Chapter 88 88: Shocking the School Administration
The heated debate between User Q and the Totodile fan quickly became a viral sensation; nobody actually gave a shit about the scientific data, they just wanted to see someone eat literal feces.
The official app even secretly pinned the thread to the top, as if they were terrified people might miss the chance to witness a man begging for a bowl of shit.
This caused the users who originally came for the Eevee silhouettes to actually pay attention to this "Genius Researcher," sparking a massive debate on whether a trainer who just used his Pokémon to "copy-paste" findings actually deserved the title.
Skeptics were everywhere; if Snowhide was just using corporate money to push a "viral influencer" as a scientist, it was a slap in the face to real academics.
People were already complaining about how influencers make millions while drowning in scandals, while the researchers who actually contribute to society have to pay out of their own pockets just to keep their labs running.
Pushing a "pretty boy genius" into the limelight felt like a step too far for some.
The paid trolls on both sides were screaming at each other, but nothing could stop the general public from waiting for User Q's promised livestream of him eating shit.
Somehow, this chaotic mess successfully pumped up the hype for "Researcher Lorze," and it was hard not to see Mother Xue's corporate hand manipulating the narrative behind the scenes.
Lorze even started to suspect that User Q was actually a Snowhide plant paid to act like a prick just to make his own profile look more impressive.
Otherwise, why would someone work this hard to make him a household name?
He was actually trending on the national "Hot Search" list...
Do you have any idea what trending on a national level means?
He was now one of the faces of the Pokédex app; if he trended, the entire company's traffic and valuation trended right along with him.
A Pokédex isn't just a generic social app; in this era of "Pokémon for everyone," you literally cannot survive in society without using one.
Once a single company achieves a monopoly, they effectively own the nation's entire digital attention span.
Not even an app like WeChat could compete with that level of necessity; you can imagine how much the competitors were shitting themselves at Snowhide's sudden dominance.
If you were an executive at Penguin Corp, watching your own hired trolls push your rival's genius onto the front page, you'd probably want to kill yourself.
I'd tell you to go fuck yourself!
As the hype for "Researcher Lorze" was pushed to the limit, people started connecting the dots between "Lorze" and "Ralts," deducing that he was the same trainer from the Pure White Ralts viral clips a few months back.
It certainly helped that the Torchic Challenger Tournament was a Snowhide-sponsored event.
The tournament organizers were suddenly reaping a tidal wave of free traffic; they wouldn't have to beg for a single sponsor for the next decade, probably laughing themselves awake every morning.
But the biggest shock for Lorze was the fact that even his school had noticed the news, prompting a personal call from Teacher Liu.
"Teacher Liu? To what do I owe the honor of a call from the city's most beautiful educator?" Lorze answered with a playful, arrogant smirk.
"What do you think? You caused a national scandal and didn't think to mention it to your own teacher?" Teacher Liu's voice sounded... strangely resentful.
"What scandal?"
"Don't play with me. Is this 'Researcher Lorze' on the app actually you?"
"That? What makes you think that?" Lorze looked at his own reflection, wondering if his identity was really that leaked.
"Did you forget? When you asked for leave, you explicitly said you were going to be a researcher for the Snowhide Corporation. Who else could it be?" She wasn't going to let him play dumb.
Originally, Teacher Liu was oblivious; she never imagined one of her own students could actually break the internet.
It wasn't until her superiors came to the Principal to verify the boy's status, and the Principal came to her, that she realized her "missing" student was a national celebrity.
What the hell is happening?
Are you sure we're talking about the same kid?
I knew he was a combat prodigy, but a genius researcher?
He's only 17! He hasn't even finished his senior year! What kind of research could he possibly be doing?
It wasn't until she opened the app herself that she was forced to face the reality: her student was a literal legend.
"Well, my researcher status was supposed to be a secret, but since you've already figured it out, I won't lie. But surely this tiny detail isn't worth a personal phone call?" Lorze admitted it; his identity was bound to go public eventually.
As long as he stayed loyal to Snowhide, they would protect him from corporate poachers.
"A tiny detail? I'm about to have a mental breakdown because of you! Do you have any idea what this means for your future?!" Teacher Liu rubbed her temples, exhausted by his casual attitude.
"What does it mean?" Lorze asked, genuinely curious. It was just a few Abilities.
Why were they being so dramatic? If they're losing their minds over this, they'll literally faint when he drops the paper on Emotional Energy or the Umbreon evolution.
If he eventually releases the Fairy-type discovery and the Mega Evolution thesis, they'll probably just spontaneously combust.
Everyone needs to chill the fuck out~.
"You brat! Do you know how many university graduates spend their entire careers without a single discovery like yours? If you had told me earlier, I could have squeezed the school for infinite resources for you!" She could hear his indifference and it made her blood boil.
"I'm not exactly short on resources at the moment." Lorze shrugged.
"Did you forget what I told you? The school is a government entity. We have access to things that private corporations are legally banned from touching."
"So you're saying you can finally get me a Life Orb to play with?"
"No. But if you want to bypass the legal limit and own a 3rd or 4th Pokémon early, the school can fast-track the application."
"More Pokémon slots... okay, that's actually useful," Lorze said, rubbing his chin.
New trainers were legally capped at two Pokémon; getting more was a bureaucratic nightmare that involved months of vetting.
If the school could handle the paperwork, it would save him a lot of time he could spend fucking his harem of MILFs.
"'Actually useful'? Is the school just a nuisance to you now?" Her face darkened.
"Uh... no, of course not. It's just that its utility has diminished in the face of my recent successes." Lorze quickly pivoted to avoid her wrath.
"You clearly don't understand the system. High school affects your university admission, and a top-tier university affects your entire life. Elite students get permits to enter Secret Realms, and the National Tournament only recruits from university teams. If you slack off now, you're going to miss out on the world's most guarded secrets." She lectured him with a stern, maternal authority.
"College students can enter Secret Realms?" Lorze's interest was piqued; that sounded a hell of a lot better than a desk in a classroom.
Xue Tong's entire career revolved around exploring those Realms and the Ultra Wormholes.
He'd be a liar if he said he wasn't curious; the possibility of finding a Legendary Pokémon alone was enough to make him want to go.
If he could track down a Jirachi and get three wishes, he'd be a god among men.
He thought only masters like Xue Tong had the right to enter, but hearing that students had a shot was a major game-changer.
"Of course they can, but only the elite ones. Average colleges are locked out. But the ones in Shanghai or Beijing? Rumor has it they send their top students to the Meteor Falls Secret Realm to catch rare Pokémon. That place is one of the only natural habitats for Dragon-types in our country. It would be a tragedy to miss a chance to go there." She saw his interest and fed him exactly what he wanted to hear.
In reality, even those universities hadn't opened Meteor Falls for a student trip in years.
But she was just a high school teacher; she didn't know the high-level politics behind why those gates stayed closed.
"Alright, I get it. School is important. I'll bust my ass once I get to university~." Lorze was definitely motivated now.
Meteor Falls was a name any Pokémon player knew—the iconic Hoenn location where Bagon and Dratini lived, and where gods were hidden in certain versions.
He desperately wanted to see which version of Meteor Falls existed in this reality.
"What do you mean you'll work hard 'once you get there'? Are you planning on giving up on high school entirely?!" She was furious. After all that, he still wouldn't come to school to see her?
"I'm not giving up. Didn't you say as long as I place in the Provincial Tournament, the colleges will come crawling to me?"
"That's the theory, but our Li Province is a backwater. Even if you're number one here, you'll struggle to compete with the top ten from the powerhouse provinces. Whether the Beijing or Shanghai schools will take you is a massive gamble."
"Is that so? Can I just enter the tournament in a different province then?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Also, I haven't tested your strength in months. You've been busy playing scientist; did you forget how to train?"
"Probably not?"
"We'll see. The School Sports Meet is coming up soon. Our class ranking has been dogshit for months because you aren't there. You are going to take the number one spot for me, or you can forget about the Provincial Tournament."
"Fine, fine. I'll do whatever you want. Just tell me when the meet starts~."
"Good. Because if you fail to take first place, don't blame me when I keep you after class for some 'private' detention!"
"That sounds like a reward~. To spend 'private' time with a young, sexy woman like you? Maybe I should lose on purpose?"
"Don't you dare! You're so fucking shameless!"
Teacher Liu barked the insult and slammed the phone down.
Listening to his cocky, irritating voice was starting to affect her... emotional stability.
If anyone was standing next to her, they'd see her face was a bright, unnatural crimson.
That comment about wanting to be alone with her had made her pussy throb with a sudden, sharp ache.
She didn't know what was wrong with her...
Ever since that class gauntlet months ago, the boy had been living in her head rent-free.
She remembered that day Lorze used his Cute Charm to win, and then they were alone in the storage warehouse.
He had pinned her against the wall, his fingers interlaced with hers, and he had almost stolen a kiss from her lips.
Since then, she couldn't forget the feeling of him; thinking of him left her with a hollow, hungry void in her chest.
She didn't know what that feeling was, and she was too terrified to put a name to it.
She was supposed to test his strength every month as part of their agreement.
But she had been too scared to actually face him, so she'd been dodging him until the very last second.
Now that the Sports Meet was forcing their reunion, she felt a surge of genuine fear...
And a thirsty, wet sense of anticipation.