The Piplup Cup semifinals were set for next Wednesday, with a week of promotional buildup beforehand. Conveniently, finals week landed around the same time, which meant summer break would kick off right after. Luke wasn't planning a trip home for the summer — he figured he'd visit his parents sometime during review week instead.
"Alright, class — last session of the semester. Dismissed after roll call!"
Professor Collins, meticulous as ever, pushed his glasses up at the podium. The second the words left his mouth, the room erupted in cheers. Review week was genuinely brutal, sure, but compared to regular classes it still counted as something close to a vacation.
Bob spun around in his front-row seat. "Big brothers, games later?"
Daniel looked like he'd aged a decade on the spot. "I... I've got Computer Science, Criminal Law, Advanced Math..."
"Got it." Bob swallowed. "Brother Luke, you're probably off training, right?"
"Actually, I've got time."
Luke shrugged. "Already banked all my required credits. Failing these two wouldn't even matter."
"You—"
Word that a Finance Department freshman had made the Piplup Cup semifinals had spread across the entire School of Economics by now — people from the Pokémon Academy on South Campus had even started showing up just to catch a glimpse of him in person. At least three Fighting Department students had already sent formal battle challenges his way. Since none of them were random NPCs handing out cash for a win, Luke turned every single one down without hesitation.
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Classes wrapped for the day. Luke checked his phone, scanning the "Midnight Diner" series' progress. It was common knowledge in the gaming community by now that Teacher Luke was, fundamentally, a dirty-tricks specialist — tactics that technically translated to real combat, sure, but without his exact command precision, attempting them yourself was a recipe for disaster. Which had split his reputation cleanly down the middle:
"Teacher Luke is genuinely disgusting."
"How is a tactical menace THIS good-looking though."
The food video, though, had thrown everyone completely off guard. Beyond the late-night-poison factor, fans universally agreed his actual cooking held up. Combined with the calm narration and clean editing, the "Midnight Diner" series had landed somewhere nobody expected — genuinely moving people, especially that final shot of Gastly's contented smile mid-evolution. It sold, more than anything, a simple feeling: humans and Pokémon really can just live together, peacefully, like this.
One comment in particular caught Luke's eye.
"Onix Used Harden: Teacher Luke's 'Midnight Diner' strips away all the noise and spectacle — just plain narration — and somehow it hits deeper than anything flashier could. I think what he's really getting at is..."
"Wants To Raise A Garchomp: bro your analysis is scary accurate"
"Art Is Electrode: say more, I'm following you now"
Luke's expression went somewhere between baffled and delighted. "Huh. Wow. People can read THAT much into it?"
With praise piling up steadily, the video's momentum kept building. Still some distance from actually topping the Lifestyle charts, but it clearly wasn't a matter of if anymore — just when. Luke nodded to himself, satisfied.
As for the Piplup semifinals — Haunter, at this point, seemed more invested in the tournament than Luke was. He'd more or less checked out of active training and turned his attention fully to finals prep.
"Alright. Time to actually study."
He settled into a library seat, notebook out, muttering study notes under his breath.
His phone buzzed. The one and only special contact, characteristically blunt.
"Games."
Luke's mouth twitched. You. Again. Why does this always happen the exact second I try to be productive.Do you people genuinely think Teacher Luke's your kept man?
His resolve lasted about as long as it took to type a reply.
Teacher Luke: Coming. Give me ten minutes, heading home now.
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Cynthia's mouth curved into a small smile, focus sharpening instantly. On screen, a massive Tyrantrum loomed. She'd already tried the fight solo more than ten times, failing each attempt, which was exactly when she'd remembered her go-to professional gaming partner.
"This fight is genuinely brutal." She brushed a strand of golden hair off her forehead, murmuring, "Is it really that unreasonable to want a competent player on my team..."
Then, gripping the controller with fresh resolve: "Fine. We'll settle this properly."
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Sprinting home, Luke's mind held exactly one thought: time is money.If she finds another partner while I'm stuck in traffic, this entire opportunity's gone.
He burst through the door, out of breath, to find Haunter mid-task, nervously touching up a paint-covered wall with a bucket in hand — and freezing the second Luke walked in. It turned slowly, floating in front of a wall riddled with punch craters, offering up a distinctly guilty grin.
"It's fine, I already braced myself for this," Luke sighed.
"Kojie?"
"Keep painting. We'll grab something good to eat after."
Haunter paused, then grinned and nodded eagerly.
"Kojie!"
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The console this world ran on had come out of Devon Corporation in Hoenn — reportedly conceived originally by Steven Stone himself. Rich-kid work ethic aside, the guy was a legitimate business mind; when he wasn't off digging up rocks somewhere, he was apparently running a multi-billion-dollar company back home. Beyond Devon, Lysandre Labs out in Kalos was pushing hard on AR and 3D tech development too.
"Wonder if virtual projection tech will ever get good enough for something like card games," Luke mused, connecting to the session.
"What are we playing today?"
"Monster Hunter."
Luke loaded in on a rented account, heading to the mission hub, where a Garchomp already stood waiting.
"Still running Gengar?" A faintly husky, magnetic voice came through team voice chat — rough at the edges, but genuinely pleasant to listen to.
"You're... still running Garchomp too, though?" Luke managed.
"Fair point." Cynthia considered it. "Anyway — what's the going rate for taking down a Tyrantrum?"
"What do you think is fair?"
"Hm. I don't really know Orient region pricing. Just send me next week's total."
Luke nearly teared up on the spot. Rich woman? No. This is an actual angel.
"If we don't clear it, that's fine too," Cynthia added, thoughtful. "It's a five-person raid, I can always pull in someone else." The name in her head was Diantha, currently on the other side of the world in Kalos — a genuine all-rounder, equally at home in games or on stage.
Luke, an old hand at this himself, scoffed. "You're underestimating me."
Gengar rolled its shoulders, grin sharpening, floating out to meet the roaring Tyrantrum head-on. Luke scanned the move list, landed on the full Destiny Bond combo, and grinned.
"Die for me."
Cynthia stared, watching Gengar tangle itself directly around the Tyrantrum. Even in a completely different game, he's still running Substitute-Protect-Toxic.
"Of course he is," she murmured. "Consistent to a fault."
In the end, both sides took heavy damage before Destiny Bond finally triggered, and the massive Tyrantrum went down with a final roar.
BOOM!!
Under five minutes on the clock. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Cynthia's face.
"That was... way too fast."