When the doubles battle roster for Hearthome City was announced, it caused an uproar.

“Brothers, run for your lives! Teacher Lu is entering the competition!”

“Isn’t this just Teacher Lu coming to crush Volkner, and maybe sneak into the Baby Cup too?”

“I suspect the Baby Cup is the real goal... That’s Teacher Lu, after all!”

Though called the Baby Cup, most participants were elite trainers, including perennial rookies like Ash who had traveled through multiple regions.

If they united to wear Teacher Lu down with relentless battles... they might actually stand a chance.

However, when Teacher Lu’s lineup was revealed, the contestants were stunned.

Larvitar and Togepi, two adorable little cuties—

“Is Teacher Lu just here to level up at the Baby Cup?”

“I’ve seen this episode before, it’s the Piplup Cup! Gastly forever!”

Back when Teacher Lu brought Gastly to the Eastern Continent’s Baby Cup, it might have been the best chance to single-handedly beat him.

And now… that chance was right before everyone’s eyes again.

“What’s the point of running? Win one match and you can brag for a year!”

“I refuse to believe you can get wiped even with level advantage.”

“Brothers, no need to run anymore. Watch me solo Teacher Lu!”

For a moment, the contestants were full of motivation, rubbing their hands eagerly.

The one-day doubles battle consisted of three rounds, attracting many spectators.

Next to Teacher Lu’s match stand, banners were even hung up.

Flint, having rushed over upon hearing the news, leaned on the railing with a helpless look.

“Seriously... only a champion would use a rookie tournament to level up, right?”

The key was, no one raised any objections.

After all, this was a rare chance to watch Teacher Lu stumble!

In the first round, Lu Ye and Ash faced off against a mountain climber and a glasses-wearing man.

Their background characters’ names were too hard to remember…

Lu Ye only knew these two were Sinnoh native elite trainers, randomly paired by draw.

A flash of white light, and the opponents sent out a Rhyperior and a Tangrowth.

Ash sent out Staraptor, while Lu Ye threw a Dark Ball.

“Go, Larvitar!”

The gray-green little dinosaur roared onto the field, causing a stir.

To the crowd, a powerful pseudo-legendary baby was still quite rare.

Flint observed carefully, unable to hide his surprise at this just-born Larvitar with shiny dark green armor.

“Damn... what kind of diet is this kid on...”

(Teacher Lu: Thanks for the invite, currently at the Baby Cup, just finished feeding a mansion.)

On the battlefield.

“Don’t underestimate us, Teacher Lu!”

The glasses man pushed up his frame and snorted coldly. “Tangrowth, use Giga Drain!”

Tangrowth, like a small mountain, glowed with a brilliant white light at the ends of its deep red vines, then swung toward Larvitar.

At the same time, Rhyperior rolled forward rapidly, kicking up a storm of debris and crashing toward them.

“Double targeting is too greedy.”

Lu Ye commanded: “Deal with Rhyperior first, Larvitar!”

A wave of crisis surged in both their hearts.

Looking toward the center of the field, the tunnel was clearly visible, but Larvitar had already vanished!

“Ah woo ah woo~ (￣～￣)”

Larvitar swam through the tunnel, clawing at the dirt with its mouth wide open, as the rumbling sound of Rhyperior rolling past echoed from the ground.

Tangrowth’s vine attack missed, helplessly swinging at Ash’s Staraptor. Staraptor dived to evade, wings flashing with the white light of Brave Bird.

At the same moment, Lu Ye ordered, “Larvitar, dig!”

Larvitar burst out, its blunt head suddenly ramming into Rhyperior with the force of a fierce beast.

Crack!

“Roar!” Rhyperior howled in pain as a jagged crack appeared on its armored stone surface, stones flying everywhere.

The ferocious force left the spectators with mixed expressions.

“Level advantage doesn’t give even a bit of an edge.”

“After all, Teacher Lu is directing.”

“This digging move is so smooth, it looks like Larvitar’s just drinking water!”

The mountain climber’s expression grew serious, and he hissed, “Rhyperior, Stone Edge!”

“Roar!!” Rhyperior angrily roared, extending its rocky, twisted right fist, condensing sharp white light as it swung toward Larvitar.

Larvitar showed no fear at all. Seeing Rhyperior’s incoming punch was like seeing a delicious mineral feast—

“Yo ji... (✪ω✪)”

Lu Ye said, “Bite it.”

“Yo ji!” Larvitar opened its mouth wide, biting down hard on Rhyperior’s fist, the impact dragging both Pokémon crashing to the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

The ground cracked open into a large pit, with Rhyperior dragged inside as dust flew up.

The audience’s expressions turned complicated, cold sweat trickling down.

“This… this shouldn’t be a dark battle, right?”

Though hungry, Larvitar didn’t actually bite Rhyperior to pieces… it just used double Ground-type advantage to knock Rhyperior unconscious.

On the other side, Staraptor and Tangrowth were still locked in a fierce struggle.

“Staraptor.” Ash shouted, “Brave Bird!”

“Screech!” Staraptor flapped its wings, brilliant white light cutting through Tangrowth’s body.

But Tangrowth had already extended its tendrils, firmly restraining Staraptor’s body.

“I told you,” said the glasses man, “I’m no background character either.”

“Once I beat you… I might have a chance to win against Teacher Lu!”

Crash! Boom!

Tangrowth’s powerful whip slammed Staraptor into the ground, kicking up dust.

However, as it turned its massive body, a large tile flew straight at it!

Crack!!

The glasses man looked bewildered at that Larvitar.

Lu Ye said, “Larvitar, Rock Throw.”

“Yo ji! (▼へ▼メ)”

Larvitar tossed a huge ‘brick’ from its hands, smashing it down headfirst onto Tangrowth!

The scene spun wildly as Tangrowth swung its thick vines rapidly toward Larvitar.

Another ‘brick’ smashed down, and the problem was clearly solved.

Before the stunned audience, the massive Tangrowth, many times larger, collapsed with a crash.

Larvitar, winning by type advantage, showed a calm expression, standing amid the pockmarked battlefield.

Then, casually grabbing a chunk of rock, it ‘crunched’ and stuffed it into its mouth.

“Yo ji~ (￣～￣)”

Instantly, the stands erupted in cheers.

“Damn, Larvitar is taking on two at once?”

“Larvitar is so cute, mama loves it!!”

“Even though it’s the Baby Cup, the entertainment value is top-notch!”

The organizers looked at each other, wiping cold sweat.

“Maybe… we should just give the prize to Teacher Lu directly?”

“If this keeps up, the prize money won’t even cover the venue repair costs!”

“No… I suspect Teacher Lu’s main goal is just to bring Larvitar here for a buffet!”

The first round ended.

Lu Ye reached out and shook hands with the glasses man, sighing,

“That was a tough battle.”

The glasses man was a little stunned, suddenly tearing up and removing his glasses to wipe his eyes.

To push Teacher Lu’s Larvitar into a desperate situation…

This story… might be something I can brag about for a lifetime!

“I told you, Teacher Lu, don’t underestimate background characters.”

He bumped fists with Teacher Lu and waved before walking away.

Teacher Lu stood still, deeply moved.

Could this be... the will of an ordinary bone?

He then looked at Ash beside him.

“Sorry, Teacher Lu.” Ash scratched his head awkwardly. “I didn’t perform well...”

“It’s fine.” Lu Ye patted Ash’s shoulder. “There are still two rounds left.”

Larvitar can have two more buffets!

...

Sunset twilight.

The afterglow bathed Hearthome City’s harbor in a golden hue.

The doubles battles in Hearthome City also came to an end.

The second round opponents were a bikini-clad elder sister and a mini-skirted partner.

The finals pitted a Pokémon enthusiast against a business man.

Thanks to Larvitar’s outstanding performance, Teacher Lu didn’t even need to send out Togepi, quickly winning the matches.

“Chajiduyi~ (○｀ 3′○)”

Togepi, not getting a chance to battle, sulked inside its Poké Ball.

“Gah! (´థ౪థ)σ” Sirfetch’d in the commemorative ball was moved to tears.

That’s great... as long as I train Larvitar well enough,

I can openly be a lazybones!

“That bikini girl was so gorgeous just now.” Lu Ye said to Ash.

“Yeah, I almost got turned around by that Starmie.” Ash agreed.

Lu Ye: “...”

Sorry, this round was my fault.

The doubles battle prize, Hard Stone, was already in hand. For the barely sated Larvitar, it was the perfect dessert.

As for the battlefield… insurance would cover the renovation.

But maybe Larvitar or Teacher Lu would be banned from future competitions...

Lu Ye cleared his throat and looked at the black, diamond-like Hard Stone in his hand.

The Hard Stone can boost the power of Rock-type moves.

For Larvitar, it meant mastering more difficult moves like Rock Slide.

Moreover, the nutrients Larvitar absorbs now would become the energy source for its evolution into Pupitar.

Naturally, the more of these rare minerals, the better.

“This thing is hard to come by.”

Lu Ye handed the Hard Stone to the victorious Larvitar, gently patting its little head, speaking seriously:

“You might face stronger opponents in the future... Have you thought this through?”

Teacher Lu’s original intention was for Larvitar to weigh the risks and benefits.

If it risked injury just for food, Teacher Lu wouldn’t be happy.

But for Larvitar, it seemed like a door to a new world had opened.

Crunch, crunch.

Larvitar chewed on the delicious Hard Stone, its eyes shining bright.

So as long as it won battles… it could eat such tasty things!

“Yo ji! (✪ω✪)” Larvitar nodded resolutely to Teacher Lu.

To eat well, I, Larvitar, will work hard!

Satisfied with Larvitar’s promise, Lu Ye nodded.

The follow-up moves recorded in Essence of Earth are Stomping Tantrum and Stomp.

Both are Ground-type area attacks, also learnable by Larvitar.

Compared to Dig and the ultimate move Earthquake… these two cause relatively less field damage.

“I’ll take Larvitar to the Hearthome Gym next to try them out.” Lu Ye thought.

The next plan was to participate in the Hearthome City Gym Open Tournament.

Flint prepared a hotel for Ash and Teacher Lu, politely suggesting they not let Larvitar roam alone.

“No problem!” Teacher Lu agreed wholeheartedly.

Mengmengda was coming over tonight;

they’d bring Larvitar to meet her.

After all, Mengmengda had been busy these past few days.

It wouldn’t be just to prepare new moves for Larvitar… probably…