Time slowly passed, and soon it was time for Jake's Champion inauguration ceremony.
The venue was not in the imperial capital, but was chosen to be in Lake City.
This was the place where the Walker family had lived and protected for generations, and also the place where the Walker family had step by step ascended to glory.
Today the entire Lake City was incredibly lively. Countless tourists from across the nation, and even many from abroad, had been flocking to Lake City these past few days.
Their goal was naturally to watch Jake's Champion Inauguration Ceremony.
Lake City, as the third-largest Megacity in Drakoria, after only the Imperial Capital and Orient City, had seen its status rise over the years precisely because members of the Walker family had successively become Champions.
The entire city's development had therefore accelerated continuously.
Now as a city home to three Champions, it surpassed both the Imperial Capital and Orient City in that regard.
At the central plaza of Lake City, many visiting tourists as well as locals would come to take photos, because this was where three statues had been erected some time ago.
Statues of the Black and White Dragons and of Mewtwo.
Originally they had wanted to build a statue of Julian as well, but Julian rejected it outright.
'What a joke, I'm not dead yet, what are you building a statue for?'
The Lake City officials, hoping to curry favor, almost ended up kicking the horse instead.
So in the end, only the statues of Zekrom, Reshiram, and Mewtwo were built.
And this place quickly became popular, turning into a must-visit spot for anyone traveling to Lake City.
These three statues were crafted by a master sculptor. Whether it was the White and Black Dragons or Mewtwo, each possessed its own unique spirit and vitality, unlike the stiffness of most statues—they seemed almost alive.
At 8 PM, in the main arena of the Lake City Central Stadium—a venue that could hold 700,000 people—every seat was now filled.
The ceremony would run from 8 to 9 PM, followed by a Champion exhibition match.
The inauguration ceremony was presided over by the Sixth Elder of the Drakorian Elder Council, and the violet-gold Champion cloak, symbolizing the Champion, was personally draped over Jake's shoulders by John.
The moment the violet-gold Champion cloak settled on his shoulders, the audience erupted into the most fervent applause.
Following Julian, Drakoria had gained another Champion. It now possessed a total of eight Champions.
This was a full three more than the second-ranked nation. Celestria originally had six Champions, but Williams had died in Babath.
Compared to the third-ranked nation, Volkaria, Drakoria had four more Champions—half as many.
Of course, aside from Drakoria's high-level officials and the audience, other nations had also sent representatives—either Champions from their own countries or top officials.
Drakoria's international standing had already become unshakable. If you didn't show them face now, don't blame them for not giving you face when you have troubles later.
Therefore every nation had sent representatives. Not a single country was absent, and all delegates were individuals of significant authority.
Many of them were the most powerful figures in their respective countries.
Although their feelings were complex, they all wore expressions of congratulatory smiles on their faces.
"Your Emperor probably hasn't slept well lately, huh? Having such a powerful, and utterly unstoppable, neighbor right next door."
The voice of the Celestrian Champion reached the ears of the Volkarian Champion.
Both were applauding.
"Drakoria is our friend. We are only happy when a friend grows strong. You should worry about yourselves. You finally managed to nurture a young Champion, only for him to die in Babath like that."
The Volkarian Champion sneered. Volkaria and Drakoria had always been allies. Even if they sometimes disagreed, those were minor issues.
When it came to their stance on Celestria, the two were in complete agreement.
Even though Drakoria had now grown so powerful that even Celestria feared them, rendering Volkaria's help unnecessary, Drakoria was not the kind to abandon its allies once it became strong.
---
> "One family, three Champions. It's simply unreasonable!"
> "Not just that, there's also an Arceus Award winner."
> "Among Old Champion Walker's three children, only Henry—the world's richest man—had the "lowest" accomplishments."
> "Henry: As the world's richest man and the eldest brother, my achievements are actually the lowest. Sorry, I've dragged down the Walker family's average."
> "This Sixth Elder's surname is also Walker. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were family."
> "They really are family. James is John's older brother."
> "Good grief, then isn't the Walker family practically like royalty in Drakoria? They have Champions, Elders, scholars, and even First-class Legendaries."
> "If they wanted to, they could become Drakoria's shadow emperors."
---
"Tsk tsk, I never thought I'd become a Champion too."
Stroking the cloak behind him, Jake's face was full of joy and excitement. Although after Julian became Champion, he had completely turned into a couch potato and fishing enthusiast.
But at heart, he was still a Trainer, and he harbored some degree of obsession with becoming a Champion—especially since his own strength had long been at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level.
"At least you didn't disgrace me and my grandson," John said with a smile.
His son becoming a Champion did not bring him nearly as much joy as when his grandson became one, but a Champion was still a Champion—it was only natural for him to smile.
"Dad, the way you put it... that kid is my son. Me embarrassing him? Does that even sound right?"
Jake was instantly exasperated.
As the saying went, 'A hero fathers a brave son,' but in their case, it seemed to have skipped a generation.
He himself hadn't worked hard, and instead ended up being an embarrassment to his son?
"What's wrong with that? What use is you becoming a Champion now? You still can't protect my precious grandson. At least before he grew up, it was always me looking after him," John said proudly.
When Julian first started out, his guardian Pokémon was a peak-Elite Alakazam. That was John's Pokémon. At the time, John wasn't a Champion yet, just the Steel Elite.
That Alakazam truly did help Julian through several crises.
"I wanted to protect him too, but you wouldn't let me!"
Jake muttered under his breath. Back then, he was already a peak Elite Trainer. Of course he could have given his son an Elite-level Pokémon for protection.
But John had snatched that opportunity away.
Next up was the Champion exhibition match.
The Champion facing Jake in the exhibition match was Julian.
---
> "It's a father-son match!"
> "Last time, the Champion's exhibition match was a grandfather-grandson one."
> "Is this the warmth of the Walker family?"
> "The child in Chairman Walker's arms must be Jade, right? A child born at the pinnacle of the world."
> "Talk about being good at picking your womb."
---
For the exhibition match, Julian and Jake naturally sent out the Walker family's signature Pokémon: the silver Metagross.
Jake's Metagross had been stuck at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level for a long time. Once it broke through to the Champion tier, its level directly reached 93.
But it still wasn't as high as Julian's Metagross, which was already at level 94.
Since it was his own father, Julian fought this exhibition match with great seriousness, even going so far as to have his Metagross appear suppressed by Jake's Metagross.
He gave his father all the face he could.
Jake: 'This unfilial brat still has a bit of a conscience.'
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister