Squirtle was being extremely cautious.
Since they'd be comrades from now on, verifying identities seemed essential.
Looking at the drenched Haunter and Eevee, Squirtle nodded.
"Squirtleヾ(⌐■_■)"
"Haunter o(*≧▽≦)ツ"
Haunter burst out laughing, clearly accepting this amusing new teammate.
"Eevee! (〝▼皿▼)"
Eevee shook off the water, glanced down at its soaked silk scarf, and bared its teeth in frustration.
Squirtle froze, and before it knew what was happening, it was sent flying by Eevee's glowing Iron Tail.
Lu Ye & Haunter: ∑(っ°Д°;)っ
In mid-air, Squirtle executed a flawless 360° spin, stylishly tossing its sunglasses back to Lu Ye before diving head-first towards the ground!
Lu Ye scrambled to catch the sunglasses, his face changing in alarm. Squirtle, are you trying to smash through the floor?!
Crack!
At the last moment, Squirtle perfectly retracted into its shell, which smashed into the floor, leaving a huge crater.
The entire building shook slightly. As Lu Ye glanced at the ceiling dust falling down, a cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
I get it now.
It's not me who should be worried, but the other tenants!
"Eevee." Eevee huffed, swishing its tail and prancing off to have dinner.
Lu Ye wiped his sweat and exchanged a nervous glance with the shivering Haunter. Both swallowed hard.
We… didn't offend Eevee recently, did we?
Meanwhile, inside the shell, a dazed Squirtle with stars spinning around its head slowly formed a question mark.
Are Master's other Pokémon all this strong?
Even its aura couldn't fully gauge Eevee's strength.
Or perhaps…
Is the outside world filled with Pokémon far stronger than those at Modu University's Pokemon Breeding Center?
In that moment, Squirtle understood.
I must not be strong enough yet.
If I can't even defeat Master's other Pokémon, how can I dream of winning championships?
Decision made, Squirtle resolved to scope out its surroundings first and sneak out to train harder at night!
Lu Ye's meals were definitely first-class.
Say what you want about his heart (or lack thereof) or his cunning nature, but you can't criticize his cooking (or noodles, scratch that).
Thanks to Cooking Lv3, Lu Ye was only a step away from being a top chef. He could even prepare perfect Pokémon food.
Squirtle was instantly won over by Lu Ye's cooking.
Holding a warm red bean taiyaki, it blushed with a goofy expression.
"Squirtle (′▽`〃)"
Haunter and Eevee scoffed. "Tch, newbie."
The next second, they both took a bite of the taiyaki and froze in bliss.
Haunter & Eevee: (′▽`〃)
Lu Ye coughed lightly.
"Looks like I added a few too many berries today. I'll tweak the recipe next time…"
After dinner, Lu Ye lounged on the sofa watching TV.
In front of him, a little turtle was doing push-ups, sweating profusely.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Lu Ye's mouth twitched.
I picked a lazy Pokémon, so why is it training so hard now?
Am I supposed to believe that because I want to slack off, my Pokémon works even harder?!
Haunter was moved by the sight, floating over to punch the wall enthusiastically. "Haunter, haunter!"
Eevee hesitated for a moment, then leaped onto the treadmill.
"Eevee! ヾ(^∀^)ﾉ"
With Squirtle on board, Lu Ye's home suddenly filled with a vibrant training atmosphere.
Lu Ye: ?
Something's wrong here.
Wasn't my goal to pick a laid-back Pokémon?
Feeling out of place, Lu Ye sighed, turned off the TV, and opened his phone to check the group chat.
The group was buzzing about the upcoming Type Specialist Tournament.
This tournament was for trainers specializing in one of the eighteen Pokémon types, held in various regions.
[Green: @Lorelei, Lorelei, are you judging the Ice-type tournament in Unova?]
[Lorelei: Nope, it's Mr. Pryce from Johto. He's much more qualified than I am.]
Lu Ye was slightly surprised.
As the Ice-type Gym Leader from Johto, Pryce's Piloswine could stand up to Legendary Pokémon!
[Gardenia: @Teacher Lu, Teacher Lu! The first match is the Grass-type tournament in Kanto. Are you joining?]
No one knew which type Lu Ye specialized in.
But as a Tactics Master, it wouldn't be surprising if he mastered all types like Red.
Gardenia mainly wanted to ask for advice on Substitute-Protect-Toxic strategies.
[Lu Ye: I can't join; I just caught my third Pokémon.]
Gardenia sighed in disappointment.
As expected… The tactical genius Teacher Lu isn't interested in specialized tournaments.
Green focused on something else entirely.
[Green : @Teacher Lu, what's your third Pokémon?]
Lu Ye glanced at Squirtle, now lifting dumbbells under Haunter's guidance, and sighed:
[Lu Ye: A Squirtle that's a bit too cautious.]
At Johto's Breeding House, Gold munched on an apple while scrolling the chat.
[Green: Same as Blue! Did you get yours from Gramps too?]
[Blue: "Call him Professor Oak!]
[Gold: Same difference.] Gold muttered,
'So Teacher Lu knows Professor Oak too… Figures, he's a tactical player just like Gramps!' Gold grumbled.
Red, Green, and Blue all received their Kanto starters from Professor Oak.
Seeing Lu Ye with a Squirtle sparked a sense of camaraderie.
[Green: Starter training guides are rare. If you need one, I can sell you a copy…] Green smiled.
[Lu Ye: No need.]
Blue rubbed his temples.
Green's merchant instincts strike again.
But even he admitted that Green knew more about Blastoise than he did.
Looks like… Teacher Lu is confident about training Squirtle!
Blue pondered. 'Does Gramps know Teacher Lu? Maybe he's already a Pokédex Holder…'
Brock chimed in, eyes narrowing.
[Brock: I can't help with training advice, but I know a Water-type expert.]
Lu Ye blinked.
Could it be…?
[Member 'Rock Solid' invited 'Cerulean Mermaid' to the Master Chat Group.]
Misty, the Cerulean City Water-type Gym Leader, entered the chat. Unlike the TV version, she was more of a gentle big sister here.
More importantly, like Yellow, she liked Red…
Lorelei, lurking silently, grinned and rolled on her bed with laughter.
Even Lance smiled wryly, shaking his head.
Lu Ye stared at his phone.
Great, Red's harem just expanded again!
Imagining Red's awkward expression, Lu Ye's lips curled into a smile.
This group chat is getting more and more interesting.