Chapter 34: Poison Gem
"Whoa! Brother Lu is amazing!" Liang Dayou shouted loudly.
Tian Youwei swallowed hard in disbelief.
Brother Lu actually made it to the quarterfinals?
Even though the Piplup Cup was a beginner-level competition, it was still an officially recognized municipal-level tournament! Since its inception, no non-professional contestant had ever made it to the quarterfinals. And now, Lu Ye had accomplished this incredible feat?!
Thinking about it, Tian Youwei, who had always aspired to become a Trainer, couldn't help but feel a little envious. But when he saw the close bond between Lu Ye and his Gastly, he shook his head.
Brother Lu must have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes, the kind of effort others don't see. Instead of envying others, it's better to focus on improving oneself.
"Brother Lu is amazing!" Tian Youwei joined Liang Dayou in cheering.
The arena was abuzz with excitement.
A non-professional like Lu Ye actually made it to the quarterfinals of the Piplup Cup? Who exactly was this Lu Ye?
Feng Shu, who had also made it to the quarterfinals, observed the entire match from the audience. He couldn't help but marvel.
"Starting from the qualifying rounds, this Gastly's growth rate has been insane."
Feng Shu murmured, "As expected of Teacher Lu—even his Pokémon training is so insightful!"
On the sidelines, reporters who had been itching to move rushed forward.
"How does it feel as a finance student to make it to the quarterfinals?"
"Lu Ye, could you share some insights on training Gastly?"
Hearing the questions, Lu Ye paused for a moment and then answered seriously.
"With love."
The reporters were stunned for a moment before quickly jotting down notes in their notebooks. At the same time, Lu Ye waved to his two roommates in the audience and headed toward the player's tunnel.
Inside the player's tunnel.
"Brother Lu, that was incredible! You actually won!" Liang Dayou was still in shock.
"Not too bad."
Lu Ye sighed helplessly, knowing he'd have to get up early next weekend.
"It's all thanks to Gastly's extraordinary performance today!"
"Gengarrr!"
Gastly floated above Lu Ye's head, proudly nodding.
"You're the first non-Pokémon major student to ever make it to the Piplup Cup quarterfinals!"
Tian Youwei swallowed again.
"Our class group chat is exploding right now!"
Lu Ye opened his phone to see countless notifications—99+ messages. Even his counselor and professors had sent him messages.
[Counselor]: Whoa, you've got this, kid!
[Instructor Xiao]: Remember to bring a copy of your honor certificate next week; we'll need it for the scholarship application.
[Professor Chen from Economics]: Congratulations, Lu Ye.
[...]
Lu Ye, who usually had a good relationship with his teachers, responded to each message. Then, he checked the class group chat.
"Brother Lu made it to the Piplup Cup quarterfinals!"
"No way, really? Brother Lu is awesome!"
"I knew our Class Rep Lu would win!"
Lu Ye was puzzled.
Was making it to the quarterfinals of a beginner-level tournament really worth all this excitement?
Then he reconsidered—it might be like a non-athlete outrunning professional track athletes.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Lu Ye sighed quietly.
You might not believe this, but Gastly secretly signed me up for this tournament!
"Brother Lu, we owe you one."
Liang Dayou nudged Lu Ye. "We got so many girls' contact info!"
Lu Ye: ?
I'm over here battling, and you two are off flirting with girls?
Tian Youwei exclaimed, "The moment you waved at us, girls immediately started coming over."
Lu Ye was surprised. "Really? That straightforward?"
"One of them, Han Xiaoxiao, also made it to the quarterfinals. She even said she's a fan of yours, Teacher Lu."
Tian Youwei's expression was strange. "Brother Lu, could she be one of your livestream fans?"
Lu Ye looked up at the sky.
Given his current popularity, it would be more unusual for no one to recognize him at such a competition.
But it didn't matter. Lu Ye wasn't some big celebrity who needed to avoid fans.
"I'll pass her on to you."
Tian Youwei fiddled with his phone. "She seems to be from our Modu University-affiliated high school but already has a guaranteed spot at our university."
"Kids these days develop so fast; you'd never guess she's a senior in high school!"
Lu Ye laughed. "I won't add her. Just make sure to scout her tactics for me!"
Tian Youwei's eyes lit up. "Got it!"
Back home, Lu Ye checked his system.
[Remaining BP: 2050]
This battle earned Lu Ye 200 BP, not as much as uploading a video, but still a decent gain. Reflecting on the match, what surprised Lu Ye most was Gastly swallowing Nidorino's Poison Sting.
But since Gastly had a quadruple resistance to poison, Nidorino's Poison Sting might even count as a snack. With Gastly's current strength, it was definitely time to start exploring Toxic moves.
Rubbing his chin, Lu Ye glanced worriedly at the lively Gastly.
Last time, training Will-O-Wisp set the house on fire. If training Toxic went wrong this time...
Despite the risks, Gastly's progress couldn't stagnate. After some hesitation, Lu Ye opened the system shop.
[Spend 2000 BP to exchange for "Toxic Gem"?]
Although a ten-pull might randomly yield a Toxic Gem, Lu Ye, with his poor luck, opted for a direct purchase.
[Exchange successful! Remaining BP: 50]
The Toxic Gem, like the Fire Gem, was brimming with energy and could be directly absorbed by Gastly. Since the gem had a sturdy shell and wasn't radioactive, Lu Ye didn't need to worry about toxicity leaks.
[Toxic Gem: A dark purple gem containing highly toxic metal elements, perfect for Poison-type Pokémon. (Just go for it, buddy!)]
Taking out the amethyst-like, sinisterly radiant Toxic Gem from the system inventory, Lu Ye clicked his tongue in wonder.
"No wonder Steven travels the world digging for stones; they're undeniably beautiful!"
Gastly drooled at the sight of the Toxic Gem in Lu Ye's hand.
"Gengarrr (¯﹃¯)"
Lu Ye handed the Toxic Gem to Gastly. "Make sure to call me when you train with it. No sneaky solo adventures!"
Gastly's eyes sparkled as it grabbed the gem, nodding confidently.
"Humhumhum!" (Leave it to me!)
Holding the gem in its mouth, Gastly floated to the desk, carefully opened a drawer with its tongue, and took out the Toxic Insights guidebook. Placing it on the desk, Gastly grinned at Lu Ye.
Gastly: (๑´∀`๑)
Lu Ye couldn't help but smile.
The Piplup Cup quarterfinals would kick off next Wednesday. Before that, there would be pre-match hype.
Calculating the timeline, Lu Ye figured the finals would coincide with the end of the semester.
"Time to buckle down and review seriously," Lu Ye sighed.
"And for the Piplup Cup—I've made it this far; I might as well give it my all!"
Do it right or don't do it at all—that was Lu Ye's motto.
However, just as Lu Ye picked up his textbooks, ready to study with Gastly, his phone buzzed. A notification popped up from someone special on Line:
[Cabbage Ice Cream: Log in. Let's game.]