Chapter 223: The Backstabbers Are Now Spreading Person to Person
The little one had just been born, yet it was already chugging down a big bottle of cola. This made Teacher Lu seriously question himself. "Am I really that much of a slacker?" he rubbed his chin, looking puzzled. "That doesn't seem right!"
"Gulp, gulp, gulp~" Togepi kicked its tiny feet, its eyes squinting into crescents as it happily held up the large bottle. "Tokiprii! (๑＞ڡ＜)☆"
With its round eggshell body and chubby little cheeks, it really did resemble a hamster. Lu Ye watched it for a moment, feeling a strange sense of realization. "...I might not be much better than Gold, huh?"
The newborn Pokémon was full of energy, happily darting around the house. "Gengarrr! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ" Gengar frantically ran after it, using Psychic to move furniture out of the way, making sure Togepi didn't bump into anything. Lu Ye looked up at the floating chairs and swallowed nervously. Boom! A cloud of dust filled the air. The living room was a mess, but Togepi was completely unharmed. Both Lu Ye and Gengar let out a breath of relief.
"Togepi loves playing with kids and is quite mischievous," Lu Ye said, patting Gengar on the back. His gaze was sincere. "I'll be counting on you to keep an eye on it!"
"Gengarrr!" Gengar patted its chest confidently—then suddenly turned pale.
A mountain loomed before Togepi. Growlithe lowered its head, baring its fangs as it greeted the newcomer. "Awoo~ (¯﹃¯)"
Lu Ye: ??? Is that how you say hello?!
The Intimidate ability activated. Togepi took a step back, its eyes brimming with tears. A blue glow shone from its tiny fingers. Metronome!
Lu Ye's expression changed. He instinctively glanced at the ceiling. The house was just renovated—please don't let it explode again!
Togepi hopped on the spot, then plopped onto the ground, kicking its little feet in frustration. "Toki~prii! ˚‧º·(˚˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅)‧º·˚"
Togepi used Splash. Nothing happened.
An awkward silence filled the room. Lu Ye looked up at the sky. Was this… the infamous unlucky curse? But on the bright side, at least nothing got destroyed. Maybe Togepi really did bring good luck. "Quantum luck fluctuations?" Lu Ye muttered.
The round Togepi rolled across the floor. Growlithe stuck out its warm tongue, giving Togepi a quick lick. The little egg immediately stopped crying. "Awoo~" Growlithe nudged Togepi onto its back, playfully bouncing around. "Tokiprii (๑ᵔ⌔ᵔ๑)"
Lu Ye sighed in relief, smiling helplessly. "As long as they get along, that's all that matters."
Sylveon stood to the side, glancing at Togepi before huffing and looking away.
"You were even more of a troublemaker when you were little," Lu Ye teased. "And look at you now, all grown up."
Sylveon blinked its deep blue eyes, lost in thought. In the end, it simply wrapped one of its feelers around Lu Ye's arm. "Bui! o(´^｀)o"
In the chat group, Lu Ye asked: "Who's the best person to ask about raising a Togepi?"
Crystal admired his dedication and replied, "Jasmine from Johto has raised two Togekiss. I can ask her for you."
Lu Ye nodded. "Thanks a bunch~ (bashful face jpg)"
"Hey! Am I invisible to you guys?!" Gold protested. "I literally saved Johto, you know!"
"Toge~!" (I wanna see my little sister!) An enraged Togekiss screeched into the voice chat.
The once lively chat suddenly fell silent.
Yellow weakly chimed in, "I think... it's better if we don't ask Gold for advice."
Lorelei adjusted her glasses. "Agreed."
Green nodded. "Seconded."
"You guys—!" Gold sniffed and @mentioned Red. "Red, say something!"
Red: Haha, Gold's Togekiss is pretty interesting. A very energetic physical attacker.
Gold nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly!"
Lu Ye looked up at the sky. That… didn't sound like a compliment at all.
Lu Ye closed the chat. Meanwhile, Crystal reached out to Jasmine for advice on raising Togepi. Jasmine, the Steel-type Gym Leader of Johto, actually had an Ampharos named "Amphy" as her secondary ace.
"I… I'm not very good at talking… A-anyway…" In the video call, Jasmine, a girl with chestnut-colored hair tied into twin braids, took a deep breath. "If it's Teacher Lu… entrusting Togepi to him… should be no problem!" She had heard of Teacher Lu before. While looking after the lighthouse, she enjoyed watching his Midnight Diner series. Despite her shy demeanor, Jasmine had an enormous appetite.
"I've received the training documents!" Crystal smiled. "By the way, Miss Jasmine, would you like to join our chat group?"
"A ch-chat group?"
"Oh, it's Teacher Lu's fan community… I noticed you follow his Twitter."
"P-please!" Jasmine took a deep breath, still sounding nervous. "I… I'd love to join!"
[Group member 'Crystal' has invited 'Jasmine' to the chat group!]
Lu Ye approved the join request, still a little dazed. Good grief… They're recruiting new members on their own now?! Is my chat group secretly turning into a collectible card game?!
Gold: Ah! That beautiful older sister from Olivine City!
Lorelei's temple twitched. Why was she just an "old lady," while Jasmine gets to be a "beautiful older sister"?! This grudge… the Ice-type Elite Four will remember this!
Lu Ye opened Jasmine's profile, confirming that she was the same girl who used Steelix. Back in the day, he had even searched for healing items for her Ampharos. That part of the main story had kept him stuck for ages… Jasmine was extremely shy. After greeting Lu Ye briefly, she quietly went into "lurker mode."
Following the formula Jasmine provided, Lu Ye crafted some Pokéblocks suited for Togepi. In the living room, the little one quickly blended into the family. "Tokipiii~~(❁´◡`❁)✲ﾟ" Snuggled on the couch, Togepi was watching TV. Perhaps influenced by Lu Ye's streams, Togepi somehow managed to dig out a game controller, effortlessly connecting it to the console…
Lu Ye: …
Just as he thought Togepi was about to start gaming and take another step down the path of a shut-in… it opened the Move Tutor app, navigated to "#175 Togepi," and started watching the tutorial for Protect with great focus.
Lu Ye: ???
What the hell?! Self-learning… Is this how Pokémon start teaching each other?!
[Inorin Note:
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