Chapter 42: Poor Hospitality
[Spectacular Prediction! BP +50]
[Successful 'Substitute-Protect-Toxic' Strategy! BP +50]
[...]
[Victory Achieved! Rating: Absolutely Stunning! (BP +100)]
[Remaining BP: 470]
Gaining over 400 BP from a single battle was beyond Lu Ye's expectations. He had thought for sure that Gastly was going to lose, but who would've thought that Swellow would be so underwhelming?
"Could it be… that my training is just too good?" Lu Ye rubbed his chin, mumbling to himself.
Swellow's trainer, Jiang Yun, was completely shaken.
"How can it keep using Protect over and over?" Jiang Yun muttered. "My teacher never taught me it could be played like this!"
Reporters swarmed in, camera flashes flickering wildly, and microphones were shoved right in Lu Ye's face.
"Can you share how you're feeling right now?"
"We heard you're also a popular Pokémon battle streamer! Any insights to share?"
"Teacher Lu! My daughter is a huge fan of yours!"
Since the quarterfinals hadn't wrapped up yet, Lu Ye managed to slip away with Gastly, retreating into the players' tunnel.
"So I'm in the top 4 already?" Lu Ye scratched his head.
"Did I even train that much…?"
The next match was about to begin, featuring someone Lu Ye had met before—Feng Shu. Having watched Lu Ye's entire battle, Feng Shu had gained a much deeper understanding of his 'Substitute-Protect-Toxic' strategy.
"As expected of Teacher Lu," Feng Shu muttered. "Coming to a tournament like this just to bully kids… and even holding back Gastly's evolution on purpose… Yeah, that's totally his style!"
Most trainers couldn't wait for their Pokémon to evolve as soon as possible, hoping to gain an edge in future battles. But Teacher Lu? He had Gastly holding an Everstone. Feng Shu couldn't think of any reason other than Teacher Lu having absolute confidence in himself.
"If I remember correctly, he only caught Gastly recently, right?" Feng Shu was puzzled.
"Yet in less than 2 months, it's already trained this well… Could it be that Teacher Lu is actually a breeder too?"
Shaking his head, Feng Shu refocused his attention. If he could make it to the top 4 and challenge Teacher Lu himself, that would be a huge win.
The last match of the evening featured Feng Shu's Ivysaur against a vicious-looking Crobat with razor-sharp fangs. This Crobat had been trained exceptionally well and had even mastered the 80-base-power move "Leech Life" ahead of schedule.
However, Feng Shu had learned from the best—his mastery of the Leech Seed and Sleep Powder combo was flawless. The two Pokémon fought fiercely, their HP bars practically swapping places. In the end, Ivysaur barely managed to clutch the victory.
The quarterfinals were over.
News of Lu Ye advancing to the semifinals shook the entire grade. His phone buzzed nonstop, and even Zhai Wenyao, the coach he had met previously, sent another invitation to join the school team.
At the same time, Lu Ye was busy rejecting another offer. This one was from the organizers of the Piplup Cup, offering him a contract that included an annual 100,000 training fund, free equipment, Pokéblocks, and more. But it wasn't remotely tempting for Lu Ye.
Besides, there were a lot of hidden clauses in the contract—there was no way the champion's contract would be the same as a semifinalist's. Lu Ye had no intention of becoming a full-time trainer, so signing wasn't even on the table.
The other 3 semifinalists were Feng Shu, Han Xiaoxiao, and Lü You from Zhejiang University. Out of the 3, 2 were Lu Ye's fans.
"This isn't a semifinal," Lu Ye muttered, his expression unreadable. "This is a damn viewer battle!"
"If I lose to a fan… wouldn't that be super embarrassing?"
Rubbing his chin, Lu Ye mumbled, "No way. I need to get Gastly some more training!"
After the match against Swellow, a faint white glow had already started to shimmer around Gastly's body—only to be suppressed by the Everstone. With the evolution data that Blue had provided, plus Lu Ye's high-quality Pokéblocks, evolution was just a matter of time.
Back home, Gastly took off the Everstone it had tied to its forehead, letting out a relaxed sigh. Meanwhile, Lu Ye sat down at his computer, brainstorming his next video.
His current subscriber count? 970,000.
For just 3 videos to reach that level of popularity was practically unheard of. Lu Ye had a lot of ideas for his "Teacher Lu Teaches You Battle" series—things like Anger Point teams, Spikes teams, and Weakness Policy Sandcastles.
But without enough footage, he couldn't produce anything high-quality. And then, there was the new system mission pushing him to branch out.
[Mission: "I'm Not an All-Rounder Content Creator"]
[Objective: Reach the #1 spot in any video category ranking (excluding gaming).]
[Reward: 2000 BP, Random Skill Lv3, Random Purple Item x1]
[Note: This mission is repeatable.]
"This is supposed to be a Trainer Development System… and yet this mission is so off-track."
Lu Ye twitched at the corners of his mouth but still nodded.
"Well, it's not a bad fit for me."
He was still debating which category to try. The Battle Zone was dominated by legends like Red. The Music and Dance categories were way too competitive. After some thought, Lu Ye realized he had no choice but to mix things up in the Lifestyle category.
"At least I can improve my meals in the process."
After several attempts, Lu Ye's Cooking Lv1 had officially leveled up.
[Cooking Lv2: Greatly improves your culinary skills, including knife work, heat control, etc. (With your skills, opening a restaurant would be a breeze.)]
Although Lv3 was required to reach a Michelin-star level, being a food content creator would be a piece of cake.
"Gastly, come help me out!" Lu Ye called from the kitchen.
Gastly floated over obediently, curiously watching Lu Ye's movements.
"Steam the potatoes for 20 minutes and turn off the heat for me. I'll prep the oven!"
Tonight's dish? The crispy roasted pork from Food Wars!
Lu Ye mashed golden, fluffy potatoes with sautéed mushrooms and onions, wrapped them in bacon, tied them up with string, and garnished with rosemary and other herbs.
"Gastly, pop it in the oven for 30 minutes!"
"Gar~!" Gastly slurped up some drool, using its ghostly mist to carefully place the dish inside.
Sizzle—
The rich aroma of red wine and butter filled the air as Lu Ye reduced the sauce to a deep, glossy red. Gastly took a deep inhale, staring longingly at the food.
Ding!
The roast was ready. Gastly immediately opened the oven, and a mouthwatering meat fragrance burst forth. Lu Ye plated it neatly, drizzling the deep red sauce over the crispy bacon-wrapped potato.
Adding a sprig of rosemary for the finishing touch, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad at all."
"Gar~ (¯﹃¯)"
"Want to try?"
"Gar!" Gastly nodded furiously.
"Careful, it's hot," Lu Ye said as he set up his tripod.
"From now on, you are the first-ever Pokémon food blogger!"
Grinning wide, Gastly floated in front of the camera, using its ghostly mist to hold up the plate. After blowing on the food, Gastly tentatively licked some sauce—its eyes immediately lit up.
"Gar~www!"
Though a knife and fork were neatly placed nearby, Gastly had no use for such things—it just opened its massive mouth and chomped down nearly half the dish. The entire room was filled with an incredible aroma. Lu Ye couldn't help but swallow.
"Well?"
Gastly didn't answer—its cheeks were stuffed full, eyes closed in pure bliss, sauce dripping from the corners of its mouth.
Gastly: (′▽`〃)
Curious, Lu Ye took a small bite himself. His eyes instantly widened. For a moment, it was as if he saw a herd of Tauros galloping into the sunset, red wine aging in an oak cellar, and himself and Gastly sitting in an open field, lazily enjoying the breeze.
"Exquisite!"
"Gar!" Gastly turned back from its plate, sauce all over its face, grinning ear to ear.
At that very moment—a brilliant white light burst forth from Gastly's body!