Silence fell over the courtyard.

“So amazing…” Korrina couldn’t help but swing her fist, imitating Haunter’s earlier move, murmuring, “It actually used its fists to knock Mr. Lance’s Red Gyarados down!”

Haunter’s physical attack was worrying, yet the physical move Payback could turn Red Gyarados’s brutal destructive power back against it. From another angle—when a spellcaster is cornered, it’s only natural he’d start throwing punches!

Sunlight glinted as the Red Gyarados lay on its side, scales sparkling. Mega Haunter had knocked down an almost eight-meter Red Gyarados;

the visual was truly shocking, and even Steven couldn’t help but admire it inwardly. Not challenging Teacher Lu… that really was a wise choice!

“Come back.” Lance took out a Poké Ball, and a beam of red light recalled the Red Gyarados.

The red-haired man’s swordlike brows rose, his authoritative gaze fixed forward. After a long moment, a helpless smile showed on his face.

“I lost, Teacher Lu.”

“Gengarrr~(⁎˃ꌂ˂⁎)”

Haunter had exited Mega form;

its red eyes narrowed as it stuck out its tongue and gave Teacher Lu’s cheek a slurp.

A cold, sticky sensation spread down Lu Ye’s spine. He shivered, keeping a stiff, numb face, and nodded:

“Good fight.”

Lance paused for a moment, not concerned about the outcome so much as about Teacher Lu’s safety.

That was a champion-level Haunter’s tongue lick, right? Was it really okay to tank that with bare flesh, Teacher Lu!

“I recorded the whole thing!” the cap-wearing boy shouted, holding up his phone from the spectator area, punching the air with excitement. “Now Marshal can’t weasel out of his bet!”

Lance tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle and stared Murderously at A-Jin, who remained blithely unaware.

“Hey—when you said you recorded it, you don’t mean the match just now, right?” Lance asked.

“Of course I do. Take it easy, Wataru-senpai.” A-Jin wiped his nose, puffed out his chest, and grinned, “After all, I once got wrecked by Teacher Lu too. Not embarrassing at all, haha!”

Lance, uncharacteristically, squeezed out a faint smile. Everyone there felt an inexplicable shiver.

That was the pressure of a dragon!

Silver looked at A-Jin with sympathy.

“Come on, A-Jin, let’s have a match!” Lance swept his cloak aside and swaggered over, slinging an arm around A-Jin’s shoulders. “Use the format you’re best at!”

“Wild battle? Just so you know, I’m not gonna go easy.” A-Jin answered.

“Ha—of course…” Lance’s expression dimmed as he said with contemptuous pride, “I’ll just send out three Kingdra at once.”

“Wha—!?”

What followed was a special-episode-style ‘no-rules brawl’ between Lance and A-Jin. Each placed three Poké Balls along their side of the field line. Direct attacks on the trainer were permitted, switching was allowed, and knocking out any one of the opponent’s Pokémon counted as victory.

Lu Ye’s face went odd.

If Ash were in the match, the format would probably look like—Ash as human vs four Pokémon, Pikachu at his back yelling:

“Pikapi!” (Ash don’t fight, come back!)

This time Little Rotom started streaming live, broadcasting Lance vs. Gold the Fifth’s battle. Teacher Lu had a water chat group too;

he glanced at the log and raised an eyebrow.

Well then, they bet on Lance and didn’t even include me—of course I’d bet on Lance to win!

Gold’s evasive maneuvers gave Lance a good deal of trouble, but Lance was the first to trigger his Power of Viridian boost on his Kingdra, knocking out Explosion Boy’s Typhlosion.

“You—you cheated! Sneak attack!” A-Jin said, nose bruised, leaning on Kris’s shoulder.

Lance crossed his arms, looking grim but calm. “In a no-rules match, you use every ability available.”

Still… Lance brushed aside the weeds of annoyance and felt disquiet. Fighting A-Jin in a no-rules brawl didn’t relieve pressure;

it somehow made things worse!

Cynthia stood at the sidelines watching the match with a smile.

“It’s rare to see A-Jin trade blows with Lance so evenly,” she observed.

Lu Ye nodded, sighing, “Too bad A-Jin’s formal-format skills are another story…”

Of the Pokédex holders, Gold the Fifth was best at wild battles, while Milos would be the tactical expert. In official formats… A-Jin couldn’t even beat the Gym in Inecity;

it was heartbreaking.

Dusk fell;

the courtyard shimmered in golden sunset light. Siebold and the others regained their senses and stood to say their goodbyes. Lance and Steven each had separate plans;

the three from Kanto boarded Steven’s private plane and left together.

Three hours after the mute lifted, the group chat buzzed.

Roxie: “Ψ(￣∀￣)Ψ Pay up, pay up!”

Marshal: “*tears* x3”

Nassi coldly: “Serves him right.”

“So Steven isn’t going to fight Teacher Lu?” Wallace asked, surprised.

“No.” Steven came online and smiled. “I must continue my travels in Kalos.”

“Collecting more mineral specimens?” someone asked.

“If I can find a few outstanding juniors, I can help Hoenn cultivate some trainers.” Steven chuckled.

Lu Ye thought of the Hoenn newcomer Shota, who met Steven and was gifted a Sceptile Mega Stone, and couldn’t help but shake his head. Jealous, jealous!

After sparring with Lance, Teacher Lu was similarly inspired. Against Mega Red Gyarados, Haunter succeeded because of level pressure and nimble tactics despite the type disadvantage. But right now, if Lance sent out his ace Dragonite—and assuming he didn’t activate Little V’s Infinite Energy buff—even Mega Haunter would be at a certain deficit.

Lu Ye fell into thought. Lance and his Dragonite’s strength were already at the peak among champions, perhaps even stronger—enough to hold their own against Green, Red, and the like… Compared to champions, maybe a different title would fit better.

Back in the foyer, Indeedee held two cups over the counter and nodded a greeting.

“Is there a title above League Champion?” Lu Ye asked Cynthia. “Like the legends of Mt. Silver? An undefeated legend?”

“It’s Battle Legend,” Cynthia corrected after a moment of thought. “After Kanto and Johto merged, the leagues once convened and decided to grant two trainers the lifetime honor ‘Battle Legend’—those two were Red and Green. Even the then-league champion Lance wasn’t given that honor.”

“In Galar, Master Ma—who held the Galar Championship thirteen times—was once given the title ‘Battle Legend’ in his youth,” she continued. “Though it’s a lifetime honor, time doesn’t spare anyone…”

Lu Ye nodded softly.

Battle Legend… the Ultimate Sun and Moon lore did include such a trainer type. The aged Master Ma could even go toe-to-toe with the Galar Champion Dan;

calling his youthful prime a ‘Battle Legend’ wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Did the Sinnoh League ever confer that on its champion?” Lu Ye asked curiously.

Cynthia rolled her eyes at Lu Ye and sighed. “That title isn’t easy to obtain—becoming a champion is almost a prerequisite, but every league needs to agree for it to be widely recognized as a Battle Legend. However,” she smiled slightly at Lu Ye, “you could gain recognition from the leagues… at least Sinnoh, Unova, and Hoenn could.”

Lu Ye looked up at the sky. Unova and Hoenn acknowledging him made sense;

after all, he dealt with Ghetsis and shattered the colossal meteor. As for Sinnoh—since the Sinnoh Champion was one of his allies, whether they acknowledged him or not didn’t matter!

“Having a Battle Legend title would actually be inconvenient,” Lu Ye said seriously. “At least Red couldn’t just enter the Baby Cup like I can.”

“……” Cynthia fell silent.

Entering the Baby Cup… as a Battle Legend?

“As expected of you,” Cynthia smiled wryly.

“Thanks for the compliment.” Lu Ye scratched his head.

“Gengarrr! (ノдヽ)” Haunter covered its forehead.

That’s not a compliment, you know!

“Gah…(›´ω`‹)” Sirfetch’d, sword and shield in hand, sat dozing in a corner by the wall and lazily lifted his head. Battle… legend… he felt like he’d heard that somewhere before. But just when—he couldn’t recall.

Sirfetch’d’s sharp V-shaped brows furrowed;

his gaze grew calm as he gradually closed his eyes.

“Gahzzz~(。-ω-)”

That day, reports about the ribbon-cutting ceremony made front-page headlines across major media. Champions gathering, the shopowner’s strong background—everything became thick with curiosity.

Before guests arrived, to avoid trouble, Lu Ye decided to put the Rainbow Wing and the DNA Splicers back in the back room.

“They look full of life.” Lu Ye casually channeled Aura into the two legendary items.

In an instant, the Rainbow Wing gleamed with crystalline life iridescence, and the DNA Splicers hummed with intertwined thunder, fire, and ice!

Lu Ye: “……”

So not only Pokémon, even legendary items respond to their trainers…

That day’s biggest events, aside from obtaining a Shiny Stone and having a friendly match with Lance, were the information Mallow brought about the Mineral Kingdom. Helping Arceus reclaim the Fairy Plate could also serve as a long-awaited power-up for Sylveon.

Remembering something, Lu Ye opened a private chat to confirm Ash’s schedule.

“How many badges have you gotten, Ash?”

Ash: “I just got my first—Violet’s Bug-type badge!”

Teacher Lu chuckled, “Congratulations.”

“By the way, Teacher Lu, can I invite a friend into the group?” Ash asked.

“Who?”

“Um… the trainer from Asaka Town, Serena.”

Serena?

Serena, the female lead from Pokémon XY who once climbed the mountain on Ash’s back—she had clearly shown romantic interest in Ash before. Between their first date, caring for Ash when he was sick, and even kissing him when leaving Kalos, her history with Ash was a textbook childhood sweethearts setup. With her short ear-length hair, Serena now differed somewhat from other special-episode or game heroines;

her appearance now made sense.

Lu Ye showed appreciation and nodded: “Approved!”

Kalos, outskirts of Santalune City.

Seeing names like Wallace and Melisa in the group list made Serena nervous.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Serena asked timidly.

“It’s fine!” Ash laughed loudly. “Teacher Lu already agreed!”

Serena nodded gently. She secretly carried her own dream: ever since watching Teacher Lu and Meloetta perform and seeing those dazzling Coordinations on the Poké Shorts, she had resolved to become a great Pokémon performer like Teacher Lu and Wallace—no matter if it contradicted her mother’s expectations.

“Ash…” Serena, wearing a pink cap and carrying two bags, whispered, “What’s your wish with Pikachu?”

“Oh, you asked the right person!” Ash hoisted Pikachu on his shoulder, clenched his fist, and burning with determination said, “Pikachu and I will triumph at the Lumiose Conference and become Pokémon Masters!”

“Pika!” Pikachu affectionately nuzzled Ash’s cheek.

Serena smiled. “I’ll be there to witness that day, Ash!”

“Huh?” Ash glanced at Serena in surprise—Serena was going to enter the Lumiose Conference too?

“Nothing!” Serena blushed and hurried to walk ahead of the group.

Ash watched her back, fired up: “Alright, Pikachu, we can’t lose to her and her Vulpix!”

“Pika…” Pikachu sighed helplessly.

September 10th, Friday. Early morning, clear skies.

A blonde beauty sat cross-legged on the sofa, gray eyes focused on her book.

“Is the Scientific Summit starting again this year?” Lu Ye asked, pulling a can of chilled cola from the fridge.

“Yes.” Cynthia lifted her gaze slightly. “Are you attending?”

“No… the café needs me.” Lu Ye replied.

“Grandma has been asking about you,” Cynthia said.

“Really? We should visit her together sometime.” Lu Ye smiled.

Cynthia smiled faintly;

her gray eyes shimmered as she fell into thought. “By the way… your uncle and aunt…”

“They’re honeymooning in Alola,” Lu Ye said with a complex expression. “To answer the league’s call… they’re probably expecting their second kid by now.”

Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve graduated yet? Lu Ye shook his head. Everyone knew light novel high schoolers saved the world, so a university student being a champion was reasonable!

“Gengarrr~” Haunter split into shadow clones—aprons on, buckets in hand, enthusiastically mopping. In just ten minutes the living room sparkled.

Domestic prodigy Haunter wiped its brow and grinned, satisfied.

Togepi sat on the carpet in front of the TV, holding a controller, and called to Lu Ye, “Duiyi! (ﾉﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ”

“I’ll play with you.” Cynthia’s eyes lit;

she put her book down, smiling as she tucked Togepi into her arms.

Lu Ye glanced at the TV screen;

Devon Corporation’s racing game had a top-tier item: Victini’s Victory Star. Looking toward Little V, he saw it sitting on the outdoor kitchen counter, clutching its round belly, beside a plate of macarons and holding half a pastry.

“Nimi~” Victini had crumbs at its mouth and held its face in blissful delight.

Lu Ye half-smiled, walked to the balcony, and leaned on the railing to look over the courtyard. In the sunlight the whole yard shimmered: Lucario pounded a training post with fervor, sweating profusely. Blastoise followed suit with one-armed push-ups, eyes sharp: “Blastoise!”

Arcanine stood proudly in the sun, squinting and smiling softly: “Awooo…”

Crunch, crunch! Pupitar ripped open a family-size bag of chips, shoved a handful in, and mumbled, “Bangii…(￣～￣)”

Meloetta sat in a treetop, swinging her legs with a smile. “Melo~”

A calm, lazy, carefree day.

“What noisy wind today~” Lu Ye murmured, propping his chin on one hand as he opened the group chat. Yesterday, after Serena joined, the chat topic had turned to the Battle Chateau. Ash and his group had just arrived there;

Ash was doing a debut match to earn the Baron title. Larvitar had evolved at the Battle Chateau—Teacher Lu even had a Duke title.

Considering Pupitar’s limited battle experience, there’s still time to take it to the Battle Chateau and upgrade to Grand Duke status—but first they’d need to visit the Mineral Kingdom.

Lu Ye opened a private message and sent an invitation that couldn’t be refused: “Steven-san? Free next week? Want to go mining together?”