As soon as Lu Ye’s livestream started, the comment feed exploded.

“Dinner’s ready, brothers!”

“Hey? Why isn’t the streamer turning on the camera?”

“Here from a Bilibili video, Substitute-Protect-Toxic is seriously nasty!”

While launching Pokémon: Battle, Lu Ye read the comments aloud.

“Why isn’t the streamer turning on the camera? — I need to hit 100,000 subscribers before I’ll do a face reveal.”

A flood of question marks filled the screen.

“???”

What kind of personality does this streamer have?

The voice might sound kinda nice, but you sure you’re not just some Beta driving a tank?

“Been a fan for ten years, Teacher Lu is definitely a good-looking streamer!”

“Seriously, is there anyone here just for Teacher Lu’s looks? No way, right?”

“There’s a screen recording of Teacher Lu on Tieba; he was on screen for less than five seconds, but he’s definitely at the heartthrob level!”

“Heartthrob is overstated. I’m just your average guy—maybe barely movie-star level.”

Lu Ye kept a straight face, no sign of blushing.

“Thanks to ‘When’s Teacher Lu’s New Movie Coming Out’ for the plane… Soon. Just need to discuss the script with Karen.”

“Thanks to ‘Teacher Lu and Machamp

“Thanks to ‘Teacher Lu and Machamp BFFs’ for the ten membership cards... but let’s not talk about Machamp today.”

“Today, we’ll continue with our Pokémon battle tutorial.”

The comment feed immediately rallied in unison.

“Streamer, do a Substitute-Protect-Toxic tutorial!”

“My starter just happens to be a Bulbasaur! Please teach us the details!”

Lu Ye glanced at the comments.

“Thanks to ‘How to Substitute-Protect-Toxic with Bulbasaur’ for the plane.”

“If you can afford a starter like one of the big three, evolving it into Venusaur should be no problem… Let’s go over Venusaur’s tactical role.”

Lu Ye opened the team editor and dragged Venusaur into his lineup.

“Venusaur has a lot of versatile strategies, like in a Sunny Day team, where it can use Chlorophyll to speed up and deal damage.”

“Or, using Substitute-Protect-Toxic as a foundation, it can learn Synthesis and Leech Seed to stay on the field longer.”

“Less talk, more action—let’s jump into a match so I can show you.”

As he entered the game, Lu Ye matched with an international player from the Johto Alliance, whose ID was “Billiard Boy in the Wind.”

“Konnichiwa,” Lu Ye greeted in Japanese, selecting Venusaur with a friendly nod.

The opponent led with a Typhlosion named “Blast Taro.”

In Pallet Town, Kanto…

A girl with an orange ponytail patted her flushed cheeks and took a deep breath.

“It’s fine. We’re just watching a movie together… He shouldn’t think too much of it…”

Working up her courage, Tokiwa Erika nervously rang the doorbell. A moment later, a male voice came through the intercom.

“It’s you,” Red said with a smile. “The door’s open; just come up to the second floor.”

Going... into Red’s house?

Erika felt her cheeks grow even warmer, but her curiosity piqued.

At this hour, shouldn’t he be training?

She hesitantly pushed the door open, and suddenly, a small figure leaped down from the second floor, jumping right into Erika’s arms.

“Pika-chuuu~!”

“Long time no see, Pikachu.”

Erika smiled, gently petting Pikachu.

“Pika!”

Pikachu happily hopped down, skillfully scaling the stairs along the wall.

Looking up, Erika’s face flushed as a young man with short black hair and determined eyes caught Pikachu and set him on his shoulder, grinning.

“Yellow, I found a really interesting Trainer today!”

Inside Red’s room…

The room was clean and organized, with a shelf full of trophies. The furnishings were simple—a bed and a computer.

“Take a seat anywhere!”

Realizing he was the only one with a chair, Red scratched his head awkwardly.

“Oh, I’ll just sit on the bed…”

Blushing, Erika whispered in a voice as soft as a buzzing mosquito.

“Sure thing.”

Red rubbed the back of his head, suddenly lighting up.

“Oh, Yellow, come look at this!”

Erika leaned over, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Isn’t this the game you’re always playing?”

“Pokémon: Battle,” Red said with a grin. “It’s really similar to real battles; you use the microphone to give real-time commands. I unwind with it when I’m tired from training.”

“You… Even when you’re resting, all you think about is battles.”

Erika’s cheeks reddened slightly.

But Red didn’t notice, his excitement growing. “Look, you’ve got to check out this guy’s stream!”

“This guy’s understanding of Venusaur’s tactics is incredible!”

“Unless he’s a powerful Trainer in real life, there’s no way he’d have this level of insight.”

“Ahhh, I’d love to battle him, to exchange Venusaur-raising strategies!”

“Pika-chuuu~!”

“Haha, Pikachu, you want to battle him too, huh?”

Erika curiously watched the stream.

It was a classic 6V6 match, Master Ball-level, with “Did Teacher Lu Have Lunch Today” facing off against “Billiard Boy in the Wind.”

Since it was an international stream, the platform provided real-time subtitles, allowing both Trainers to understand Lu Ye’s commentary.

“How dare he send out a Typhlosion! ‘Blast Taro’—just wait until you’re ‘Toxified’!”

Despite the unfavorable matchup, Lu Ye’s Venusaur managed to whittle down Typhlosion with a combination of Toxic and Protect.

Venusaur then went on to defeat Ambipom and Sunflora in succession.

Throughout the battle, Lu Ye’s Venusaur was the only Pokémon he used, achieving a clean sweep against three opponents.

A cascade of question marks filled the chat.

“My brain’s fried—Venusaur actually defeated Typhlosion in a type disadvantage battle with full health left?!”

“Teacher Lu isn’t playing anymore; my youth is officially over!”

“Stop it! This isn’t a Pokémon battle!”

Erika murmured, “Red, that username… could it be…”

“Yeah, that’s probably Gold,” Red coughed, “I remember he loves playing this game too.”

On screen, Venusaur’s Leech Seed vines dug into Togekiss, continuously draining energy.

Togekiss cried out, flapping its wings, but the Air Slash was blocked by a shimmering barrier.

In the stream, Lu Ye’s voice explained, “Protect or don’t protect? Look, he’s gonna blow!”

“Toxic pairs perfectly with Leech Seed; together, they’re even more effective!”

Togekiss began to show signs of poisoning, with Leech Seed vines relentlessly sapping its strength.

Even when it managed to land a hit, Venusaur’s wounds were so minor that Lu Ye simply had it use Synthesis to recover…

The screen filled with a flood of comments.

“Please, be human!”

“So this is Substitute-Protect-Toxic? I love it!”

“Four KOs! Venusaur has taken down four in a row!”

With a heavy thud, Togekiss dropped out of the sky.

Meanwhile, Venusaur looked as lively as ever, ready to use Synthesis again for a bit of self-care…

Erika couldn’t help but murmur in admiration, “The timing is just perfect!”

“Right?” Red nodded. “Even Gold doesn’t stand a chance against him.”

While casual viewers just enjoyed the show, seasoned Trainers like Red and Erika saw the deeper strategy.

In Pokémon: Battle, with real-time commands, the player’s tactical ability is put to the test.

For Red and Erika, it was clear that this streamer, “Did Teacher Lu Have Lunch Today,” had serious Trainer experience.

Maybe… not even Gold could match him!

“Now you know why I’m not training today.” Red grinned.

“Watching high-level Trainers is an important part of training too!”

Erika wanted to tease him—it was just a game, after all.

But even if it was a game, this was undeniably a high-level Pokémon battle.

With her curiosity sparked, Erika and Red continued watching the livestream with rapt attention.