Chapter 91: Espeon!
Lorze opened his phone only to discover that Goddess Xue Tong had sent him a video
message two days ago.
Attached below the video was a single sentence: Espeon has evolved successfully; your
theory was correct.
Lorze froze for a moment when he saw the message, completely blindsided by how
quickly they had moved.
With a look of sheer surprise, he tapped on the video file to play it.
In the video, three people were busy operating a mountain of equipment around a single
Eevee.
Lorze recognized all three: two were Goddess Xue Tong and Anna Lee.
The third was a mature, blonde beauty in a researcher's coat—Anna's mother, Elena.
The Eevee was sitting obediently on a chair, surrounded by several parabolic focus
plates.
These plates were concentrating beams of sunlight directly onto the Eevee, making its
position blindingly bright.
Even through the screen, Lorze felt like he could sense the sweltering heat of that spot.
Bathed in the "spotlight,
" the Eevee kept its eyes closed, greedily absorbing the solar
energy from the rays.
Once this energy accumulated to a critical mass inside its body, a prismatic light brighter
than the sun erupted from the Eevee.
Enveloped in the glow of evolution, the Eevee ' s body began to undergo a radical
metamorphosis.
Its small, fox-like frame gradually lengthened and smoothed into a mysterious, pink feline
creature.
A vibrant red gemstone sat prominently on its forehead—the organ used to store and
convert solar essence.
This gem allowed it to transform pure sunlight into potent Psychic energy.
Wait... so solar energy can be directly converted into Psychic power?
That sounds like an entirely different research project for later.
But now wasn't the time for that; he hadn't expected Xue Tong's progress to be this
lightning-fast.
The entire evolution had been completed quietly while he was busy in his daily orgy,
without even a single consultation.
He had to admit, as one of the most famous researchers today, Elena's professional
competence was off the charts.
To be honest, Lorze had only mentioned the concept of "Emotional Energy" (Friendship).
As for how to actually measure the fluctuations of that energy, he had been totally in the
dark.
Yet, Elena had developed the necessary hardware based purely on his raw theory.
Now, with the addition of a new Eevee evolution, Snowhide ' s plan to conquer the
Pokédex market was no longer a dream.
Don't think this is an exaggeration—how could a mere Eevee have that much influence?Ignoring the fact that Umbreon was still in the pipeline, Eevee already held the title of the
"National Pet.
"
It was the ultimate "jack-of-all-trades" choice for any Starter Pokémon.
Any family that could afford an Evolution Stone would prioritize an Eevee above almost
anything else.
People assumed Evolution Stones were priceless, but a standard one only cost a few
tens of thousands of dollars.
Hardly any family aspiring to raise a Trainer couldn't scrape together that much cash.
If you couldn't afford a stone, you weren't going to survive the high cost of raising a
Trainer anyway.
The millions of dollars people heard about were for "Top-Grade" stones.
The higher the quality of the stone, the higher the chance the Pokémon would master
high-power moves upon evolving.
Since a single Move Tutor session for an ultimate move cost over a hundred thousand, a
high-grade stone paid for itself in saved tuition.
And now, Snowhide had found a way to evolve Eevee without a stone at all.
Better yet, the resulting types were the rare Psychic and Dark types.
How could ordinary Trainers not lose their minds over this?
Remember the saying: Psychic and Dragon types are the two mountains crushing all
Trainers.
Now, one of those mountains was accessible through a "Free-to-Play" method. Only a
fool wouldn't jump at that!
Cough, cough. Okay, maybe not everyone would choose it, given the high cultivation
costs of Psychic types...
But regardless, Snowhide was about to make a killing with this proprietary knowledge.
The only question was whether they planned to release the "How-To" to the public.
If they did, then everyone would have the means to evolve their own Eevees, wouldn't
they?
To get an answer, Lorze reached out to Goddess Xue Tong immediately.
Well...
"immediately" meaning two days after she sent the message.
Lorze: "So sorry, Goddess Xue Tong. I've been buried in 'research' (fucking) for the last
two days and didn't check my phone. Congratulations on the success!"
Xue Tong happened to be online; she had actually been waiting for him to surface.
Xue Tong: "It's fine. I assumed you were deep in your studies, so I told my mother not to
disturb you. Do you have time to talk now?"
Lorze: "Of course. If possible, I'd love to see the raw research data.
"
Xue Tong: "I' ll send the files over in a minute. Here' s the summary: we' ve confirmed the
'Emotional Energy' threshold for the 220-point mark.
"
Xue Tong: "We also measured the exact amount of solar energy required for the trigger.
"
Xue Tong: "Just as you hypothesized, Eevee must absorb a massive amount of solar
energy within a specific window to evolve. The reason no one found this before is likely
because natural sunlight isn't concentrated enough.
"
Xue Tong: "Even under a clear sky with our focus plates, it took several hours. Achieving
this in a normal environment is nearly impossible.
"Lorze: "What about the Ability? Did you confirm the Hidden Ability?"
Xue Tong: "Yes. Thanks to the 'Magic Bounce' entry you discovered recently, we
confirmed this Espeon has it.
"
Lorze: "Lucky. That's a top-tier competitive Ability.
"
Xue Tong: "It is. I'm going to raise this Espeon as one of my main combat partners.
Consider it your gift to me.
"
Lorze: "In that case, let me give you a pro tip. Based on my deductions, Espeon has a
unique talent for 'Precognition.
' You should train its sensory abilities from that angle.
"
Xue Tong: "Since it's your suggestion, I'll take it very seriously.
"
Lorze: "One more thing—when does the Snowhide Corporation plan to go public with the
Espeon intel?"
Xue Tong: "Probably in the next few days. We'll wait for Little Xue's Umbreon to be
ready so we can release both together.
"
Lorze: "I thought you might keep it a secret. After all, if you hold the keys, people have to
pay you to evolve their Eevees.
"
Xue Tong: "That would make a quick profit, but it wouldn't help us win the Pokédex war.
The goal is to make people fall in love with our app. If we own the platform, we own the
market.
"
Lorze: "That makes sense.
"
Xue Tong: "Besides, Eevee can't absorb enough energy in the wild anyway. They'll still
have to rent our specialized facilities to complete the process.
"
Lorze: "But what if other companies copy the service? I' d feel like we' re being 'leeched'
off of.
"
Xue Tong: "Even if they copy the 'Sun Bath' rooms, they'll still choose us.
"
Lorze: "Why?"
Xue Tong: "Did you forget your own 'Friendship' theory?"
Xue Tong: "We are currently the only organization on Earth capable of measuring
Emotional Energy. The rest of the world doesn't even know the concept exists.
"
Xue Tong: "If a user wants to know if their Eevee is ready to evolve, they have to come to
a Snowhide facility to check the numbers.
"
Xue Tong: "And it's not just for Eevee. Anyone who wants to see their bond with their
partner will have to use our tech. This is a total 'Dimension Reduction' strike on the
industry.
"
Xue Tong: "Now do you understand why my mother was so desperate to sign you for 100
million a year?"
Xue Tong: "You really are a genius. My words.
"
Lorze finally saw the bigger picture. He had completely overlooked the measurement
bottleneck!
To evolve an Eevee, you first had to know if it was ready.
If you tried to force an evolution before the bond was high enough, you were just wasting
your money on a "Sun Bath" rental.
By revealing the "How" but keeping the "When" locked behind their proprietary
diagnostic tech, Snowhide was securing both fame and a permanent monopoly.Chapter 92: You There? Come Out and Eat Shit!
Before anyone realized it, several days had passed since the massive Pokédex update.
During this time, Snowhide Corporation continued to trickle out new Pokémon Ability
updates.
However, after the initial explosion of interest, just updating minor traits wasn't enough to
keep the users hooked.
At the end of the day, the initial hype was driven by those two mysterious Eevee
silhouettes in the promo video.
Did they really come here to read about Abilities that don't even belong to their own
Pokémon?
Sure, they could look, but a description is just a few lines of text. Even with a video
demonstration, it takes thirty minutes to read the whole batch.
Who is going to log in every single day just for that?
They were there for the new Eevee evolutions, damn it!
But as the days dragged on with zero official news, the public's patience began to wear
thin.
When the fuck are you going to show us?!
Are you keeping them as family heirlooms?
If you don't release the news soon, we're leaving. You really don't know your audience,
do you?
Do you think a few 'niche' Abilities can hold our attention forever?
Publish it or fuck off!
Or... was it all a lie? Did you never actually discover a new evolution?
Was the silhouette in the video just a bait-and-switch to lure users onto your app?
Technically, you never 'said' you found a new Eevee, you just showed a shadow. Are we
the idiots for assuming?
Hehe. If that's the case, we aren't leaving until we flame this company into the ground!
Driven by the paid trolls of rival corporations, the narrative shifted. People who were
already skeptical began to feel like they'd been scammed.
At this point, people started looking back at User Q's comments about "Researcher
Lorze" with newfound respect.
He was a prophet!
A 'Genius Researcher'? What a joke. He's probably just a mascot pushed by Snowhide
to farm engagement.
Why else would this 'genius' be too scared to show his face or reveal his real name?
He knows he's a fraud. He's hiding so he doesn't get ruined when the truth comes out.
Like company, like employee!
User Q didn't miss this chance to kick them while they were down. He began
aggressively @-ing "Totodile-Fan" and "Researcher Lorze" to come out and answer for
their "crimes.
"
Totodile-Fan, who had been Lorze's biggest defender, had gone quiet.
Truthfully, he had taken his Totodile to a professional center and confirmed it did have
the Sheer Force Ability.Lorze's research was 100% accurate. Even if he used a Ralts to "cheat,
" he was still
contributing more to the world than anyone else.
Why are people being so toxic to a man who actually helped them?
Totodile-Fan didn't understand the vitriol, but he knew that in this climate, anything he
said would just draw more fire. He chose to stay silent.
He sighed, closed the app, and went back to training his partner. Out of sight, out of
mind.
But at that exact moment, every single user logged into the Pokédex app received a
system-wide popup.
The cover of the popup was the iconic Eevee silhouette from the video.
And over the silhouette was a glowing, one-hour countdown timer.
Totodile-Fan froze, his eyes widening. Then, a surge of pure joy hit him.
Is this it? The reveal?!
Snowhide actually HAS a new Eevee!
Realizing this, the paid trolls stopped their typing mid-sentence. The ordinary users
stopped their complaining.
Everyone stared at the timer, refreshing their screens, terrified they were hallucinating.
Is it finally coming?
No more bait?
Why the hell did you wait until we were all screaming at you to release it?! This company
is sadistic!
User Q was dumbfounded. Where the fuck did a new Eevee come from?
It's gotta be a fake!
He had deliberately waited for days, watching Snowhide "struggle,
" before joining the
mob to ensure he wouldn't look stupid.
You... you predicted my prediction?!
Wait... even if they had a new Pokémon, he wasn't ruined yet.
His main argument was that "Researcher Lorze" was a talentless clout-chaser who
would never discover anything else.
He hadn't technically said the silhouette was fake—other people said that!
Okay, good. I'm still safe. I almost had a heart attack...
As the tension in the digital air reached a breaking point, screenshots of the countdown
flooded every social media platform on the web.
Users who had deleted the app in a huff frantically re-downloaded it, everyone counting
down the seconds together.
The hour finally ended.
In its place appeared a video link.
The title: "The Pokémon Brighter Than the Sun— Espeon!"
Espeon?
What a badass name!
Wait... is that the red-haired Goddess on the thumbnail?
HOLY SHIT, IT'S GODDESS XUE TONG!
Snowhide actually has Xue Tong on the payroll?!
I'm never deleting this app again. Snowhide for life!The video began. It featured an outdoor arena.
Xue Tong was standing across from a stunning, mixed-race girl (Anna Lee).
The girl had already released her Pikachu, but Xue Tong didn't move. Instead, she
addressed the camera with the poise of a world-champion.
"Eevee is a miracle of biological evolution. We all know its genetic code is unstable,
easily molded by external energy, resulting in its many forms.
"
"Like many of you, I wondered if it had an evolution for every one of the 17 types. Yet,
officially, we have only known of five— the ones triggered by the primary Evolution
Stones.
"
"But there are more than five types of stones. Why hasn't anyone used them for testing?"
"They have. Many times.
"
"In fact, most research institutes have known of two more forms for years. They just
could never figure out how to trigger the transformation.
"
"The requirements for these forms were far more complex than a simple stone. They
required a breakthrough in fundamental Pokémon Science.
"
"Supported by the revolutionary theories of our Genius Researcher, Lorze, the Snowhide
Corporation has finally achieved the impossible.
"
"One of those results is currently in my hand. We have named it... Espeon!"
Under the gaze of millions, Xue Tong used her own human psychic powers to flick a
Poké Ball into the air.
With a sharp POP, a Pokémon the world had never seen materialized on the field.
The pink figure was small and elegant, its graceful posture radiating an aura of nobility.
But the real shock? The Espeon was levitating several inches off the ground!
Wait... is that a Psychic-type?!
Eevee was dirt cheap. Did this mean the average person now had a budget-friendly path
to a high-tier Psychic type?!
The realization hit the internet like a tidal wave.
Screenshots of the elegant pink cat flooded every platform, drawing in a record-breaking
amount of traffic for the Snowhide app.
Mother Xue's smirk reached its absolute limit.
But amidst the global celebration, everyone seemed to have missed one crucial detail.
Only Totodile-Fan noticed.
Goddess Xue Tong just said... the Espeon was only possible because of LORZE' S
research.
Hey, you! 'User Q'!
Didn't you say Lorze would never have another discovery?
What was that about a livestream?
"YOU THERE? GET OUT HERE AND EAT SOME SHIT!!!"
Chapter 93: Perfect Conclusion!
As Goddess Xue Tong released the Espeon, the Pokémon the public had been salivating
over for months finally stood revealed to the world.
Immediately following the reveal, the exhibition match between Espeon and Pikachu
began.As it was a performance match, no one expected a high-octane competitive struggle.
Anna Lee' s Pikachu was simply not on the same level as Espeon; if Xue Tong wanted to,
she could have ended the fight in a heartbeat.
The battle was designed purely to showcase Espeon ' s competitive advantages—
specifically, the "Precognition" capability Lorze had mentioned earlier.
Xue Tong had Pikachu lead with Double Team, followed by a simultaneous Thunderbolt
from every clone.
In an instant, a localized lightning storm converged on Espeon, cutting off every possible
path of escape.
Yet Espeon didn't even flinch. It kept its noble head high, gracefully sauntering through
the storm of electricity as if taking a stroll in a park.
Thunder crashed all around it, yet the bolts failed to singe even a single hair on its coat.
Xue Tong took the opportunity to explain to the viewers that this was Espeon's unique
precognitive sense. By using its fine fur to detect subtle shifts in air currents, it could
predict the opponent's next move, allowing it to dodge with minimal effort or launch
perfectly timed counterattacks.
And this "broken" ability wasn't even its official Ability. Its hidden trait, Magic Bounce,
allowed it to nullify and reflect status moves right back at the sender. It was an absolute
nightmare to fight!
With these two god-tier mechanics combined, Espeon was destined to dominate the
competitive circuit.
But the most critical part? The Snowhide Corporation announced they would release the
evolution method for free! This sent the audience into a state of pure euphoria, and the
public's favor for the Snowhide Pokédex skyrocketed.
Even though Xue Tong added that the data wouldn't be fully released until her sister's
Umbreon was ready—meaning a wait of about six months—the crowd didn't mind.
They were getting legendary data for free; why would they complain about the timing?
Besides, a six-month delay was actually a blessing. If the method went public now, the
price of Eevee eggs would triple overnight.
With the secret still under wraps for a bit, commoners still had a window to buy their
Eevees while they were cheap!
Auntie Xue is playing 4D chess with the public's hearts.
Naturally, the reputation of the "Mysterious Genius Researcher Lorze" grew alongside
the company.
Didn't you hear Goddess Xue Tong?
Espeon only became a reality because of Lorze's theoretical support. No other lab on
Earth could do it. If that doesn't prove he's a god, nothing will.
Even the world-champion Goddess called him "Lorze-Sama" (大大). Clearly, in her eyes,
he was an equal.
So... hey,
"User Q"?
When is that livestream starting?
You were so loud about him being a fraud; aren't you going to man up and take a bite of
that fresh shit?
Totodile-Fan: "Where's that one guy? The one who was talking shit? Come out andspeak, you little hater!"
Totodile-Fan: "Who was it that said Lorze was a fluke who would never have another
discovery? Who's the 'joke' now?"
Totodile-Fan: "Is this Espeon discovery 'new' enough for you? Or do you need a menu
for your meal?"
Lorze-Stan-69: "Maybe he' s busy 'producing' the meal himself right now. Self-sufficient,
I like it.
"
Random User: "Locally sourced, organic, zero-pollution. 10/10 for environmental
"
awareness~
.
Totodile-Fan: "Lmao. If you run out, we'll happily donate more.
"
Totodile-Fan: "Maybe you should quit being a 'minor researcher' and become a
professional mukbanger. You'd have a lot of fans~
"
.
The release of Espeon gave Lorze an absolute, crushing victory in the court of public
opinion. Not a single paid troll dared to open their mouth.
The shills weren't idiots. They preyed on soft targets. When faced with a literal titan of
industry and a proven genius, they knew to steer clear.
Only User Q sat behind his screen, his face twisted into a mask of pure agony. He looked
like he had already eaten the shit.
Just an hour ago, he was winning. The wind was at his back. How did the world flip so
fast?
Specifically, that "Lorze-Stan-69" guy— weren't you the one flaming him with me
yesterday?!
How the fuck are you his fan now? You spineless traitor!
User Q was fuming. He wanted to type a thousand-word rebuttal, but his fingers hovered
uselessly over the keys.
He didn't dare post.
If he showed his face, the mob would hunt him down until he ate literal feces on camera.
But if he stayed silent while being called "incompetent,
" "jealous,
" and a "nobody,
" it felt
just as bad.
I'm not jealous! I'm a legitimate scientist! NM!
He turned beet red, trapped between a rock and a very smelly place. He almost passed
out from the sheer rage.
In short, thanks to the Espeon hype, the Xue family captured a massive share of the
market, cementing their status as the kings of the Pokédex industry.
Rivals like Penguin Corp were drowning in stress. They were helpless to stop the
bleeding unless they could somehow crack the Umbreon code before Snowhide, or find
a way to evolve Milotic. But if Snowhide dropped Umbreon next, the war was over.
Every corporation on the planet was now hunting for "Researcher Lorze.
" If they could
sign him, they could turn the tide in a single afternoon.
But the Li Province Trainer Association was one step ahead. They weren't about to let
their local hero be poached by outsiders. They had already used government authority to
block all incoming calls from unknown out-of-province numbers to Lorze's phone.
The corporations were left barking at a brick wall.
Lorze, meanwhile, was winning at life. His fame was a state secret for now, but his bankaccount was very public. Auntie Xue was so happy she dumped several tens of millions
of dollars into his account as a "bonus.
"
She literally threw the words 'Sugar Baby' in my face and I love it.
Lorze had no reason to say no. He was more than happy to keep the Xue family happy.
Besides, his harem was growing. He had several MILFs who came from humble
backgrounds and had never owned a Pokémon of their own.
Since they'd been letting him use their bodies for months, it was only right he bought
them all partners to fulfill their dreams.
If you're in my bed, you're my woman. I take care of my property.
On a side note, his mother' s birthday was close. Auntie Xue had confirmed that the
Swablu egg was sourced. Everything was coming up Lorze~
.
In the middle of this blissful lifestyle of orgies and research, Teacher Liu finally called.
The event every student lived for—the School Sports Meet—was finally starting.
Chapter 94: Making Xue Yi Surrender~
The School Sports Meet. Even in Lorze' s past life, it was the highlight of the school year.
In this Pokémon-centric world, however, the "Sports" were replaced by something much
more exciting: high-stakes Pokémon Battles!
The only ones disappointed were the freshmen and sophomores; they didn't have
partners yet, so they were forced to sit in the stands and watch the seniors flex. It only
made them more desperate to grow up.
By the time Lorze arrived on campus, the matches were already in full swing.
The main event was the "Inter-Class Elimination.
" Each class fielded their top 10
students in a gauntlet style. The last class standing moved on. It was a rule set designed
for maximum drama and rivalry.
Lorze's Class 1 was currently engaged in... well, he didn't know which class they were
fighting. But the opponent looked like trash; otherwise, his class wouldn't have sent Xue
Yi's Eevee out as the current fighter.
"Teacher Liu~! Looks like the fun just started. I'm not late, am I?" Lorze called out as he
sauntered toward his class's designated area.
The students froze when they saw him. Their expressions were a mix of "Who is this
guy?" and "Wait, is that the bastard from Class 1?"
Lorze had effectively vanished after the class gauntlet on the first day of school. He
hadn't attended a single lecture in months, denying everyone the chance to get their
revenge on him.
Beyond that, the monthly class rankings provided massive Credit rewards. Without their
"Ace,
" Class 1 had been stuck in 3rd or 4th place every month.
Look at this 'privileged' prick sauntering in. He better have a massive compensation gift
for us!
"You certainly have a sense of timing,
" Teacher Liu said, her eyes a chaotic mess of
annoyance and intense, repressed affection.
Wait,
'affection'? Professional educators don't have those thoughts! Stop it!
"What? Did I miss the opening ceremony? Did the Principal give a long speech about
'youth' and 'passion' again?" Lorze asked, oblivious."This is the Semi-Finals,
" Teacher Liu snapped, glaring at him.
"The Semis? It's the last day already? No way.
"
"What did you think? We were waiting for you?"
"But... why are we using an Eevee in the Semis? Did the rest of the class die?"
"Watch your mouth!" Xue Yi, currently in the middle of her match, turned her head to
glare at him.
Does he really think I'm just a fragile flower in a greenhouse?
Eevee is cute, but it's a Pokémon. Pokémon fight!
He disappears for three months, doesn't check on my progress once, and then acts like I'
m a liability? You filthy fuckboy!
"Xue Yi' s Eevee is officially ranked Top 3 in the entire senior grade,
" Teacher Liu
explained calmly.
"Uh... my mistake.
" Lorze rubbed the back of his head. It seemed he had underestimated
Xue Yi' s drive to surpass her sister. She had clearly been grinding Eevee' s combat stats
instead of just "bonding.
"
The Xue bloodline is full of workaholics.
If Eevee was this strong now, the Umbreon evolution was going to be a monster.
"You should have called me earlier, Teacher. This is a once-in-a-lifetime high school
event. I wanted the full experience~
.
" Lorze's eyes were full of "fry-the-fish" (smurfing)
intent.
"Call you? You ' re a 'National Genius Researcher.
' I didn't want to disturb your
world-saving work. Besides, the class group chat has been discussing tactics for weeks.
Did you even look at it?" Teacher Liu sighed.
Who would have guessed this kid wouldn't just discover Abilities, but an Eevee evolution
too?
Do you have any idea what you've done?
You've made every other high schooler on the planet look like a total Muggle. Leave
some room for the rest of us!
"Well, I've been buried in 'research'
~
. I didn't have much time for the chat. How about
letting me take the next round to test the waters?" Lorze was itching for a fight.
Ralts's evolution had given her a massive power spike. He estimated her "Battle Rating"
had jumped from Outstanding (E) to Excellence (D) in one go. He needed to verify the
data.
"Are you sure? Your old rivals have grown significantly in the last three months,
" Teacher
Liu asked, worried he'd been slacking on training while playing scientist.
"It'll be fine. Is the current opponent tough?" Lorze shrugged.
"Class 2' s Ace is a Quilava. It has the Blaze Ability. The lower its health, the harder it hits.
Xue Yi always loses to it because it drags her into the 'Blaze' threshold and then
one-shots her. You need to end it fast.
" Teacher Liu warned.
"Understood. Tell Xue Yi to lose quickly so I can get in there.
" Lorze said, half-listening.
"NO! Don't you dare!" Teacher Liu's face darkened. If she surrenders, you're our last
man standing! They still have two fighters left!
Young people are so reckless...
Xue Yi, don't you dare listen to him!"I forfeit.
"
Before Teacher Liu could even finish her thought, Xue Yi recalled her Eevee mid-match.
Under the rules, if you have no Pokémon left to swap to (or it's a 1v1 set), that counts as
a total surrender for the individual.
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
The entire arena went into an uproar. Xue Yi' s opponents were confused; her own
classmates were horrified.
Everyone knew Lorze was a beast back in the day, but that was months ago. Who knew
if he was still the "Ace" after missing three months of school training?
Xue Yi... why do you trust him this much?
This makes the 'secret relationship' rumors look like a confirmed fact!
Xue Yi was a goddess on campus. She was beautiful, rich, and powerful. She was the
undisputed school flower.
For a woman like that to see a man show up and immediately "lay down her arms" to let
him take over?
What the fuck did he do to make you submit like that?!
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP!!!
"Who the hell is that guy?" the Class 2 representative asked, frowning.
Since when did Class 1 have a secret weapon stronger than Xue Yi? Why had he been
benched until now?
"He's finally here,
" Shi Fan from Class 3 whispered, his eyes narrowing as he watched
Lorze step onto the sand.
He would never forget the humiliation of the Torchic Challenger finals. He had been
countered at every turn by that white Ralts, regardless of his Protean swaps.
He had spent three months training until his fingers bled to wash away that stain. He was
now the undisputed king of City No. 1 High.
His Frogadier could now handle Xue Yi' s Eevee and Class 2' s Quilava at the same time
without breaking a sweat.
Lorze... you've been playing scientist for months. Have you fallen behind?
Don't you dare disappoint me, you bastard!
"You know him?" the Class 3 homeroom teacher asked, noticing their Ace ' s grim
expression.
"Hehe. The whole school is about to know him. That fucking 'Cheat Code'!" Shi Fan
cursed under his breath.
Lorze stepped onto the battlefield under the gaze of the entire student body. He flashed a
confident smile and released his partner.
In a burst of light, Kirlia stood ready...
Chapter 95: Ariados
Before Xue Yi surrendered, her opponent was a girl whose partner was an Ariados.
Yes, you read that right—as a girl, she actually chose an Ariados. It' s a literal giant
spider!
Babe, do you have some kind of bizarre, creepy fetish?
"Hey gorgeous, tell me, why the hell would you pick an Ariados?" Lorze asked, trying tohit on her the moment he stepped onto the stage.
"Uh... I' ll tell you if you surrender.
" Hu Wenjun clearly didn't expect that opening line, and
she couldn't help but size up Lorze's fairly handsome face.
However, Lorze wasn't currently projecting his Cute Charm aura; he had Huge Power
active instead.
So, the girl didn't immediately turn into a thirsty simp just because he was good-looking.
As for why Lorze didn't bring his "invincible" Cute Charm...
Well, he could always go back to Teacher Liu to copy that again, but an Ability like Huge
Power was a one-in-a-million find.
"How about you tell me after you lose instead?" Lorze continued his attempt at flirting.
But this time, he didn't get a reply from Hu Wenjun; instead, Xue Yi' s face turned
pitch-black from the sidelines.
"Try saying one more useless word. I didn't tag you in so you could pick up girls. Start
the match now!" Xue Yi barked.
Xue Yi was currently standing right next to Liu Yun, keeping a sharp eye out for any
"secret signals" between her and Lorze.
Yet the second the bastard arrived, he didn't even look at Liu Yun. Instead, he set his
sights on a beauty from the rival class.
He really is an indecisive fuckboy who hits on anything with a pulse. Do I seriously have
to lock you in a cage before you'll behave?
"Cough, cough. Copy that, Boss~
.
" Lorze playfully stuck out his tongue, finally tossing
his Poké Ball under the impatient glares of the crowd.
In that moment, the Class 3 teacher finally understood why Shi Fan said the whole school
was about to know Lorze.
They might not recognize the boy's face, but the second the Pokémon materialized, the
stands erupted in shock.
A pure white Kirlia?
Holy shit, she's so cute!
Wait, that color... I've seen this somewhere before!
"Is that him?!"
"You know this guy?"
"Watch this viral clip and you'll know.
"
Suddenly, dozens of students pulled out their phones to show the highlights of the
Torchic Challenger Tournament.
Specifically, the "cheat-code" match where the white Ralts dominated a Frogadier.
Wasn't that Frogadier currently ranked number one in the senior grade?
He actually lost to this guy months ago?
Class 1 was hiding a monster like this? Why hasn't he been on the roster until now?
"So she evolved, huh?" Shi Fan muttered, his brow furrowing as he stared at the pure
white Kirlia.
Evolution meant a massive spike in every single stat. If he couldn't win back when she
was a Ralts, could he win now?
Why couldn't I? I haven't been sitting around playing with my dick for three months!
"Kirlia?" Hu Wenjun' s face went pale. She didn't care about the "Shiny" status; herAriados's greatest nightmare was the Psychic-type.
Psychic-types were already hard to handle, and her Poison-typing only made it a
guaranteed loss.
Hu Wenjun shot a bitter, questioning look back at her homeroom teacher. Can I just
swap out?
Staying in is just a guaranteed humiliation.
But her teacher shook his head solemnly. He had seen the videos; he knew how terrifying
this boy was.
If they threw their Ace in blindly, they might lose their biggest card for nothing.
It was better to let Ariados test the waters and see how much the boy had grown.
Hu Wenjun wanted to cry, so she decided to try acting "moe" toward Lorze.
"Hey... be
gentle with me, handsome. If you are, I might actually tell you why I like spiders.
"
"No problem. Let' s get it over with.
" Lorze didn't dare say more; Xue Yi' s icy, murderous
gaze was burning a hole in his back.
"Fine! Ariados! Use Spider Web!" Hu Wenjun took the initiative.
Poison moves were useless, but Bug moves could still deal super-effective damage to
Kirlia.
If she could trap her in a web and stop her from Teleporting, she might actually have a
sliver of a chance!
The command was issued, and Ariados reacted instantly. A massive, sticky web shot
from its maw, closing in on Kirlia like a fisherman's net.
"Again! Pin Missile!"
Ariados gathered Bug energy in its horn and fired five glowing stingers like a rapid-fire
missile battery, aiming directly at the webbed Kirlia.
Normally, the accuracy of multi-strike moves like Pin Missile relies entirely on proficiency.
Hu Wenjun was lucky to land three hits on a moving target.
But now, Kirlia wasn't dodging at all. She was a sitting duck. There was no way Ariados
would miss.
If all five hits landed, the damage would be a staggering 125 base power. Factor in the
type advantage, and even a monster like Kirlia should be crippled, right?
Teacher Liu's expression turned tense. Truthfully, when she saw Kirlia, she knew the
match was essentially over.
As long as Lorze fought seriously, a 1v2 sweep was a given. Otherwise, he'd have no
business facing that Frogadier later.
But "fighting seriously" didn't involve face-tanking 125 base power with a type
disadvantage!
Plus, Bug was Ariados's STAB type. The calculation made the total power equivalent to
187.5. Do you know what that means?
Focus Blast, a move designed to one-shot opponents, only has a power of 120!
Everyone in Class 1—except Xue Yi—gasped in terror.
It's over. We're going to be stuck in 3rd place again this season.
We should never have let Xue Yi tag out. If she had fought well, we might have secured
2nd place.
That bastard Lorze just wasted all of Xue Yi's trust... right?"Wait... that's Mystical Fire!" The Class 2 teacher's face went dark.
The five Pin Missiles detonated against Kirlia' s body, creating a cloud of green Bug
energy.
As the saying goes: No damage if there's smoke. Before the smoke could even clear, the
audience saw the Bug energy suddenly ignite.
Vibrant, swirling rings of fire manifested around Kirlia, incinerating the spider web and
melting the remaining missiles into nothingness.
The total power of the Pin Missiles was indeed 187.5, but the problem was that each
individual needle only had a power of 25.
By using Mystical Fire as a reactive shield, the type advantage allowed her to cancel out
the attack with ease.
Kirlia was now at a "Excellence (D+)" rating, while Ariados was a "D-
" at best. The gap in
raw power was insurmountable.
"She can wrap Mystical Fire around her own body?!" Hu Wenjun's jaw dropped.
Generally, moves have a fixed form. Fire Blast creates a "big" character; you can't make
it a "small" one.
Mystical Fire is supposed to be a projectile fired from the mouth or hands. To rewrite the
fundamental nature of the move into a defensive aura? That was absurd.
It wasn't impossible, but only Fire-type Masters with decades of study could pull that off.
Is Lorze a Master?
Of course not!
Then how the fuck did he do it?
"I can do more than just wrap it around myself. Want to see what it feels like when I wrap
it around Ariados?" Lorze smirked. With Telepathic Resonance active, perfect energy
manipulation was child's play.
"NO! I forfeit! Don't burn my spider!" Hu Wenjun screamed and surrendered instantly.
If she didn't surrender, she'd just be watching a live execution.
The opponent had face-tanked her ultimate move without a scratch. Unless she was
brain-dead, she knew she was outclassed.
Rather than letting Ariados be brutalized before losing, she chose to keep her dignity.
She hoped her teacher would understand.
And if you don't understand, you get up here and try it!
"Fine. Now tell me, why did you choose Ariados?" Lorze asked as she recalled her
Pokémon.
"Well... if I said I think Ariados is actually pretty cute, would you believe me?" Hu Wenjun
looked down, her face flushed with embarrassment.
The crowd: "
"
...
Sure. Whatever.