~~~~???~~~~

  Austin and Ethan chatted while riding in the car since there wasn’t much else to do. Austin first remotely guided Ethan through a level in a game.

  【Ethan】: Why haven’t you been online for so long?

  【Austin】: I’ve been training. I barely have time to check my Pokégear, let alone py games.

  【Ethan】: You’re also in training?! Wanna have an intense battle with the great me? My Starter, Typhlosion, has been itching for a fight!

  【Austin】: Been learning cooking and breeding.

  【Ethan】: ...

  On the other end of the screen, Ethan’s windswept, non-mainstream bangs looked even more disheveled.

  【Ethan】: You’re learning breeding, too? Want the great me to introduce you to a good Breeding House?】

  【Austin】: My family owns one.

  【Ethan】: You hateful rich second generation!

  【Austin】: It was opened with borrowed money. If it fails, I’ll just be a debt-ridden second-generation.

  Austin and Ethan had met during Austin’s travels. They became friends, and Austin became gaming buddies with Ethan.

  【Ethan】: Cooking, huh… Are you any good at it?

  Ethan was a total foodie who loved trying local dishes wherever he went.

  To answer his question, Austin generously showed off some of the dishes his grandpa had made recently.

  【Cinderwood Smoked Fish Fillet】.jpg

  【Sunspice Braised Lobster Cws】.jpg

  【Crab with Lumi Garlic Butter】.jpg

  【Golden Shard Hashcake】.jpg

  【Emberroot Stir-Fry】.jpg

  He sent over more than a dozen pictures in a row.

  【Ethan】: Those look way too good, slurp~ Did you make them?

  【Austin】: No, my grandpa did.

  【Ethan】: Your grandpa cooks that well?!

  【Austin】: You know Kalos’s Champion, Siebold, right?

  【Ethan】: Of course! The famous chef who treats battling like a side hobby!

  【Austin】: My grandpa’s on par with him.

  Both of their chef levels were Master chefs—it was a fair comparison.

  After chatting for over half an hour:

  【Ethan】: Don’t worry, I’ll help you promote it!

  Ethan also helped out at a Breeding House, though he lived far away in New Bark Town, Johto, while Austin was in Jubilife City, Sinnoh.

  They were in the same field, but there was no competition between them.

  Austin could easily imagine Ethan patting his chest on the other side of the screen.

  Despite how goofy Ethan often seemed, he was a loyal friend.

  【Austin】: Thanks, man. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.

  【Ethan】: It’s a deal!

  Just as Austin put away his Pokégear, his dad—who was staring intently at his own screen—suddenly spoke up.

  “Son, do you understand what your uncle meant by setting up a video account?”

  His uncle had suggested that to build the Breeding House’s reputation, they needed video promotion on a bullet-screen video ptform.

  “Your uncle said something about the PokéStream Network, but I have no idea what that is.”

  Right now, the most popur site is PokéStream, headquartered in Jubilife City.

  Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, Elesa, and others all had video production teams on the EeveeNet. Even Red and Green were active there, too.

  Austin hadn’t really dabbled in that kind of thing before, but his uncle’s suggestion made sense.

  “I haven’t tried it yet,” Austin said after a moment’s thought. “I’ll give it a go.”

  “Then I’ll leave it to you, son. Dad believes in you!”

  Austin sighed. “Besides that, do you know anything else?”

  Leon paused, thought hard for a while, then said earnestly, “Son! Dad believes in you!”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “You struggled that long just to repeat yourself?”

  Austin couldn’t help but ugh.

  At least his dad provided solid emotional support.

  Just then, a ding sounded from his panel.

  Another side quest appeared.

  【I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Uploader 】: Open an account on PokéStream and become an uploader to share the colorful life of the Breeding House.

  【Phase One Quest】: Reach 1,000 followers.

  【Quest Reward】: Slightly increases Breeding House reputation, random specialty recipe ×1, random Pokémon item gacha ticket ×1

  Another specialty recipe?

  He’d already experienced the magic of Smoked Oran Berry Juice, and the thought of another discovery made him genuinely excited.

  Judging by how his grandpa praised the quality of the petaya berries from the system, all system products were clearly top-tier.

  One thousand followers — that didn’t sound too hard.

  Austin chose to accept the quest.

  ~~~~???~~~~