Chapter 394: Chapter 394

February 12th, Friday, Lunar New Year’s Eve.

It had already been two days since Rotom joined the team.

As a professional data analyst and training assistant,

Rotom easily blended into the group.

Of course… on the road to wrecking the house, Rotom wasn’t to be outdone either.

Lu Ye had mixed feelings.

Raising Pokémon at home truly was a bittersweet joy.

And under the guidance of senior Gengar, Rotom was gradually getting the hang of the move “Charge Beam.”

But Lu Ye had been puzzled for the past two days—his phone hadn’t been charging properly.

Left with no choice, Lu Ye put the phone back on the nightstand and called out:

“Rotom, fire off a Charge Beam!”

“Roger, Roto~!” Rotom flew over to the phone and extended a data cable from its Pokédex body, smoothly plugging it into the phone port.

Lu Ye blinked in surprise.

The Rotom Pokédex even came with a built-in data cable?

That’s even more advanced than Alola’s Charjabug!

The next second, a soft blue current flowed from Rotom.

The phone vibrated, and the battery bar rose visibly, returning to 100% in seconds.

Rotom retracted the cable, gave a salute with its mechanical arm, and said seriously:

“Any other orders, Roto~!”

Lu Ye stared for a moment at what just happened.

He hadn’t expected his phone to actually survive…

But come to think of it, why did this all feel so familiar?

Lu Ye rubbed his chin, and a lightbulb lit up over his head.

“Hey Little Rotom, play me a song?”

“Roger! Replaying last night’s Gengar recording!”

Rotom swiped its display and opened the music player on its own.

Lu Ye’s face changed: “Never mind, skip that one.”

Playing Perish Song first thing in the morning—that’s a bit too energizing!

Rotom blinked its digital eye: “Any other orders, Roto!”

Being a Ghost-type, Rotom had a mischievous streak by nature.

In that way, it really resembled their Gengar at home.

Still, Lu Ye figured… maybe Rotom really hadn’t meant anything by it…

“Open the window, then.”

Leaning on his pillow, Lu Ye smiled calmly. “I’m taking Arcanine out for a walk—get some air in the room.”

The electric curtains pulled back, and with a ‘whoosh,’ the window was pushed open as cold air rushed in.

“Gengaa~!” Gengar wrapped itself tighter in the blanket, sneezed, and scratched its head in confusion.

Ghosts can sneeze too?

But then again, even Ice-type Beartic can get the sniffles or a cold.

With this kind of high-intensity training every day, the little ones really had it rough…

“Let’s treat them to an extra meal today!” Lu Ye resolved inwardly.

“Bui~!” From under Lu Ye’s blanket, a little figure peeked out, blinking its bright blue eyes.

Sylveon glared furiously at Rotom.

Rotom instantly realized what ‘household status’ meant.

“Turning on indoor heating, Roto!”

“Dooyi~” In its sleep, Togepi tucked into its eggshell.

It rolled off the bed onto the soft carpet, then continued rolling toward Arcanine’s warm, fluffy mane.

“Awoo~” Arcanine, lying on the floor with its teeth bared, suddenly paused and looked at its butt.

Oh no—I laid an egg this morning!!

“Stop howling, that’s just Togepi!”

Lu Ye could vaguely tell what the husky was thinking. He rubbed the dog’s head angrily, then got up for a content morning wash.

He couldn’t help but wonder… could Rotom fly into the electronic bathtub or smart toilet or something…?

Brushing his teeth in sync with Gengar, Lu Ye drifted into deep thought…

Rotom was floating mid-air, seemingly startled.

Togepi was waving a game console.

“Dooyi! ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ” (Get in here already!)

“Can’t understand, Roto! (⊙x⊙;)” Rotom pretended to crash and floated away.

“Bui! (▼皿▼#)” Sylveon extended a ribbon to block Rotom’s path.

She pointed at the exercise wheel in the living room—no words needed.

“Can’t understand, Roto! o(TヘTo)”

After waking up early, Lu Ye leashed up Arcanine.

Went for a jog around the neighborhood, his arm strength and stamina becoming superhuman.

By mid-morning, the mist had dissolved into the warm spring sunlight.

It was time for Teacher Lu’s favorite part of the day—cooking.

He tricked a can of cola out of Gengar.

Gengar had been sulking, but the moment a steaming cup of ginger cola was placed in front of him, he grinned.

“Gengaa~!” (You’re forgiven!)

On the balcony, a giant leek was growing nicely in the soil.

“Gaa~（¯﹃¯）” Duck Duck drooled.

Whether it’s tasty doesn’t matter—as long as my battle power’s going up, quack!

In the yard, the plants Blastoise had been tending finally sprouted.

Only after they sprouted did Teacher Lu realize—

What the turtle had planted were the leaves of Energy Root emerging from the ground!

“Using the move Life Dew can speed up Energy Root growth, Roto!”

Rotom was trembling as it reported its planting plans to the boss.

“Ka-meh… ヾ(⌐■_■)” Blastoise nodded in satisfaction.

Energy Root growing more Energy Root… isn’t that infinite supply!?

Lu Ye: “You never cease to impress!”

Rotom: “Can’t understand! o(TヘTo)”

In just two days, Rotom felt like its “machine life” had taken a massive hit.

But what it could do… was keep improving training plans to share the burden for Teacher Lu.

Can’t drag the team down, Rotom!

As Lunar New Year’s Eve drew near,

Teacher Lu finally remembered—he had a toy business (crossed out)—no, a company that brought joy to kids: the Pokémon Company.

“When the holiday ends, Pokémon Legends will officially launch.”

Olive gave a meticulous report, “Over in Donghuang, people are off work for the legal holiday… but in Kanto, we can still push progress.”

Lu Ye blinked, then smiled. “Let’s clock out early today. No matter who it is—enjoy the long break.”

“But the post-holiday release schedule…”

“Relax, I just caught a new Rotom… with it around, we can plug directly into the company database.”

Snap—something seemed to break.

Lu Ye paused: “What happened?”

Olive picked up the broken ballpoint pen and tried to regain her composure.

Trying to steal my assistant position? Over my dead body!

Olive pushed up her glasses and began competing with Rotom in work efficiency…

Lu Ye began to seriously ponder his plans for next year.

He wouldn’t make it back to Modu in time…

After cleaning in the afternoon, he’d check in with his parents.

Then ask Cynthia if she’d be back for New Year’s dinner.

If possible… next year it won’t just be New Year’s dinner—it’ll be meeting the parents…

“Gengaa?” Gengar glanced at the giggling, dazed Teacher Lu, a question mark floating over his head.

“Fits the symptoms of epilepsy!” Rotom cried in alarm. “Recommend electroshock therapy, Roto!”

Luckily, Lu Ye snapped back in time and growled, “Rotom, I’ll yank out your plug if you don’t shut up!”

“Beep beep, can’t understand, Roto~! (⊙x⊙;)”

Lu Ye cleared his throat. “No more jokes—Rotom, help everyone clean the house.”

“Tonight’s New Year’s dinner is also your welcome party!”

“Yay, Roto~!（๑`▽´๑)۶” Rotom waved its little fists.

Suddenly, the ceiling lights went out, and the whole house dimmed like the power had been cut.

“Did we trip a breaker or lose power?” Lu Ye paused.

Instinctively, Lu Ye grabbed his vibrating phone and opened the latest text from building management.

【Dear customer, as of February 12th, your electricity usage is...】

“Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…”

Lu Ye counted with his fingers, then suddenly spun around—

Catching Rotom trying to sneak out of the room.

“Rotom! You’d better explain right now, or no dinner for you tonight!”

“Beep beep, voice input failed—can’t understand, Roto~!（◑▽◐）”