I Really Didn’t Want to Be a Trainer

Lu Ye stood there in a daze for a long time.

"Are you sure... your president didn’t mix things up?"

"You must be joking," the butler said kindly. "Our president emphasized many times that this must be handed to you personally."

"This is to thank you for the kindness you showed our president."

Kindness?

Logically speaking, shouldn’t I be the one thanking Steven?

Lu Ye was briefly stunned.

But on second thought… if it weren’t for Blastoise and Lucario joining forces,

Even Steven would have faced tremendous risk in the World Tree crisis.

And this Blastoise Mega Stone… must’ve been specially prepared by Steven… Lu Ye had mixed feelings.

Specially prepared… just to stab me in the back!?

Mega Evolution puts a considerable strain on a Pokémon.

And that strain, often drawn from emotions, Aura, and other special energy, usually can’t be healed at the Pokémon Center.

Just thinking about the cost and expense of Mega Evolution training made Lu Ye shudder.

Luckily.

Mega Evolution requires both the Mega Stone and a Key Stone to work.

【Badge Collection: (6/8)】

【Quest Reward: Key Stone】

Even though the reward from the system quest, that shiny Key Stone, was blindingly obvious.

As long as he didn’t collect all the badges, the risk of triggering Mega Evolution remained low… probably.

Lu Ye stroked his chin, falling into thought.

If he did get the Key Stone,

With how his Blastoise was wired, it might just figure out Mega Evolution overnight…

And by that point, not even Max Potions or Revival Roots would fix the damage!

To be cautious, Lu Ye hesitated and said:

"Mr. Butler, take the Mega Stone back with you. I don’t plan on accepting it."

The butler was surprised and asked carefully, "Are you still… unsatisfied with this token of gratitude?"

Seeing the hesitant look on Lu Ye’s face, the butler seemed to understand.

"Please don’t worry. If you’d like, I can consult the president for you."

After all, this man was the president’s benefactor. The butler smiled:

"Even if you want two Mega Stones, just say the word. I’ll pass it on to the president and let him decide!"

Lu Ye’s expression subtly shifted.

Mr. Butler, you’re treading dangerous ground here!

Two Mega Stones… with Steven’s collection, he might really have one ready for Gengar too!?

And for Steven, that’s just standard procedure.

In the XY arc, Steven had gifted a Sceptilite worth eight figures to a rookie Trainer named Shota from Hoenn.

That level of generosity is rare even in the entire Pokémon world.

So… accepting a Blastoise Mega Stone didn’t seem so unreasonable after all.

However. Lu Ye frowned slightly.

During the World Tree mission, Steven had helped him too.

To just take a Mega Stone for free still didn’t sit quite right.

Lu Ye sighed lightly and said, "If it’s a gift, this Mega Stone is too valuable… ask Mr. Steven if I can buy it at a friendship price."

"That way, it’ll count as your president’s show of appreciation too."

"I understand," the butler nodded respectfully.

This gentleman was clearly a peer-level Trainer to President Steven.

Reciprocating gifts was also a way to build rapport between Trainers.

After the butler made the call to the president.

Steven immediately understood the reasoning.

"Indeed," Steven frowned slightly, "that was my oversight..."

No matter what, Mr. Lu is a Trainer with Champion-level strength in the Donghuang Region.

Gifting a Mega Stone to a rookie and offering a friendship price to a Champion were clearly two different things.

Just like when he gave a Mega Stone to Wallace—Wallace would return the favor.

Even if he didn’t need it… it was simply proper etiquette.

Thinking of this, Steven smiled and nodded slightly.

In the end, a Blastoise Mega Stone originally priced at 40 million,

Was bought by Mr. Lu for 8 million as a friendship deal.

Thankfully, the recent Pokémon TCG sales were good…

Even Lu Ye’s modest little war chest could afford this Blastoise Mega Stone.

Still, Lu Ye gasped sharply.

An 80% discount in the name of friendship… definitely a solid profit.

But why did this World Tree trip feel like it left me with internal injuries!?

My turtle didn’t just evolve… now the Mega Stone is ready too?

Thankfully, there’s still no Key Stone.

Lu Ye wiped away a cold sweat.

No need to worry about Blastoise suddenly Mega Evolving and blowing the house up…

"Still gotta keep making money…"

He had taken a solid step closer to selling himself to the Sinnoh Champion.

Lu Ye rubbed his temples.

Lowered his head to look at the crystal-clear deep blue Mega Stone in the wooden box.

That familiar feeling of exhaustion surged through him.

In the middle of winter, Teacher Lu’s hands and feet were freezing.

January 5th, Tuesday, sunny, very cold outside.

After returning from the World Tree,

He bought a Blastoise Mega Stone from Steven at the friendship price.

Steven (crossed out)…

Gold (thought for a long time, crossed out)…

Ash! I, Teacher Lu, will remember this grudge!

……

"Kar-meh…"

Blastoise squinted one eye, holding the deep blue gem under the sunlight.

Even without undergoing Mega Evolution,

The special energy contained in a Mega Stone had many benefits for a Pokémon.

Lu Ye rubbed his chin, recalling scenes from the TV shows where Pokémon wore Mega Stones.

Just like how Trainers had accessories to hold the Key Stones, Pokémon had matching parts for Mega Stones too.

For example, Shota’s Sceptile wore a Mega Stone scarf—super stylish.

Whereas Elite Four Seaman Jimmy’s Blastoise tied the Mega Stone to its forehead… kinda dopey-looking…

Lu Ye considered how his own Blastoise might wear it.

Maybe he could string it with other Everstones and wear it around the neck, with the Mega Stone in the center.

That way, there’d be no risk of sudden Mega Evolution.

And the Everstones could help stabilize Blastoise’s powerful Aura.

Lu Ye looked up at the sky.

An image formed in his mind: Blastoise wearing a necklace of Everstones, charging up and throwing punches—

"Holy crap, that’s just Akuma!"

"Kar-meh…" Blastoise looked at the Mega Stone and nodded silently.

Master’s effort—I’ve sensed it.

I must grow steadily… and become even stronger!

……

Night fell.

A brand-new, oversized aquarium had arrived at Teacher Lu’s home.

Set in the living room, through the glass,

One could see the gray turtle shell shimmering with a steely sheen…

Lu Ye coughed lightly, regaining his composure.

"Anyway… the badge from Vermilion City isn’t within reach yet."

Lu Ye nodded to himself. "No need to worry about Mega Evolution for now."

"Gengarrr~" In the living room, Gengar wore glasses and held a book titled Secrets of the Earth.

Sylveon lay on Lu Ye’s knee, swaying her two pink ears, "Bui~"

Lu Ye casually opened the chat group and scrolled through.

The League Conference was about to start. Ash was headed to the Hoenn Region to participate in this year’s Slateport Conference.

Saphia said Ash could train with her and Ruby’s father, Norman.

Ash: "Really!?"

Saphia laughed: "Of course. But Uncle Norman is strict, so be prepared."

Ash: "No problem, I’m a Trainer from Pallet Town!"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

In every sense of the word, Trainers from Pallet Town really are absurdly strong…

By the looks of it, the Indigo Plateau Conference in Kanto would be starting soon as well.

Lu Ye didn’t pay it much mind and called out:

"Gengar, lend me Secrets of the Earth later. I want to get some ideas for livestream content."

Just like Pokémon need battles to gain experience,

Trainers need constant learning too.

Previously, for Gengar’s training, Lu Ye had seriously studied Koga’s Toxic Insights.

Although he still remembered quite a few powerful tactics,

Drawing on Boss Giovanni’s experience… might help him develop some new dirty tricks.

“Gengaa~”

Handing the handwritten notebook to Lu Ye, Gengar dragged Sirfetch’d out into the yard to continue training.

“Quaa~~(ಥ_ಥ)” Sirfetch’d teared up.

Wanted to sleep, didn’t want to get eaten… life’s too hard for a duck!

Lu Ye sat on the sofa, holding Sylveon in his arms, nodding from time to time.

“Hmm… so that’s how it is.”

Secrets of the Earth didn’t just discuss command strategies for Ground-type Pokémon.

Even more than that, it contained Giovanni’s summarized experience in Pokémon training.

Of course, it also included destructive moves like Earthquake and Earth Power…

Lu Ye stroked his chin.

He was gradually forming plans for new livestream content.

Last time, he had streamed a fun lineup with Cynthia.

But as his foundational skill set, traditional new tactic lessons couldn’t be neglected either.

He opened his livestream room and changed the pinned message to:

“New tactics update tomorrow. Love you all — Teacher Lu.”

In an instant, stream viewers who had been waiting for updates flooded the comments.

“Teacher Lu, you’re finally back!”

“Yay~ time to go head-to-head with Gym Leaders again!”

“Today, Teacher Lu finally remembered he has a streaming account.”

“Who’s this dude on the account? Give it back to the cute one!”

Lu Ye scrolled through the comments, feeling a bit emotional.

A new year had begun, and League Conferences across various regions were in preparation.

Cynthia, as the Sinnoh Champion, naturally couldn’t turn it down.

Though it looked like the intervals were long,

Some conferences were actually only a few months apart.

Some challengers could even finish one region’s League and immediately head to the next.

“By this pace, it won’t take Ash more than a few years to become Champion.”

Lu Ye thought to himself, gazing up at the sky.

Only thing was, this livestream’s tactics segment had turned into a monologue again…

Still, that might not be a bad thing.

After all, cuteness only slowed down Teacher Lu’s command speed.

With Secrets of the Earth and this new set of tactics…

Lu Ye chuckled.

Even if a Champion shows up, I’ll cut right through!

……

January 6th, Wednesday.

Lu Ye made a trip back to Yuhong University.

With finals approaching, each department was beginning its assessments.

Manchong and Gladion had returned to Hoenn and Alola, respectively.

The top student in the entire grade naturally went to Yuto Sundae.

“Teacher Lu, I heard you’re livestreaming new tactics tonight!”

As soon as class ended, the students swarmed around Lu Ye.

“What is it? Hypnosis or Ally Switch?”

Lu Ye glanced at this student who had clearly inherited his teachings, and coughed dryly:

“Just tune in and see… Also, don’t forget your homework, or I’ll suspend your accounts one by one!”

The student stuck out his tongue, and the student with the flowy hair chimed in:

“Teacher Lu, when is Pokémon Legends going live? I already pre-ordered the card packs!”

Lu Ye raised his eyebrows.

Good grief… with self-discipline like that, it’s a shame you don’t play competitively!

Walking out of the classroom, he greeted Erika, who smiled and said:

“Teacher Lu, the League Conference is from late January to early February. It might overlap with the Spring Festival.”

“If you’re planning to enter…” Erika kindly reminded, “you might want to return to Donghuang to take care of arrangements.”

“Hmm…” Lu Ye rubbed his chin and nodded, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Teacher Lu’s family had a Spring Festival travel tradition, and his parents were currently honeymooning around the world.

Even if the schedule clashed, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

Of course, it’d be best if he didn’t need to compete…

When Lu Ye thought about completing the quest,

Getting the Key Stone, and triggering Blastoise’s Mega Evolution, he couldn’t help but shiver.

Lu Ye: “I need to go buy some Everstones!”

He called back the little ones currently blowing things up in the training room.

Since Gengar had gone to work at the Saffron Gym,

Today’s instructor was Sirfetch’d.

The weakest one, now responsible for leading the team.

Yet another sigh-filled day for the slacker known as “Green Onion Pancake”…

Riding Arcanine, he swung by the Saffron Gym to pick up Gengar after work.

Back home.

Lu Ye, wearing an apron, cooked dinner for the little ones.

“Togepi, no chips before dinner!”

“Doo~yii~~” Togepi clutched the chips, looking pitiful and refusing to let go.

“Ugh…” Lu Ye rubbed his forehead.

Even with my god-tier cooking skills… I still can’t stop pre-dinner snacking!

Luckily, Togepi eventually nodded obediently.

Said goodbye to Mew and joined the group for dinner.

“Mew~~”

Inside the World Tree, seeing Togepi log off,

Mew glanced at the empty friends list, visibly disappointed.

Then clicked open Pokémon Autochess, and resumed its grind-heavy gaming life…

After dinner.

Blastoise curled up in the oversized aquarium, bubbling underwater with a “blublublu.”

Its exclusive Mega Stone improved the water quality far better than a Water Stone ever could.

Lu Ye said helplessly, “At least I don’t need to keep buying Water Stones anymore…”

At 7 PM, Teacher Lu opened his livestream on time.

In an instant, viewers flooded into the “cafeteria.”

“What? A monologue stream today!?”

“D*mn it, no cute one today—I’m gonna blow up!”

“Wait, this isn’t a chill stream? Oh sh**, it’s a slaughter-tactics stream!”

Lu Ye glanced at the comments, then suddenly coughed lightly:

“Thanks to ‘Cabbage Ice Cream’ for the ten Mega Rockets… cough!”

Immediately, the chat exploded.

“Look how happy he is!”

“Boss has lost his mind!”

“What!? Teacher Lu actually has girl fans!?”

Since this was a personal account and only followed one other streamer, it didn’t cause a major stir.

Cynthia finished her paperwork.

She opened her laptop, smiled faintly, and rested her chin in her hands at the desk.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye had already clicked the matchmaking button.

At present, Teacher Lu was ranked fourth in the world.

The top three were: grind-queen Caitlin, Mustard from the Isle of Armor, and number one—Steven.

As the match screen spun, Teacher Lu once again matched with Master Mustard from the Isle of Armor.

“Tragic! When will Master Mustard ever reach number one?”

“Isn’t Teacher Lu just here to stomp?”

“Wait, did the other side change teams? That’s a Dragon-Fighting team?”

Given Master Mustard’s specialty in Fighting-types, a Kommo-o lineup fit his style.

But Lu Ye couldn’t help but frown.

“There’s a Charizard… solo in that lineup?”