It wasn't until Lu Ye's figure had disappeared for quite a while that the dark-skinned, toned girl finally turned around with a look of regret, clenching both fists tightly.
In Bea's eyes, flames were burning.
She was determined to earn Teacher Lu's recognition at the P1 Fighting Tournament!
—Meanwhile—
Lu Ye walked along the road home, still a bit dazed, 'She wants me to be her master?'
People are built differently.
Not everyone can throw hands with a Machamp like Bea can!
Sure, he could use some redirect-and-counter tactics…
But if Bea didn't fight with honor, that'd be too risky!
Lu Ye cleared his throat and shook his head, 'Better to get home first… dinner for the little ones is more important!'
---
Back at home.
Sylveon tilted its little head, big blue eyes full of innocence.
"Veeon~"
Lu Ye's irritation instantly faded by more than half. Not that he was really angry to begin with…
"Next time you go to a Gym, don't just wander off by yourself."
Lu Ye tugged gently at Sylveon's cheeks. "I'll worry, you know!"
"Veeon! ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ"
The little one huffed and ducked away from Lu Ye's hand, but still stiffly nodded in a slightly awkward way.
"Veeon…" (Got it… next time I'll bring the whole gang!)
Seeing its reaction, Lu Ye could tell it was seriously reflecting on its actions.
Whether it would dare to do it again… now that was a separate matter.
But for Lu Ye, this was already part of daily life.
He gave a helpless smile. "Alright then, let's eat!"
"Veeon~! (≧∇≦)"
After a hearty dinner, Lu Ye opened his laptop and started preparing the lesson plans for next week.
With the December inter-school tournament coming up, he also needed to draft a training schedule for the students.
For Giselle's Marowak, Lu Ye planned to continue its training in its signature move, Bonemerang.
As for Gladion's Lycanroc…
"Just have it keep getting beat up," Lu Ye nodded.
Letting Lycanroc take hits would not only toughen it up, but also help train Counter.
Most importantly… with Lycanroc as a sparring partner, he wouldn't have to worry about Arcanine secretly wrecking the training room!
"Genius!" Lu Ye clapped his hands, "No wonder I'm a training prodigy!"
As for the third participant, Lu Ye hadn't decided yet.
Sure, he could consider taking Bea as his disciple…
But since she was currently focused on martial arts training, even if she apprenticed under him, she'd be more of a personal student—not suitable to represent Celadon University in competition.
"We'll see." Lu Ye muttered, "Worst case, I'll just send that card-shark student… throw a few extra URs his way."
Just then, his phone buzzed.
A message from the friend group—Reliable Senior Blue.
[Blue: @Teacher Lu, there's a tournament coming up at Mt. Moon.]
Lu Ye blinked.
[Lu Ye: The P1 Fighting Tournament?]
Blue paused for a second before realizing what he meant.
Of course, as a martial arts master, Lu Ye would naturally be paying attention to high-caliber fighting tournaments.
Looks like the guess was right.
There might even be a chance to see some of Lu Ye's other Pokémon at this event.
[Green: Let me check. P1 Fighting Tournament, held at the base of Mt. Moon. A major boxing tournament open to Fighters across all regions. Note: permits sales of energy drinks, souvenir headbands, etc…] She flipped through her notes and explained.
Lu Ye's eyebrow twitched, 'Sister Green, your street vendor instincts are as maxed out as the other trio's…'
[Crystal: I entered Abby Bounce in the lightweight division before] She sighed.
[Crystal: Even in the lightweight group… the difficulty's no joke!]
[Brock: After all, challengers from other leagues also come to participate] Brock added.
[Gold: Can I enter Bluff Taro? My Bluff Taro is pretty handy with the fists too!] Gold's eyes lit up.
[Silver: Bluff Taro's Rock-type, you idiot] Silver replied.
Sending out a Sudowoodo, a Pokémon weak to Fighting, in a Fighting-focused tournament… Yeah, that's a death wish.
Gold coughed and scratched his head.
[Gold: Yeah… true.]
[Red: Even with the disadvantage, my Snorlax still took the heavyweight belt.] Red offered some encouragement.
[Red: If you want to try, Gold, you totally should!]
Gold looked conflicted, 'Red-senpai, your Snorlax is an all-round monster. You don't have to worry about type matchups!'
Aunt Lorelei chimed in.
[Lorelei: Bruno is apparently serving as a judge for this year's P1 tournament… I can pull some strings for you guys.]
[Lance: That's basically open rigging!] Lance complained.
[Lorelei: It's just helping our group draw better matchups.] She tossed her red hair stylishly and added.
[Lorelei: Besides, the champion's going to be someone from our group anyway—no need to make it all flashy.]
Lu Ye asked in surprise.
[Lu Ye: Someone from our group is entering?]
Lorelei blinked.
[Lorelei: Aren't you entering?]
[Lu Ye: Why would I?] Lu Ye looked baffled.
[Lorelei: Didn't you release that lightweight tactics guide as a warm-up for the P1?] Lorelei asked curiously.
Lu Ye was left questioning reality, 'Wait… was that my true motive all along?!'
Even Blue was a bit surprised.
But after hearing that Lu Ye wasn't planning to enter, he could understand.
Both he and Red had already won championships, so they weren't particularly interested in these kinds of events anymore.
[Blue: There's a 5,000,000 Pokedollars prize for the champion, plus stuff like Focus Headbands…] Blue was scrolling through the official announcements and gasped.
[Green: That's a huge prize!]
[Blue: That's why the number of entrants is always so high every year.] Blue nodded.
Brock felt tempted.
But as a Rock-type Gym Leader, entering a Fighting tournament felt like pushing his luck.
Brock gritted his teeth with painful resolve.
[Brock: I'll… sit this one out.]
'5,000,000 Pokedollars?!' Lu Ye's heart skipped a beat, 'Why didn't you lead with that?!'
Glancing back at Gengar, who was lifting dumbbells, Lu Ye said: "Hey, you wanna become a Fighting Star?"
"Gengarr?"
Through all his battles using Toxic, Lu Ye had slowly come to a realization: There's a limit to Substitute-Protect-Toxic… but Three-Punch Gengar? No such thing.
And besides… there was still that One-Punch Turtle at home.
Who said you needed a Fighting-type to enter a boxing tournament?
Didn't Ash use his Snorlax to steamroll a Fighting Gym?
[Lu Ye: @Green, when exactly is the P1 Fighting Tournament?] Lu Ye asked.
[Green: Around late December… You planning to enter?] Green replied.
Lu Ye rubbed his chin and did a quick mental calculation.
Once the interschool tournament ended, he'd still have time to enter.
Even if he didn't win the championship, with Gengar's immunity to Fighting moves… making it into the top 8 wouldn't be too hard.
After all… no one else was probably scummy enough to bring a Fighting-immune Gengar into a boxing tournament like Teacher Lu!
Lu Ye thought seriously, 'It's not about the prize money. I just really wanna punch some stuff!'