Chapter 372: Chapter 372

Aunt Lorelei was slightly stunned when she heard that Lu Ye was participating.

"I thought he was just joking..."

She had also watched the exhibition match video between Lu Ye and Leon on YouTube.

Whether it was commanding or tactics— As the Ice-type Elite Four, Lorelei couldn't find a single flaw.

Which meant… if Lu Ye went all out, even she might suffer a crushing defeat.

Letting a master like him join the Quartz Conference...

Lorelei adjusted her red-rimmed glasses. "Mm, no wonder he’s Teacher Lu!"

"How did you know he’s competing?" Green asked.

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Lu Ye, quietly lurking in the chat, let out a long sigh.

That’s it. When I go to Sinnoh, I’m definitely teaching this kid a lesson!

Prosecutor Lance was sipping hot tea in his office today, enjoying a rare retired-officer kind of day.

Scrolling through the chat, something suddenly clicked in Lance’s mind. He blinked.

This guy Lu Ye… Don’t tell me he's planning to win the championship and then challenge me at the Champion League?

That would actually make a lot of sense!

Still, Lance took another sip of tea calmly.

If he really comes to the Champion League to take over as Kanto’s Champion… that wouldn’t be bad.

Red, Green… they all just dropped their duties one by one.

Lance had spent years busting criminals, and even a righteous man needed some rest.

But even if Lu Ye did become Champion, he’d probably be the same type as Steven...

Lance let out a weary sigh.

After the merger, I’ll still have to manage both Kanto and Johto!

“It’s at the Indigo Plateau, right?” Gold said. “I can fly over on Togekiss~!”

“Bokeh!” came Togekiss Taro’s ferocious cry over voice chat.

“Private aircraft are banned during the tournament to avoid interference.”

Silver said coldly, “All these years and you’ve never even made it to the main event, have you?”

“You stole badges to join the tournament!” Gold growled, gnashing his teeth.

This time, Lu Ye didn’t need to intervene—Red muted them both right away.

“I was thinking of registering Teacher Lu through the academy route.”

Erika giggled behind her hand. “Didn’t expect he already signed up.”

Teacher Lu let out a light sigh. “I didn’t expect it either…”

“There’ll be a lot of visitors during the tournament, right?”

Blue’s eyes turned into dollar signs, and she snapped her fingers. “That settles it! I’m setting up a stall at the Quartz Conference!”

“Sis Blue, I’ll be there to support you~” Yellow cheered as always.

“Ahaha, I’ll be bringing a new model of fishing rod too!”

“R-Really?!” Yellow gasped in excitement.

Having been tricked before, Red asked with a sweatdrop, “Are you sure the quality’s fine this time?”

Blue: “Don’t underestimate my professional standards, you b*stard!”

Too bad—I’ve already had the trio start prepping for this sale.

Trying to snatch business from them? Even if Devon’s Zinnia Tzukihara showed up, it wouldn’t work!

“Will there be a livestream?” asked Roxie, the twin-tailed girl from Kanaz City.

“A lot of my students want to watch Teacher Lu battle live.”

Teacher Lu: “I think there will be… If not, I’ll just have Gengar record it on a phone.”

Roxie: 【Pikachu bowing.jpg】

The group chat stayed lively as ever. Lt. Surge messaged Sabrina privately.

“How strong is Teacher Lu’s Mega Evolution?”

Sabrina didn’t reply in words. She sent a picture.

Lt. Surge opened it and saw the ruins of the Saffron Gym. He burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, not much better than Vermilion Gym!”

Lt. Surge quickly deleted the message in a panic. “I did tell you to use a psychic barrier!”

Sabrina rubbed her temples. “Still couldn’t withstand that Blastoise’s aura.”

“???” Lt. Surge froze.

Even Sabrina’s psychic barrier couldn’t hold it?

Thinking back to the match with Brock, where Blastoise handled everything with ease…

A cold sweat slid down Lt. Surge’s temple.

What kind of monster has Teacher Lu raised?!

Lu Ye scrolled through the chat again.

So the entire group… I’m the last to find out I’m entering this tournament?

Scratching his head, Lu Ye stepped out of the Saffron Gym and headed home.

“Gengaarrr~! (￣▽￣)／” Gengar waved at Sabrina.

She crossed her arms and gave a faint nod with a slight smile.

But when she turned around and saw the wrecked Gym behind her, her head started to ache again.

You couldn’t have a proper Gym battle with Lu Ye’s finalized team.

Otherwise… the Gym might literally get demolished!

As the sunset slanted westward, the golden logo atop the Silph Co. building shimmered with light.

In Pokémon: FireRed, Silph Co. housed the hidden Game Freak dev team.

Players controlling Red could battle the dev team’s boss—his strength rivaled even Champion Lance.

Lu Ye thought to himself, The Pokémon Company is following in Nintendo’s footsteps.

If I made a FireRed of my own… Having ‘Teacher Lu’ as a hidden boss in the Pokémon world wouldn’t be impossible...

As for the long-prepared online version of the PTCG—

According to Olive’s report, Pokémon Legends would go live around February.

Right when the Kanto Quartz Conference kicks off.

Teaming up with the Rocket Trio to sell Trainer Cards offline would be perfect cross-promotion.

Lu Ye’s lips curved upward slightly.

One step closer to sugar-daddying the Sinnoh Champion!

“Gengar!” Gengar pulled Sirfetch’d and dashed into the yard for training.

“Togepi~!” Togepi cheered as it followed behind.

“Awooo!!” Arcanine let out a proud howl and sprinted outside.

Lu Ye picked up a knocked-over enamel mug, blew off the dust, and had mixed feelings.

At least the husky has somewhere to burn energy now… Better than wrecking the house.

But really, after so many viewer tournaments...

Teacher Lu didn’t feel much pressure anymore.

He sat down on the couch and casually scooped up Sylveon.

“Brii~” Sylveon turned into liquid and gracefully leapt out of his arms.

“Hmm...” Lu Ye, feeling a little conflicted, opened a video call.

On the screen were his traveling parents.

“Alola!” his father, Uncle Lu, greeted him cheerfully in a straw hat.

“Good evening—did you eat yet?” his mom, Liang Fang, asked with concern.

Lu Ye nodded and cleared his throat. “Mom, Dad… I won’t be coming back for Spring Festival. I’ve got the Quartz Conference.”

“Did you really eat? Bad meal schedules hurt your digestion…” Mom kept fussing.

Dad blinked. “Quartz Conference? What kind of tournament is that?”

If it were the Donghuang League, Lu Yong might’ve known, but the rest were unfamiliar to him.

“Just a viewer tournament.”

Lu Ye murmured, “You two go enjoy your trip. Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright—just let us know ahead when you’re coming back.”

“Remember to eat on time!”

After some more casual chatting, Lu Ye ended the call and looked up at the sky.

Three days until the League Tournament.

He’d just need to check in a day early—arriving at Indigo Plateau on the 24th would do.

It was just west of Viridian City—not far from Saffron.

There was still time to chill at home.

Lu Ye nodded to himself.

“Finish that book I didn’t finish last time.”

At that moment, his phone buzzed.

Inside a villa rented from Caitlin, mythological encyclopedias from various eras lay scattered.

A blonde beauty put down a massive volume and stretched lazily.

“Hahhh...” Cynthia reached out, her fingertips brushing a cool sensation.

“Eevee~” Glaceon curled up on her lap, starting to doze off.

“That’s it for today.”

Cynthia smiled softly.

Her research was done for now, and the League prep was for Looker to worry about.

A rare moment of rest—this was Cynthia’s well-earned holiday.

Lying back on the velvet blanket, she opened her phone and found several unread messages.

One was Caitlin’s invitation to visit the Battle Castle and duel Duchess Karine.

Cynthia’s golden hair fanned out across the bed, her light blue dress thin and airy, her fingers slender and graceful.

“No time right now.” She replied with a smiling emoji. “Once I’m free, I’ll come to Kalos.”

Scrolling down, she found a link from Shauntal.

【Quartz Conference about to begin—Trainers from all regions joining in】

Cynthia paused, then smiled in realization.

“Thanks, Shauntal. I really haven’t been paying attention lately.”

“No biggie~” Shauntal quickly replied. “Just remember to invite me to your wedding!”

Cynthia: 【Garchomp’s death glare.jpg】

Shauntal: 【Gengar grin.jpg】

Lowering her phone, Cynthia stared up at the soft chandelier. After a moment, she rustled out of bed.

“Garchomp, have you seen my game console?”

“Lucario, help me sense it with aura, please~”

Then Cynthia smiled and flexed her fingers.

【Opponent is typing…】

It was Lu Ye’s favorite time again—game time.

But the messages always popped up when he was about to study. It caught him off guard.

He glanced at his watch, then at the deepening night outside.

He was ready for an all-nighter.

“Gengar, make me a cup of coffee!”

“Togepi, have you seen my game console?”

“Forget it… go ahead and play. I’ll use my backup.”

Connecting to team voice chat, Cynthia’s gentle voice came through.

“Best of three?” Lu Ye asked.

While battling with his signature ‘Gengar Perish Song Team’ against Cynthia’s ‘Dragon Dance Garchomp Squad’—

Lu Ye asked curiously, “Why do you have time today?”

“I only have time today,” Cynthia corrected softly, like a little animal. “I have to attend a Champion League meeting tomorrow…”

“So you spend your free time gaming?”

“I spend my free time finding you.”

“As long as you find me, I’ve always got time.”

“Focus!” Cynthia laughed gently. “Your Trick Room is running out!”

“Crap, I got disrupted!”

Luckily, with Lu Ye’s clutch plays, he managed to…

Lose that round anyway.

“D*mn, so close.” Lu Ye sighed.

Cynthia suddenly asked, “Joining the League Tournament soon?”

“You know too?” Lu Ye blinked.

“Shauntal sent me the Quartz Conference notice.”

Cynthia smiled faintly. “I figured you wouldn’t miss a tournament .”

D*mn it, I can’t even deny it!

Lu Ye cleared his throat. “It’s not about the tournament. I just wanted to enjoy the scenery at Indigo Plateau.”

Cynthia said nothing, her smile deepening.

In the following matches, Lu Ye lost 2:3 to Cynthia.

She let out a gentle yawn and smiled.

“If I remember right, the League is broadcast nationwide, right?”

Lu Ye paused and thought.

“Only the semifinals and finals are nationwide. The rest are just aired by Saffron Radio.”

“Will Jubilife TV air the finals?”

“Then… good luck with the tournament.”

Cynthia smiled warmly. “It might be a bit unfair to the newcomers, but I’m really looking forward to the finals!”

Lu Ye raised his brows.

Sinnoh’s Champion taking an interest in the Quartz Conference… something about that felt off.

Still, since she said that—

“I’m going full rampage!”