August 5th, Wednesday.
Lu Ye, dark circles under his eyes, watched as Haunter floated in through the window, carrying Eevee and Squirtle, and even gave a goofy greeting.
"Haunter!" (Good morning!)
Haunter grinned broadly.
Clearly, it had been another night of hard training!
Lu Ye sighed deeply. "Thanks for your hard work…"
Last night, Lu Ye stayed up until the wee hours.
The newly released version of the game was quite different from the beta he played with Cynthia.
The Sinnoh Champion was not pleased and offered an hourly rate of 10,000 Pokedollars for Lu Ye to play through the night with her.
Lu Ye hadn't expected his sterling reputation to be ruined by Plants vs. Zombies.
"Why did I make the levels so damn hard?!"
He gritted his teeth. "It's a tower defense game, not Dark Souls!"
But ironically, this maddening difficulty fit the essence of tower defense games perfectly.
If you're not pushing your limits, why play tower defense at all?!
"Breakfast is ready. Wash your hands first."
Lu Ye yawned and waved to Haunter, heading back to his room for a nap.
"Haunter! (′▽`〃)"Haunter, drawn by the smell of toast, casually dropped Squirtle and dragged Eevee toward breakfast.
Thud!.
Squirtle: ???
Squirtle poked its head out of its shell, a huge question mark hanging over its forehead.
"Haunter! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ" Haunter froze.
Almost forgot—it had a new little buddy!
Lu Ye returned to his bedroom and glanced at the ORAS dashboard.
Plants vs. Zombies had climbed to 7th place on the new games chart, and revenue was rising sharply.
This was just three days of data. Judging by the positive reviews, breaking ¥10 million in sales was only a matter of time.
"Paying off that 5,000,000 Pokedollars debt is within reach!"
Lu Ye was brimming with confidence.
The system, recognizing Teacher Lu's rising influence, had awarded 3,000 BP.
He exchanged it for six Dragon Eyes to boost Squirtle's defense.
With their bitter taste, they were perfect for Squirtle's cautious nature.
"These will be your snacks, Squirtle," Lu Ye murmured. "Getting beaten up by Eevee all the time can't be easy."
In addition, since his first game had launched, the system granted him an achievement reward.
[Ding! Achievement 'Independent Game Developer' Complete]
[Achievement Description: Create and launch an independent game successfully.]
[Reward: Random Skill Lv3.]
"Huh? That's a pretty decent reward."
Lu Ye blinked. System skill boosts were always useful.
Plus, once he unlocked a skill, maxing out its proficiency was just a matter of time.
"Let's see what skill I got."
[Fishing Lv3: As a skilled angler, you know the best bait and habitats for aquatic Pokémon. There's a 40% chance of catching something other than Magikarp! (If it swims in water, you can probably catch it.)]
Lu Ye paused. "Fishing, huh…"
As a fan of Stardew Valley, Teacher Lu was pretty satisfied with this skill.
"Maybe I can fish with Yellow someday."
Lu Ye rubbed his chin and chuckled.
"If I max out fishing… could I reel in Kyogre?"
---
That nap stretched into the afternoon.
Yawning, Lu Ye reached for his phone beside the pillow.
Teacher Lu's Midnight Diner was second in the Lifestyle section. First place was Professor Oak's Backyard.
Lu Ye scrolled through Professor Oak's feed, watching playful Panchams and smiling like an idiot.
The group chat was buzzing with talk about his game.
Red and the others weren't into non-battle games, but Gold was hooked and discussing strategies with Elder Iron.
Brock, however, focused on Teacher Lu's nurturing skills.
[Brock: In the new Midnight Diner episode, the food alone helped Squirtle evolve… Teacher Lu never disappoints!]
If the first time was a coincidence, this time confirmed Brock's theory: 'This was a high-level nurturing method that infused meals with emotional energy—powerful enough to trigger evolution!'
Lu Ye's expression twisted.
"I think Squirtle just wants to scare Haunter so it can eat more…"
[Green: What… Squirtle evolved already?!] Green was stunned.
Last time Teacher Lu asked her about Squirtle, she even checked via video call, and there wasn't a hint of evolution.
But in just three days, Squirtle evolved?!
Green felt disoriented.
Evolving through food alone… Who's 'The Evolver' here, you or me?!
[Lu Ye: No, it stopped evolving with an Everstone.]
Green sighed in relief.
Evolving too quickly wasn't good for a Pokémon's growth.
Teacher Lu must have realized that and used an Everstone to halt Squirtle's evolution.
Green pondered this.
Teacher Lu's understanding of evolution was surprisingly deep…
[Green: Do you still need Squirtle's nurturing guide, Teacher Lu?]
Lu Ye paused.
Last time, he was strapped for cash.
But now, he felt ready!
[Lu Ye: How much?]
[Green: Just kidding. (Covers mouth, smiling.) For you, it's free!]
Though Green loved money, she was generous with friends.
Lu Ye's eyes lit up.
Free?
You should've said so earlier!
[Lu Ye: Thanks, Green. Send it over.]
[-File 'Blastoise Nurturing Guide' Received-]
Lu Ye opened the file, nodding occasionally.
"Hmm… so that's how it is."
[-Although Squirtle is amphibious, it needs regular water exposure. It's best to have a large tank at home… Squirtle is also picky about water quality. Abundant Water-type energy keeps its skin smooth and elastic…-]
Lu Ye's expression twisted.
[Everyone really has their own way of explaining things.]
Green's guide was packed with academic jargon.
Without Haunter googling and taking notes, he wouldn't understand half of it.
Brock used data analysis and examples.
Green, on the other hand, seemed weirdly obsessed with Squirtle's skin quality…
[-Recommended items to improve water quality: 5 ml Mystic Water, 200 g Water Stone shards, 2 high-quality Aqua Gems…-]
Lu Ye froze.
Good grief… So it all comes down to spending money?
A quick online search made his chest ache.
'Seriously?… the whole set costs over 1,000,000 Pokedollars?!. Even changing the water costs tens of thousands? Is being a Trainer even doable?!'
With Plants vs. Zombies revenue coming in, Lu Ye thought he'd pay off his debt and live the good life…
But before the money even arrived, here was another over 1,000,000 Pokedollars expense.
If he bought it all… his debt would be over 6,000,000 Pokedollars?!
"Hiss—" Lu Ye sucked in a breath.
Calm down, stay calm!
Eevee and Haunter got similar treatment. No way he'd favor one over the other.
Besides, Squirtle was family now, too.
He couldn't just ignore it…
'No wonder Green gave me the guide for free…'
Lu Ye's face twitched, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Looking at his own hands, he lamented,
'Why can't I just stop myself?!'