April 16th, Friday.

The All-Around Contest came to a close.

Teacher Lu won three gold medals in endurance, strength, and technique.

Ash and A-Jin respectively won gold in speed and jumping events.

It's worth mentioning that the technique event was 'Snowball Toss'. Pokémon needed to dodge while hitting opponents with snowballs to score higher points.

The organizers specially prepared several Snover and Piloswine, using "Blizzard" to artificially create a massive snowfield.

A-Jin excitedly removed his wheels and started snowboarding down the slopes: "Woo-hoo—"

Participants partnered with their Pokémon in pairs, with mid-event substitutions allowed.

Ash wore a thin blue vest, standing beside Bruno who crossed his bare arms as cold winds blew.

"Aren't you cold, Senior Bruno?" Ash asked.

"Cold." Bruno said gravely. "But this is an opportunity to train one's willpower... What about you?"

"I'm not cold!" Ash grinned.

Bruno: "..."

"Snowy weather..." Whitney worried aloud, "Isn't that also Teacher Lu's specialty?!"

"Just do our best." Ami tied up her hair with a gentle smile. "Light, let's do our best together~"

"Uuu~~" The Electivire shook its tail and raised its head with a cry.

The match began. A-Jin and Ambipom launched catapult-like continuous bombardments while laughing wildly: "Tail Boy, Double Slap!"

"Waka!" Tail Boy rapidly formed snowballs with its tails, pelting other participants mercilessly.

The wide-range bombardment caused instant heavy casualties. The poor girl Lily collapsed in the snow, weakly reaching out while whimpering:

"The prize money... gone..." Lily 'breathed her last'.

Lu Ye's expression was complicated.

"Why... is everyone still so energetic?!"

Who could have guessed that the restaurant The Girl suggested would be her own stall, using lottery draws to determine which bento to eat.

A-Jin generously bought out all the bentos... only managing to pay thanks to Kris coming to the rescue.

Though Lu Ye suspected these bentos were expired—

Or was he just unlucky enough to draw the "Wallace Combo"?

Snowballs kept flying as Lu Ye relied on prediction and Rotom's "Ally Switch", not losing a single point.

Other participants stared dumbfounded as if watching Faker practicing dodging.

"Seriously? Using prediction for a snowball fight?"

"Don't you see Elite Four Bruno? He's using Karate Chop—my snowball got split in half!"

"That Pikachu looks easy to bully... let's go!"

"Rotom, prepare to switch." Lu Ye said. "Blastoise—"

"Let the world feel pain!!"

BOOM!

Everyone looked toward the source of tremors, seeing Blastoise lifting an enormous snowball overhead with an indifferent expression.

"Everyone hit the deck!!"

"We're using slingshots, A-Jin's using catapults... and they're dropping nukes now?"

"Leader, what are you doing, leader!!"

BOOM!

The screen filled with snow as the 'corpse-strewn' battlefield made spectators gulp nervously.

Ash lay in a snow crater, holding Pikachu's paw: "G-get up, Pikachu!"

Pikachu hugged its hat: "Pika pi... pika pi!"

"Aft... after f-fierce battle..."

The commentator trembled before shouting hoarsely:

"The champion has been decided—contestant Lu Ye!!"

Crowd: "OHHHHHHH!"

Lu Ye wiped cold sweat.

Just a snowball fight, yet it felt like the Crusades...

But with three gold medals secured, the prize money was guaranteed.

A red beam recalled Blastoise into its Dive Ball as Lu Ye disappeared into the snowy fields...

...

Rewind ended as Little Luo's recording fast-forwarded to the award ceremony.

This time the prize money was indeed substantial.

Being a sports competition, it didn't stab Teacher Lu in the back like trainer tournaments did.

Though after calculations, the prize money still couldn't cover Blastoise's supplement expenses...

"Tsk..." Teacher Lu inhaled sharply.

Scammed! Totally scammed!

The group photo showed Lu Ye on the champion's podium, with second-place A-Jin resting his arm beside him and grinning Ash.

Lu Ye faintly recognized the three reporters as disguised Team Rocket Trio members.

"Let me take Pikachu's picture, meow~"

"Hey twerp, look here."

Ash scratched his head smiling: "Oh, sure~"

Lu Ye's eyelid twitched.

He literally called you 'twerp' to your face—how can you not notice?

How dense can you be, Satoshi!

"Teacher Lu, are you heading home next?"

After the ceremony, Ash asked Lu Ye.

Lu Ye nodded: "What about you?"

"I'm planning to challenge the Sunyshore Gym." Ash said. "Miss Ami said I can get the Beacon Badge there!"

Lu Ye went "Oh" without much thought.

He only needed one more Beacon Badge to complete his mission, but it shouldn't be a problem... probably.

...

After the closing ceremony, spectators dispersed while still excitedly discussing yesterday's peak showdown between 'Teacher Lu vs Bruno'.

Bruno carried a pile of steamed bun souvenirs, waving at Lu Ye from afar before leaving with his broad back.

"If Bruno can't get Angry Steamed Buns in the future... how sad would he be." Lu Ye mused.

Like Oshawott losing its shell or Farfetch'd its leek—it'd be devastating!

"Just have Team Rocket open an online store." Lu Ye nodded slowly. "Keeps them out of trouble... plus I get a cut."

Like Venusaur opening the door for Bulbasaur—perfectly splendid!

At the vendor area.

Teacher Lu proposed his idea to James and others, making Meowth's eyes light up.

"Sounds feasible, meow~!"

"But where would the online store operate from?" James asked.

"Idiot, don't you have mansions everywhere? Just use one!" Musashi said.

Lu Ye felt strange.

Using mansions as inventory hubs—

Kinda like using a Rolls-Royce for food delivery...

Before departure, The Girl suggested a 'farewell meal'.

A-Jin declared 'I won't fall for your tricks again' and escaped first on Explosion Boy.

Kris sighed deeply, bowing:

"A-Jin caused you trouble, Teacher Lu."

"No real trouble." Lu Ye said. "Just wasted some paper and pens."

"Eh?" Kris blinked.

After farewells with Ami's group who boarded Marshal's 'Waterflow' ship back to Johto, Lu Ye headed for the nearest train station.

The matter concluded.

Yet the battle video against Bruno kept spreading online, surpassing 2 million views.

Some predicted Teacher Lu would join the Lily of the Valley Conference... since its champion qualifies for Champion League to challenge Sinnoh's Elite Four.

"Bookmarking this to hunt the prophet later!"

"Wait. Someone who crushed Bruno joining a regional conference—is that human?!"

"Fake fan spotted... since when has Teacher Lu been human?!"

Lu Ye felt strange, closing his phone.

"This video should bring decent traffic too."

Lu Ye thought: "When Pocket Monsters releases in May... sales should get a boost."

Beyond that, this trip's harvest was Bruno's "Essence of Steel".

Lu Ye looked skyward.

His mind replayed Sirfetch'd cleaving steel with one slash, eyes sharp and indifferent—

Leek comes!

Buzz buzz.

His phone vibrated again—a message from Bruno.

"Oh, Teacher Lu." Bruno said. "The reason Lance sent me to Sinnoh was to investigate Arceus's revival."

Lu Ye paused: "So?"

"So." Bruno continued. "You should prepare for battle too... or do you already have leads?"

Lu Ye's expression turned peculiar.

The lead being... Palkia and Dialga are about to get wrecked by Giratina.

But Ash has been keeping his distance lately, so the plot shouldn't trigger.

Lu Ye nodded: "I'll keep an eye out."

Closing the chat, Lu Ye looked out the window. The empty glass suddenly reflected Haunter's grinning face.

"Gengarrr~(⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎)"

Lu Ye: "...Too scary, Haunter!"

...