Chapter 413: It Appears—The Sinnoh Regional Form
February 22, Sunday, sunny.
It had rained lightly yesterday, and the lawn in the yard was now fresh and vibrantly green.
A breeze carried the warmth of early spring. Standing on the marble terrace of the second floor, Lu Ye stretched lazily.
"Good morning."
He turned around to see Cynthia in a turtleneck sweater, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
"You're up this early?" They had gone at it until 3 a.m. last night—Lu Ye thought for sure she’d sleep in.
"Not really that tired," Cynthia said with a bright smile. "After all, I won so many rounds yesterday."
Lu Ye gave an awkward laugh.
He really wasn’t going easy on her last night… Mostly, his luck was just trash. Not really his fault.
The breeze gently swept past. The two stood on the terrace, gazing at the glittering beach in the distance. It was so quiet, they could hear the rustling of the palm trees.
"In the living room, that big fish tank—whose is it?" Cynthia asked curiously.
"Oh… That’s Blastoise’s. He starts coughing if he sleeps elsewhere."
The temperature was pleasant, and sunlight bathed the entire yard.
Cynthia’s Roserade swayed its leafy arms as it carefully tended the flowers and plants.
With the "Natural Cure" ability, the plants grew lushly—though the weeds became equally stubborn.
"Doo-doo-doo~~"
Gengar imitated sound effects as it pushed the lawnmower, passing in front of a bewildered Roserade.
"Oh! Rose, my Rose~"
Suddenly, the mower blared a movie quote—Rotom must have downloaded it from somewhere.
Roserade froze, unsure what to do, then suddenly jumped in fright.
"Ka-meh…ヾ(⌐■_■)"
Blastoise, holding a Squirtle-shaped watering can, slung one arm behind his back as he inspected the soil from Kanto.
Just as I suspected.
Blastoise pushed up his shades, a glint in his eyes.
The Energy Root grown here is going to be top quality!
He then politely nodded at Roserade and pointed to the soil in front of them.
Roserade immediately understood and used "Natural Cure" to stimulate the Energy Root buried in the soil...
"That watering can—my grandma has something similar," Cynthia said with a hint of delight, as if she had just spotted a colorful butterfly.
That little look of hers really hit Lu Ye’s weakness... Or maybe he’s just a simple-minded l**n.
"Though, it’s Psyduck-shaped."
Cynthia hugged her arm and chuckled to herself.
"I’ll bring it back next time and give it to Blastoise."
Lu Ye remembered that different regions had different styles of watering cans—they could even be used to grow berries.
“No need for system bulk orders. Looks like Blastoise can plant them all by himself,” Lu Ye thought.
【?】
In the courtyard.
Duck Duck stood between Garchomp and Togekiss, face calm and unbothered.
Garchomp: (〝▼皿▼)
Duck Duck: (⊙ˍ⊙)
Pitiful, helpless, and delicious-looking (not really)
After a day of learning from Garchomp, Duck Duck had picked up a few tricks.
Though those skills would take time and training to master.
“Bock~~(ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ”
Togekiss flapped its wings enthusiastically, very fond of Duck Duck—so much so that it even wanted to teach him moves.
“Gaa! (´థ౪థ)σ”
Even I get this kind of elite mentorship?
Let’s go full force—surpass Togepi! Charge!!
Togekiss flapped its wings, bathed in golden light, exuding the power of a charging warbird.
This was one of Flying-type’s iconic moves—Brave Bird.
In the next second, Togekiss soared into the sky, executing a beautiful aerial arc reminiscent of Aerial Ace.
Duck Duck: (⊙ˍ⊙)
I’m a duck—I can’t fly. How the h*ll am I supposed to learn that? Can’t you teach something duck-friendly?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Lu Ye figured they were just fooling around and turned to Cynthia.
"I’ll drive you to the station in a bit."
"No need. I’ll just fly on Garchomp." Cynthia smiled.
"Be careful… Oh right, do you have those flight saddles with guardrails?"
"Eh?"
She said she wasn’t going to work, but she still had to go.
Cynthia was headed to the Sinnoh League to prepare for the upcoming Lily of the Valley Conference.
Lu Ye, meanwhile, was still on a solo journey in the Sinnoh region.
Lu Ye thought, “I miss Brock…”
"Guardrails, huh..."
Cynthia rested her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment. Her eyes lit up.
"In Alola, Charizard Riders use professional flight gear. It’s probably close to what you’re talking about!"
Lu Ye slapped his thigh.
Nice—finally found it!
Wahoo, takeoff!
...
By late morning.
After a hearty lunch, Cynthia got ready to leave.
"Raargh!"
While Cynthia wasn’t looking, Garchomp gently tapped Lu Ye with the back of its blade, looking slightly shy.
Lu Ye instantly understood and extended a hand, a soft blue glow forming in his palm as he transferred Aura Power to Garchomp.
"Raargh~(′▽`〃)"
Lu Ye blinked.
Feels like Aura Power could double as a way to boost affection...
But Ash’s aura didn’t seem to have this effect.
Could it be that Aura varies by person and develops unique traits?
Ash strengthens his body, Aaron transmits Aura...
And mine turns out to be a f***ing massage technique!?
Lu Ye scratched his head and decided not to dwell on it.
"If you get the chance, you should visit Professor Sakuragi."
Just before leaving, Cynthia smiled gently. "He’s Sinnoh’s Pokémon Professor… and he’s always admired your work."
Lu Ye nodded.
Professor Sakuragi was highly respected in academia—he even debuted earlier than Professor Oak and technically outranked him in seniority.
Since his lab was in True Sand Town and not far from home, Lu Ye could just hop on Arcanine and get there in no time.
"Well then."
Cynthia tucked her golden hair behind her ear, stood atop Garchomp’s back, and looked absolutely stunning in her black trench coat.
"See you at the research summit?"
"Anytime you want to meet, I’ll be there," Lu Ye said.
The breeze played with Cynthia’s hair. A light blush colored her face, though he didn’t notice.
"Same for me," she whispered.
...
Next on the agenda—visit Professor Sakuragi.
Then kick off a new stream project and wrap up the game development...
Lu Ye was really curious about snowy Sinnoh.
He planned to travel across Mt. Coronet with his little ones.
Visiting the east coast to see the variously colored Shellos and Gastrodon sounded like a great idea.
"Ash should be arriving in a couple days, right?"
Lu Ye suddenly remembered and muttered:
"Wonder if he’s gonna get whooped by Paul again."
Paul was probably Shindai’s relative. They looked like they came from the same mold—and Paul’s strength wasn’t just decent; he could hold his own in other regions too.
Ash’s master Infernape might already be on the way...
The sun shone bright.
Lu Ye stood on the balcony spacing out for a bit, yawned, and headed back inside.
"Gengar, wake Rotom up. We’re gonna make a new batch of Pokéblocks!"
"Gengarr~(～￣▽￣)～"
Gengar first floated outside to make sure Rotom hadn’t hidden in the lawnmower.
Then he went to check with Togepi.
"Chagi Dooyi~"
Togepi shook his game console, indicating that Rotom wasn’t inside.
Not in the exercise wheel, not in the water tank... Gengar scratched his head, puzzled. "Gengarr?"
Meanwhile, in the corner of the room—
"Bzzt bzzt..." Rotom was still fast asleep inside the Electricity Boost Module.
Lu Ye had gotten it from Lt. Surge.
It was said to help Electabuzz evolve… and it worked pretty well on Rotom too.
In the silence, the module suddenly sparked with blue electricity.
"Rotom!?" Rotom jolted awake, frozen in place.
I didn’t use Self-Destruct… Is this thing gonna explode!?
Next moment, dazzling white light burst from the Electricity Boost Module—
BOOM!!
Lu Ye had just stepped inside from the balcony when he froze.
The entire house was shaking, fragments falling from the walls. Blue currents formed a faint electric field that engulfed the building.
Lu Ye: "E-electric Terrain?!"
BOOM!!
Another explosion. The ball of light split apart, crackling with electricity.
"Was that Thunderbolt just now or..."
Not the time to worry about that.
Lu Ye swallowed hard. Once things settled down, a soot-covered Rotom Pokédex floated out of the room.
"You okay?"
"N-no damage, Roto..."
Lu Ye sighed in relief when he confirmed it was only property damage.
That’s all? I thought it was something serious.
Just some home wreckage—
Then Lu Ye smacked his forehead.
Oh sh*t, I don’t even have VIP status with this region’s renovation crew!!
Sweat broke out on his brow as he glanced at the dejected Rotom.
"Roto~(*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
"It’s alright."
Lu Ye consoled him. "We’ll just dock the renovation cost from your Pokéblock wages."
Rotom was deeply moved.
"Long live understanding, Roto!! o(TヘTo)"
Using the local directory, Lu Ye contacted a famous renovation team from Jubilife City.
They promised to be there within the hour.
After hanging up, Lu Ye frowned.
"Why does this company name feel so damn familiar?"
...
Ding dong—
"Coming!"
Lu Ye opened the door—and froze.
"What’s wrong?" the renovation team leader asked curiously.
Lu Ye: "Have we met before?"
"I don’t think so. First time seeing you."
"Okay… but do you have any relatives in Kanto or Modu?"
The team leader’s eyes lit up. "How’d you know!"
Lu Ye: ?
"My cousin in Kanto said business is booming, so I got into it too."
"So you’re the..."
"Eldest cousin!" the team leader said with a hearty laugh.
Lu Ye felt a weight in his chest. "E-eldest cousin!?"
"Eldest cousin. Not great-eldest cousin," the team leader clarified kindly.
Lu Ye looked up at the sky, eyes strangely misty.
It appeared!
Renovation Team Leader—Sinnoh Regional Form!
...
At sunset.
The team leader left True Sand Town and received a call from his cousin.
"Lu-sensei arrived in Sinnoh?"
"Yeah… Make sure to give him a discount!"
The Kanto team leader’s eyes filled with tears. His respect for Lu Ye ran deep.
The Sinnoh team leader looked at the business card in his hand.
"Lu-sensei… that’s Lu Ye, right?"
"Eh? He’s already done business with you guys? That fast?"
"Damn!"
The team leader shouted, turning back.
"Quick! Let’s go reissue that invoice for Lu-sensei!"
...