Under Lu Ye's revision requests, the young artist let out a defeated sigh.
"…Fine. I'll redo it."
"No worries, just take your time." Lu Ye reassured her.
"Goodbye." Mina gritted her teeth.
After hanging up, Lu Ye opened the card images and examined them carefully.
"Hm… not bad."
Mina's card designs followed Lu Ye's specifications, sticking to a classic layout.
They were poker card-sized, with:
The Pokémon's name, type, and artwork on the top half.
Moves, a Pokédex entry, and weaknesses on the bottom half.
For example, a Pikachu card would look like this:
[-Pikachu | Electric-type-]
[-Moves: Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt-]
[-Pokédex: Stores electricity in its cheeks and releases it when in danger.
Weakness: Ground-]
A Pokédex-style card game—Professor Oak would probably love it.
To make gameplay more engaging, Lu Ye tweaked the original PTCG (Pokémon Trading Card Game) rules.
He divided the cards into three categories:
Pokémon Cards (Each Pokémon has HP, with rarity affecting strength.)
Energy Cards (Required to power up moves and deal damage to an opponent's Pokémon.)
Item Cards (A mix of "spells" and "traps" for added strategy.)
To illustrate—
"I summon Pikachu in Attack Mode, equip it with three Electric Energy cards—Thunderbolt, full power!"
"Useless! I activate my Item Card: Insulated Gloves! It nullifies one Electric-type attack!"
"NANI?!"
With this mentally scripted duel finished, Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction.
Though still in its early stages, this was shaping up to be the perfect school-friendly card game.
Lu Ye vaguely remembered how, back on Earth, kids loved collecting Ultraman cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and more.
This world already had trading card series…
But compared to industry giants like Konami and Nintendo, they were small-time players.
With this PTCG project, Lu Ye saw an opportunity—
Pokémon Company's first step into a new industry.
"All thanks to weak competition!" Lu Ye grinned.
Steady Progress
The project continued smoothly.
Mina, however, was struggling to complete 149 unique card illustrations alone.
Luckily, she had a Smeargle to help.
After all, a Pokémon company should have Pokémon employees, right?
Even Lt. Surge once used Raikou to power Maglev trains.
Lu Ye chuckled.
Using a Legendary for public utilities…
Lt. Surge really was a true Electric-type Master.
---
Meanwhile, Oleana had already secured a printing company to produce prototype cards.
Once the designs were finalized, they could immediately begin production.
Lu Ye smiled.
One step closer to financial freedom.
He donned an apron and headed to the kitchen.
Dinner was on him tonight.
Even the Pokémon Egg was given a plate of Pokéblocks—for aesthetics.
Lu Ye locked eyes with his Pokémon.
And then—a feeding frenzy.
Dinner Chaos
"Veeon~ Urp~!"
Sylveon hopped down from its chair, letting out a sweet-smelling burp.
A vein popped on its forehead.
Gengar and Squirtle pretended not to see anything.
"Awwooo~~" Growlithe grinned goofily.
Gengar and Squirtle took half a step back, inhaling sharply.
Bro, what the hell?!
"VEEON!ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ"
CRASH! BANG! THUD!
Lu Ye glanced up from his tea, watching Growlithe frantically dodge Sylveon's wrath.
He took a sip, unfazed.
Yep…
Just another day at Lu Ye's house.
Meanwhile, as if sensing Lu Ye's emotions—
The Pokémon Egg, resting on its cushion,
CRACK.
A thin fracture appeared on the surface.
Based on his schedule, Lu Ye would be heading to Kanto next month to meet up with Erika as promised.
---
In the meantime, he scrolled through his chat group.
A certain dragon-type Gym Leader, known for her blue ponytail, skintight outfit, and intense brother complex, hesitated before publicly posting a message.
[Clair: @Lance, are you coming back to the clan for New Year's?]
[Erika: Wow… 'The Clan' sounds so high-class.]
Brock squinted and explained:
[Brock: The Dragon Clan holds an annual gathering each year. Supposedly, they also use it to select a new Elder… not sure if that's true.]
Lorelei adjusted her glasses, smiling.
[Lorelei: Oh, it's true. But the newest Elder seems a little afraid of me.]
[Lance: @Clair, I'm not coming back.]
[Lance: @Lorelei, that's because I wasn't at the clan at the time.]
In the Champion League, trainers who conquered Victory Road could challenge the Elite Four.
Unfortunately, the Dragon Clan's prodigies had always fallen to Lorelei.
Dragon vs. Ice was always a one-sided massacre.
[Clair: Why aren't you coming back?]
[Lance: I'm currently investigating Team Rocket.] He frowned.
[Lance: Lately, Team Rocket has become more restrained… Last time I encountered them, they were fighting against a criminal syndicate.]
[Silver: A turf war?]
[Lance: No… According to local elders, the Pokémon they lost were actually returned to them by Team Rocket members.]
The chat fell silent.
That didn't make any sense.
This wasn't how Team Rocket had ever operated.
More importantly, why were they doing this?
Silver narrowed his eyes.
[Silver: …I'll continue investigating from Johto's side. Don't worry.]
[Lance: I appreciate it.]
Lu Ye stared at the chat in disbelief.
It's only been two weeks, and Team Rocket is already pivoting their business model.
Giovanni's efficiency was honestly impressive.
Sabrina, currently busy with filming, glanced at her phone.
She rarely engaged in chat, but this topic caught her interest.
[Sabrina: Maybe Team Rocket's ideology has changed?]
[Blue: Coming from a former Team Rocket Executive, that's not exactly convincing.]
Sabrina smirked but didn't argue.
[Sabrina: People change. No one is an island.]
[Sabrina: As long as you have emotions, you're not an exception.] She added.
The chat fell silent again.
Silver furrowed his brows, staring at Sabrina's message.
He didn't respond.
[Lu Ye: Aggressively ruffles hair of person above.]
[Sabrina: ???]
[Lu Ye: Oops, slipped.]
The mood was getting way too heavy.
As the group admin, it was his duty to bring back the chaos.
Gold followed up immediately:
[Gold: Aggressively ruffles hair of person above.]
[Group member 'Gold' has been muted by Admin 'Lu Ye' for 5 minutes.]
???
Excuse me.
So the admin can dish it out but not take it.
With Gold muted, the group burst into laughter, the atmosphere becoming lively again.
Silver, however, remained deep in thought.
People change.
What about a man who abandoned his wife and child for power?
Could he change, too?
---
After logging off, Lu Ye privately messaged Matori for an update.
[Matori: There are still quite a few traitors within the organization.]
She spoke with disdain.
[Matori: These vermin only tarnish Team Rocket's name and Giovanni's pure vision.]
Lu Ye froze.
If she had said Red's vision was pure, he would've understood.
But Giovanni's?
Oh, right.
He's looking for his son.
That makes sense, then.
After some small talk, he casually reminded Proton to soak her feet more often.
Matori turned red.
[Matori: You also keep participating in low-level tournaments—isn't that beneath you?]
[Lu Ye: Low-level?] Lu Ye blinked.
[Matori: Local tournaments.]
Lu Ye suddenly understood.
[Lu Ye: …Because I'm actually bad at this?]
Matori nearly choked.
[Matori: …You're even speaking in sarcasm now?!]
She realized she had misspoken and quickly added:
[Matori: I'm sorry! I know you're doing it for the prize money—please forgive me!]
[Lu Ye: ???]
Even Champions like Leon had to participate in sponsored events.
[Matori: I totally understand.] Matori nodded.
You understand nothing.
---
Lu Ye scratched his chin.
Now that he'd reached the Top 4, backing out would waste even more time.
Of course, the prize money was just a bonus.
With his company growing, he could afford to take in more "troublemakers."
What truly mattered was letting his Pokémon battle freely without injuries.
Hanging up, Lu Ye patted Sylveon, who was curled up on his lap.
"Sylveon."
Sylveon squinted its sapphire-blue eyes, purring softly.
"Do your best tomorrow." Lu Ye smiled.
Sylveon's gaze instantly sharpened.
"Veeon."