Chapter 264: A Tragic Rift Has Already Formed Between Us
“Achoo!”
Lu Ye let out a sudden sneeze.
Seriously? It’s only been three days and these students are already thinking about me again?
At the school gate, a familiar student bowed respectfully.
“Good morning, Teacher Lu.”
Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction, pulled out a shiny card from his pocket, and handed it over.
“Respecting your teacher—I like that.”
In an instant, every male student on the playground locked eyes on that card in the student’s hands.
A collective gulp echoed.
“T-That’s a shiny card from the Johto expansion pack!” “So rare—how did Teacher Lu even pull that?”
“Duh, he can print them himself!”
The student stared blankly at the UR card, then blushed furiously.
“Th-Thank you, Teacher Lu!”
When they saw Lu Ye casually handing out a rare card worth thousands, the boys around them erupted.
“Ohhhh!!”
“Teacher Lu, you’re so cool today!”
“‘Teacher good!’—that’s not flattery, that’s our class motto!”
Shooing away the swarm of excited kids, Lu Ye made his way to the office.
Lillie adjusted her slender-framed glasses and smiled.
“Teacher Lu is as popular as ever today.”
“Because I’m as handsome as ever today,” Lu Ye replied with a sigh. “What about Gladion? He hasn’t caused any trouble, has he?”
“Quite the opposite,” Lillie said. “He’s very well-behaved in class and performs excellently in battle lessons.”
Lu Ye stroked his chin. “As expected of my student…”
You’ve only taught him twice, max...
Lillie cleared her throat. “Oh, by the way, the school’s solarium repairs are done. You can use it again if you need.”
“No need.”
Lu Ye gave an awkward laugh. “I’ll head to class!”
In the classroom, students were buzzing over Lu Ye’s stream from last night.
“Hitmonlee one-shot everything—so cool!”
“Think I should main Fighting-types from now on?”
“My dad says Teacher Lu is a master from Donghuang, here as a guest lecturer!”
Lu Ye choked on his own breath.
Not sure whether to call that flattery or admit the old man’s got a sharp eye…
In the crowd, two gazes were especially intense—Yuto Sundae, and the blond chuuni kid, Gladion.
“Today we’re talking about field switching,” Lu Ye said, tapping the board.
“Battles are essentially rock-paper-scissors. To win consistently, reading is the most fundamental skill…”
His simple yet insightful breakdown quickly had the class totally absorbed.
At that moment, a flashy-haired student hesitantly asked:
“Uh, what about… luck?”
“Next question.”
Lu Ye grinned. “We don’t discuss imaginary stuff.”
“Should I teach my Lapras Hydro Cannon?”
“Next.”
“What’s the accuracy of High Jump Kick?”
“Next—”
The lesson rolled on, filled with both insight and heartbreak.
“Gengar~”
From within Lu Ye’s shadow, Gengar yawned lazily.
It floated toward the solarium outside, now fully repaired, and stared out thoughtfully.
“Gengar!” It shook its head firmly.
Can’t keep causing trouble for the boss!
If it had to go somewhere, better to hit the Thunder Room—at least it was reinforced.
…
After a full day of teaching, Lu Ye was in a great mood, sipping from his thermos as he strolled across campus.
The old man in charge of the training facilities gave him a strange look.
“Teacher Lu… I’ve got a good news/bad news situation. Which do you want first?”
Lu Ye’s face darkened as he sensed something coming.
“What’s the good news?”
“Well, your Arcanine seems to have learned Wild Charge.”
The old man may have been through countless storms, but he still had a keen eye for identifying moves.
Lu Ye, on the other hand, felt a tight knot in his chest.
You’re calling that good news?!
How much worse could the bad news be?
“And the bad news?”
“The Thunder Room is temporarily out of service.”
The old man coughed awkwardly. “The equipment’s too old—it’ll be a few weeks before it’s usable again.”
Lu Ye let out a long sigh of relief.
At least the odds of getting backstabbed in the next few weeks had gone down!
Following the old man to the charred remains of the Thunder Room, Lu Ye’s face twitched.
You’re blaming this on old equipment?
That was clearly an explosion!
“Arf!” Arcanine happily wagged its massive head, its fur visibly scorched.
Gengar grinned with teeth bared—clearly proud.
Learning a new move in one afternoon—not bad!
Wild Charge covered Arcanine in a layer of violent electricity.
Like a suit of thunder armor, it boosted Arcanine’s physical vitality and destructive power.
And against Water-types, Wild Charge was a powerful way to broaden its offensive reach.
Lu Ye looked at the big dog’s eager, praise-hungry eyes.
His feelings were… complicated.
In the end, he gave Arcanine a pat on the head.
“Good work.”
“Arf~!” Arcanine gave a goofy grin, wagging its tail furiously.
The Thunder Room repair bill, of course, came out of Lu Ye’s pocket.
After all, he was an old acquaintance of the contractor.
The construction lead shook Lu Ye’s hand with emotion.
“You’re a real goldmine for us!”
Lu Ye: “Haha…”
Another expense logged. On his way back to the company, the contractor couldn’t help thinking—
Maybe I should make an offering to Teacher Lu next time.
…
Evening fell.
Back home, Gold sent a message:
“Teacher Lu, mind if I swing by tonight?”
Lu Ye scratched his head.
Then remembered—tomorrow was that Fishing Tournament everyone had been talking about.
Supposedly, the prize pool even included Mystic Water.
Sure, Squirtle already had one.
But knowing his Squirtle’s personality, having a full chain of Mystic Water around its neck would probably be more its style…
“Come on over, it’s not like I’m stopping you,” Lu Ye replied.
“Nice! Toge-taro, let’s fly!”
Gold threw on his goggles and took off from Goldenrod City on Toge-taro.
Driven by its excitement to see its little sister, Toge-taro hit incredible speeds.
When the doorbell rang, even Lu Ye was surprised.
“That fast?!”
Opening the door, Gold’s windblown afro puffed up as he waved.
“Yo, Teacher Lu! Long time no see!”
“Come on in.”
Gold stepped inside and looked around, slack-jawed.
Teacher Lu… is seriously loaded!
Looks like a tragic rift has already formed between us…
Gold folded his arms like a philosopher deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Toge-taro was playing cards with Togepi, doting on her with a big grin.
“Poke!”
“Toge-to-geeee~!”
Toge-taro was clearly great at cards, but now had marker scribbles all over its face.
It even leaned in closer with a big smile: “Poke!”
Spoil her all you want, buddy.
At Gold’s insistence, Lu Ye played a few rounds of snooker with him.
Naturally, Lu Ye lost horribly.
One shot—with side-spin, no less—curved the cue ball around the black and straight into the pocket. Even Gold looked stunned.
How the heck is this guy so bad?!
Lu Ye coughed and changed the subject.
“What time’s the tournament tomorrow?”
“Starts at 7 a.m.,” Gold thought for a second. “Just head to Cerulean City’s port.”
Lu Ye nodded.
Then suddenly his expression changed.
“The tournament is… where?”
“Cerulean City,” Gold tilted his head. “Didn’t you register yourself, Teacher Lu?”
A drop of cold sweat slid down Lu Ye’s temple.
Cerulean City…
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
“Nah… it’s just fishing.”
Lu Ye forced a smile.
“Gym Leaders don’t have time for stuff like that anyway—haha!”