Chapter 14: The Art of Pokéblocks
Three days later, while attending his elective Pokémon Battle Studies, Lu Ye received a system notification.
[Ding—Mission "I Swear I'm Not a Million-View Streamer" Completed!]
[Mission Description: Upload a video that hits a million views]
[Rewards: 1000 BP, 1 random Skill Lv3, 1 random purple-grade item]
"Looks like the video on the Evasion Team just broke a million views," Lu Ye muttered. "At this rate, hitting 100K subscribers for my stream shouldn't be far off, right?"
Lu Ye's stream had been stuck just under the 90K mark for a while now. But thanks to this video gaining traction, it seemed the day Teacher Lu would finally reveal his face on stream was approaching!
Out on the field, plenty of students had paired up for some classic chicken fights—sloppy low-level Pokémon battles. Although Lu Ye was a finance major, he still had to take a fair number of Pokémon-related courses. This elective, Pokémon Battle Studies, was worth 4 credits. The class was basically glorified PE—just showing up and going through the motions.
But Gastly seemed really into battling. It had already pinned down Brother Dayou's Slowpoke and rubbed it into the dirt 5 or 6 times now. From across the field came Brother Dayou's pitiful cry: "Slowpoke! Wake up, Slowpoke!"
Lu Ye sighed. "It's just Hypnosis, not a KO. Why are you screaming like that?"
"Ah… So that's how it works?" Brother Dayou scratched his head.
Beside him, Tian Youwei clicked his tongue in amazement. "D*mn, Brother Lu! You just caught it and it's already this strong?!"
Lu Ye looked a bit conflicted. "What if I told you I didn't even train it—would you believe me?"
"Cut the crap! You're already stronger than most Battle Majors!"
Truth was, Lu Ye had been so busy streaming, he hadn't even gotten around to training Gastly. It trained itself—and had even picked up the move Hypnosis, taking its dirty tricks to the next level.
"Why do I feel like... I'm just a useless bystander," Lu Ye mumbled. "Like, would it even matter if I weren't here?!"
Recalling Gastly, Lu Ye headed over to the edge of the field to check his system.
[BP Remaining: 1570]
[Ding—Pokémon Breeding Studies branch unlocked: Pokéblock Crafting Lv3!]
[Pokéblock Crafting Lv3: You can now craft high-quality Pokéblocks. You have expert knowledge of berry types and properties. Pokéblock crafting success rate +60%. (Teacher Lu's Secret Pokéblocks: Affordable and Filling!)]
[Random Purple Item: Fire Stone]
[Fire Stone: Brimming with fiery energy, it boosts a Pokémon's flame affinity and enhances Fire-type moves. (P.S. It's a one-time-use item, but I didn't tell you that!)]
Staring at the rewards from his million-view video, Lu Ye had mixed feelings. "The random skill is fine, I guess. Pokéblocks are always pricey anyway…"
"But this Fire Stone… I kinda want to sell it for cash!"
The system never said the items couldn't be sold. But Lu Ye, with his shady seller background, figured it was a disaster waiting to happen.
After a long moment of silence, Lu Ye sighed. "Forget it. Gastly already knows Will-O-Wisp—might as well let it mess around with this thing."
Gastly could absorb energy from materials, and this Fire Stone was basically a top-tier supplement for it. With this, maybe Gastly's mastery over Will-O-Wisp would improve even further.
"…Why do I feel like I just took another step toward becoming a Trainer?"
"No, no. I can't go jinxing myself like that. Besides, I'm not cut out to be a real Trainer!"
It had been a week since the Worldline Change. Lu Ye now had a much deeper understanding of what being a Trainer really meant. If "danger" was a key trait, then the biggest one was without a doubt—how expensive it was!
Without spending millions, you couldn't even raise a pseudo-legendary. And tens of millions? That's the price tag for an Elite Four-level Pokémon. To put it bluntly: the more money you burned, the stronger your team.
Even with a system backing him, Lu Ye had zero confidence he could afford to raise a top-tier team. He'd even asked Red about the monthly cost of maintaining his Pokémon:
[Teacher Lu: Hey Boss Red, how much does it cost to keep your team running per month?]
[Battle Legend: …Snorlax is the pricey one. About 2 million a month.]
[Green: 2 million isn't bad.]
[Daisy: What?! Σ(°△°|||)︴ My monthly allowance is only 2K!]
[Green: You've only got a Raticate and a Butterfree. Of course it's cheap.]
[Daisy: （○｀ 3′○）]
[Teacher Lu: Wait, 2 million per team?!]
[Battle Legend: No, 2 million for one Snorlax.]
Lu Ye instantly closed the chat window. Just… what kind of reality were these people living in?!
Being in a group chat with this many rich folks was giving him an anxiety attack.
Putting his phone down, Red turned to Green. "Why'd he suddenly ask about that?"
Green replied, "Probably trying to estimate how much it'd cost to raise Gengar."
Red: "How much did Grandma Agatha spend on hers?"
Green: "Only about fifty million. Not much."
Red: "Sounds about right."
After class, Lu Ye returned to his rental apartment. Aside from tossing the Fire Stone to Gastly, he also planned to experiment with his newly unlocked skill.
[Pokéblock Crafting Lv3: You can now craft high-quality Pokéblocks. You have expert knowledge of berry types and properties. Pokéblock crafting success rate +60%.]
Pokéblocks provided essential nutrition for Pokémon, and some Trainers chose them strategically. For example, Dragonfruit Blocks boost Special Attack, while Scaleseed Blocks boost Speed. Pokéblocks greatly improved the nutritional value of berries—hence their high market price. Everyone knew they came in 4 quality grades: Low, Medium, High, and Perfect.
"A high-quality Pokéblock should go for at least 10K, right?" Lu Ye murmured. "Maybe I should just buy some berries, turn them into blocks, and sell them off?"
The words were barely out of his mouth before he slapped himself. "Have some self-respect!" Lu Ye scolded. "That tiny profit margin? You'd make more standing on the street for one night! Pah! Do I look like someone who lives off his looks?!"
In the end, Lu Ye decided to buy a machine to improve Gastly's meals. A household-grade Berry Blender cost 10K online. After placing the order, Lu Ye was left with only about 5,000 in his account.
"Hsss~!" he hissed, heart aching at the expense.
That evening, a Machamp from the local logistics company carried the blender up to the sixth floor, scaring the landlord half to death.
"Sign here," the delivery guy said.
Lu Ye's mouth twitched as he pointed to the waist-high contraption. "You sure this thing is household-grade?!"
"It's a low-spec version," the guy laughed awkwardly. "Totally understandable!"
The more compact the machine, the pricier it got. That's just how things worked. With 10K, Lu Ye could only afford this ancient relic of a model. The blender's thunderous roar made the landlord think Lu Ye was doing construction work.
Half an hour later… Staring at the translucent cube in front of him, Lu Ye gulped.
[Pokéblock Crafting Lv3 Check—68! Success!]
[Oran Berry Block (High Quality): A basic Pokéblock that restores a Pokémon's stamina. (Taste the rainbow, embrace the rainbow!)]
Oran Berries had a chaotic flavor—sweet, sour, bitter, all depending on luck. But the recovery effect? Undeniably solid.
Gastly snaked out its long crimson tongue and elegantly slurped the Pokéblock into its mouth, eyes squinting with bliss. "Hssss~~~ja!"
Gastly: (′▽`〃)
That lovestruck expression even made Lu Ye a little curious.
"Is it really that good?"
He bit into a Pokéblock. A burst of sweet and sour flavor exploded across his tongue. In his mind's eye, he saw a golden wheat field, a long-haired girl in a straw hat shyly turning around—only to reveal Gastly's horrifying grin.
"Holy sh*t!"
"Hss-ja-hss-ja!"
Gastly happily zipped around Lu Ye in loops.
"Alright, alright, stop clinging to me. I'll make you another batch!"
Gastly: （๑`▽´๑)۶