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Another day had arrived at Green Valley Gym, and the facility was busier than it had ever been before.
The entrance was packed with people coming and going in a constant stream. A long line of vehicles stretched down the street, while reporters clustered around the gates with their cameras and equipment ready. They all hoped to catch the first glimpse of Chris and, ideally, secure an exclusive interview opportunity.
Wanda had been forced to double the security personnel to ensure that the flood of reporters and trainers seeking interviews couldn't breach the gym's private training areas or disturb Chris's preparation routine.
The reason for this media frenzy was monumental news: Chris had officially challenged the Alliance Elite Four as the current Number One Gym Trainer. This announcement had sent shockwaves throughout the entire China region.
For someone already at the pinnacle of their field to challenge the Elite Four was an earth-shattering event that naturally captured the attention of trainers and fans across the nation.
This time, there was significantly less skepticism circulating online compared to Chris's previous achievements. Most of the doubters had been thoroughly proven wrong by now.
Chris had already achieved the impossible multiple times - becoming the youngest Master Breeder in history, earning his Gym Trainer license, and ultimately claiming the prestigious title of Number One Gym Trainer. Throughout each of these accomplishments, many people had bet against him, yet here he stood with these very real achievements to his name.
Rather than expressing doubt, the public was now filled with anticipation and excitement. Many people had been speculating about when Chris would challenge the Elite Four ever since learning of his "Number One Gym Trainer" victory.
Most assumed he would wait until the annual Gym Trainer conference next year, but nobody expected him to launch his challenge before this year even ended! The boldness of his timing only added to the excitement surrounding the upcoming battle.
Consequently, Green Valley Gym had become a focal point for media attention. Several influential news organizations were desperately trying to arrange exclusive interviews with Chris before the historic battle took place.
However, Chris had rejected every single interview request, citing his need to focus entirely on battle preparation. He had made it clear that if reporters wanted exclusive coverage, they would have to wait until after he achieved victory. Before winning the match, any interview would be meaningless distraction.
The commotion and chaos at Green Valley Gym's entrance didn't affect Chris in the slightest. He remained focused in his private villa behind the main facility, dedicating every moment to intensive Pokémon training for the upcoming challenge.
"Tyranitar, you need to reduce the range of your Rock Slide attack and maintain better control over the falling speed of each rock projectile. Focus on precision rather than raw power!" Chris called out to his massive Dark/Rock-type Pokémon.
"Zeraora, the Force Palm technique you learned from Machamp isn't about releasing all your strength at once. You need to build up power gradually, then unleash your electric attacks at the peak of your fury!" he instructed his Electric-type legendary.
"Greninja, continue practicing the golden binding shuriken technique and work on perfecting the spiral Aura Sphere. When Mew arrives, we'll train together at the Tree of Beginning," Chris directed his Water/Dark-type starter.
Chris stood with his arms crossed, carefully observing and correcting each Pokémon's training regimen. As their trainer, his responsibility was to identify and eliminate their weaknesses while pushing them toward absolute excellence.
The strongest trainers always paid meticulous attention to the smallest details. When two opponents were evenly matched in raw power, those tiny details often determined victory or defeat.
Chris had already finalized his six-Pokémon team for this Elite Four challenge: Zeraora, Greninja, Tyranitar, Gardevoir, Aggron, and Gengar. Each had been selected for specific strategic reasons.
China's Elite Four specialized in distinct type combinations: Ghost, Fire, Flying, and Ground types respectively.
The Ghost-type Elite was Roy, Chris's former senior colleague known by his intimidating nickname "King of the Underworld." The Fire-type Elite was named Tate, who had earned the fearsome moniker "Fire God." The Ground-type Elite was Victor nicknamed "The Tyrant" for his overwhelming battle style.
The Flying-type Elite was named Elian, though his nickname was somewhat unusual - "Dragon King." While this title might seem odd for a Flying-type specialist, it actually made perfect sense when considering that many Dragon-type Pokémon also possessed Flying-type attributes.
This Flying-type Elite Elian owned numerous Dragon-type Pokémon alongside his Flying specialists, which had naturally led to his "Dragon King" title among fans and fellow trainers. Of course, Elian himself never officially accepted this nickname, since his ace Pokémon was actually a MEGA Pidgeot rather than a dragon.
After careful consideration of all four Elite members, Chris had ultimately chosen Elian as his opponent for this challenge battle.
Chris still needed to focus intensively on Zeraora's training, especially to ensure the Electric-type legendary would deliver a truly dominant performance during the Elite Four battle.
This would be Shiny Zeraora's debut on the world stage, and Chris intended to leave an unforgettable impression on everyone watching.
While directing his Pokémon's training session, a red blur suddenly streaked across the sky from the distance, heading straight toward Chris with obvious affection.
It was Latias, who immediately began nuzzling against Chris's body like an affectionate puppy seeking attention. The legendary then gracefully flew up to perch on Chris's head, placing its slender but surprisingly powerful arms on his shoulders. Whether it wanted to take Chris for a flight around the training grounds or simply give him a shoulder massage remained unclear.
"What's wrong?" Chris asked gently, reaching up to pat Latias's head with obvious fondness.
"Hmm~" Latias responded by firing a brilliant beam of psychic energy into the distance, creating a massive crater in the empty training field beyond.
Then it began circling around Chris excitedly, making enthusiastic "Uh! Uh! Uh!" sounds while clearly trying to communicate something important.
"Okay, okay, I understand. You want to join the training sessions too, but don't be so impatient. You should focus on getting familiar with your new environment and learning to follow my instructions first," Chris said soothingly.
For legendary Pokémon, the effects of items like Soothe Bells were significantly reduced compared to ordinary Pokémon. This made it impossible to clearly understand their thoughts or engage in direct telepathic communication. Chris could only interpret Latias's general meaning through body language and emotional cues.
Right now, it was obvious that Latias felt left out watching all the other team members engage in intensive training. The legendary desperately wanted to participate and prove its worth.
However, Chris had decided to wait before including Latias in serious battle preparation. After finishing the Elite Four challenge, he planned to spend dedicated time building a stronger bond with the psychic dragon before attempting advanced training techniques.
This delay was partly because Chris still hadn't participated in the Alto Mare Water Race competition. The tournament was traditionally held during August, and now the calendar was approaching the China New Year celebration period.
They would have to wait for the next Masters competition cycle to arrive. However, this wasn't necessarily problematic - if Chris wanted to obtain Latias's Mega Stone, he could always travel to the Tower of Mastery in the Kalos region instead.
That tower housed a Level 80 MEGA Lucario as its guardian. With some additional training, Latias could likely defeat it after gaining just a few more levels of experience and power.
Building the necessary bond between trainer and Pokémon would actually require more time than the level grinding. Latias had been living with Chris for exactly ten days now, and thanks to the combined effects of his Soothe Bell and positive influences from team members like Togepi and Mew, their friendship had already exceeded one hundred points.
However, the higher the friendship level climbed, the slower additional progress became. To raise Latias's bond to the level required for MEGA Evolution would take at least three to four months of constant daily interaction and shared experiences.
The investment would be worth it, though. A MEGA-evolved Latias would become an incredibly powerful asset for future challenges, and Chris was willing to put in the necessary time and effort to unlock that potential.