Chapter 424: Claiming Rewards, Glamorous Command
The result screen popped up, displaying the word “Victory.”
In front of tens of thousands of viewers, Mr. Lu’s ranking points skyrocketed, finally settling at the very top of the Master tier.
Which also meant—
Mr. Lu had finally secured the world #1 spot in Pokémon: Battle, without being cursed by bad RNG!
The viewers swallowed hard, hearts trembling.
“So this is the bond between Mr. Lu and his Pokémon?”
“He used total nobodies and still one-shotted a shiny Metagross?”
“There’s no such thing as trash Pokémon—only Trainers who don’t understand them!”
With the golden ranking glowing on-screen, the chat erupted in celebration screenshots.
Looking back on Mr. Lu’s battle against Steven, there was only one word for it—thrilling. Steven had mistakenly assumed Sylveon was Mr. Lu’s ace, focusing all his firepower on her.
Mr. Lu, on the other hand, successfully predicted him, using Sleep, Paralysis, Reflect—effectively shutting down Steven’s lineup.
With that, he pulled off the Onix + Minccino strategy and wiped the field with Earthquake.
That near-flawless command style—
It left a lasting impression on everyone in the stream.
“I’m stunned… So even pseudo-legends lose to alley trash?”
“Mr. Lu’s strong, but that Onix was the real MVP. Minccino deserves a place in the family tree!”
“When’s Mr. Lu gonna take the World Championship title?!”
Ever since Mr. Lu had that exhibition match against Leon in Gongmen City—
The fans were eagerly anticipating the day he’d appear on the world stage, in the Pokémon World Championships.
Just picturing battles between Mr. Lu and champions like Steven and Cynthia was enough to get the blood pumping!
“I’m too weak. Can’t win that stuff,” Lu Ye said honestly.
The chat burst into laughter, following up with classic nonsense like “team-wipe strat” and “shrimp and pig heart.”
“Everyone knows Mr. Lu only competes in Baby Cups.”
“He’s just too cautious… never once entered a World Championship!”
“Of course… only in rookie events do we see Mr. Lu!”
Even after he’d closed the result screen and switched to casual chatting—
The viewers were still lost in the shock of what had just happened.
Everyone knew—
Without Mr. Lu’s level of command, that strategy would’ve been a one-way ticket to disaster.
But… it was still a path.
A path that didn’t give up on any Pokémon’s potential.
A path that kept trying new strategies, systems, and combos.
Even the weakest Pokémon could shine in the hands of the right Trainer.
This was a different path from brute force and sweeping metas.
This was a path for the passionate, the devoted, the believers… a much harder path.
“I used to say, ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’”
Mr. Lu cradled Sylveon in his arms and smiled. “But sometimes, you’ve gotta hold your ground.”
“There are all kinds of viewers here—competitive battlers, sentimental fans… I can’t please everyone.”
“But if you trust your Pokémon, they’ll respond.”
Sylveon tilted her snowy-white neck, looking up at her Trainer, blue eyes sparkling.
“Bui~”
Maybe… it’s time to visit Canalave Gym again~
Bring home a few more badges—Master would be so proud!
In the forest on the outskirts of Canalave City.
Paul stood frozen in place, lost in thought.
Mr. Lu had just proven another path was possible.
Maybe he was right. Or maybe…
The two paths were never mutually exclusive.
Paul couldn’t grasp that depth yet.
All he knew—
Was that one day, he was destined to battle that boy with the Pikachu on his shoulder.
Sinnoh, Pokémon League HQ.
Cynthia watched the entire stream during a break from work.
She too had once pursued nothing but raw power.
Both she and Garchomp had paid dearly during that phase.
Now, as they became more unbeatable, they also cherished their bond even more.
Whether it’s the essence of battling—
Or the conviction of belief.
Some people follow the meta. Others master one Pokémon over thousands of battles.
Mr. Lu always finds the strongest path that suits him best.
“Because,”
Cynthia brushed back her golden hair and smiled softly to herself:
“He’s Mr. Lu, after all…”
…
After that explosive final boss showdown, Mr. Lu’s stream viewership exploded.
Steven himself even popped into the stream to drop a rocket, though something felt off—
“Thanks to ‘Still Number One In The End’ for ten Super Rockets.”
Mr. Lu shivered and quickly straightened up: “Boss, please spend responsibly!”
The viewers didn’t realize this was Steven’s private ID and sighed collectively:
“Boss, you’ve lost your mind!”
“Boss, stop! Mods, can you mute the boss?!”
Gift alerts rang again, and Lu Ye froze for a moment before laughing:
“Thanks to ‘Cabbage Ice Cream’ for ten Super Rockets… Big spender!”
Cynthia probably just did it for laughs.
To her, that money wasn’t even worth a few minutes of appearance fees.
Mr. Lu might be pretty well-off now too…
But developing a new game burned through capital, so he had to save where he could.
In the next few minutes—
Mr. Lu’s voice grew hoarse thanking viewers, and he went to get a drink while Rotom expressed gratitude in his place:
“Thanks to ‘Green’ Boss, may you be healthy and strong, Roto!”
“Wait, even the Celadon Gym Leader’s here dropping gifts?!”
“I used Mr. Lu’s Trick Room team last time to challenge him—almost got hospitalized!”
“Mr. Lu, what did you teach Rotom?!”
Lu Ye returned to his gaming chair, sipping water and mumbling:
“Mm… that’s about it for today’s stream.”
Even Lu Ye hadn’t expected to get matched with Steven.
Thankfully, luck didn’t completely abandon him—key moves all landed.
Otherwise, trying to beat Steven with a “pure faith” team would’ve been impossible.
As for real life—
If he ran into Steven’s silver Metagross in person…
Run. Run as fast as you can!
But for the viewers in the stream—
This was Mr. Lu showing all Trainers a new possibility.
Maybe… you didn’t need to chase after super rare, expensive pseudo-legends.
Even regular Pokémon could shine in the hands of a dedicated Trainer.
That’s the true essence of being a “Trainer.”
“D*mn, I didn’t even get to eat dinner during the stream!”
“Nani?! Ending the stream already? That fast?!”
“Everybody stand up!”
Classic lightning-fast stream ending.
His phone buzzed.
The big shots in the group chat were also reviewing the battle between Mr. Lu and Steven.
“I don’t get it… He didn’t seem to try this hard when fighting me?” Gold mumbled.
Brock crossed his arms, frowning deeply.
Mr. Lu’s understanding of Onix… was even better than mine—and I’m the Rock-type Gym Leader.
Blue rested his chin on one hand, lost in thought.
That team-wiping Earthquake gave him the illusion—
That Mr. Lu’s understanding of Ground-types was on par with Giovanni’s Secrets of the Earth.
But then he remembered that both Red and himself were good at multiple types.
Being a Champion, it made sense to be multi-talented!
Old man Ironspin grinned: “@Mr. Lu, time to hand out red packets!”
Lily: “Red packets?! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ”
Mr. Lu: “I’m out, already used up all my New Year red packets…”
Steven chuckled helplessly.
Losing to Mr. Lu in-game didn’t bother him much.
He’d just take back the #1 spot in the next patch.
“In the end, I’ll still be number one.”
Steven murmured with a smile and opened the group chat:
【Member ‘Steven’ sent a red packet — come and claim it!】
Lily: Thanks, Steven-san! o(╥﹏╥)o
Since joining this chat group, I can finally afford spicy chili rice!
Lance blinked. “Seriously? Do you guys live in this group?”
Sis Blue: “Did Yellow get lucky again?!”
Celadon Anemone smiled shyly: “Only once or twice…”
Mr. Lu opened the “0.1 yuan” mega red packet, feeling his breath hitch.
So luck really is a limited resource!
Suddenly, a system alert chimed in his ear.
【Ding! Achievement ‘Simulated Battle · World #1’ unlocked!】
【Achievement Reward: Random Orange Item ×1, Skill Upgrade Ticket ×1, Random Skill Lv3!】
【Achievement Note: World Championship #1 achievement has richer rewards.】
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
You think saying that will make me take the bait?
Still… it’s been a while since I got new skills.
If I get something like “Physical Resistance” or “Paralysis Immunity,” my survivability would spike!
He clicked “Claim” and blinked.
【Ding! You obtained skill ‘Glamorous Command Lv3’!】
…