Chapter 586: The Rocket Team’s Blind Box Economy
When Lu Ye and Cynthia entered the Sinnoh League hall, the entire space fell silent for a moment.
Cynthia needed no introduction—noble and dignified, the Sinnoh Champion, a goddess in the eyes of trainers.
Although she was approachable and often cared for newcomers, few dared to come close.
Even Aru and Flint, who worked with her, would freeze with a pained expression whenever Cynthia was mentioned, recalling the terror of being dominated by Garchomp.
The tall blonde beauty seemed to carry a queen-like aura naturally, her smile gentle but her eyes sharp and commanding.
The handsome young man walking beside her was tall and slender, like a beautiful youth stepped straight out of Greek mythology.
Sunlight outside the hall scattered onto them, casting a radiant glow.
Some people were briefly dazed by the sight but soon resumed walking.
“Isn’t that Teacher Lu?” a female staff member whispered to her companion.
“Yeah. He’s standing with Miss Bamboo Lan, quite a nice sight…” “So cute, totally ship them!”
The low murmurs were pure admiration for their beauty.
They passed through the hall and reached the conference room via the polished corridor tiles.
Lu Ye held down the restless Larvitar, not letting it out to raid the buffet.
Cynthia rested one hand on her waist, standing by the redwood door, turning to ask Lu Ye with a focused gaze:
“Do you want to wait for my meeting to finish, or go check out the venue first?”
“Is Lucian here too?”
“Yes, he’s responsible for setting up the Light Screen and Barrier for the event.”
“Oh… then I’ll see him briefly before I leave.”
Inside the conference hall, the Elite Four and champions gathered.
Aru’s tuft of hair wobbled as he pointed at the Pokédex, explaining to the curious Flint:
“This is Kalos’s colorful powder butterfly. So far, twenty different patterns have been discovered.”
“Not bad, they’re all quite pretty!” Flint rubbed his chin, recalling a Bilibili video, and curiously asked, “Is there a water monkey?”
“Wa-water monkey?” Aru was stunned for a moment: “Do you mean Cold Water Monkey?”
Lucian sat elegantly with one leg crossed, dressed in a wine-red suit, holding a hardcover book on his knee.
He pushed up his rimless glasses and said calmly, “Cynthia will be back soon. Everyone prepare your reports.”
“My report is only one page.” Flint pulled out a crumpled printed sheet and showed it to Aru. “What about you?”
Aru’s tuft wobbled as he shook his head: “Yesterday’s forest expedition got ruined by bug acid!”
Flint: “...You should find a different excuse.”
Aru: “Huh? I used this excuse all through school!”
Grandma Kukuno sat on the sofa holding a steaming thermos cup, leisurely sipping tea with her eyes closed:
“Grandma has a good memory;
just give a verbal report.”
Lucian: “...”
You all seem so relaxed?!
Why does my report feel like it’s turning into a hefty book?!
The Sinnoh League’s Elite Four lineup: a genius youth, a passionate dunce, a speeding grandma,
and the knowledgeable, hardworking Lucian.
Click—the door slid open.
Cynthia rested one hand on her waist and smiled brightly: “Everyone, long time no see!”
“Oh, Big Sis!” Aru raised his hand: “I lost my report, that’s my report!”
“Alright, next!”
“Ahem, my turn.” Flint cleared his throat, surprised: “Teacher Lu?”
“Good morning, everyone.”
Lu Ye greeted, “Just passing by to take a look… you all carry on!”
Grandma Kukuno squinted and appraised Lu Ye up and down, nodding to herself.
She was quite fond of him.
Because Grandma had a keen eye for people... especially handsome guys.
Lucian opened his mouth to say something but hesitated.
Why is it that when you two date, I’m the one who gets hurt?
Please take over the Elite Four soon so I can retire early! (;
´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)
Aru suddenly straightened up, guessing the relationship between the two, and stared intensely at Flint.
Flint gave him a serious look.
Aru suddenly understood, just as he imagined—
Teacher Lu must have been persecuted and tamed by Big Sis into a subordinate!
“Then, please continue with your reports…” Cynthia said slowly.
Confirming that Lucian’s hair was still perfectly styled.
Teacher Lu nodded slightly, closed the conference room door, and a sneaky little chubby figure peeked out from his shadow.
“Gengarrr?”
“Next, let’s take a walk around the venue.”
Lu Ye stroked his chin: “Maybe I’ll run into some familiar faces!”
...
The Lily of the Valley Conference was divided into a main venue, sub-venues, vendor areas, and a player village.
The format was roughly similar to the Quartz Conference.
However, from the quarterfinals onwards, the Lily of the Valley Conference would use a full 6v6 battle mode.
Additionally, the conference used a relatively official ‘limit four’ rule, meaning no more than four moves could be used in a match.
In the Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl anime, battles in the Lily of the Valley Conference focused more on tactical and strategic play.
How to use only four moves effectively, through switching and team defense, to severely damage the opponent was a necessary challenge for trainers.
The Diamond and Pearl arc of the anime was known as the most tactically oriented and game-like battle style, mostly praised by viewers.
However, this was also the last glory of the anime series before Black &
White reset Ash’s tactical level to zero, making battles painful to watch.
Teacher Lu shook his head and muttered, “This tournament will probably encounter many tactical players...”
I remember there was a Space Team trainer in the original, and Tailwind, and Spikes—
Lu Ye coughed: “Please don’t let it turn into a casual tournament again!”
Battling Pokémon is one thing, but please don’t beat up casuals too... hopefully.
The venue’s roads stretched in all directions, decorated with lanterns and balloons floating around.
Trainers chatted and laughed, sending out Pokémon to accompany them, including adorable Foam Squirrel and Pachirisu.
Lu Ye also sent out Sylveon.
Immediately, all eyes locked on the proud Sylveon.
“Bui~” Sylveon glanced sideways as if looking down like a queen.
Lu Ye bought a candy-shaped balloon from a vendor and tied it to Sylveon’s ribbon.
“Bui?” Sylveon tilted its head slightly.
“You’re too fat to fly.” Lu Ye teased.
“Bui! (#｀皿´)”
Sylveon waved the ribbons on both sides of its bow like fluttering chrysanthemum leaves.
Lu Ye reached out his arm—it didn’t hurt much since Sylveon was holding back its strength.
Besides, Teacher Lu’s physique was becoming increasingly superhuman...
Lu Ye walked through the venue holding the candy balloon, Sylveon leading the way.
“Gengarrr~(￣～￣)” Haunter carried a large serving of oden and walked slowly beside him.
Haunter handed over a skewer of meatballs, and Lu Ye opened his mouth to catch it, mumbling, “Not bad... where did you buy this?”
“Gengarrr?” Haunter scratched its head.
They were all laid out there;
I thought you could just take them freely, Gengarrr!
Lu Ye was stunned for a moment and called out, “Little Rotom, go with Haunter to pay!”
The Rotom Pokédex flew out of the backpack, spinning once: “Received, Rotom!”
The oden stall was easy to find, the most popular one among all the vendors.
“Buy oden, get one chance to draw a blind box, meow~~”
“Pair it with candied fruit juice, and you get two draws, plus a big discount!” James rubbed his hands and smiled.
Jessie knocked on a blackboard, shouting, “See that? Drawing blind boxes can win Teacher Lu’s character card, Sylveon plush, Haunter’s hat, and Ilex Forest’s specialty, big leeks!!”
The crowd surged, bustling and crowded to the point of no passage.
“No way! Another big leek! One more draw!!”
“They have a wide variety of food, and it’s surprisingly good…”
“Yay, I got first prize!!”
“Such a decent seller, everyone grab them fast—once this village’s gone, the shop’s gone!!”
Other vendors rushed out of their stalls, stunned, looking at the trio as if seeing gods.
“Are they really not losing money on this?!”
“This is basically selling blind boxes! We’ve been fooled!”
“Hmm… the number of draws doesn’t matter, I just think their food tastes really good…”
Lu Ye stood in front of the packed stall with a complicated expression.
This move was probably James’s idea... after all, he was a merchant’s son with max business skills!
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Officer Jenny arriving on a motorcycle. She looked helplessly at her communicator:
“They don’t seem to be breaking any rules... the lottery is a bonus for buying food, so it counts as a promotion!”
Lu Ye looked up at the sky, and a beam of white light flew out from the commemorative ball at his waist.
“Gah! (´థ౪థ)σ” Sirfetch’d held its big leek, tearfully heartbroken.
Why use big leeks for a lottery?!
Lu Ye roughly understood the meaning and said casually, “Maybe because... using big leeks for a lottery is illegal.”
Sirfetch’d: ???
Not far away was the girl’s stall.
A gust of wind blew through, leaving the area deserted.
The girl propped her chin on her hand, sighing deeply in boredom.
“Could it be that I have no business talent... only able to trick Red and Green a little?”
“No way!” The girl suddenly clenched her fists and regained spirit: “Beautiful girl Blue refuses to give up!”
“If I can successfully sell healing medicine to Teacher Lu, that counts as a win!”
...