Chapter 354: Chapter 354

Luckily, it was just a false alarm. The system assured him with concern: The items it provided came with zero side effects. Lu Ye responded, “Yeah right, I believe your bllsht.” Baldness was simply the necessary price of becoming stronger. Just look at Blastoise’s forehead... talk about shiny! Now that’s the aura of a true powerhouse!

“Hm... Looks like being a mere Black Belt Rank 9 hasn’t made me bald yet.” Lu Ye gazed up at the sky. As for Ash, who wore a hat every single day, who knew how long it would be before his hairline started receding... Just poking fun, really. Who knows, maybe the Ultimate Rookie’s physique was immune to something as trivial as male pattern baldness.

The award ceremony in Modu had wrapped up. Lu Ye planned to get some sleep and board Lt. Surge’s Aqua Stream in the morning, heading back to Saffron City. He needed to get ready for his trip to Galar in a few days. Before that, taking a short break at home didn’t sound too bad…

That night, the sky was clear and the stars were sparse. Back again in familiar Modu. Gengar rose from the shadows with a cryptic grin, shining a flashlight on his own face. “Gengaaa~!” Sylveon wiggled her ribbon and squinted her eyes. “Bui~!” Time for a night operation!

Gengar grabbed six Poké Balls, dropped by the villa district first, and scooped up all the Meowths. Then he swung by the Modu Gym. Upon seeing the “Closed” sign hanging on the door, he sighed in disappointment. “Gengaaa…” Oh well, guess I’ll come back tomorrow morning!

The sky was turning a pale shade of white. After clearing the dungeon with his team, Gengar stretched and chuckled slyly. “Gengaaa~~” Another day of carrying the burden for his Trainer!

Saturday, January 9th. With the release of the Bilibili Top 100 Creators Award Ceremony video, everyone who clicked on the video wore the same stunned expression.

Trainer Tang Hui lost to Gym Leader Ji in the exhibition match — which wasn’t the big surprise. The shocker was that Lu-sensei, randomly picked for “entertainment value,” absolutely demolished Gym Leader Ji? And then there was the Shokugeki battle, where Lu-sensei casually whipped up a glowing plate of egg fried rice.

The video’s comment section was flooded with posts like: “Lu-sensei’s the real deal!”

But beyond the flashy battles... People gradually accepted the fact that Lu-sensei was a Master Trainer. After all, to possess such tactical depth and beat so many strong opponents in simulated battles... If he were really just a regular student at Modu University, it’d be hard to buy.

“I knew it from the start — Lu-sensei was no ordinary student!” “What gets me is… he swept Gym Leader Ji with a newly bred team?” “Holy sh*t, his breeding ability is off the charts!”

Suddenly, universities from all over were sharpening their spears, ready to throw out olive branches. But given that Lu Ye was already employed at Yuhong University, the #1 ranked university worldwide… Even offering a higher salary wouldn’t necessarily be enough. Especially since he had indie game developer status — he probably wouldn’t accept anyway.

The other university principals could only look longingly at Principal Du Yuanshan of Modu University. Du Yuanshan, however, was just as bewildered. “Lu Ye’s a Master Trainer?” “I was just throwing that out there... didn’t think it’d actually be true?!”

Looking over Lu Ye’s perfectly ordinary personal file, Du Yuanshan sighed. “This kid… even I got fooled by him!”

Meanwhile, Director Song Pengcheng of Modu Alliance was unfazed. He had already had his suspicions back when Lu Ye met with Cynthia. “Master Trainer?” Song muttered as he looked at the online comments. “Y’all are still underestimating him…”

Currently, Lu Ye’s official registration with the Pokémon League listed him as a Professional Trainer. And interrupting the life of a Master Trainer unnecessarily would be... unwise.

Lu Ye himself hadn’t been affected by the buzz at all. Although, oddly enough, his reputation points did seem to be ticking up again.

At that moment— Lu Ye was standing on the deck of Aqua Stream, Lt. Surge’s boat, watching the vast blue ocean and rolling waves. He was mentally reviewing the gains from this Modu trip.

The Top 100 Creator’s mini trophy was tucked away in Gengar’s “treasure box.” Good to pull out and stroke now and then. For Duck Duck, this trip had been a massive level-up. After all... he’d even gotten his exclusive item, the Leek!

Victory!! “Quack!” Sirfetch’d stood proudly on the deck, filled with righteous energy. Finally, no more fear of being turned into stew~!

Lu Ye glanced at the plump, snow-white Sirfetch’d. Now that they had a new Leek, the emergency rations might taste even better. The old one was poisoned; this one had a much cleaner crunch...

Lastly, his skills [Ancient Language] and [Close Combat] had each gone up one level. Thanks to Ancient Language Lv5, he now had complete knowledge of ruin-related questions.

“Gengaaa~!” As Lu Ye was lost in thought, Gengar suddenly leapt out and gave him a big lick. He could dodge — but there was no need.

Lu Ye had already prepped a Kazan Senbei, bit into it with a crisp crunch. “Gengaaa!” Gengar pulled out a shiny metal badge.

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes. His expression turned complicated. “You went this morning?” Gengar grinned and nodded.

Since the Modu Gym had been closed the previous night, Gengar made a special trip back in the morning. It had taken some effort, but honestly, it was a breeze!

Lu Ye looked at the Modu Badge in his hand, nearly tearing up with sympathy. You’ve had a hard time… Gym Leader Tang!

The sunset bathed all of Vermilion City in a golden-orange hue. Lt. Surge jumped off the deck and crossed his arms. “Whew~ finally back!”

“Thank you, Mr. Lt. Surge,” Brock said politely. “Haha, no big deal!” Lt. Surge waved it off.

Lu Ye climbed onto Arcanine, smiling. “Well then, I’ll head back to Saffron City first.” Lt. Surge replied, “Guess next time we meet’ll be when the Quartz Conference kicks off?” Lu Ye: “Shut up!”

After parting ways, Brock returned to the Vermilion Gym, muttering to himself, “Once I’m done handling challengers… I’ll issue my own challenge to Lu-sensei.”

Lt. Surge’s words had reminded Brock of something: Lu-sensei likely hadn’t collected all his badges yet — which was why he reacted so strongly to the Quartz Conference.

And considering Lu-sensei’s personality, He probably wouldn’t be comfortable just walking into Pewter City for a Gym challenge.

But after watching his battle with Gym Leader Ji, Even calm and steady Brock found himself fired up. Squinting toward the orange sunset, Brock’s eyes gleamed.

He wanted a full-on battle with Lu-sensei! Win or lose — At least it would prove that his path as a Trainer hadn’t hit a wall!

When that day came, he’d hand over the Badge to Lu-sensei personally…

Brock nodded quietly. Because of his younger siblings, he was often held back in his training. But squinting slightly, he stepped forward lightly toward the Pewter Gym.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Lu Ye returned to his home in Saffron City, letting out a lazy yawn.

“Bui~” Sylveon leapt lightly onto the sofa and curled up into a ball. Togepi rolled a full circle across the carpet, grabbed the handheld console on the floor, and came back to life with full HP. “Duuui~! (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ”

Blastoise quietly retracted into his shell — as always, the embodiment of safety. Arcanine lay sprawled on the floor, his fiery red mane radiating warmth like a cozy fireplace. “Gengaaa~!” Gengar wielded a feather duster, flitting around cleaning the house.

Lu Ye chuckled helplessly and got up to prep dinner for the little ones.

“Sirfetch’d, lend me a few leek leaves!” “Quaaack???”