Chapter 7: "Green" Has Joined the Chat Group
"Teacher Lu, you're finally getting a taste of your own medicine!"
"Huh, what…?"
"Aww, so cute, I wanna smash."
"?? Could the person above please keep it decent?"
All the usual lurkers were suddenly drawn out, and the chat group was buzzing with a cheerful atmosphere.
[Battle Legend: … How about throwing a Poké Ball?]
[Teacher Lu: Are you sure it won't go ballistic if I do?]
[Battle Legend: …]
Red went back to lurking, and Lu Ye put down his phone. He gathered his courage and shot a fierce glare at Haunter.
"What are you staring at?"
"Haunterrrr?"
At that moment, his phone buzzed again. A somewhat familiar ID had left a suggestion.
[Erika: Judging by its look, it seems to really like you!]
Lu Ye thought for a long time but couldn't remember who this ID belonged to.
[Teacher Lu: You call this 'liking'? It clearly wants my body!]
[Teacher Lu: (Video)]
In the video, a Haunter, made up entirely of dark mist, stared at him with big eyes, happily licking the sharp-jawed young man with its tongue.
Teacher Lu wiped the drool off his face and shouted at Haunter, "Quit licking, give me a smile!"
Haunter froze for a second, then floated happily over to the camera, blocking the view with its bulging eyes.
Viridian City, Kanto.
In the Viridian Gym, Red couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey, focus on training!"
The young man with chestnut-brown hair and a pendant on his chest sat cross-armed on his massive Rhyperior's shoulder. "What's got you grinning like that?"
"Just found a new battle streamer," Red said with a smile, holding his phone. "Looks like he's trying to raise a Gengar from scratch."
Green hopped down from Rhyperior's shoulder, glanced at the video on Red's phone, and nodded lightly. "This Haunter has decent potential."
Red looked up in surprise at Green. Professor Oak had once said Green's specialty was "nurturing," allowing him to unlock the full potential of a Pokémon. If even Green thought so, then this Haunter was definitely worth training.
"He's a game streamer, right?" Green shrugged. "Why not just watch the Master Championship matches live instead?"
"It may be a game, but his command skills are way better than most Master Trainers." Red smiled. "And isn't Lysandre Labs' virtual imaging tech already being used in games? Who knows, before long, we might be able to battle online!"
"Hmph." Green's eyes sharpened, and he smirked. "Even if it's just a game, I won't lose to you!"
Haven't you lost enough already?
Red chuckled awkwardly. "Anyway, let's get back to training!"
Buzz buzz—
Just then, his phone vibrated. Red glanced down at the chat and smiled, "He actually caught the Haunter."
Crossing his arms, Green suddenly said, "Invite me to that group."
"What?"
"I'm just bored; it'll pass the time."
"...You don't even watch streams."
"Just do it, will you?"
"Fine, fine. No need to snap."
"You wanna fight?"
"Does that include attacking Trainers? Pikachu, go!"
"Rhyperior, Earthquake!"
Late at night, encountering a ghost gives you three options:
A. Pretend not to see it and calmly walk out of the elevator.
B. Casually chat with it, commenting on how naive today's Trainers are.
C. As long as you've got guts, ghosts will go on vacation.
So Lu Ye chose option D—
"You dare haunt me? I invoke the power of the Heavenly Dragon and the Earthly Bodhisattva… Eat my Poké Ball!"
Ghost Pokémon like Haunter often appeared in horror movies, but essentially, they were just Pokémon and scientifically explained. Thus, Haunter followed the basic Pokémon rules, turned into a flash of red light, and disappeared into the Poké Ball after shaking three times.
Lu Ye sighed in relief as he picked up the Poké Ball from the floor.
"Keeping a Haunter, huh. Well, could be interesting, I guess," Lu Ye murmured with a weird look. "I mean, Gengar's kinda cute… right?"
In anime, Gengar might be cute, but in real life—He released Haunter, and out of the black mist emerged those big white eyes and a gaping mouth revealing sharp teeth.
Haunter floated happily behind him, casting a shadow over his head, and laughed maniacally.
"Haunterrr haunter!"
Lu Ye looked up, staring right into Haunter's gaping mouth and sharp teeth as it narrowed its eyes and stuck out a long, red tongue.
Haunter: (⊙~⊙)
Sllluuurp
Lu Ye wiped the slobber off his face. "… It's kinda cute."
[Congratulations, Host! Achievement unlocked: 'It's Gotta Be You!']
[Achievement Description: Capture any starter Pokémon. Reward: 500 BP]
[Remaining BP: 720]
Looking closely, Haunter was just a dark fog with two giant eyes, within Lu Ye's tolerable range. Although his plans to raise an Eevee had failed, he now had a new path as a horror game streamer (crossed out).
Plus, he could use Haunter to prank girls at night.
"Haunterrr haunter!"
Haunter happily floated in mid-air as the elevator lights flickered back on. As the elevator ascended, Lu Ye recalled Haunter and began to contemplate.
"If it evolves into Gengar, its battle power would be pretty strong."
"Wait, why do I even need battle power?"
"Well, Haunter could always be the mascot for my livestream…"
[You have a new message]
[Battle Legend has added 'Green' to the chat group]
"What? Green?"
Startled by the notification, Lu Ye looked at Green's profile in utter confusion.
"This guy… could it really be Kanto's Champion, known as the 'Nurturing Legend'?"
No way—it really is him! In the special series, Green had taken over as the Viridian Gym Leader and within less than a year raised a team averaging level 70.
Grinding NPCs every day seems less intense in comparison!
Lu Ye could only think, That's some dedication!
After Lu Ye posted that video, the group chat turned to discussing how to raise Haunter.
"Teacher Lu, are you aiming for a Poison-focused Gengar?"
"No, I think it's better if Gengar focuses on the Ghost type!"
"No, why do you keep saying 'No'?"
"…"
[Group Member 'Green' has shared a file]
[Raising Guide for Haunter.txt]
"Wow, he really is a legend!"
"Even Green is a fan of Teacher Lu!? I'm blown away!"
"That's professionalism.jpg!"
After posting the file, Green went back to lurking, hiding his prowess.
Lu Ye looked at the shared document in the chat with a complex expression. If it's a training manual by Green, the "Nurturing Legend," its expertise and accuracy were undoubtedly top-notch.
After an intense internal debate, Lu Ye sighed deeply.
"I never wanted to be a Trainer…"
Then, he opened [Raising Guide for Haunter.txt].