Chapter 390: Fish Pond Slayer? Friendly Match Master!
Upgrading the Pokédex wasn’t an issue…
It’s just that recently, has the lab been invaded by a new batch of Voltorb?
Every few days there’s an explosion… it’s almost as frequent as Ash’s Pikachu using “Thunderbolt.”
Lu Ye couldn’t help but recall when Professor Oak handed Pikachu to Ash—
he took that “Thunderbolt” like a champ.
And then it clicked.
He almost forgot—Professor Oak is built different too, a true Pallet Towner!
“I’ll head over now.”
Lu Ye asked, “How long will the upgrade take?”
“Not long. If you’d like, I can even help you customize the Pokédex’s peripherals.” Lu Ye’s Special Pokédex came in the classic orange-red color scheme.
But it had always been carried around by Gengar, so it could easily check data during training.
If possible… slapping on some stickers or a new skin might be kinda nice.
“I’ll probably arrive in the afternoon.”
“Great, just check in with Krystal when you get here.”
After scheduling with Professor Oak, Lu Ye hung up the call.
He couldn’t help feeling a little excited.
Wonder what the upgraded Pokédex will be like.
With Professor Oak’s craftsmanship, it’s gotta be top-tier; having more detailed data would definitely boost his safety out in the wild.
Overall, Mr. Lu was pretty satisfied with this gift from Professor Oak.
“Let’s go, Gengar,” Lu Ye said with a smile.
“Time to upgrade your Pokédex!”
“Gengaarrr！（๑`▽´๑)۶”
Heck yeah, this’ll help training even more!
“Doot-dwee~ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)”
Nearby, Togepi popped its head out from its eggshell.
If possible, I’d love to upgrade my phone too~
That way, I definitely wouldn’t lose to Mew in games! ٩(๑`^´๑)۶
Even the lucky king Togepi loses sometimes, usually when Mr. Lu is watching.
Spectating adds pressure and messes with your gameplay.
But Mr. Lu? The more people watching, the harder he fights…
Outside, it was a sunny day. Thin wisps of clouds drifted across the blue sky.
Leaving the bustling Goldenrod City behind, they arrived at the green, scenic outskirts, where the cries of Pidgey could be heard.
“Awoo~!”
The husky howled, its “Intimidate” ability sending wild Pokémon scurrying.
To Mr. Lu, the husky might be a bit of a doofus,
but at least it saved on Repels, and there was no need to battle random “hotheaded NPCs”…
Riding atop his beloved Arcanine, Mr. Lu made a stylish dash across the land. Snippets of gossip drifted to his ears.
“Gasp… that’s the Indigo League Champion!”
“Run! I heard his favorite pastime is nuking fish!”
“D*mn it, my Caterpie hasn’t even evolved yet… don’t bully poor kids!”
Lu Ye had heard of his nickname, the “Fish Pond Slayer.”
But to be fair, it was the Baby Cup—and he used a baby team.
Besides…
He was the last to know he’d even signed up for the thing!
In the distance, the picturesque village came into view—Pallet Town was just ahead.
But the Oak Laboratory, nestled behind the mountain, was still a ways off.
Lu Ye slowed Arcanine’s pace and scrolled through his phone.
In the chat group—
Ash, who had gone to the Battle Frontier, was already struggling in his first match.
Currently, the livestream in the group was showing Ash’s battle.
“There’s a livestream now?” Lu Ye asked curiously.
“Supposedly Mr. Scott’s doing,”
Ruby explained. “To boost popularity, he arranged aerial drone footage just for Challenger Ash.”
Scott, the owner of the Frontier, was a business genius.
Ash joined the Frontier thanks to his personal invitation.
“He’s up against Frontier Brain Dara now.”
Lorelei adjusted her red-framed glasses, eyeing the Articuno onscreen. “I remember that Articuno of his.”
“Ash wins this one,” Green said calmly.
Lu Ye looked closely and realized—
Ash actually sent out a type-advantaged Charizard!
Fire vs. Ice!!
This dummy actually remembered type matchups!?
Mr. Lu was stunned for a long time, slowly realizing—Ash in the Frontier was actually cracked.
Green smirked.
All that daily drill work finally paid off—forcing him to memorize the type chart every day!
Onscreen, the battle-worn, furious “Old Flame” Charizard lit up with white light on both claws. The classic Seismic Toss was in play.
Charizard grabbed Articuno by the wings, and together they dove to the ground.
BOOM!
Even through the livestream, you could feel the arena shake.
Lu Ye paused.
Wasn’t that the classic “Raven Flying the Plane” move!?
Then, Charizard staggered to its feet and let out a roaring battle cry. The god-slaying “Old Flame” had earned its title.
“D*mn, that’s hype!” Gold punched the air. “Red-senpai, see you this afternoon at Mt. Silver!”
“Alright.” Red nodded and smiled. “Ash did great.”
Dragon Master Lance stroked his chin, looking confused.
Didn’t even use a Fire-type move—just solved Articuno with Seismic Toss?
Maybe I should try that against Lorelei next time…
“He won!”
Ash jumped into the group chat, excited. “I did it!”
Green nodded. “Keep it up.”
“(Thumbs up) *3, now hurry and go heal!” Lu Ye laughed.
Ash scratched his head, grinned sheepishly, and rushed off to the Pokémon Center with Charizard.
After getting advice from Mr. Lu and Green, and experiencing the joy of type advantage,
the “dummy” gave a silly grin.
So worth it!
“And… keep Charizard with you.”
Lu Ye reminded, “Rather than send it back to Charizard Valley, why not use it to conquer the Frontier?”
The chat group had mentioned the whole “Charizard Valley” thing before.
“Huh?” Ash froze for a second, glancing at his Charizard, now lying on a hospital bed.
Charizard stared at him, covered in wounds.
Their eyes met—Charizard turned away with a snort.
“Then…” Ash nodded firmly, held out a hand to Charizard, and said seriously, “Let’s keep fighting together, Charizard!”
“Roooar!!” Flames burst forth, leaving Ash charred and smoky.
Nurse Joy, in a panic, pulled out her walkie-talkie. “Do we have any ICU rooms available!?”
A moment later, she blinked in confusion.
“Uh… looks like we don’t need one. The patient seems fine…”
……
Meanwhile—
Lu Ye had arrived at Oak’s Laboratory.
Even from a distance, he could see a herd of Tauros kicking up clouds of dust.
He closed his phone and looked up at the sky.
Now that they were in Sinnoh, Ash’s lineup was nearly complete.
Pikachu, Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape, Snorlax… plus Lucario from Orudoran Castle.
Still missing Greninja, but the overall power wasn’t too far off.
Lu Ye: “…Sh*t! Don’t tell me I can’t even beat Ash anymore!”
“Gengaarrr~︿(￣︶￣)︿” Gengar gave Lu Ye a sideways glance and shrugged.
Tsk, look at you… what a wimp~!
Besides, your little black notebook still has that dummy’s name written down.
“When we reach Sinnoh…”
Lu Ye nodded thoughtfully. “Everyone starting from the same line—having a friendly match sounds pretty reasonable.”
“Gengaarrr?”
“This isn’t the Baby Cup—it’s a friendly match!” Lu Ye clarified.
Professor Oak’s assistant, Krystal, sent a message: “Mr. Lu, where are you now?”
“I’m already at the lab entrance.”
“I’ll come get you right away!”
A moment later, Krystal pushed open the door—wearing a round hat and overalls.
“Mr. Lu, Professor Oak is out back.”
Having just dealt with a Rotom self-detonation incident, Krystal breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
“Let me take you there!”
……