April 24th, Saturday.

Returning to Masago Town, it was already the next morning.

"Little Luo, open the electronic curtains."

Sunlight poured into the room. Thanks to Rotom’s smart appliance form, the room was spotless.

Lu Ye put down his shoulder bag and wearily collapsed onto the sofa, lazily glancing at his little companions.

"Togepi..."

Togepi was building blocks on the coffee table, squinting one eye. "Doo-ee..."

Crash!

The blocks toppled over, and Togepi turned his head blankly towards Lu Ye.

Teacher Lu and Haunter laughed out loud together: "Hahahaha~" "Gengarrr gengarrr~"

Togepi first blinked his small eyes as if gathering strength, then suddenly burst into two rows of tears.

"Togepi doo-ee~ ·(˚˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅)‧º"

Lu Ye and Haunter laughed even harder, even pulling out sodas to toast each other.

"Finally cleared the dungeon, time to rest at home!" Lu Ye thought.

Morning time at Teacher Lu’s house began with Togepi’s crying.

Lu Ye directed Arcanine to use a yarn ball to entertain Togepi while placing a black flower into a vase.

This small bouquet was left by Marshadow;

Shaymin had also left Gracidea flowers.

Arranging these two bouquets at home both decorated the room and served as a memento.

"Quack?" Sirfetch’d passed by, looking at Teacher Lu with confusion.

Lu Ye glanced around at the vase and the leek in Sirfetch’d’s hand, falling into thought.

"Quack! (´థ౪థ)σ" Ducklett got startled and hurriedly ran out to train in the yard.

When Sirfetch’d pushed open the door, Sylveon was elegantly crawling back through the cat door, holding a newspaper in its ribbons.

Lu Ye squatted down and rubbed Sylveon’s head, taking the newspaper. Sylveon angrily complained:

"Sylveon! (#｀皿´)"

Only after Teacher Lu carefully smoothed its snowy white fur did Sylveon make a muffled sound.

"Sylveon~ o(´^｀)o"

"Let me see today’s morning paper."

Lu Ye lay back on the sofa, yawned, and unfolded the newspaper.

Yesterday’s glacier movement caused quite a stir;

the morning paper’s headline was related to this event.

Experts speculated that the upheaval at Mt. Coronet was connected but failed to pinpoint the exact cause.

However, an article from the Violet Radio caught Teacher Lu’s attention.

The title read: "The Mysterious Trainer Saving Sinnoh!"

The report analyzed recent trips of several masters, concluding the most likely candidates were Cynthia and Teacher Lu.

Since Teacher Lu was spotted at the scene, the article placed him as the top suspect.

Because of this, the comment "live eating of Sliggoo" in the news broadcast was pinned to the front page.

"Great, the Layer Lord doesn’t have to eat Sliggoo anymore!"

"How do you know if the Layer Lord is happy or sad?"

"Just a suggestion, Layer Lord, next time just bring an Alolan Sliggoo."

Alolan Sliggoo is known as the "colorful awesome," definitely not a "kid’s good friend" type of Pokémon.

But somehow it has unexpectedly won the hearts of some trainers...

"Don’t current reports have to abide by basic laws?"

Lu Ye clicked his tongue, "The glacier stopped by Regigigas has nothing to do with me, Teacher Lu!"

The report didn’t affect daily life much.

The influx of popularity would help prepare for rebroadcasts and the May launch of Pokémon.

…

It was April, the sun was shining brightly, and the time was close to eleven o’clock.

At Teacher Lu’s home, the Pokémon began their daily training led by Haunter.

Haunter had swallowed fragments of the Platinum Orb, making its shadow manipulation increasingly refined.

Not even crimes would leave a trace (?).

Blastoise hid in the water tank, using the Purification Water Drop to try an "advanced version of Aqua Ring."

Lu Ye looked at the swirling water tank, his eyelids twitching wildly.

He felt like Blastoise was trying to flood the house when he wasn’t paying attention!

Arcanine wore the Brilliant Rainbow Wing on its flaxen neck, conducting battle drills outside against Sylveon.

Togepi bounced around off the field, waving a referee flag.

Rotom had a face full of "QAQ": "Refereeing is Rotom’s job, Rotot!"

Rumble rumble rumble!

Continuous shaking caused debris to fall from the house.

Lu Ye looked up and muttered, "Now Arcanine getting beaten up will recover faster..."

Maybe Pokémon’s joys and sorrows differ.

Sirfetch’d squatted calmly in the living room, an unsteady Pokémon egg wobbling beneath it.

"Quack!" Sirfetch’d calmly lectured the egg on Ducklett’s philosophy of life.

First strike always risks failure—Ducklett hides the leek, waiting for the right moment to move!

The gray-green Pokémon egg wobbled adorably, headless.

Because the living room was too noisy,

Teacher Lu carried his laptop to the bedroom.

Drinking an iced cola, he planned the lunch menu.

White, plump Sirfetch’d appeared in his mind;

Lu Ye shook his head hard and opened a chat app.

After returning from the Gracidea flower field, Brock went back to Slateport City to continue his role as Gym Leader.

"@Brock." Lance, wearing a cloak, sat in the office chat group with paid members. "The league will send inspectors soon to audit Kanto Gyms."

"Slateport Gym might be among them." Lance emphasized "might."

Lorelei sighed, "You might as well tell everyone directly, we’re all on the same side."

"Exactly, we won’t anonymously report each other!" A-Jin yelled.

Xiao Yin and Lance: "..."

That’s really hard to say.

"I understand." Brock squinted, "I’ll prepare for the inspection."

Lu Ye was slightly stunned;

this plot felt somewhat familiar...

That prosecutor Joy who brought the "red plane" Latias?

"Let Jiro handle the inspection," Lu Ye suggested. "That way, you can relax and see Jiro’s growth."

Brock pondered.

"Oh, @Xiao Yin." A-Jin asked, "Why did you send me a picture of a flower?"

"That’s a Gracidea flower," Xiao Yin said calmly. "I sent it in the email group."

A-Jin went "Oh," and smirked, "Didn’t expect your poker face to be grateful. Haha, I’m very pleased!"

Xiao Yin: "..."

Better punch him once to express 'thanks' more directly.

Regarding Giratina and the glacier incident, no one further questioned Teacher Lu.

After all, the big shots in the group had participated in many legendary beast events.

Though surprised, considering it was Teacher Lu’s story, they accepted it.

Brock was more interested in Teacher Lu’s Pokémon egg in the jar and the so-called "rebroadcast" strategy.

"What content does Teacher Lu plan for the next broadcast?" Yellow asked curiously.

"Rainy Day Bye Bye Song," Lu Ye said bluntly.

Green thoughtfully said, "Indeed, in reality it’s a tactic with both difficulty and strength."

"Can I learn it?" A-Jin blinked.

"Theoretically yes, Polibro is a strong player on rainy days!" Krista smiled.

A-Jin: "Yay!"

"Aren’t you playing Sunny Day Relay anymore?" Teacher Lu asked.

"Ahaha, gotta have more tricks up my sleeve." A-Jin wiped his nose.

Flint suddenly posted a selfie, grinning with red spiky hair. Behind him was Ash training.

"Is Turtwig doing weighted training?" Bruno looked at the photo showing Turtwig carrying a huge rock, asking seriously.

"Yes." Flint replied.

"Then why?" Bruno looked puzzled. "Ash is also carrying a big rock."

"To motivate Turtwig."

Flint looked strange, quoting Ash, then glanced back and said,

"Ash said he will battle a trainer named Paul at Lake Acuity, so he’s training hard."

The timeline was quite different from the original, but Lu Ye still remembered the rumored Lake Acuity tragedy.

Ash had suffered a crushing defeat to Paul but had a qualitative leap in mindset and team strength.

Lu Ye nodded, "Let him go. Failure is an important path for a trainer’s growth."

Hearing this, Green nodded slightly. He deeply understood this.

Losing to Kukui, losing to Chuck... he finally defeated them by his own strength.

Only one remained—the shadow he could never surpass but always challenged.

"Rival, huh." Green smiled. "Interesting. Don’t embarrass me, Ash."

Ash sent a voice message when free, loudly declaring, "Leave it to me!!"

Far away on Lilycove Island, Sinnoh League.

"Why do they all look so relaxed?"

Lucian, in a burgundy suit, wondered confusedly.

The entire Sinnoh League was in emergency mobilization lately, such as rebuilding Snowpoint City, handling the glacier, preparing the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Even the semi-retired Ground-type Elite Four Kukui was called back;

Cynthia was busy with no time off.

Originally, they wanted Flint to return to take charge, but Flint preferred solo battles rather than overall coordination.

Lucian’s hope for leave was naturally shattered...

"Did you see the snow, Aru?" Lucian, standing by the window, holding a hardcover book, whispered.

Aru, wearing a vest, looked down at a handheld game, the green tuft on his head shaking.

He glanced out at the bright sunshine and muttered, "April, huh? No snow."

Then Aru’s eyes lit up as he took out his phone.

There was a Teacher Lu livestream this afternoon;

might as well watch some games first!

"It’s snowing, a heavy snow."

Lucian gazed out, slowly wiping his glasses.

"Snow of Sinnoh."

…

Unova City, Interpol Headquarters.

The older Officer Jenny stared wide-eyed at the report her subordinates submitted.

"Really, was the natural disaster in Sinnoh solved by Detective Lu Ye?!"

A middle-aged man with hands in his brown trench coat pockets glanced at a young assistant beside him.

The assistant said, "Confirmed without doubt. And Detective seems to have a friendship with Giratina and Regigigas."

"Are you sure it’s friendship?"

Interpol ‘Handsome Guy’ joked, "Didn’t Teacher Lu catch both of them?"

Everyone’s eyes shot over to ‘Handsome Guy’. He fell silent, then muttered,

"I’m joking, you can tell, right..."

Officer Jenny took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I propose promoting Mr. Lu Ye to Detective Inspector of the Countermeasures Department. What does everyone think?"

Soon, everyone at the committee unanimously approved. ‘Handsome Guy’’s eyes widened.

Hey, wasn’t I the one who recruited Teacher Lu?

Not even a year in, he became my direct superior, and his rank is four levels above mine?!

Detective Inspector is selected by the headquarters committee, accounting for only 0.5% of total.

At 20 years old, Teacher Lu set the record as the youngest and fastest promoted Detective Inspector—truly a living legend.

"How can the gap be so huge..." ‘Handsome Guy’ rubbed his chin, sighing.

When hearing Teacher Lu’s heroic deeds saving the entire region, ‘Handsome Guy’ also felt fired up.

This was his lifelong dream and professional creed.

"Alright." ‘Handsome Guy’’s eyes burned brightly.

"I’ll head to the next region… and keep producing results!"

…

Sinnoh Region, Masago Town.

Teacher Lu’s rare work-from-home day showed Olivia in a red-and-white uniform with black silk heels on screen.

"You redesigned your outfit?" Lu Ye asked in surprise.

"I combined research wear with office attire."

Olivia said calmly,

"So I can continue Ultra Gigantamax research after work."

In the Sword and Shield timeline, Olivia was a top talent at the Marlocomon Group, managing personnel, research, and administration all at once.

Few could match her ability, perhaps only Team Rocket’s Matori or Devon Corporation’s President Zubuki.

Olivia held gratitude and respect for Teacher Lu for recognizing her talents.

Entrusting Pokémon Company’s daily management to Olivia put Lu Ye’s mind at ease.

"The Pokémon game release is scheduled for early May."

Olivia said, "The second test invited players and reviewers for evaluation;

the reputation was excellent. The final third test is nearing completion."

"Any complaints?" Lu Ye asked.

"As for drawbacks…" Olivia pondered, "Players generally feel the boss of Silph Co., Giovanni, is too difficult. Without pre-leveling, it’s impossible to win."

Lu Ye smiled, "I’m quite satisfied with that effect… just keep preparing."

"Understood." Olivia said, then softly added, "Actually, I have a request…"

"What?"

Olivia took a deep breath and quickly said, "I want a card—your PTCG card!"

Lu Ye was slightly stunned, "Of course, no problem. Just pick any UR card."

Since it was his own card, no money needed.

But the [Teacher Lu] card series only had UR rarity and most were not physically released.

Olivia, a collector, blushed slightly and whispered,

"Thank you so much."

After the video call ended, Teacher Lu looked up at the sky.

Once the game launched, financial freedom would come quickly.

Then it wouldn’t just be having a mine at home, he could buy the entire mine!!

Probably.

The swelling ego made Teacher Lu cough lightly, muttering,

"Staying at home… might as well become a food blogger and livestream games again."

The last tactic preview was Rainy Day Bye Bye Song.

But Teacher Lu planned to gain some popularity first with rebroadcasts before livestreaming tactics.

After all, he had to promote his own game first.

He posted a message on his personal forum about tonight’s rebroadcast;

fans couldn’t hide their excitement.

"Save the world then come back to livestream? That’s Teacher Lu for you!"

"Today’s my favorite parts: snooker and Plants vs. Zombies!"

"Just seeing this preview makes me lose my appetite."

"Daily question: Did Teacher Lu eat well today?"

At the same time,

Sirfetch’d, napping, sleepily opened his eyes.

"Quack?" Sirfetch’d drowsily closed them again.

So sleepy~ Today’s another day without effort~

Below its white wings, the gray Pokémon egg quietly cracked a small fissure…