August 6th, Thursday.
Plants vs. Zombies continued to receive glowing reviews, and sales surpassed 8,000 copies.
For a studio with no promotion and no prior foundation, this was truly unimaginable.
Lu Ye glanced at the backend and muttered, "I should be able to pay off the balance..."
Counting the Water Stone and other items he purchased, Lu Ye was now saddled with an over over 6,000,000 Pokedollars debt.
But when you owe a lot, what's a little more? Teacher Lu remained perfectly calm.
He was already over 6,000,000 Pokedollars in the red; a bit more wouldn't make much difference.
Besides, he still had some working capital, and making a few more games wouldn't be too hard.
Every morning, a random event triggered as usual: "You found an Eevee in your bed."
Lu Ye picked up the lazy Eevee.
With the sun shining brightly, he changed the bed sheets.
"Vee," Eevee grumbled, curling up in its pet bed reluctantly.
"Haunter!" Haunter, wielding a mop and bucket, cheerfully began cleaning the house.
Squirtle stretched, warmed up with a few exercises, and puffed up its cheeks, ready to use Water Gun.
Lu Ye's expression changed. "Lowest power, please!"
"Squirtle," Squirtle laughed sheepishly, releasing a gentle trickle of water, following Haunter's mop around the house.
After a morning of hard work, Lu Ye wiped his brow and muttered:
"What the heck… Why does it get messier the more we clean?"
Turning around, he saw Eevee standing in a puddle, joyfully splashing water.
"Vee! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"
Lu Ye sighed, leaned on the mop, and smiled helplessly.
"Fine... As long as you're all happy."
Finally done with cleaning, it was 10 a.m.
The three little ones sat obediently at the table, waiting for their meal.
Lu Ye served Berry Salad into their bowls.
The quiet breakfast was filled with the soft sounds of chewing.
---
The afternoon was free; the school team had just finished a friendly match and was on break.
Haunter headed to its usual part-time job at the Battle Club.
Lu Ye cradled Eevee, turned on the webcam, and began the day's livestream.
As soon as the stream started, countless eager viewers flooded in.
"Time to eat, brothers!"
"Teacher Lu, your game is so fun!"
"Anyone kind enough to lend me 20 Pokedollars? Just want to see what it's like."
Teacher Lu's fans were among the game's first players.
At their insistence, Teacher Lu started narrating Plants vs. Zombies.
"Place Nut Weights in the front row, Bellsprout in the back. If they can't hit, it's annoying."
"This Rattata looks so sly. My Big Eater Flower chomps them one by one. You're really cheeky!"
"Wow, this level is tough! Lawn Mower, save me!"
A stream of question-mark comments floated by.
You can't even beat your own game?!
"I give up. Didn't expect Teacher Lu to be so bad at single-player games!"
"You think he's bad because you're on Level 1, and he's on Level 5."
"Missing shots in a tower defense game? Teacher Lu's on fire today!"
"Thanks to 'Team Rocket Grunt' for the plane... Wait, Team Rocket is watching the stream?!"
The stream was full of joy.
Even without battling, the promotional effect was undeniable.
Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction and glanced at the fish tank, like always.
With Green's recipe, Squirtle should be sleeping soundly, right?
Strength is just for show... Being a slacker is the way to go!
Suddenly, Lu Ye froze.
The tank was empty. Squirtle had vanished without a trace!
Lu Ye scratched his head. "It was fine this morning… Did it sneak out with Haunter?"
"Whatever." He smiled wryly.
"It'll probably be back by mealtime."
"Vee (*･ω-q)," Eevee yawned lazily on Lu Ye's lap, shifting to continue sleeping.
"Have you gained weight lately?"
"Vee! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Eevee's fur puffed up, and it leapt off his lap in a flash.
Soon, the sound of Eevee running on the treadmill filled the living room.
Lu Ye shook his head and chuckled. "It should be fine…"
"No way you're training on your own like Haunter!"
---
Haunter, wearing sunglasses, pushed open the door of the Bull Battle Club.
Behind it, Squirtle also sported a pair of shades.
The receptionist smiled brightly. "Coach Haunter, you're here!"
"Haunter!" Haunter nodded seriously, pointing at Squirtle.
"Of course, no problem," the receptionist replied. "Feel free to use the training facilities!"
Haunter was incredibly popular at the Bull Club.
Initially, everyone was scared of the ghostly Pokémon.
But over time, Haunter's personality won them over.
If it had been coming longer, Haunter might've become the manager…
"Squirtleヾ(⌐■_■)"
Squirtle adjusted its sunglasses.
It was here to learn a new move from Haunter.
If the move was simple, the boss wouldn't bother training personally.
Learning from Haunter would also strengthen camaraderie.
Squirtle's eyes gleamed.
Truly, the boss thought everything through!
"Haunter!"
Haunter, also wearing simple sunglasses, looked like a tough guy.
Leading Squirtle to the training area, it rummaged through its shadow and pulled out a USB stick.
"Ta-da!"
"Squirtle?" Squirtle tilted its head in confusion.
Haunter scoffed.
Can't even read, yet dares to be a Trainer's Pokémon?!
But this was its little brother, so Haunter got serious. It plugged the USB into the projector. A huge screen displayed footage of Water Pulse training.
Squirtle stared in awe.
Haunter nodded in satisfaction.
It copied this from Lu Ye's computer.
The boss didn't have time to train Squirtle, so helping out was part of Haunter's duty.
"Haunter!"
Haunter patted its shoulder, grinning smugly. (You're the best, Haunter!)
Squirtle focused intently on learning Water Pulse.
Although Haunter couldn't teach the move directly, Squirtle's Aura ability made learning it easy.
With Water Stone boosts from Lu Ye, Squirtle's water moves were even stronger!
Channeling Aura, Squirtle closed its eyes, feeling the water flow within. Combining Aura with Water Gun, it spread the flow to enhance range and vibration…
Squirtle's eyes snapped open.
"Squirtle!" It unleashed a torrent of water, crashing down with enough force to crack the ground!
If Lu Ye were there, he'd be frozen in terror.
This wasn't Water Pulse — it was practically Surf!
"Haunter," Haunter nodded approvingly.
Mastered in 30 minutes… not bad, though still far from my level.
They say Pokémon grow to resemble their Trainers.
Haunter folded its arms, nodding confidently.
Suddenly, it noticed the cracked floor and froze.
"Haunter Σ(°△°|||)︴"
Wouldn't the repair costs fall on me?!
"Haunter!" Haunter yelled to Squirtle and bolted for the door.
Squirtle blinked, then panicked.
It dashed after Haunter, tiny legs pumping.