Chapter 341: Chapter 341

Back at his home in Saffron City, Blastoise first used Aura to scan the house.

“Ka-meh!” After confirming there were no ambushes inside, Blastoise nodded cautiously. Teacher Lu was left speechless.

The winter sun was warm — perfect weather for sunning blankets. Instead of using a dryer, Lu Ye and Gengar spread the blankets out to dry in the courtyard.

On the lawn, greenish-yellow grass was dotted with a few clusters of orchids. “Ka-meh…” Wearing sunglasses and holding a Squirtle-shaped watering can, Blastoise tended the flowers with one hand while balancing in a single-hand push-up stance.

Lu Ye twitched at the corner of his forehead. It felt like... after evolving, Blastoise’s big boss aura had only gotten stronger!

From there, you could see the second-floor balcony stretching outward. Little Togepi had found a new companion — At the moment, it was leaning against Arcanine, happily playing games while kicking its tiny feet.

“Chagi Doo-yi~~(oﾟ▽ﾟ)o” “Awooo~” Arcanine opened its big mouth to "swallow" Togepi, then immediately pretended to doze off.

“Doo-yi?” Togepi looked around, confused. Arcanine sneaked a glance and flashed a wise, mischievous grin.

Meanwhile in the courtyard, Sirfetch’d looked toward the ferocious Blastoise.

In the dead of winter, Sirfetch’d swung its leek and continued today's training...

After drying the blankets, Lu Ye gave them a satisfied look. Then he turned back to glance at Sirfetch’d — and froze.

Who the heck are you? Why are you training with Gengar?!

“Sigh... The team’s lost its way. It’s getting harder and harder to manage...” Lu Ye let out a long sigh.

As for Blastoise’s new water tank, Teacher Lu had already commissioned a custom build. Since Blastoise’s size had more than doubled, the amount of Mystic Water needed had naturally doubled too.

Technically, a regular Water Stone could have worked. But after the whole World Tree trip, Lu Ye decided he ought to properly reward his Blastoise.

Blastoise's base of operations had also moved from the bedroom to the living room. With the steady, dependable Blastoise around, Teacher Lu no longer had to worry about being attacked at night...

“Being attacked at night... wouldn’t that actually be great?” Lu Ye muttered to himself as he returned to the second-floor balcony.

Lying back on a lounge chair next to Togepi, He casually glanced at his system interface. Little Mew’s online time had already reached 48 hours…

Even more hardcore than Steven!!

“Well, at least I don't have to worry about it keeling over...” Lu Ye murmured, opening the group chat.

The disturbance caused by the World Tree had been noticed by the group’s heavy-hitters too.

After some curious questioning from Gold, Steven casually dropped a few keywords:

Double evolution of Squirtle

In an instant, everyone had mixed reactions.

“This... This is a really big deal, right?” Yellow whispered.

Lt. Surge’s face grew serious. Saving the World Tree... That was the real strength of a true mentor?

“Man, that’s terrifying,” Lt. Surge clicked his tongue.

Green frowned, lost in thought. This wasn’t something you could just brush off with "pretty amazing."

Even Red and Silver had only ever faced Arceus as a test from a god. But the withering of the World Tree would have endangered the entire Kalos region — It might have even alerted guardian deities from other regions.

If that had happened...

"Teacher Lu," Green exhaled deeply, "Thank you for accompanying Ash on this mission. It must’ve been hard on you."

Red realized the chain reaction behind the event too. Thank goodness Steven and Teacher Lu had been there.

But still, Red sighed quietly. Wanting to battle Lu Ye... might now require an even longer recovery period afterward.

A man to be respected — and feared. Silver’s eyes flickered slightly as he made that judgment internally.

For some reason, Silver thought of his own missing father. He'd heard rumors that Team Rocket was undergoing a reformation...

Many former Rocket members and poachers had been arrested. But as for the man lurking in the darkness — Even Lance hadn’t dared to conduct a thorough investigation.

Can I trust you... Father? Silver sighed quietly.

Meanwhile, Blue posted:

【I don’t even dare say anything right now.jpg】

"Feels like my Squirtle and Teacher Lu’s aren’t even the same species!"

Breeder Green replied calmly:

"Maybe you just don't understand breeding."

"Maybe." Blue smiled sweetly. "I don’t understand breeding, and you don’t understand women."

“...” Green was instantly "defeated."

"That exchange was a perfect one-for-one trade!"

【Group member 'Gold' has been muted for 12 hours by admin 'Green'.】

“Hahaha, porcupine-head, why do you keep getting sent to time-out?” Lt. Surge laughed, wildly mocking.

【Group member 'Lt. Surge' has been muted for 12 hours by admin 'Red'.】

“No wonder they’re called Pallet Town’s Twin Stars…” Sabrina chuckled softly.

Teacher Lu came online, scrolled up through the chat history, and typed:

“It actually wasn’t as serious as Steven made it sound.”

"Teacher Lu saved me too!"

The Bonded One. Brock noticed Ash’s newly updated group title and nodded.

Ash smiled bashfully, clenching his fists, his eyes burning with determination.

“This time, at the Hoenn League, I won’t embarrass Teacher Lu!”

Lu Ye shrugged. Eh, whether you embarrass me or not doesn’t matter... It’s not like you’re winning the championship anyway.

“Oh, by the way,” Lu Ye asked the group’s resident Pokémon doctor, Brock, “What medicines can I use for Blastoise?”

"Full Restores not enough?"

Brock thought for a moment. "Then you could try a traditional herbal remedy — Revival Root. It’s pricey, but if you grind it into powder and brew it into tea, it can have a really strong nourishing effect."

"But herbal medicine is really bitter, and might hurt your Pokémon’s intimacy."

"That’s not an issue," Lu Ye said. "My Blastoise... has a cautious personality and actually prefers bitter things."

Immediately, Lu Ye’s mind conjured the image of Blastoise sitting there with a steaming cup of bitter tea, leisurely blowing on it...

D***, that’s too vivid!!

Basking in the warm sun, lounging in his chair, idly chatting in the group, and occasionally warming his hands by rubbing Arcanine — Lu Ye sighed happily, "What a perfect afternoon..."

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Steven messaged privately:

"Teacher Lu, according to our schedule, the thank-you gift I prepared for you should be arriving soon."

"A thank-you gift?" Lu Ye’s heart tensed up. You little punk — what weird stunt are you trying to pull now?

At the same time, a black sedan pulled up in front of the villa.

Surrounded by several stern-looking bodyguards, A butler wearing white gloves approached the front door, holding a wooden box.

When Lu Ye came out to greet him, The butler solemnly handed over the box.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lu Ye... This is a special gift prepared personally by our company president. We hope you’ll be pleased."

Lu Ye blinked, stunned. He had gotten quite a few stones from Steven before.

If it was just another Dusk Stone or Life Orb, he could accept that.

But knowing Steven’s personality... There was a real chance he might send a Mega Stone.

Lu Ye accepted the box, curious as he opened it.

"Did your president tell you what’s inside?" he asked.

"Of course." The butler, watching Lu Ye’s expression closely, became even more respectful.

This was... A Trainer worth befriending with a Mega Stone.

"According to President Steven—"

Looking into the box, Lu Ye saw a brilliant blue gemstone gleaming inside, sparkling like pure sapphire.

His face instantly went pale.

"This was specially prepared for you," the butler said.

"The Blastoise Mega Stone!"