was a death wish. What would you try to steal? An Oddish or a Gloom? Or perhaps a Meowth? An Ursaring? Forget poaching; one Solar Beam to the face and you wouldn't even dare to move.

[You can't say that; the wilderness isn't just Pokémon.]
[Yeah, and you're in the Sichuan region, maybe they're after the national treasure?]
[...While I agree with your sentiment, you don't actually think there are national treasures everywhere in Sichuan, right?]
[Truth be told, I'm from Sichuan, we ride national treasures to school.]
[I don't believe your nonsense!]

The topic had drifted again. Qian Lin sighed helplessly. "The safest way is to just open it and see."

Seeing the chat flooding with comments urging him to open it and look for "Dada-da" (pandas), Qian Lin couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't that easy to see those creatures in the wild in his country; this used to be a small village, not a true wilderness.

But even so, his heart had been slightly swayed. After all, who wouldn't want to hug a panda? That was far more interesting than a toy.

With a mixture of apprehension and anticipation, Qian Lin reached out and unzipped the bag. As he did, the contents were revealed to him and the camera.

In that moment, Qian Lin froze.

His expression turned incredibly strange. He reached in and pulled out a large pack of instant noodles, followed by a portable tent, a hanging camp stove, a set of bowls and chopsticks, a small fishing rod, two towels, a small blanket, and most importantly... two still-intact apples.

*Is this kidding me?* This was exactly the same gear he had brought on his last livestream!

[This... such a familiar set.]
[The long-time viewers are ecstatic.]
[Streamer, come on, tell us, have you already secretly scouted this place but didn't tell us?]
[Yeah, except for the flavor of the noodles and a few minor differences in the gear, it's identical to what the streamer brought last time.]
[As expected, the streamer can pull anything out of his backpack.]
[Except for Swablu.]

For a moment, the comments in the chat became increasingly sarcastic.

It wasn't their fault; the set of items was just too familiar. These were the exact things Qian Lin had pulled from his bag during his last stream—not only the configuration, but even the specifications and styles of some items were identical.

Swablu stared blankly at the backpack, then tilted her head at Qian Lin, looking completely bewildered.

"Chirp? ⊙(・◇・)?" *Trainer, when did you come out here? Why didn't you call me?*

"Don't start," Qian Lin said, stroking Swablu’s head with a wry smile, looking at the chat. "Don't you guys know where I've been for the past few days? People are blocking my door every day; I wouldn't have had the time to sneak out here."

"This stuff isn't mine."

He put everything back into the bag and zipped it up. "I suspect one of my viewers saw my stream, brought the same gear, and came out here. But something must have gone wrong, and they dropped the bag and ran."

There were no Beedrill in sight, so that probably wasn't it. Most of the Pokémon he had encountered along the way weren't the type to attack humans unprovoked. The most likely scenario was that the person saw a Pokémon they didn't recognize, got scared, and that led to this situation.

Qian Lin sighed. "That's why I've been saying, try not to venture into the wild until you have a sufficient understanding of Pokémon. You all have time to learn; there's no need to be in such a rush."

[Indeed. It looks simple on the stream, but only you know if you can keep your composure when you're actually faced with it. So don't let curiosity drive your body. When you have enough knowledge to clearly identify most Pokémon, I believe the streamer will be very happy to watch us walk into the wild.]

This comment really resonated with Qian Lin.

He nodded in agreement. "I really want to see the day when humans and Pokémon live together, but I know it's not today."

After speaking, Qian Lin turned to Swablu. "Swablu, fly up and help me look closely to see if there are any signs of human activity nearby, preferably recent. If you find anything, come back and tell me immediately."

Although he wasn't sure if the owner of the bag was an adventurous fan as he suspected, the freshness of the apples suggested the bag hadn't been there long.

He had to find that person, or at least ensure they were safe.

"Chirp-chirp! ε≡٩(๑＞₃＜)۶" Seeing how serious Qian Lin was, Swablu didn't play around. She chirped in agreement, flapped her wings, and soared into the air, weaving between the fruit trees and disappearing from the camera's view in the blink of an eye.

[I hope the streamer can find that person.]
[Isn't this just adding to the trouble...]
[Not adding to the trouble, I'd say. It's just that they didn't value their own life enough.]
[I wanted to go out last time too, but I remembered the streamer's warning and held back. Seeing this now, I'm so glad I did.]
[We'll have our chance to go out once the streamer or the authorities complete the Pokédex.]
[Exactly. That thing is really useful, even though I haven't encountered a Pokémon yet.]

*Complete the Pokédex?*

Standing there waiting, Qian Lin suddenly saw this comment. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He instinctively called up the system and fell into deep thought as he looked at its simple interface.

He didn't know how long the chat had been discussing it, but in the next second, Qian Lin suddenly looked up, a smile flashing across his face. "Guys, I've just made a decision. My goal for my upcoming streams will be to complete the National Pokédex!"

"I am going to find those Pokémon we haven't seen yet, and with my camera and my own eyes, record every single one of them and update them into the Pokédex."

This was much more meaningful than just wandering around, finding a Pokémon, and explaining it as they went.

[Hiss... you... I...]
[I'm speechless. For a long time, only the word "Legendary" could cross my mind.]
[Holy crap, although I agree with the streamer... do you know how many Pokémon there are in this world?]

"I know," Qian Lin said with a confident smile. "From the currently known Pokémon, starting with No. 001 Bulbasaur, all the way to No. 905 Enamorus, I know them all. While I might not be able to recite them by heart, the moment I encounter one, I will definitely know who it is."

He clenched his fist and smiled, holding it toward the camera. "Friends, are you willing to join me in completing this Pokédex?"

[Holy crap... Legendary!]
[I'm in!]
[Let's go! Let's go together! Whoever quits first is a dog!]