Chapter 439: Activating the Super Rice-Friendly Mode!
March 5th, Friday.
After a day of travel, the two arrived in the bustling city of Jubilife.
After bidding farewell to Mr. Lu, Cynthia set off for the Sinnoh League.
They had stayed in Celestic Town for an entire week.
As the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia had a mountain of work waiting for her.
Jubilife Airport, Departure Hall.
Mr. Lu looked toward the elegant figure of the blonde beauty walking away, feeling a little reluctant. He turned around and saw Gengar sobbing dramatically with a handkerchief in its mouth.
Lu Ye was stunned. “Why do you look even more heartbroken than I am?”
Gengar stood on the floor, waving its little handkerchief, bidding farewell to Cynthia.
“Gengaaah! ﾍ(;´Д｀ﾍ)”
It’s going to be so long before we see her again. This sucks!
During their stay in Celestic Town, the little ones had gradually warmed up to Cynthia.
Just as Mr. Lu had previously borrowed Cynthia’s team and built mutual trust with Lucario, Spiritomb, Togekiss, and the others—
Through top-tier guidance, grueling training, and a steady increase in strength,
Cynthia had also earned the trust of Lu Ye’s Pokémon.
Like the mentor-and-friend bond between Lucario and Blastoise, or the daily scuffles between Glaceon and Sylveon—
The emotional bonds forged during this time were what Lu Ye valued the most.
“Let’s go.”
Lu Ye ruffled Gengar’s head and smiled.
“Moe Moe’s not gone forever. We’ve got serious business to handle too.”
“Gengaaah!” Gengar nodded slowly, grinning wide.
Serious business… must mean more training!
Now that I’ve learned a new move—
Let me test it out at the lab’s training grounds!
“Gengaah~! (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ”
Watching Gengar giggle with that signature cackle, Lu Ye’s expression turned strange.
Everyone knows his Arcanine and Sylveon are sweet and gentle.
Gengar isn’t exactly malicious… probably?
Thankfully, Mr. Lu had already gotten a VIP card from the renovation captain in Sinnoh form.
As long as they didn’t blow the house up, it was acceptable.
“No wonder most Trainers travel instead of settling down.”
Lu Ye sighed, “No matter how rich you are, this kind of destruction is still too much!” Moe Moe’s silhouette had already vanished from sight.
Mr. Lu turned around, ready to ride his beloved Arcanine back to Masago Town.
Buzz—
His phone vibrated. A new message popped up.
[Cabbage Ice Cream]: Don’t miss me too much.
[Mr. Lu]: I’m planning to log on every day and beat people with a Garchomp team to show how much I miss you.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow.
[Cabbage Ice Cream]: With who?
[Mr. Lu]: With Gold. He challenged me to a duel. I gotta give him a taste of defeat—twice, at least!
Cynthia chuckled with helpless amusement.
If it’s Gold… then no worries.
Lu Ye set his phone down and rubbed his chin.
Cynthia’s team build was arguably the most well-rounded of all past champions—
Aside from Leon, who was the most professional and had the cleanest playstyle.
Her Garchomp-centered “Cynthia Squad” even outclassed “Helping Hand Onix” and Steven’s Steel-type team.
Thinking about Gold’s “Sunny Day Baton Pass Team” challenge,
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
I honestly have no idea how I’d lose to that!
Johto Region, New Bark Town.
A small town kissed by the breeze of beginnings, Gold’s hometown.
[Morning! This is DJ Walnut Radio!]
Wearing his signature goggles, the cocky teen flipped on the radio like usual, a blissful smile on his face.
Then he snapped at the red-haired boy in front of the TV.
“You bastard, what are you doing in my house?!”
Silver sat in front of the TV, watching a tokusatsu show. “Your window was open.”
“So you climbed in?!”
Silver stayed quiet for a while, then nodded. “It was easy.”
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”
Gold clutched his head, fuming. “If my mom sees you here, she’ll think you slept over or something!”
Silver flinched slightly, as if just realizing that.
“Gold~!”
The door swung open. Gold’s mom peeked in, froze at the sight, then smiled and shut the door.
“I’ll whip up some lunch! You boys want anything?”
Silence fell.
Silver looked at Gold expressionlessly. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s NOT fine!!” Gold sat cross-legged, flustered.
Then came a knock. Sunflora walked in with tea and snacks.
“Thanks, Seriously Taro.” Gold munched on a rice cracker.
“I’m here for a reason.”
Silver took a sip of tea and closed his eyes. “Something I wanted to talk about.”
“Huh?” Gold looked over at his rival’s serious face. “Alright, spill it. I’m listening.”
“It’s about my…” Silver changed his phrasing, “Giovanni of Team Rocket.”
“Oh, your dad? What about him?” Gold asked casually.
Silver shot him a glare and muttered,
“He’s been reaching out to me, but… I don’t know how to face him.”
It was a private message Silver had stumbled across.
The message came from an account called [Tale of Cat & Son], with less than a thousand total views.
But the account still updated daily—
The videos featured the same big cat: licking its paws, stretching, snoozing…
Despite the channel name, there was never any sign of a “son.”
Somehow, it reminded Silver of the days he quietly looked after his father in Petal Forest.
Conflicted and restless, he’d crept into Gold’s home that night, looking to vent.
“Uncle Giovanni… I always thought he was kinda cool.”
Gold rubbed his chin, then suddenly shouted,
“But why didn’t he ever try to recruit ME?!”
“Team Rocket’s being selective, huh?! I’m a freaking Johto star trainer!”
Silver paused. Come to think of it—
Among the Pokédex holders, only Gold had never been contacted by Team Rocket...
Ahem! Silver coughed, shoulders shaking slightly.
Gold glanced at him, noticing the subtle relief in his expression, and smiled.
He’d said that stuff on purpose—to help Silver decompress.
Despite the way he acted, Gold was actually pretty sensitive.
He’d been frustrated by his own limitations.
But once he learned “Breeding,” he fought Champion Pryce alone so that Silver and Crystal wouldn’t have to.
Silver wasn’t just his eternal rival—
He was one of Gold’s most cherished comrades.
“You don’t have to deal with Team Rocket.”
Gold patted Silver’s shoulder like a big brother. “But it wouldn’t hurt to check in on the old guy sometimes…”
“Lend me your phone,” Silver said flatly.
“Huh?” Gold blinked, then shouted, “Togepi Taro! Stop playing mahjong and give me back my phone!”
“Toge!” Togepi Taro tossed the phone over begrudgingly.
Gold scrambled to catch it and handed it to Silver, who tapped a few things and gave it back.
“What’d you do?” Gold scratched his head.
“Followed him,” Silver said. “With us two, he’s got twenty followers now.”
Gold nodded slowly. “Marshal’s got ten thousand… Lu Ye’s almost at ten million, right?”
Silver imagined Lu Ye’s cool and powerful form, the guy with the most solid strategies.
“Champion, huh…” he murmured. “Even Lance only tied with him…”
“Speaking of Lu Ye, hehe…”
Gold smirked and raised a brow. “Let me show you my Sunny Day team!”
Silver watched in surprise as Gold logged onto the platform and challenged Lu Ye.
Lu Ye accepted instantly. The battle screen loaded—
Blazing Inferno, the roaring Rhyperior, flared up as sunlight drenched the field.
Across from him, Garchomp polished its blades, crimson eyes gleaming—
Ten minutes later.
Looking at the [You Lose] screen, Gold’s expression twisted.
Silver nodded in approval. “Losing to Lu Ye? That’s fair.”
“Still… 6–0?” Gold scratched his head awkwardly.
“I got swept too,” Silver said flatly. “First time I matched with him.”
Gold sucked in a breath.
D*mn, you still remember that black mark in your record?!
No way—I’ve got to redeem myself!
[Gold]: One more match!
Lu Ye rubbed his forehead.
He already had enough footage…
Besides, people in the comments kept asking why he always used Sunny Day teams as examples.
Gold, maybe you should go work at a daycare.
As the Breeding Ace, you’re better off hatching eggs than playing mind games!
Seven Island, Team Rocket Base.
Wearing an office-lady outfit, the bespectacled secretary Matori pushed up her round glasses in surprise after her routine report to Giovanni.
“Boss Giovanni… seems to be in a good mood today?”
Not long ago, Giovanni had her use a private account to follow some unknown content creator.
And he’d specifically ordered her not to tell anyone.
Matori strongly suspected… that this obscure little uploader was Giovanni himself.
She tapped open the ID—
Just a few days later, the follower count had already reached twenty!
Scrolling down, her eyes caught one particular name:
Among the mutual followers, [Has Lu Ye Eaten Today], with nearly ten million fans, stood out like a sore thumb.
Matori coughed softly and murmured to herself:
“There’s no way… Boss Giovanni would care about stuff like that.”
Suddenly, the silence of the war room was broken by a phone call.
Even though she had personally invited this person, their current rank was now higher than hers.
Glancing at the caller ID, Matori answered reluctantly:
“Mentor, what are your orders?”
“The poaching sites in Sinnoh—I’ve sent them to you. Handle them quickly.”
Matori blinked. The intel was even more detailed than what her team had uncovered.
“Where… did you get this?”
Lu Ye answered casually, “Dragon Master Lance told me. His people will be assisting too.”
Matori: ???
Can you act like a proper Rocket mentor for once?!
Now you’re saying you have ties with League agents too?
Why not just admit you’re secretly an Interpol officer as well?!
Still, she nodded seriously. “Understood!”
Even an organization once labeled “evil” like Team Rocket…
Would never stoop to the level of those poachers, who ran around shouting “GO!” while tossing Poké Balls recklessly.
That kind of behavior was a blatant violation of Pokémon ecology and trainer ethics.
Sure, in games it’s fine to cheat and catch everything with one ball—
But in the real world, people who exploit Poké Balls to hunt Pokémon without restraint…
Even Matori, as a secretary for a villainous group, couldn’t stomach it.
She hung up and immediately got to work, deploying her “Matori Matrix.”
In Sinnoh, a purge was about to begin—
A joint crackdown by League agents and Team Rocket was descending upon the poachers.
Meanwhile, the local Sinnoh League officials seemed oddly at ease.
A certain blonde woman who had returned to her post raised an eyebrow and asked her assistant:
“Team Rocket is involved in this operation?”
The assistant nodded cautiously. “Their reputation seems to be improving. I’m not sure… if we should intervene.”
After all, Team Rocket was once a notorious villain group.
Many in Sinnoh’s upper ranks still viewed them with suspicion.
“The enemy of my enemy… is a friend.”
Cynthia paused, thinking of Meowth and the others, then murmured,
“Maybe… they’re not enemies anymore.”
“By the way, where’s Wusong and the others?” Cynthia asked.
“Elite Four Wusong said… now that you’re back, he needs to take some time off.”
The assistant quoted him directly: “He said he’s exhausted and needs to regrow his hairline.”
Cynthia chuckled awkwardly, then stood up gracefully.
Her eyes sharpened like a drawn blade.
“In that case… I’ll handle this operation myself.”
Wearing a black trench coat, Cynthia strode out of the Pokémon League.
Her powerful presence turned every head in admiration and awe.
Blue skies above.
Backyard of Professor Rowan’s Lab in Masago Town.
Thick smoke billowed up slowly.
In the middle of the training grounds, a massive crater had formed—absolutely unmistakable.
“Gengaaah!” Gengar scratched his head sheepishly.
Oops. Might’ve gone a little overboard there.
The rangers standing nearby gulped.
“Uh, boss… should we intervene?” asked a newbie ranger.
This level of destruction… worse than a terrorist attack!
The lead ranger gave the newbie a look and said gravely,
“Stand down.”
The rookie: ???
“That’s Mr. Lu’s Pokémon.”
Someone patted the new guy’s shoulder. “He’ll take care of the cleanup himself.”
Before the words even finished, a massive construction truck rolled in from the horizon.
“Gengaaah! (￣▽￣)／” Gengar waved enthusiastically.
Lu Ye, arriving alongside the renovation team, sat in the front passenger seat with a very complicated expression.
Thank goodness it was only Professor Rowan’s backyard this time…
But still—he’d have to foot the renovation bill.
As the sun dipped lower,
The team finished the repairs with incredible speed and professionalism.
The construction foreman was even moved to tears.
Just a little more effort, and next year… he could open a second branch!
“Mr. Lu, you’re a godsend!!”
Night fell.
Lu Ye led the little ones back to their home in Masago Town.
“Bui~ (≧∀≦)♪” Sylveon hopped onto the wheel runner like a kitten with a new cat tower—completely powerless to resist.
“Kame… ヾ(⌐■_■)” Blastoise, wearing its shades, slipped smoothly into the water tank, like a titan of the deep sea.
The ocean… is boundless.
“Quaaack~! (´థ౪థ)σ” After three days of “inhuman” training, Ducklett was so skinny it was practically unrecognizable.
Sirfetch’d gently nodded as it re-planted its leek into the flowerpot.
Time to grow some new ones… and make up for what was lost!
Arcanine still had endless energy, running laps in the yard with its tongue out like a giant hyperactive husky.
Lu Ye shook his head, stepped into the kitchen, opened the rice cooker, and gestured to Rotom:
“Rotom, activate Super Rice-Friendly Mode!”
“Can’t compute, Lotooom! o(TヘTo)”