Chapter 419: Let's Go Have Barbecue Together
Night gradually fell. The forest grew quiet, filled with the chirping of cricket Pokémon from the speakers.
The first battle between Ash and Paul had come to an end.
It seemed Ash had chased after Paul, heading deeper into the forest.
“He was just here a second ago, and now he’s vanished.”
Lu Ye looked around, trying to find Ash’s figure, gritting his teeth.
“No way—I have to make him pay for the bike!”
The bike that Cute One gave me hadn’t even lasted three days before it got blown up by Pikachu’s Thunderbolt.
D*** vehicle destroyer!
“Gengarr~ (￣▽￣)／” Gengar tugged at Lu Ye’s sleeve and pulled out the [Damaged Bicycle] from his bag.
Lu Ye turned around to see Rotom’s screen flashing with data, analyzing in an unusually serious tone: “According to my analysis… the repair success rate is 99%, Roto!”
“That low?!” Lu Ye’s face twisted. “Maybe I should test it out on another bike first, then bring the one from Cute One in for repairs?”
Everyone knows—before strengthening a rare item, you should use cheap materials to increase the success rate.
The [Rotom Bike] is a +12-grade ride… What if the repair fails and it gets ruined again?
“Looks like…”
Lu Ye muttered, “I’ll have to ask Togepi to run errands again…”
He glanced once more at the nearly charred bicycle.
Lu Ye looked around the empty forest clearing, the corners of his mouth twitching.
This isn’t just insurance fraud—this is a literal hit-and-run!
Don’t think you can get away with anything just because you’ve got good stats, you dumb thing!
Just as he opened the chat group to put Ash into a temporary mute box—
A call echoed from afar: “Mr. Lu!”
“Pika-chuu~!”
Lu Ye stayed expressionless.
He glanced down at the bike beside his feet, the message crystal clear.
Ash froze up, smiling awkwardly with cold sweat on his forehead:
“S-Sorry, Mr. Lu!”
Then, he bowed deeply.
“I’ll call my mom and ask her to wire me the money!”
Sometimes, battles between Trainers involved pocket money wagers.
Ash had fought his way here, and though he was still a broke kid, Delia had saved up quite a bit of allowance for him.
“You should’ve said so earlier!” Lu Ye sighed in relief. Luckily, he still had the receipt and handed it to Ash.
“Here, not that expensive, just this amount.”
Ash took the receipt, glanced at it, and broke into a cold sweat.
“Uh…”
Lu Ye had expected this and sighed inwardly.
After all, he couldn’t really go knocking on Delia’s door asking for repayment.
I’ll just mute him for 24 hours and make him copy down the type advantage chart as punishment.
If it happens again… I’m calling his mom!
“Right!”
Lu Ye suddenly remembered: “I can get Meowth and the gang to fix the bike!”
With those three around, what high-tech repair can’t be done?
And luckily, he still had their contact info.
Saved a ton on repair costs in one go!
Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction.
“M-Mr. Lu?”
Ash looked nervously at Lu Ye’s smiling face, a little spooked.
“It’s nothing.”
Lu Ye chuckled. His anger had mostly subsided. He patted Ash on the shoulder:
“Let’s find a Pokémon Center and get Pikachu and the others healed up first.”
Ash nodded, then hesitated before saying:
“Actually, I caught a Pokémon… the one he released…”
“Huh?” Lu Ye was genuinely surprised.
Could it be—his ace has already joined the team!?
That was one of Ash’s core team members, a future 1v3 champion in Sinnoh!
“It’s this Chimchar.”
Ash threw out a Poké Ball. A small, scarred Chimchar emerged, staring timidly at Lu Ye.
That look instantly reminded Lu Ye of the Eevee he’d caught in the wild back then.
A lone Eevee that found a new life.
And now, so had this one.
“Here.”
Lu Ye bent down and handed a piece of Sitrus-flavored PokéBlock to Chimchar, patting its head and smiling:
“You’re going to grow into a very powerful Pokémon.”
“Wuuh?” Chimchar tilted its head, looking confused at Lu Ye.
“Trust Mr. Lu, Chimchar!”
Ash grinned. “His eye for Pokémon is as good as a professional Breeder!”
Lu Ye paused.
My eye for Pokémon… hasn’t it always been based on picking slackers?
Whatever, no harm done.
Lu Ye cleared his throat and smiled at Chimchar:
“I’m looking forward to the day you become strong… and I don’t think it’ll be long.”
Chimchar stood still. The fire on its tail suddenly flared, eyes full of resolve. It nodded hard.
Then it took a bite of the PokéBlock with an “Ahh—” and froze mid-bite.
“Wuuuh! o(╥﹏╥)o”
What is this?! It’s so delicious!!
…
Because Super Paul had a chronic “plot-wandering syndrome” that made him stumble into major scenes—
Lu Ye kept a one-meter safe distance from him, ready to run at the first sign of danger.
Ash could take Divine Beasts’ attacks head-on. What’s there to worry about for him?
The forest was silent, wrapped in deep darkness, with a dim light ahead marking the exit.
Ash casually stepped on a dry twig and suddenly muttered, “Mr. Lu…”
“What is it?”
“I was thinking about what Paul said earlier.”
Ash scratched his head in frustration. “Maybe I really am as naïve as he said, when it comes to tactics.”
“Maybe…” Ash kicked a pebble, his eyes flickering. “Maybe some of his ideas… weren’t wrong either.”
Lu Ye shrugged.
The Diamond & Pearl arc was when that dumb kid matured the fastest.
Apart from his freakish body, he was still just a teenager.
Having a rival so different from him—one who pushes him to grow—might not be such a bad thing.
“Ash.”
“Huh?”
Ash looked up in confusion, staring at the broad back ahead of him.
“All my previous tactics came from Cold & Ruthless Ranked Play strats.”
Lu Ye looked up at a Staravia napping in the tree branches, picturing Paul studying battle videos late into the night.
He spoke slowly:
“IVs, EVs, Base Stats… One of the keys to battling is who has the Pokémon more suited for competition.”
Ash murmured, “That’s what Paul believes, too.”
“But!”
Lu Ye turned around, his gaze deep, like he was speaking to a lost student.
“Look at my Pachirisu, Shadow Tag Gothitelle, Feint-Dancing Mr. Mime… even weak Pokémon can win the World Championship.”
“Becoming the world’s best—together with the Pokémon you love.”
Lu Ye smiled. “Isn’t that the best thing ever?”
Ash turned to Pikachu. They locked eyes for a long time, then Ash said loudly:
“That’s why I’ll never force Pikachu to evolve against its will!”
Because Light Ball Pikachu’s base stats are higher than Raichu’s—
Lu Ye grumbled internally and coughed.
“I’m planning to stream another tactical video.”
“This time… I’ll be using Pokémon that look unimpressive, with worrying base stats.”
He looked at Ash and said seriously:
“Hope it gives you and Paul some inspiration.”
In the quiet forest, the rustling of leaves sounded especially clear.
Ash’s cheeks flushed a bit. He nodded firmly:
“Yes, Mr. Lu!”
Why are you blushing like a freakin’ Teapot Form Sinistea! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
And don’t think your cross-dressing arc as “Ash-chan” makes up for the bike!
Grrr—
Just as Lu Ye was caught in mixed feelings—
Ash held his stomach and chuckled awkwardly, “Heheh.”
“My house is nearby, not far from here.”
Lu Ye smiled helplessly.
“Let’s stay the night. Head for the Gym challenge tomorrow.”
“Woohoo!”
Ash’s cheer echoed through the forest.
Finally—I get to enjoy Mr. Lu’s cooking again! (¯﹃¯)
Lu Ye walked ahead, his voice void of mercy:
“Come on. Tonight, I’m treating you to barbecue!”