After posting the video, Lu Ye headed off to his afternoon classes.

Over in Bilibili’s gaming section, the ground was shaking again because of him.

"Grandpa, the uploader you follow just posted a new video!"

"What underhanded tactic is it this time?"

“Terrified!”

The video was simple: Teacher Lu’s classic trick—a one-vs-six battle.

On a rocky field covered with Stealth Rocks stood a carefree Chansey, facing off against a spiky-furred Jolteon.

Its opponent was a chubby, laughing old man in a floral shirt with a white head of hair.

"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt!"

Electric sparks crackled, forming a violent electric field that shot outwards.

Chansey just stood there smiling, even giving its belly a pat after taking the hit as if to show goodwill.

The old man was stunned.

"Is this Jolteon giving Chansey a massage?"

“Man, that cracked me up!”

Though Chansey was slow, its Special Defense and HP were ridiculously high.

"Chansey, use Minimize!"

Chansey clasped its short arms together, a white glow enveloped it, and its body began shrinking, one layer at a time.

Meanwhile, Jolteon gathered energy, and with a shriek, unleashed a massive Thunder attack that surged into the sky.

Thunderclouds rumbled as a thick lightning bolt crashed down, only to miss entirely!

“A point-blank miss?”

“No way, Chansey is tiny now!”

After three Minimizes, Chansey was almost invisible, easily dodging the lightning.

Meanwhile, Jolteon looked as if an invisible hand had gripped it and hurled it into the air!

"Airborne!?"

“That’s Chansey’s Seismic Toss!”

Lu Ye casually explained, “With Minimize, Chansey can evade most attacks. Combined with its tanky defenses, it can take down six opponents with ease.”

"???”

“Does that even sound human?”

He added, “Unless the opponent lands a lucky Earthquake, the Evasion Team strategy is hard to beat!”

“That’s just plain nasty!”

“Is the uploader bullying seniors?”

“Ban him forever!”

Since Chansey is rare in real life, Lu Ye also recommended a budget alternative—Grimer.

Not only is Grimer easy to catch, but it’s also cost-effective, highly resistant, and has decent offensive abilities.

Basically, aside from being stinky and ugly, Grimer has nothing but upsides!

Of course, Lu Ye wouldn’t actually capture a Grimer himself.

Beauty matters to him, after all.

“Got it! Off to the sewer to catch a Grimer!”

“Thanks, Teacher Lu. I’m choosing Grimer as my starter!”

"I'm in Team Rocket, and they issued me a Grimer. Teacher Lu, how should I train it?"

In just half an hour, the video had garnered over 20,000 views.

It spread to YouTube and Niconico as well, continuously gaining influence.

Even Koga, the Poison-type Elite from Johto, shared the video.

With the caption: “Perfect.”

Koga himself is a Poison-type specialist known for using Minimize tactics.

In a special episode, Koga had a minimized Grimer in his shoulder armor, perfectly balancing offense and defense.

But... that might also explain why Koga always wears a mask.

Gaining the endorsement of an Elite Four member instantly cemented Teacher Lu’s credibility.

The video’s popularity surged as fans speculated about Teacher Lu’s real identity.

A Grass-type Gym Leader? A Poison-type master?

Whatever the guess, they all reached the same conclusion.

Teacher Lu was no ordinary gaming streamer.

With such expert use of advanced strategies, Teacher Lu must be a master-level Trainer!

"Ranked seventh in the world... Could Teacher Lu actually be a Master?"

"Be bolder—he might even be in the Elite Four!”

"Teacher Lu, the king of underhanded tactics!"

---

Among Teacher Lu’s many fans.

In Kanto, a grunt named Ryo worked for Team Rocket.

As a grunt, he did all the dirty, exhausting work, with no benefits, and was expected to take the fall if anything went wrong.

Orphaned young, Ryo had been taken in by Team Rocket.

Just having a straw mat to sleep on and enough food was enough to satisfy him.

Team Rocket was cutthroat. You either took others down, or you got taken down yourself.

But Ryo was a kind soul.

He blushed when making eye contact and spoke softly, never getting angry even when ridiculed.

Only at night, bathed in moonlight, would he sneak into the storage room to talk to the battered Pokémon.

One night, he secretly released a mistreated Houndoom, and in return got bitten on the arm, and four ribs broken by his ruthless trainer, Snake.

Later, Snake told him that Houndoom had mauled a civilian to death and was killed by Officer Jenny on the spot.

Ryo was left confused.

Life in Team Rocket was dark, with only a glimmer of light here and there.

He kept to himself, barely noticed by others.

It took Ryo two years to go from grunt to trainee; another two to become a soldier.

By the time he went to pick up his assigned Pokémon, all the good ones had already been taken.

Snake only glanced at him after everyone else had left.

“Do your best to survive.”

The last Poké Ball contained a foul-smelling, muddy Grimer.

Expressionless, Ryo clenched the Poké Ball and slipped away from the crowd.

Back in the basement, he cried his heart out.

Grimer stared at him, trying to wipe away his tears with its hands, then scratched its head awkwardly, as if too dirty to touch him.

Grimer was certainly not the ideal beginner’s Pokémon.

But to have his first real family made Ryo more than content.

After finishing his chores, watching livestreams on Team Rocket’s intranet was Ryo’s only pastime.

He loved “Battle Legend” Red’s battle videos and “Nurturing Legend” Green’s training guides.

But his absolute favorite was the scheming, unlucky, yet endlessly creative Teacher Lu.

That day, exhausted, Ryo spent three hours on 3G downloading a single video.

“Teacher Lu’s Battle Guide 04: Evasion Team.”

Seeing Chansey wipe out six opponents made Ryo laugh out loud.

"Look, Grimer, Teacher Lu’s tactics are still as nasty as ever!”

Grimer snuggled up, carefully keeping its distance to avoid dirtying Ryo, and together, they shared a moment of joy.

In the dimly lit basement, only the faint glow of the screen illuminated their focused faces.

As the video played on, Ryo’s breathing grew quicker.

“In this segment, I’ll recommend an alternative to Chansey.”

Teacher Lu calmly explained, “Grimer is easy to catch and cheap to raise.”

“Whether for the Substitute-Protect-Toxic strategy or the Evasion Team, Grimer works perfectly…”

Ryo swallowed hard, his hands trembling slightly.

A new door was slowly opening before him.

Watching the video on repeat, a surge of excitement washed over him.

Slowly, Ryo stood up, his voice raspy and unsteady:

“Let’s go, Grimer… Time to train!”

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