Chapter 135

It was Monday, August 17, and sunlight poured in through the window. After the hectic day of moving, Luke had hoped to enjoy a lazy morning in bed. However, his tranquility was shattered by a loud crash coming from the living room.

"Damn!" Luke exclaimed as he rolled out of bed.

Peeling back the covers, he found Eevee still sound asleep. Haunter, on the other hand, was casually swinging from the chandelier. Luke's gaze then turned to the fish tank, but Squirtle was nowhere to be seen.

A cold sweat formed on Luke's forehead. Judging from the sound, it seemed like the disturbance was coming from the second floor. Perhaps Squirtle had accidentally fallen and caused the commotion.

"I just finished training them yesterday," Luke mumbled. "How could they be attempting to use Dig already?"

But the rumbling noise continued, causing the entire bed to shake. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Luke cautiously pushed the bedroom door open.

Upon seeing the sight, Luke's expression changed drastically. The floor towards the stairs had caved in, leaving a massive hole with jagged wooden edges. Sunlight streamed through, illuminating the flying wood chips.

The upper and lower floors had been directly penetrated.

Luke stood frozen for a moment, then staggered towards the opening, peering down. On the first floor lay a turtle shell, and Squirtle was snoozing within it.

"What on earth is this...?" Luke muttered to himself.

"I woke up, and my house is almost dug through?"

"It must be a dream..." Luke said, wiping his brow.

He walked back into the bedroom and opened the door again. But this time, when he saw what awaited him, Luke gasped.

"Squirtle! You've got some explaining to do!!" he exclaimed.

Luke couldn't fathom why Squirtle had begun to Dig through the floors in the middle of the night. He thought Squirtle was supposed to be causing trouble for the club, not digging holes through the house.

"Uirt~?" Squirtle responded innocently, poking its head out of its shell.

It had spent the previous night contemplating the technicalities of Dig, and it seemed it had unconsciously learned the move.

"Uirt~!" Squirtle proudly patted its own shell.

Luke was impressed by Squirtle's quick learning. But then, in the next moment, Squirtle seemed to realize something.

It looked around and then gazed up at Luke with a complex expression.

"Uirt~!" Squirtle quickly lowered itself to the floor, looking up at Luke with a pitiful expression.

Luke was left breathless. It appeared that Squirtle hadn't intended to do any harm. It had merely learned a new move, which was undoubtedly an exciting development.

Luke's expression was complicated as he muttered, "But why do I feel like my heart is aching?"

He couldn't help but feel that he had misjudged the situation.

"I got too carried away too soon!" Luke regretfully smacked his forehead. "You guys are learning warfare tactics now!"

With determination, Luke took out his phone and snapped a photo. He wasn't going to let panic overcome him. Instead, he'd take a picture and share it in the group.

Squirtle, lying on the floor, looked up pitifully in the photo, and the text read: "How dare I speak!"

This high-quality emoticon pack was a rare relief for Teacher Luke.

Although the house had been almost demolished, at least he got a good emoticon pack out of it.

Teacher Luke thought humorously, "It's so bad it's actually good! (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴"

The chat group exploded with messages.

Gold: The power of Dig is incredible!

Yellow of Viridian Forest: [How dare I speak. Squirtle JPG]

Lorelei: Dig was practiced at home without damaging the foundation. Way to go, Teacher Luke!

Blue: If possible, try practicing outside, Teacher Luke.

Luke was overwhelmed.

Do they think I don't want to? I didn't even want the TM for [Dig] to be here!

He contacted the neighborhood committee representative and arranged for the decoration company to repair the extensive damage. Most of the focus was on patching up the gaping hole in the corridor entrance.

Squirtle, understanding that it had made a mistake, spent the day in remorse.

"Vui~! (You didn't invite me to train secretly at night!)" Eevee voiced her irritation and patted Squirtle on the head.

Luke sighed, "Listen to your big sister. You won't make these mistakes!"

Squirtle nodded in agreement, appearing to understand the gravity of its actions.

Luke, however, wore a perplexed expression.

"Are you sure you're reflecting and not busy creating a new decoration plan?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me take a closer look, shall I?" he continued.

"Squirtle, uirt~ uirt~!" Squirtle smiled and scratched his head, as if assuring Luke that it was indeed reflecting.

The cost of the decoration was estimated to be over 30,000, and it would take some time to complete. Luke had decided to go ahead with it. With the income from Cynthia's recent promotion, he now only had a debt of 500,000.

While he had plans to buy a Dawn Stone for Eevee, he still had around 200,000 in working capital, which was enough to develop the new game. The decoration team, with their Machoke workers, was busy at his home, ensuring that the three Pokémon wouldn't cause any trouble.

Luke recalled the three Pokémon into their Poké Balls and headed to the café to work on the plan for his second game.

"Eevee, vui~?" Eevee lay on the menu and playfully poked at the colorful Milcery cake with her tiny paw.

Luke was momentarily surprised. Not only did the Milcery cake have a sweet taste, but the cream on it could also be produced. It truly was the best Pokémon-themed dessert in the café.

"Sure, go ahead and order it. Get me one too," Luke said, turning to the waiter and then giving a knowing look to Squirtle, who had been silently watching.

"Feel free to order whatever you'd like," Luke told Squirtle with a smile.

Squirtle was slightly taken aback but soon had tears of joy in its eyes as it nodded and exclaimed, "Uirt~!"

The cake, adorned with bright colors and topped with icing and cream, was a delightful treat that the Pokémon eagerly devoured.

With the cake finished, Luke opened his notebook and began working on the plan for his second game, which he titled "Gold Miner."

This game had a lower production difficulty, and Luke believed that once he laid down the basic framework, it could be completed in just one week. However, he didn't plan to create a web version; instead, he aimed to refine it to better suit the Pokémon world.

In the game, players could choose their Starter Pokémon, either Eevee or Pikachu, which would assist in mining tasks, such as breaking rocks or using electric moves. The goal was to collect various items, including Nuggets, fossils, evolution stones, and even Mega Stones.

Mining minerals would allow the Pokémon to evolve and become more powerful, making them even more helpful for the player. As the game progressed, players could unlock other Pokémon like Sandslash, Excadrill, and Beldum.

Luke envisioned the Pokémon version of "Gold Miner" as a more roguelike experience, where every mining session would gradually improve the strength of the Pokémon. It was designed to be a weak online game, and Luke even considered inviting Cynthia to play together.

"Playing with anyone is fine, but I'm mainly interested in the mining aspect," Luke said to himself.

The game would be a standalone buyout system, available on the ORAS platform, and Luke couldn't help but smile confidently.

"Repaying my debts and achieving financial success is just around the corner!"