Mr. Lu was stunned.

“This is the Orange Badge you forgot to take last time when you had to leave in a hurry.”
Ash scratched his head and grinned. “Good thing Uncle Surge reminded me—so I brought an extra just in case!”

Lt. Surge crossed his arms. “Oh? Didn’t think you’d actually remember!”

To save Lu Ye from having to make a special trip to Vermilion Gym right before the tournament,
Lt. Surge had prepared an extra Orange Badge and entrusted Ash to pass it along when the time was right.

And now, with Lu Ye just having gotten the Pewter Badge,
This was clearly the perfect moment.

The tall, broad-shouldered Lt. Surge ruffled Ash’s hair and laughed heartily:
“Not bad, kid! Good instincts this time!”

“Well then…”
Brock, now back in his green-and-yellow jacket, squinted and smiled.
“You’re just about done collecting Kanto’s badges, right?”

“Not just about.”
Lu Ye held the badge and smiled bitterly.
“They’re already all collected…”

“That fast?” Brock was surprised, then quietly nodded in understanding.

As a top-tier challenger,
Lu Ye had likely faced Gym Leaders giving it their all.
But as someone from the Donghuang Alliance, he’d probably already challenged other regions’ leagues.
To beat eight Gym Leaders and earn their respect within two months… wasn’t impossible.

He just didn’t expect Mr. Lu had even gotten the Green Badge from Viridian City.

There must’ve been a fierce match between him and Green.

Brock smiled and shook Lu Ye’s hand.
“Congratulations, Mr. Lu!”

Lu Ye laughed hollowly.
Glancing down at the two badges in hand, his heart was a mess.

Who was so underhanded that they sniped me at Badge #7 like that!?

Then he recalled that innocent moment—taking the badge from Ash with a smile.
And realized the truth.

Oh. I backstabbed myself.
Great.

“Hehe.”
Ash beamed, his happiness clearly rubbing off on Lu Ye.
It reminded Ash of all the times he’d earned badges himself.

Looks like Mr. Lu’s really satisfied this time!

“Congratulations, Mr. Lu.”
Marnie offered a soft and sincere smile. “Just in time for the League.”

Ali shivered, flashing back to the PTSD of the P1 Grand Prix.
Mr. Lu’s really gonna go to the League and wreck people…
Poor Kanto rookies! o(╥﹏╥)o

Lu Ye clutched his chest.

He never imagined the flag he just raised… would fall this quickly.
How did I collect all the badges so fast?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Thinking back… none of these Gym battles were even that serious!

At Saffron Gym, Sabrina used her dad’s Alakazam…

At Cinnabar Island, the elderly Blaine couldn’t even command Entei properly…
He even fought an open-format match right here in Vermilion Gym…

And the supposedly hardest badge—Green’s—had been practically handed over by Boss Giovanni.

“Do Kanto Gym Leaders not care about badges anymore?” Lu Ye muttered.
It was starting to feel just like Ash’s early TV days.

All the Kanto badges were freebies…

Who knew this little Vermilion Gym…
Would host a three-way tag team betrayal from Brock, Lt. Surge, and Ash!?

Lu Ye sighed heavily.
“Thanks, Brock, Ash.”

“No need to thank me.”
Brock crossed his arms, brows stern but content.
This Pewter Badge was a symbol of our manly friendship!

“I only helped a little.”
Ash scratched his cheek, looking a bit shy.
“It was mostly Uncle Surge reminding me—otherwise, I would've forgotten too!”

Lu Ye’s hopeful gaze dimmed as he looked over at Lt. Surge.

“Hm…”
Lt. Surge rubbed his chin.
“No need for thanks—just stay and help rebuild the gym—”

Brock interjected:
“It’s time for the second half of the eating contest. We should get going.”

Marnie gasped.
“You’re right. That battle was so intense—I didn’t realize half an hour already passed…”

Ash: “Let’s hurry back!”

Watching the group retreat like the wind, Lt. Surge stomped his foot.

“HEY! Do you have to run off so fast!?”

Lu Ye led the charge, smirking.
You want me to lend you my VIP renovation contractor contact?
Not a chance!

Still to come:
That fool, Mr. Squinty Eyes, Gold…

I’ll remember this betrayal forever—not even Arceus can stop me!

Lt. Surge looked toward their fading silhouettes, words caught in his throat.

“Captain…”
Sausage-lipped Tony popped out and gently advised,
“A house can be rebuilt, but your health is what really matters!”

Lt. Surge turned to stare at the crumbling ruin that was once Vermilion Gym, twitching.

Mr. Lu? Can’t beat him.
That squinty-eyed guy? Ground-type wrecks Electric—also no chance.
That kid from Pallet Town? Monster.

The burly blonde man in a green vest took a deep breath.

That hedgehog from Johto…!
I’ll remember this, Gold!

Back at the eating contest venue.

Lu Ye strolled alongside Gengar, deep in thought.

“Gengarr~~”
Gengar hummed a tune as he slipped two new badges into a shiny new Badge Case.

Click!
Perfect fit. The complete set gleamed brilliantly!

“So pretty,” Marnie said sincerely.

“I’ve got one too!” Ash said proudly, holding up three fingers.
“I already have three badge cases!”

Aside from the Orange Islands and Battle Frontier, Ash had journeyed through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.
And with the Ever Grande Conference happening soon—same time as the Indigo League—Ash would be heading to Hoenn in a few days.

Lu Ye glanced at Ash’s smug look.

So what if you have seven badge cases? You didn’t win a championship until Alola!

Still… something bugged him.

Gengar, why do you even have a badge case!?

The Special Pokédex, sure—Professor Oak gave him that.
But even the badge case—did you steal that from Oak too!?

“Gengarr!”
Gengar admired the gleaming case under the sunlight, then shook his head.

Not enough. Nowhere near enough!
I need more! More badges!!

The system task panel updated:

Reward: Key Stone

The Key Stone, essential for Mega Evolution,
Was the final reward for collecting all eight badges.

Lu Ye looked away, deciding to check it out later at home.
He exhaled lightly.

Well, damn. So the Key Stone and Mega Stone came together, huh?

At least that meant he didn’t have to buy a Mega Stone separately.

Still…
Mega Evolution drained the Trainer too. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle it yet.

Sturdy-as-ever Blastoise would probably need a few days of recovery.
As for the League… honestly, to Mr. Lu, it felt more like a Baby Cup.

Instead of competing, maybe he should plan a post-Spring-Festival trip to Sinnoh…
And look for Cynthia.

Lu Ye nodded thoughtfully.

Then Ash suddenly said,
“Mr. Lu, you joining the second half of the eating contest?”

“Mhm. Gonna cheer on Gengar. Maybe we can grab third place,” Lu Ye said offhandedly.

With Ash’s Snorlax and human vacuum Marnie,
The top two were basically locked in.

Lu Ye was just here to watch—and third place was good enough.

“In that case, I’m going all out!”
Ash grinned and rolled up his sleeves.
“Miss Marnie—let’s battle it out!”

Grrr—

Ash: “Eh?”

Marnie blushed bright red, glancing away.
“L-let’s head backstage first.”

Ash: “Was that your stomach just now, Miss Marnie?”

Marnie: “NO it wasn’t!!”

In the second half of the eating contest, Lu Ye wore a somber expression.

The dishes before him looked bland and tasteless.

I’m such a fool…
I thought once I got the Pewter Badge, I just had the Orange Badge left.
Little did I know—I’d end up getting that in Vermilion City too!!

Lu Ye muttered,
These guys… did they plan this ahead of time?

But what’s done is done.

Right now, he needed to get home and feed Blastoise a Revival Root.
And maybe take Duck Duck to the Pokémon Center,
See if they could reinforce his cracked leek shield.

While Lu Ye was deep in thought, the announcer shouted:

“The winner of this year’s Eating Contest has been crowned!”

Team Rocket’s trio stared, dumbfounded, at the mountain of empty plates stacked beside Marnie.

“S-so amazing!!”

Marnie clasped her hands and said softly,
“Thank you for the meal~”

Ash lay on Snorlax’s belly, rubbing his round gut, letting out a belch.
Snorlax, having done its best, had already drifted off into a satisfied sleep.

“And in third place!”
The announcer beamed,
“Is Mr. Lu and his partner, Gengar!”

“Gengarr~ ヽ(￣▽￣)ﾉ”
Gengar, still glowing from his badge haul, was in a great mood—and had a healthy appetite.
Even being picky, he’d still secured third place.

“Well done,” Lu Ye said.

“Gengarr~” Gengar grinned proudly.

“And now—it’s time for the award ceremony!” the announcer continued.
“Our guest will present the bronze prize!”

“The third-place prize includes: one month of free gourmet meals—
—And a sponsored reward from Yuhong Department Store.”

“Move Tutor TM: Mystical Fire!”

Lu Ye: ???

As the cheers erupted, a guest stepped forward and handed a small shiny disc to Gengar, smiling warmly.
“Congratulations.”

“Gengarr! (๑`▽´๑)۶”
Gengar blinked—then his eyes lit up.

Yes! A new move to study!

Lu Ye’s face twitched.

How many times today…
…have I been backstabbed like this?!

I’m out here—

Lined up…
Holding a ticket…
To get stabbed in the back.

Today’s been a f***ing disaster.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read