Chapter 194: No Matter How Broke, Education Comes First
Even though Lu Ye's wallet ached, he knew that since Gengar had just evolved, this money needed to be spent… He took a deep breath, calming himself. For the next half hour, Lu Ye watched as Gengar practiced floating up and down, almost like it was going through physical therapy.
Its round, chubby body, composed of shadows and gas, wobbled in the air. At the moment, it was doing the breaststroke along the ceiling, mimicking a swimmer perfectly. "Garrr!" Gengar even imitated the sound of breathing while swimming. Then, taking advantage of air resistance, it flipped onto its back and switched to a backstroke position. Its crimson eyes squinted into crescent moons, its grin widening. "Garrr!"
"It's really working hard to adjust to its new body," Elm sighed in admiration.
Lu Ye rubbed his chin. Why did Gengar's expression… look so familiar? Then, suddenly—it clicked. A classic emoji popped into his mind: a wide, toothy grin. Glancing down at his phone, Lu Ye compared the emoji side by side with Gengar and nodded in approval. "Yeah… this expression really suits Gengar…"
Come to think of it, Gengar was a gold mine for reaction images. On par with derpy Wartortle. When he had time, he should put together a sticker pack to show off in the chat…
Meanwhile, Silver quietly closed his notebook and returned Weavile to its Poké Ball. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly was different—but he made sure to take detailed notes on this man's training methods. Once he got back, he'd analyze it thoroughly.
Silver stood up, his poker face unchanged. "My request is complete. I'll be leaving now." With that, he waved a hand and headed for the door.
Lu Ye called out to him. "I'll walk you out."
Silver had helped him out a lot, and Lu Ye was genuinely grateful. After all, trade evolutions weren't foolproof—there had been cases where they failed. Elm and Silver together had double-secured the process. Now that Gengar's evolution was a success, Lu Ye could finally relax.
Silver paused, staring at Lu Ye for a long moment before speaking in a low voice. "Following me… isn't safe." Recently, Interpol had been highly active. They were trying to use Silver as bait to track down Giovanni. Silver had no intention of dragging others into his mess.
"It's just to the alley," Lu Ye smiled. "Besides, I'm headed that way too."
Hearing that they were going home, Gengar immediately fell from midair—bounced off the floor like a rubber ball—then stood up, hands on hips, grinning proudly. "Garrr!"
Silver sighed. Since it was a gesture of goodwill, refusing would be rude. After a long silence, he rubbed his forehead and muttered, "…Fine."
After saying goodbye to Elm, the two walked toward the alley exit. On the way, Lu Ye asked casually, "By the way… you ever use a messaging app?"
Silver froze for a second, then shook his head blankly.
"Then download one." Lu Ye grinned, collecting another Pokédex holder into the chat group. "Gold and Crystal are already in the group chat!"
Silver frowned. "Not interested." Even though he lived in Johto, Silver always acted alone, rarely contacting Gold. Chat groups and casual conversations were just… not his thing.
"Is that so?" Lu Ye didn't push further. Instead, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, right… Blue is in the group too. She's actually pretty active."
Lu Ye clearly saw Silver's body stiffen for half a second. A moment later, Silver silently took out his phone. Expression blank, he scanned Lu Ye's QR code—then immediately turned away.
Beep—
Lu Ye crossed his arms and chuckled to himself. Judging by Silver's slightly red ears… there was no doubt about it. He was a hardcore sis-con. Poor Giovanni, though. With Silver's quiet, stubborn personality, a father-son reconciliation is still a long way off…
[Group Admin 'Teacher Lu' has invited 'Silver' to the group chat.]
Gold stared in disbelief. Even this guy had joined the group?! Had he… become one of Teacher Lu's fans too?!
Gold: "Welcome, welcome!! Never thought you'd actually use a smartphone, LOL!"
Silver: "…"
Green: "…"
Lance: "…"
At the same time, on Mt. Silver, a man in a red cap suddenly furrowed his brows. Why did he feel like… someone stole his line? Opening the group chat, Red typed his iconic phrase—
Red: "…"
The entire chat fell silent. Gold felt a little awkward now. Luckily, Blue quickly shifted the topic.
Blue: "Teacher Lu, has Haunter evolved?"
Lu Ye: "(Picture) Yeah, looks pretty cute."
Lu Ye snapped a photo of Gengar. In the picture, Gengar was stretching its mouth wide, playfully waving its long tongue up and down.
Green: "Raised exceptionally well." Having been in the group chat for months, Green had personally witnessed Gengar's evolution journey. Even as a Pokémon Breeding Specialist, Green couldn't help but nod in approval.
Erika: "Is Gengar cosplaying as Lickitung?"
Lu Ye: "Sigh… This guy… it loves licking people so much it's practically a passive ability at this point!"
Brock: "Gengar uses Lick as a sign of affection toward its Trainer… Also, its stomach is said to connect to a separate dimensional space and can store a lot of items."
Lu Ye froze. A dimensional space? Wait a minute… Does this mean I could pull a legendary sword out of Gengar's belly someday?! Lu Ye stared at Gengar intensely. Gengar's face paled, and it quickly covered its cheeks with both hands. "Garrr?! Σ(°△°|||)︴"
But soon, Lu Ye realized the real problem. If Gengar has a dimensional stomach… does that mean it can NEVER get full?! What about the food expenses?! His expression twisted into disbelief. How could I forget something so important?! He swallowed hard and tried to reassure himself. "Whatever… The system provides Berries, so I should still be able to afford it… probably."
[System: ??]
Silver wasn't much of a talker, but aside from Blue, he was also on friendly terms with Lance and Green. After acknowledging everyone, he went completely silent.
Meanwhile—Sabrina: "@Teacher Lu, I've started preparing the Psychic Training Guide. Any specific requirements?"
Sabrina's thoughts were simple. Out of everyone in the chat, she was the only one who had figured out Lu Ye's true identity. This shared secret gave her a slight thrill. Besides, since they were both connected to Team Rocket, it was only natural to help each other out.
Lu Ye, feeling financially crippled, replied humbly: "Please try to keep the cost low… I still have other Pokémon to feed…"
Sabrina paused, then immediately understood. Keeping power optimized while balancing cost-efficiency—that was definitely the mindset of a traditional breeder… However—a sly, cold smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. For a true Psychic Master, these were trivial concerns! As one of the strongest Psychic-type Trainers, she had her own exclusive training method for the move Psychic. But of course, since this was her method… it was going to be expensive. Glancing at her rough 1,000,000 Pokédollar estimate, she casually crossed it out and adjusted the price. "5 million… this should be reasonable."
Lu Ye sighed and closed the chat app, his emotions mixed. "...Feels like I won't be paying off my debt to Cynthia anytime soon…" Somehow, no matter what, he always found a way to clear his other debts—except Cynthia's. At this point, was it some kind of curse?!
Lu Ye shook his head and turned to Silver. Since earlier, this guy had been secretly peeking at his phone. From this angle, Lu Ye could faintly see… Silver was scrolling through Blue's profile page.
"Ahem!" Lu Ye deliberately coughed.
Silver smoothly locked his phone, his expression calm as ever. "I'll stop here, Teacher Lu," he said.
Lu Ye smiled and nodded. They had just exited the underground tunnel, arriving back at the narrow alley where they first met. The alley was so tight that only one person could pass at a time. A group of wild Meowth were scrambling for food, but upon seeing humans, they scattered in a panic.
Lu Ye was just about to say goodbye—when suddenly—the exit darkened. Standing at the mouth of the alley was a man in a brown trench coat, his weathered face shadowed against the sunlight. His messy hair spiked slightly forward. Expression stern, the man reached into his coat and pulled out a black badge.
"International Police."
The legendary agent, codename: "Looker."
[Inorin Note:
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