"Wow, Brother Luke is incredible!" Damien exclaimed.
Twain struggled to believe what he was witnessing.
Did Brother Luke really make it to the quarterfinals?
Although the Piplup Cup was categorized as a Primary Rank event, it held the distinction of being a municipality-level competition officially sanctioned by the Association.
From the beginning till now, no non-professional player had managed to reach the quarterfinals.
And yet, here was Luke, achieving this remarkable feat!?
Amidst these thoughts, Twain was on the cusp of wanting to be a Trainer himself, feeling a mix of emotions.
But as he observed the close bond between Brother Luke and Gastly, Twain shook his head.
Brother Luke must have put in a lot of unseen effort to reach this point.
Rather than envying others, it was more important to stay true to oneself.
"Brother Luke is truly amazing!" Twain and Damien chorused.
The stadium buzzed with noise.
A non-professional like Luke had actually made it to the top eight of the Piplup Cup?
Who was this Luke, and what was his background?
Fang Shu, who had also advanced to the quarterfinals, watched the entire match from the audience and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.
"From the preliminaries to now, Gastly has grown incredibly fast."
Fang Shu mused, "Teacher Luke's influence is undeniable, even in Pokémon training!"
Meanwhile, the eager reporters rushed forward from the sidelines.
"As a finance student, how do you feel about reaching the quarterfinals?"
"Luke, could you share your experience in training Gastly?"
Upon hearing the reporters' questions, Luke took a moment to consider before responding earnestly.
"Through love."
The reporters were momentarily taken aback, quickly noting down his response in their notebooks.
At the same time, Luke beckoned to his two roommates in the audience and made his way to the contestant area.
Inside the player's passage:
"Brother Luke, you did it, you actually won!" Damien marveled.
"It's all thanks to Gastly's exceptional performance today."
"Jie jie~ jie jie~!"
Gastly hovered over Luke, nodding proudly.
"You're the first non-Pokémon Major student to reach the Piplup Cup's top eight!"
Twain was taken aback.
"Our grade's group chat must be going wild right now!"
Luke unlocked his phone, finding the screen flooded with 99+ messages. Even instructors and teachers had sent messages.
[Counselor: Whoa, you've done it, you rascal!]
[Xiao Teacher, Academic Affairs Office: Remember to bring a copy of the certificate next week for the scholarship evaluation.]
[Economics Professor Chen: Congratulations, Luke. (Smiling emoji)]
...
Luke has a good rapport with his teachers, and after responding to several messages, he decided to check his class group chat.
"Brother Luke has made it to the Piplup Cup quarterfinals!"
"What? Is this for real? Brother Luke is amazing!"
"I knew Luke would come through!"
Luke found himself a bit puzzled. Was it really that exciting to reach the quarterfinals of a Primary Rank event? However, he quickly realized that such excitement was perhaps a characteristic of non-professional athletes outperforming themselves, similar to track and field athletes.
Feeling a bit fatigued, Luke sighed quietly. Speaking of which, there was an interesting fact: it was Gastly who had secretly reported his name!
"Thank you, Brother Luke," Damien exclaimed while patting Luke on the back. "We got contact information for quite a few junior sisters!"
Luke raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback. He was in the middle of a battle, so where were they going to tease their junior sisters?
Twain chimed in, "When you greeted us, a junior sister came over immediately."
Luke looked at them in surprise. "Is it really that effective?"
Twain continued, "There's a player named Sally Han who also made it to the quarterfinals. She's a fan of Teacher Luke."
With a resigned expression, Luke looked up at the sky. With his growing popularity, it was only natural for him to be recognized in such settings. Nevertheless, he wasn't a huge celebrity, so he couldn't avoid his fans.
"I'll introduce you to her," Twain offered, tapping away on his phone. "She's from the affiliated middle school of our Magic University and has been recommended to our school."
"It's quite impressive how youngsters are developing these days. Some of them haven't even finished their third year of high school!" Luke remarked with a smile. "I won't add her, but please find out more about her tactics."
Twain's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. "Consider it done!"
Back at home, Luke checked his system.
[Remaining BP: 2050]
This battle had earned him 200 BP points, which, while not as significant as publishing a video, was still a small gain.
Reflecting on the battle, Luke was most surprised by Gastly swallowing Nidorino's Poison Sting. But considering Gastly's quadruple resistance to Poison-type moves and that Nidorino's Poison Sting may have been seen as a supplement for Gastly, it made sense.
Luke rubbed his chin and looked at Gastly, brimming with energy and enthusiasm, with a bit of concern. Training Gastly in Will-O-Wisp had resulted in a fiery accident last time. If he trained Gastly in Toxic this time...
Although there were considerable risks, Gastly's development couldn't be halted. Luke pondered for a moment before accessing the system store.
[Would you like to spend 2000 BP to redeem the 'Poison Gem'?]
Although there was a chance he could directly obtain the 'Poison Gem' after ten consecutive draws, Luke, being pragmatic, chose to exchange it directly.
[Successful redemption! Remaining BP: 50]
Much like the Flame Gem, the Poison Gem contained concentrated energy that Gastly could directly absorb. The gem's sturdy shell and non-radioactive nature meant Luke didn't have to worry about any toxic leakage.
[Poison Gem: A dark purple gem containing highly toxic metal elements, suitable for Poison-type Pokémon consumption. (It's ready to be used, Ollie approves!)]
Taking out the amethyst-like, enticing Poison Gem from his system backpack, Luke marveled at it.
"No wonder Steven is always hunting for stones around the world. They really do look amazing!"
Gastly stared at the Poison Gem in Luke's hand, drooling excitedly.
"Jie jie~ (¯﹃¯)"
Luke handed the Poison Gem to Gastly. "Remember to call me when you're training and don't take unnecessary risks."
Gastly's eyes gleamed as it eagerly took the Poison Gem in its mouth, making a solemn promise.
"Wú wú wú!" (I'll make sure to use it!)
Gastly floated over to the desk with the Poison Gem in tow. It used its tongue to open a drawer, carefully took out [Toxic experience], placed it on the desk, and then turned towards Luke with a happy grin.
Gastly: (▽)
Luke couldn't help but smile.
The Piplup Cup quarterfinals were scheduled for the following Wednesday, and warm-up events would lead up to the finals. Realizing that the finals would coincide with the end of his semester, Luke felt a wave of emotion.
"It's time to review diligently," he mused. "Just like in the Piplup Cup, I need to bring my A-game. Either give it my all or don't do it at all. That's my philosophy."
However, as Luke took out his book and prepared to study with Gastly, his phone buzzed with a Line message from someone special.
[100 Kinds of Ice Cream: Come online, let's play some games.]