Chapter 462: Aim to Be a Pokémon Master!
"Have Meowth teach the twerp to sing!?"
On the communication screen, the trio's faces were pressed together as they spoke in unison.
The extraordinarily handsome 'mentor' nodded slightly and said solemnly:
"Correct, this is the important task I'm assigning to you recently!"
"But..." James scratched his head, confused, "Meowth can barely sing himself, how could he possibly teach the twerp?"
"Exactly!" Jessie clenched her fist, "What Meowth does is more like teeth grinding than singing!"
Then Jessie gracefully spun around and raised her right hand high.
"When it comes to singing performances, naturally you need an all-around superstar like Jessie the Diva—"
"Jessie, you're not much better yourself?" James gave her a sidelong glance.
"What did you say!?" Jessie angrily grabbed James by the collar. Suddenly, both paused and simultaneously turned to look at Meowth.
"Strange, Meowth didn't chime in today?" Lu Ye voiced their shared confusion curiously.
"M-Meowth was just distracted!"
Meowth's face turned red as he fidgeted uncomfortably, turning his head away:
"S-singing isn't Meowth's strong suit, you should find someone else!"
"How so?"
Lu Ye smiled gently.
"You don't need a beautiful voice—just grasp the rhythm and melody well enough to sing with emotion."
"Besides..." Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, "Didn't Meowth write a song himself?"
"H-how did you know about that, meow!?"
Meowth took a startled step back, raising his arms defensively in front of his flushed face.
James looked up thoughtfully before suddenly slapping his palm.
"Now I remember! Meowth, wasn't that the song you performed last time?"
"I heard it was written for an old flame of yours~"
Jessie laughed gossipily, "Ohoho~" before noticing Meowth's dejected expression and giving him a firm pat on the back.
"Cheer up! If you complete the mentor's task, you can have all the sweethearts you want!"
"N-no, it's not like that, meow!"
Meowth's face flushed as he recalled his first love—the song "Meowth's Ballad" he wrote for a Meowth named Madonna—and sighed deeply.
"That wasn't mutual love... just my unrequited feelings, meow..."
"You said before you wrote her a song?" James asked curiously, "What happened then?"
Meowth's eyes turned wavy with tears as he wailed:
"Madonna thought a Meowth who talks like humans and stands on two legs was disgusting, meow! (இωஇ)"
"Stop crying!" Jessie shouted before pulling out a handkerchief herself, "Now you're making me tear up too (Ｔ▽Ｔ)..."
"That's so sad, Meowth!" James exclaimed.
For a moment, Team Rocket shared Meowth's pain, and even Wobbuffet popped out of its Poké Ball to wipe away tears with a handkerchief.
"Sooo, sooonansu!"
"What a terrible feeling~!"
Lu Ye looked exasperated at the trio crying in a group hug before slamming the table:
"Enough!"
"Sir!"
The trio immediately stopped crying, standing at attention and saluting sharply:
"Your orders!"
These three are all Oscar-worthy actors...
Lu Ye smiled wryly and said, "I can't find suitable voice actors right now."
"Ash... ahem, the twerp will be left to you, Meowth. Get him to sing flawlessly within a week."
"In return, I'll produce a record album for you, Meowth."
Meowth's fur stood on end as his face filled with shock.
"A... a Meowth album!?"
Jessie looked jealous while James laughed heartily:
"Better work hard, Meowth!"
An album... Meowth could be a singer... Meowth's own record...
Overwhelmed by happiness, Meowth swayed dizzily as if surrounded by pink bubbles.
Then Meowth snapped to attention, saluting with his paw, eyes blazing with determination:
"Within three days, I'll have the twerp singing perfectly, meow!"
......
The scheduled time with Ash and Meowth was set for Sunday.
Teacher Lu had one day to visit Jubilife City to arrange a recording studio and prepare the venue.
Before that, Lu Ye checked the official Pokémon Company website for the upcoming game.
The headline "MV Promotion Project in Preparation" stood out prominently.
[For the Pokémon MV, we've invited heavyweight guests. Producer Teacher Lu from the core team will serve as MV director and personally compose the lyrics and music...]
Gaming forums were already buzzing over this news.
"Heavyweight guests? Can this broke company really afford any?"
"I'm dizzy—Teacher Lu is producer, director, AND lyricist?"
"As we all know, Teacher Lu had to learn everything because he's too stingy to hire others."
"Wait, isn't Teacher Lu a chef?"
"This chef clearly doesn't understand Pokémon training. Let him battle me 1v1—he doesn't even need to command to beat me!"
Players had grown numb to this chef's versatility.
Even if he added "Coordinator Master" to his resume, it wouldn't be surprising.
On the anticipation charts, Pokémon crushed Devon Corporation's new game for the top spot.
Countless forum posts speculated about the release date.
"If it doesn't get delayed, can it even be called a good game?"
"Don't rush—we just created a project file named 'Pokémon.'"
"Buy music, get game free—total win!"
In the chat group, Old Man Ironspin eagerly shared forum posts and asked:
"Lu boy... when's the game coming out? This old man's ready to buy!"
"Still a long way off," Lu Ye replied. "The MV alone needs at least another month of development."
Ironspin pouted, his face clearly displeased:
"Six months of development, and I'll be bored in two days..."
Ethan smirked: "Cheating takes all the fun out of it!"
"What cheating!?" Ironspin bristled, "This is what you youngsters call 'Overpowered MC'! A brand-new gaming experience!"
Lu Ye blinked.
Damn, Old Man Ironspin... are you a disciple of Fengling Yinying too?
"Take it slow... let's finalize the MV lyrics first."
After idling in the chat group, Teacher Lu headed to the small attic with musical instruments and sat at the drum set.
In his vision, the long-dormant skill [Performance Lv3] appeared.
[Performance Lv3] granted amateur-level proficiency with instruments, placing Teacher Lu among top-tier hobbyists.
While not enough to make a living, it was more than sufficient for a music-focused content creator.
"For Sinnoh, we'll stick to the original 'Aim to Be a Pokémon Master' and have Ash sing it."
Recalling the melody from memory, Lu Ye played the keyboard beside the drums and transcribed the notes.
"The Eastern version I'll perform myself and upload to Bilibili—might even gain some followers..."
Smiling, Lu Ye placed his hands on the keyboard and called over his shoulder: "Haunter!"
"Gengarrr?"
Without opening the door, Haunter floated straight through it, blinking its big red eyes.
With Haunter providing backup vocals, Lu Ye pressed the keys and shouted with full chuunibyou energy:
"Pokemon, Get☆Daze!"
Energetic electronic music filled the air as Haunter tilted its head curiously: "Gengarrr?"
"Whether in water, fire, grass, or forest..."
"In clouds, soil, or under that girl's skirt!"
Haunter gave a disgusted side-eye before floating out on its own.
Tossing the microphone to Haunter, who fumbled to catch it, Lu Ye sang the original version:
"Pokemon, Get☆Daze, hey hey hey!"
"Gengarrr!"
Haunter excitedly grabbed the mic with both hands, ready to chime in—only for Lu Ye to snatch it back and walk out.
"Let's go, time to make dinner..."
Lu Ye wiped cold sweat internally.
Close call—almost forgot Haunter knows "Perish Song"!
"Gengarrr! (｡•́︿•̀｡)"
Haunter pouted dejectedly before humming the tune and wiggling its way to the kitchen to steal snacks.
"Gengarrr! (～￣▽￣)～"
That song must be master's dream!
To become a Pokémon Master...
I, Haunter, will work hard too~!