March 12th, Friday.  

Morning sunlight spilled into the courtyard where tender green Revival Roots swayed in the breeze.  

"Blastoiiise! ヾ(⌐■_■)"  

Blastoise, wearing a straw hat and carrying a Squirtle-shaped watering can, was tending to the garden.  

"National Radio Calisthenics Set Seven, Rotom!"  

Haunter stretched its stubby arms downward following Rotom's broadcast, only to despair upon realizing it couldn't reach its own feet.  

"Gengarrr! ﾍ(;´Д｀ﾍ)"  

On the second-floor balcony, Lu Ye played several rounds of PTCG with Togepi, losing so badly it made him question his life choices.  

"Togepriii~!" Togepi giggled while drawing a turtle on Lu Ye's cheek with a marker.  

"I quit!"  

Lu Ye flipped the table, casually ruffling Sylveon's snow-white fur while opening his phone to chat in the group.  

"Sylveon! (｀Д´*)"  

Sylveon shook its head but gave up resisting, lazily settling onto Lu Ye's lap.  

Two days had passed since the battle against Regigigas.  

Reconstruction of Snowpoint Temple was progressing steadily.  

When Lu Ye asked Candice for updates in the group chat, she replied:  

"With Mr. Brandon and his Legendary Titans helping, the progress has accelerated significantly."  

Lu Ye looked up at the sky, imagining Regirock and Registeel hauling construction materials.  

Well... their condensed rock and steel did make excellent building materials.  

[Group Member 'Pallet Town's Ash' uploaded a photo to the group album!]  

A notification popped up.  

Ethan curiously opened the image: "Is this some new training spot?"  

"On Iron Island," Ash grinned. "Pikachu and I just defeated an Aggron!"  

"Not bad!" Ethan commented like an approving senior. "Though it's nowhere near Mt. Silver's level!"  

"You're right!" Ash's eyes sparkled. "When I return to Kanto, I'll visit Mt. Silver to find Red!"  

As Red's "home base," the wild Pokémon around Mt. Silver had all been tempered into formidable opponents by Red's team.  

Combined with Red's habit of neither capturing nor defeating them...  

Mt. Silver's Pokémon kept growing stronger—  

If not for Red's presence, they might have started challenging Gyms themselves.  

"Who was it that fled Mt. Silver after just two days?" Kris teased.  

"That's because with Red there, I never got a chance to fight!" Ethan boasted.  

Lance, draped in his cape, smiled knowingly:  

"How did your 'friendly match' with Silver at Lake of Rage go yesterday?"  

Ethan waved dismissively: "Barely won, no big deal. No need for Whitney to arrange interviews with Miss Walnut!"  

Whitney: "??? You're the only one talking about this!"  

Lu Ye exclaimed: "Silver actually lost?"  

If Giovanni found out, wouldn't he immediately capture Deoxys and storm Ethan's house?  

Silver remained expressionless, recalling yesterday's lakeside battle—  

The calm waters reflected the two trainers standing opposite each other, Poké Balls in hand.  

Both were masters of unregulated battles, throwing their Poké Balls simultaneously.  

Silver commanded coldly: "Gyarados, Whirlpool."  

"ROAR!!"  

The crimson-scaled Gyarados thrashed its tail violently, conjuring a towering waterspout.  

Wearing goggles, Ethan used Mantine as a glider, stylishly dodging the attack while diving toward Silver.  

Just as Silver prepared to send out Feraligatr for a frontal assault—  

Ethan suddenly recalled Mantine, rolled across the ground, and bank-shot a Poké Ball behind Silver using his pool cue.  

"What!?"  

Turning, Silver found a Politoed standing behind him, its spiral-patterned belly already rotating.  

Wiping his nose, Ethan grinned:  

"Polibro, Hypnosis!"  

Returning to the present, Silver scanned the chat history with a stiff expression.  

"The situation was critical—had Hypnosis missed, that punk would've countered hard!"  

Ethan sent a dozen voice messages in dramatic storyteller fashion: "Thankfully, inspired by Teacher Lu and Haunter's bond, I shouted—"  

"Face my Hypnosis, you rascal!"  

[Group Member 'Ethan' has been muted for 5 minutes by Group Admin 'Teacher Lu'!]  

Steven blinked before smiling gently:  

"Muted? I was quite enjoying the story."  

"Mainly to prevent spam," Lu Ye coughed. "Besides, raw Hypnosis is just poor sportsmanship!"  

In wild battles without accuracy boosts, Hypnosis had abysmal hit rates.  

For Ethan to land it under such circumstances proved him the ultimate gambler!  

Silver finally responded to Ethan's chat records with deadpan delivery:  

"Next Monday, Ilex Forest, best two out of three."  

After the mute lifted, Ethan grinned:  

"I'll be waiting!"  

Blue: "@Silver, remember to pick some Paras mushrooms for me! (≧ω≦)/"  

Ground into powder, they made expensive medicinal ingredients!  

Silver: "Understood."  

Lu Ye's expression shifted.  

Paras species, in danger!!  

In Hoenn, Ruby admired Ash's photo:  

"Ash's Pikachu is truly adorable."  

Ash exchanged confused glances with the Pikachu on his shoulder.  

"Pikachu... is adorable?"  

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head.  

"Absolutely adorable!" insisted Ruby, whose Contest talents gave him keen aesthetic judgment.  

"It could win at least a Hyper Rank Ribbon in the Cute category!"  

Contests had five judging categories: Clever, Tough, Cute, Beautiful, and Cool, each with tiered ribbons.  

Coordinators needed to travel across regions collecting different ribbons.  

However, Wallace's personally hosted Mikuri Cup awarded only one Water Drop Medal—more prestigious than Master Rank Ribbons and granting direct entry to the Grand Festival.  

This reflected Wallace's dual status as Hoenn Champion and Contest Champion.  

"Gengarrr!" Haunter floated past wrapped in a blanket.  

*Click!*  

Lu Ye snapped a photo of Haunter and shared it:  

"My Haunter's also super cute!"  

Sapphire asked: "Isn't Haunter usually considered Cool-type?"  

Ruby analyzed the photo: "Teacher Lu's Haunter excels more in Cleverness than Cute!"  

Lu Ye nodded:  

"True... Haunter's always been clever since childhood."  

"Gengarrr! (⁎˃ꌂ˂⁎)" Haunter lolled its tongue toward Lu Ye's face, who dodged just in time.  

The usually reserved Jasmine unexpectedly joined:  

"The Mikuri Cup... should be starting soon this year?"  

"That's right, Gym Leader Jasmine! (≖ᴗ≖)✧"  

Ruby's eyes sparkled beneath his headband:  

"Master's Mikuri Cup begins in late March around the spring equinox."  

"By then, cherry blossoms will bloom near Lake Valor—perfect for coordinators!"  

Celadon Anemone asked: "Are you participating, Miss Jasmine?"  

Blushing, Jasmine shook her head: "I just want to watch."  

"Then let's go together!"  

Celadon Anemone clenched her fists enthusiastically.  

"They hold fishing competitions at Lake Valor—I'll check that out too!"  

You're totally just going for the fishing... Lu Ye internally facepalmed.  

*Buzz—*  

Lu Ye answered a call from Olivia at Pokémon Company:  

"Pokémon: FireRed has entered main story development."  

Her professional tone continued: "The battle system references Devon Corp's Pokémon: Battle with real-time commands, though we've lowered the difficulty."  

Lu Ye nodded.  

Players would self-impose challenges anyway—  

Like completing the game with just a Magikarp or no healing items.  

In the original games, the starter Pokémon's types (Grass, Water, Fire) secretly represented difficulty levels from easy to hard.  

Players unknowingly selecting Charmander had actually chosen hard mode—  

As young Lu Ye learned painfully against Brock and Misty.  

This proved how brutal Kanto's early game truly was!  

"Good work," Lu Ye said. "I'll handle promotions... leave the MV to me."  

As development progressed, Lu Ye planned to involve Ash's group in the promotional video.  

"After filming, we can treat everyone to dinner..."  

Playing with a Petaya Berry, Lu Ye pondered:  

Recent spending sprees on his Pokémon left funds tight.  

Hiring Ash to sing wouldn't cost much.  

Cameos by Delia and Professor Oak would likely be free.  

The biggest expense would be music composition—  

"Maybe just use the original song..."  

Lu Ye murmured. "I remember the lyrics and melody anyway..."  

That classic original series opening—"Pokémon, Get Daze!"—  

He'd transcribe it when possible.  

"I wonder how well Ash sings."  

Lu Ye mused. "Otherwise we'd need a voice coach... or maybe Meowth? That pink Jigglypuff?"  

His phone buzzed with another message:  

"Teacher Lu, please reconsider judging the Mikuri Cup!"  

Ruby pleaded. "Master will pay generously!"  

Lu Ye blinked.  

Perfect timing—just when funds ran low!  

Reviewing his [Glamorous Command Lv3], Lu Ye crushed a [Skill Upgrade Ticket].  

[Ding! Skill upgraded to 'Glamorous Command Lv4'!]  

Now I'm a proper coordinator too!  

Satisfied, Lu Ye replied:  

"Payment doesn't matter—I mainly want to watch the performances live!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read