CHAPTER 705: HE STILL HAS TO THANK US

Chapter 705 He Should Be Thanking Us

September 1st, Wednesday.

Little Rotom’s edited livestream was uploaded to Bilibili, YouTube, Pokémon MV and other major video sites.

The title read “Teacher Lu Teaches Battle 018: Battle Factory.”

Within hours the view count surged to the top of the category charts, pushed onto front pages, and landed on the weekly must-watch list.

Clicking the video revealed a classic cafeteria segment!

“Last time Teacher Lu updated was last time.”

“Man, I just ate my meal with Gigantamax energy!”

Because of the trainers’ ‘judgment’ characteristic, the Battle Factory matches were tough and tense.

But that didn’t stop the fans from happily spamming the chat while tearing open their takeout.

“Battle Factory? Battle Cafeteria!”

“Drag out the rounds, flip the game with Moody, ew, I’ve learned it!”

Whenever a powerhouse on the team triggered Bangii’s huge self-destruct white flash, the chat filled with a chorus of “teary.”

And when Teacher Lu defeated the third-round opponent and then swapped Bangii for the opponent’s Milotic, the live chat exploded with question marks.

“He just sold off his ace Bangii?”

“This is too real!”

“It’s not that he’s lusting after Milotic’s beauty, it’s to let Bangii rest properly. (For sure)”

After clearing the Battle Factory and facing the boss Noland,

Teacher Lu’s lineup had been changed to: Milotic, Lapras, Pelipper.

A pseudo–Rain Team.

“He actually managed to collect the Rain bonds!”

“But does that Hydro Pump really land?”

After Lapras’s Hydro Pump missed twice, in a dangerous gamble, male Milotic used Attract on a fighting-type Iron Fist user, successfully defeating Noland!

“They still won?”

“Truly spectacular!”

“I can’t eat anymore.”

“This episode doesn’t have my favorite Sunny Team segment! Outrage!”

At the end, with Little Rotom’s banner saying “One-click triple like, Loto~”

The screen filled with “definitely next time,” ending the long-missed mealtime tutorial.

In no time, the Battle Factory’s popularity in Hoenn’s Frontier exploded, and countless trainers flocked to sign up on the official site.

Frontier boss Mr. Frontier tallied the results: besides distributing seven golden emblems of honor,

the items in the battle supply pipe—recovery items and Berries—were nearly emptied;

the Battle Palace needed a remodel;

the points given out had to be converted into items to send to Teacher Lu.

Although the loss stung, Mr. Frontier still put on a forced smile.

At least it brought traffic—this round is not, not a loss!

After treating a couple of trusted comrades, Bangii and Remoraid,

“Roar!” Bangii stared at the stranger’s retreating back and fell into thought.

Later Bangii traversed the entire Frontier, but never again tasted the delicacy it had that afternoon…

Lu Ye exchanged the Frontier points for minerals suitable for Pupitar.

For example: Hard Stone, Soft Sand, Sasha Rock, Dark Stone.

“Bangii…(￣～￣)”

Pupitar stood behind Lu Ye, crunching rocks with audible chomps;

the triangular holes in its body whistled with wind.

Lu Ye turned, lightly tapped the gray scales on its belly, Pupitar swallowed the rocks and grinned.

An adult Pupitar was only about 2 meters tall—just half a head taller than Teacher Lu, roughly the same height as the agile Arcanine.

Arcanine’s Pokédex lists a height of 1.9m, stately and majestic. The entry claims Arcanine can travel 10,000 kilometers in a day.

Yes, ten thousand kilometers.

The Pokédex also claims the Magcargo’s body temperature is ten thousand degrees Celsius, while the sun’s surface is only about 6,000 degrees Celsius.

Either Professor Oak had a flair for exaggeration, or Pokémon truly belong to a high-martial world…

Lu Ye shook his head and glanced at the Arcanine and Pupitar standing side by side, smiling slightly.

By the contest standards of beauty, intelligence, strength, handsomeness, and cuteness,

these two big guys were definitely the team’s “strength” representatives.

After clearing the Frontier’s points, Lu Ye and Cynthia bade Mr. Frontier farewell.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Cynthia said politely.

“Nonsense…” Mr. Frontier rubbed his hands and forced a laugh. “It’s my honor to receive two champions at the Frontier!”

After parting, the two walked toward the harbor.

Cynthia quietly asked, “Was that a bit over the top?”

“Over the top how? He should be thanking us,” Lu Ye replied.

Mr. Frontier wiped his palms on his shirt, checked the official site data on his phone, and his eyes lit up.

In one day, Frontier traffic had skyrocketed!

He shouted to the retreating backs, “Thank you!”

Cynthia slightly tilted her head, surprise on her face.

Lu Ye: ︿(￣︶￣)︿

“Gengarrr~”

Haunter carefully stored the entire set of golden emblems from the Frontier, placing them in the Reversed World.

He set them together with boxes of Kanto and Sinnoh badges.

Haunter fished out the Kalos badge box, squinted one eye, and examined it closely.

Inside the Kalos badge box, seven badges sparkled—only the last Fairy Badge was missing!

“Gengarrr~(*｀ー´)”

Haunter perked up.

Only one badge left!

Haunter, you must hurry;

you can’t be so lax anymore!

……

At the Frontier harbor, Old Hachi’s ship The Breaking Waves could sail directly to Sinnoh’s Suimài City.

Upon learning the two’s identities, Old Hachi said they could depart immediately.

There were few passengers aboard, the sea was calm and windless—a clear, sunny day.

Cynthia stayed in the cabin tending to Togepi.

“Tooi…” Togepi sat on the snow-white sheets, fiddling with card after card.

“Nimi~” Victini sat opposite, face full of curiosity.

Cynthia sat in the single armchair at the bedside, flipping through myth books, glancing fondly at Togepi and Victini.

Lu Ye chatted with Old Hachi on deck.

“Me? My favorite Pokémon has to be Piplup, haha.”

An adult Wingull rested on Old Hachi’s shoulder, enjoying the sea breeze as he laughed heartily: “When I retired from being a sailor, Piplup made me feel young again.”

“Ke~” Wingull squinted and stretched its wings.

Lu Ye gazed across the blue sea. Beside him stood a snow-white Sylveon with pink ribbons.

“Bu-bii~” Sylveon stared at the horizon with blue eyes, peeking through the rail slats and letting out a soft call.

“As for me, my favorite Pokémon is Sylveon.”

Lu Ye smiled: “Haunter also likes it a lot, but last year the popularity vote only got me a single vote for Sylveon.”

“Oh, no wonder your Sylveon seems very close to you!” Old Hachi chuckled.

“Bu-bii…” Sylveon gazed at the sea, a little shy—its pink ears drooped slightly.

Not very close… lately Meloetta has been closer to him… so it wasn’t very happy…

“Different trainers have different partner combinations.”

Lu Ye stroked his chin. “Like Red, he has both Venusaur and Charizard as partners.”

The ‘Fighting Man’ small Red from the specials and the silent war god Red from the games both had Venusaur as a partner.

In the Origins anime, Red captured Mewtwo and partnered with Mega Charizard X.

The Red from the specials and Green often swapped Venusaur and Charizard, so strictly speaking, both count as Red’s partners.

As they chatted, Old Hachi brought two fishing chairs and sat down.

Lu Ye picked up Sylveon’s soft white belly;

it arched its back like a cat and settled on his lap.

One hand petting the drowsy Sylveon, Lu Ye held a fishing rod in the other and casually said:

“I heard you can sometimes catch Feebas on this route?”

“Yeah, but only Ruby ever caught one—most likely you’ll pull up a Goldeen.”

Why would goldfish live in the open sea?

He couldn’t figure it out.

Lu Ye cast his line. An exclamation mark popped over his head as a dark shadow broke the surface!

“Whoosh~” Magikarp flopped on the deck, thrashing its tail;

water splashed everywhere.

“A lively Magikarp!” Old Hachi admired. “Youngster, your fundamentals are solid!”

So fishing fundamentals = catching Magikarp…

Lu Ye sighed and kicked the Magikarp back into the water.

Splash——

Magikarp: ?

If it weren’t for your Sylveon being a bit scary, I’d evolve into Gyarados and challenge you one-on-one!

In the afternoon, The Breaking Waves arrived at Sinnoh’s Suimài City.

Suimài City was surrounded by many islands: Crescent Island, Nightmare Island, Iron Island…

Lu Ye had once plucked a Lunar Wing from the dream deity Cresselia here,

which ensured Darkrai wouldn’t be affected by Cresselia’s nightmares when acting as a bodyguard.

At Suimài City harbor,

Old Hachi shouldered his Wingull and waved to Lu Ye from the departing deck.

Lu Ye waved back and, together with Cynthia, went to the Suimài City Library to look up the materials she needed.

“What’s the topic?” Lu Ye asked softly.

Inside the quiet, dignified large library, the dome rose upward, rows of bookshelves formed circles, exuding an ancient atmosphere.

Cynthia’s eyes traced the spines and she whispered:

“Sinnoh’s ancient regions—legend says that before Sinnoh civilization, there was another civilization…”

Could it be a newly released work? A new region?

Without digging further, Lu Ye searched another corridor for a book he wanted. A row of shelves had been cleared out.

Across the hollowed-out shelf, his gaze met Cynthia’s beautiful eyes;

they paused for a second before looking away.

Many trainers and Pokémon read together in the reading room.

A Bounsweet waddled on the large table, leaves trembling like a delicious mangosteen.

Haunter examined Bounsweet curiously.

Bounsweet: Σ(っ°Д°;

)っ

Hurriedly running to a trainer, Bounsweet even tripped over a book, popped up as a red light, and dove back into its Poké Ball.

“I heard Alola makes Bounsweet juice.” Lu Ye explained. “They use Bounsweet’s sweat mixed with water;

it’s sweet and tasty, similar to Alcremie’s cream.”

Like Sirfetch’d, it’s a rare emergency food ingredient…

The Poké Ball shivered once and then fell silent.

At sunset the harbor at Suimài City glowed red as Wingull swept the sea.

When the library closed, Lu Ye and Cynthia stepped down long marble stairs;

Cynthia yawned softly.

“We head back to the Sinnoh League tomorrow,” Cynthia said.

“I suddenly understand why Steven passed the champion spot to Wallace,” Lu Ye replied.

Cynthia rested one hand at her hip in the black outfit and smiled:

“No matter what, facing Groudon with you was still a champion’s duty.”

“I’m heading back to Miare City to prepare for next week’s PTCG World Championship.”

Lu Ye said, “When your work is done, you can come to Miare City for a vacation.”

“That will be next month then.”

“Next month!” Lu Ye was shocked.

“We can’t keep making them work overtime.” Cynthia said helplessly.

True enough.

Though the Sinnoh League was lax in many ways, there were still matters only the champion could handle personally.

Lu Ye looked up at the sky.

If I successfully challenge the champion path…

Maybe I’ll grab a title, immediately retire, and set a record even shorter than Green’s “five-minute champion”?

After all… champion work is better handled by the predecessor who has to put in overtime.

Like Red handing the champ title to Lance, then the gym leader to Green…

Lu Ye shook his head.

Success wasn’t certain yet.

Besides, the champion path wasn’t even open.

Tomorrow he’d return to Miare City to keep planting Revival Roots, Revival Herbs, and Berries!

……

The Hoenn trip came to an end.

Like the Unova trip, it was about teaching students and incidentally saving the world.

Silver Bullet evolving into Desert Tyrant was a pleasant surprise.

To train flight techniques, Lu Ye chose to ride Latias back to Miare City.

“What an adventure…” Lu Ye wiped cold sweat.

“Don’t be scared~”

Latias’s Heart Water Droplet glinted in the sun. “I can protect you with Light Screen!”

Lu Ye and the red plane exchanged looks and were silent for a moment.

Fine, fear of heights isn’t that big a deal.

Dan Emperor is still terrible with directions anyway…

“Thanks for this.” Lu Ye said earnestly. “If I fall, remember to use Psychic to grab me!”

“No problem~!” The Psychic-type Latias gave an OK gesture.

Like Rayquaza and Reshiram, Latias can envelop itself in a protective shield while flying.

Common Flying-types like Pidgeot or Braviary don’t have that ability.

Dedicated flying trainers usually customize special flight suits with wingsuits or parachutes for emergencies.

“Rati~” With the weather clear, Latias sliced the air with its wings and flew freely across the sky.

Lu Ye looked out at the boundless sea of clouds, his expression odd.

He opened the chat group to distract himself.

Recently the P1 Gold Belt Fighting Tournament was held in Goldenrod City, Kanto.

Bruno had been invited as a guest;

Brawly, Lily, Korrina, Ami and other fighting trainers would all attend.

“I remember Teacher Lu participated last year, right?” The girl asked.

“I participated with Teacher Lu.” Brock nodded. “Geodude even got an encouragement award.”

“Ami is Teacher Lu’s student, right?” Lily sighed. “She seems so strong—and Korrina… I can’t beat either of them…”

“A fighter’s strength is proven in the arena,” Green encouraged.

“You could enter a different event.” Candice suggested.

“The P1 prize money is the largest.” Lily replied matter-of-factly. “If you get the Gold Belt, you can cash it in!”

Yesterday the Sinnoh Gym stipends were distributed;

Lily and her Pokémon enjoyed a barbecue so good she was moved to tears.

If she won P1, she could eat ten barbecues at least!

Poor Lily saved every stipend to revive the gym ruined by her gambler father;

the gym and Pokémon were more than a job—they were her reason to keep going.

Recently she started a fighting class and her finances improved, but her thrifty nature remained.

“This P1 will have competitors from Master Dojo too.” Bruno said gravely. “Master Ma—he's not to be underestimated.”

Although Master Ma spends his days at Armor Island gaming, in his youth he was a multiple-time Galar champion and a ‘ring king’;

he even served as a top fighter in Donghua for a while.

Young Master Ma definitely had champion-level skill, but his condition has worsened;

whether he can beat Kabu is uncertain.

“@Teacher Lu, aren’t you going to the P1 to fight?” A-Jin rubbed his chin.

“No.” Lu Ye said, “I’m heading back to Miare City—the café officially opens!”

“May I come visit?” The girl asked.

“Of course.”

“I’ll go too.” Silver said calmly.

“I’m coming along!” A-Jin said.

“No problem.” Lu Ye smiled. “Three go, two eat free;

A-Jin pays triple.”

A-Jin: ???

“I’ll arrive at Miare City airport tomorrow!” Ash said excitedly.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll host you, Ash.” Clemont said.

“Really? Great!” Ash clenched his fist.

He planned to challenge Clemont the day they met, to win the Thunder Badge!

Ash and Clemont ended up running into each other earlier than planned.

A strange butterfly effect.

Lu Ye looked toward the Kalos region clearing from the mist and fell into thought.

For next week’s PTCG World Championship, he needed Olivia to come to Miare City to discuss details.

Although Flore was imprisoned, his lab still existed.

In both the anime and the games, Flore’s lab showcased mature virtual imaging technology.

If they could collaborate with Flore’s lab,

maybe they could borrow that red-maned lion-head virtual imaging technique to create realistic Pokémon battle effects with Pokémon cards…

Lu Ye’s expression turned complex as he murmured:

“Duel City… Miare City?”

……