Chapter 345: Chapter 345

The outcome was decided.

Leon sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the screen in front of him.

That kind of command and prediction... even I couldn’t keep up with his pace.

If not for the double Protect, I might’ve lost even more miserably!

Leon closed his eyes, recalling the battle just now.

Using the sandstorm to build layered defense, and sunny weather to pressure with status effects.

Different from the blistering speed of a Rain team.

His Sun-Sand tactic fused with Trick Room elements, giving it even greater dominance...

If I ran into him in the Master League...

Without Dynamax... could I really crack that strategy?

For a moment, Leon fell into deep thought.

Then he shook his head and smiled gently.

It’s not just about making Pokémon stronger.

It’s about constantly deepening a Trainer’s understanding of team systems and battling.

Maybe... this is what Master meant by “training”?

“It’s just a simulated match.”

Mustard hunched over and patted Leon on the shoulder. “Leon-boy, don’t take it too hard.”

“If you really came face-to-face with Lu Ye, it’s not certain you’d lose.”

Leon nodded slightly.

That was the belief of someone who stood as Galar’s Champion.

As long as it’s the Wyndon Stadium, he and Charizard were the strongest Champion duo.

But... Leon stroked his scruffy beard.

If I don’t want to fall behind Teacher Lu in tactics—

I’ve gotta keep learning too.

Mustard’s expression grew emotional. “Lu Ye-boy shut me down again!”

After letting his disciple take over his account, Master Mustard had briefly climbed to world rank #2.

But this time, his dream was shattered once again.

The little old man looked ready to cry: “o(╥﹏╥)o Is it really this hard to get to world #1!?”

Leon chuckled silently.

After growing disappointed with the commercial tournament scene, Master had shifted to running a dojo, passing down his teachings.

And Master himself had moved from Pokémon breeding to focusing more on the growth of Trainers.

Leon fell into thought.

That might just be... the same path Teacher Lu is walking too?

Leon stood up to say goodbye.

“Not staying the night?” Mustard asked with his hands behind his back.

“No,” Leon smiled. “Gotta get back to work!”

After battling Teacher Lu, Leon realized even more clearly—

As a Champion, one must never stop moving forward.

Be strict with yourself, kind to others.

That’s precisely why Leon, as the Champion of Galar, was so deeply respected.

Mustard didn’t try to stop him, smiling as he watched Leon leave.

“Losing to Lu Ye-boy...”

Mustard looked toward the darkness where Leon had vanished and smiled kindly.

“Really isn’t such a bad thing...”

Leon flew on Charizard, soaring over the sea near the Isle of Armor.

His Rotom phone floated beside him, showing Raihan’s annoyed face on screen:

“Couldn’t you just use Rotom’s GPS? Why’d I have to come pick you up!”

“Sorry,” Leon said awkwardly. “Honestly... I’ve never understood how to use navigation.”

“...You.” Raihan sighed. “It’s because you always walk such a straight path that you end up lost so often!”

“Oh yeah.” Raihan suddenly asked, “That Mustard account today... was that you playing?”

Leon nodded through the video call.

“I knew it!” Raihan chuckled, then his expression grew more serious.

“But that guy... actually knows weather teams now?”

“You mean Teacher Lu?”

“Who else could it be!” Raihan sighed.

Even as a specialist in weather teams himself, he had to admit...

Teacher Lu’s execution seemed a notch above his own?

Raihan looked conflicted, shook his head, and cleared his throat.

“Oi! What are you planning next?”

“Heading back to Galar for a bit, check in on the Gym Leaders,” Leon said honestly.

“And then,” Leon lowered his eyes, a faint smile forming.

“Go visit the kids at the hospital.”

Galar’s public hospital was funded by Macro Cosmos, with Leon as its official ambassador.

Most of the logos on his Champion cape came from Galar’s infrastructure programs.

Supporting all of Galar with his own strength... honestly, it wasn’t even an exaggeration.

“Good luck,” Raihan was briefly at a loss for words, waved his hand, and said sincerely:

“Champion of Galar—Mr. Leon!”

Tactical battles... really do take a lot of brainpower.

Not only do you have to calculate all sorts of data, but you also need to predict the opponent’s switches and commands.

Fortunately, the quality of this footage is excellent.

Lu Ye nodded with satisfaction.

At least I won’t have to bully Gold into helping me record material again!

As usual, Teacher Lu ended the stream at lightning speed.

Even with the screen blacked out, plenty of fans were still watching the replay.

“Waiting on tomorrow’s video tutorial!”

“If I don’t see Moe Moe in the next episode, I’m unsubbing!”

“The League Conference is at the end of the month. Don’t tell me Lu’s gonna go crush rookies again, lololol.”

“Classic Lu—heartless as ever!”

After the stream ended—

Lu Ye started reviewing the battle he just had.

That Charizard alone was enough to confirm Leon had been playing.

Without Dynamax, winning wasn’t all that satisfying.

“But still...” Lu Ye rubbed his chin and muttered, “Wouldn’t it be even better with Dynamax?”

As the reigning world champion, Leon had that regional Dynamax buff in Galar.

The official description of Leon: undefeated in all official Pokémon battle tournaments.

As for unofficial matches... well, that’s a different story.

Leon was stronger than Lance… but they were probably evenly matched.

And as everyone knows, Teacher Lu and Lance are fifty-fifty.

According to Game Freak, Leon and Red are tied as the strongest Champions...

Which means—Lu Ye’s eyes widened.

“Does that mean I’m also even with Red!?”

Another absurd addition to the battle power chart!

“Gengarr~︿(￣︶￣)︿” Gengar glanced at the cheerful Lu Ye and spread his hands.

Already used to this, Gengarr!

Last time, it was a fun stream with Cynthia’s casual team.

This time, it was full-on tactical teaching.

Lu Ye gathered the footage, ready to upload the new video, and called out:

“Gengar, make me a cup of coffee!”

Lu Ye sipped the hot coffee while editing the video.

Suddenly, a “ding ding” popped up on his friend list.

Gold: Teacher Lu, let’s battle!

Gold: Just watched the Sun-Sand team—I feel like I can do it too!

I wasn’t even planning to use you for footage this time.

And you came to me on your own!?

Lu Ye: Just so you know, no actor’s fee this time.

Thirty minutes later—

Gold’s avatar went completely gray.

Lu Ye let out a long sigh and took a sip of now-cold coffee.

I didn’t kill Gold—he died because of me!

Then, Teacher Lu reached down and ruffled the napping Sylveon in his lap, grinning cheerfully.

“Buii! (｀皿´)ﾉ” Sylveon jolted awake and bonked Lu Ye in the chest with her little head.

Lu Ye chuckled, but then his smile slowly stiffened.

“Cough... i-internal injuries!”

Another day of danger, peacefully survived.

He finished editing and clicked upload.

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【Click to view: "Teacher Lu Teaches You Battle 13: The Sun-Sand Team"!】