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One week later, the final match of the High School Cup would take place.
Jacob, the dark horse from Starlight City, would face Julia, the genius from Magic City.
Speaking of Julia, the two were old acquaintances. During their training camp in the capital at the Dragon-type Secret Realm, they often trained and battled together, so they were quite familiar with each other's teams and main Pokémon.
Julia's team was even jokingly called the 'Pokémon Internet Celebrity Team' by Jacob.
Gardevoir, Dragonite, Sylveon, Milotic, Primarina, Togekiss, Mimikyu.
Her team's main focus was a combination of beauty and strength. All seven Pokémon were attractive, extremely popular, and very powerful. Among them, Julia's Fairy-type Pokémon accounted for five.
Given the Fairy-type's advantage over Dragon-type, this final match would be extremely difficult to win.
This was also because Jacob didn't have a strong Steel-type Pokémon. If Jacob had even one Metagross, or even a Scizor, he would be able to dominate easily.
The lineup's weakness forced Jacob to find another approach, to think of a strategy from a tactical perspective, to see if he could come up with a clever move to defeat Julia.
It was important to note that among Julia's seven Pokémon, her two ace Pokémon, Dragonite and Gardevoir, would definitely be used.
Extreme Speed Dragonite and high-speed special attacker Gardevoir were tough opponents to crack. Jacob could only rely on his Sunny Day Charizard to charge in, using the Sunny Day boost to overwhelm and defeat these two Pokémon with its relentless special attacks.
Besides these two Pokémon, Jacob had no idea who Julia would send out as her third Pokémon.
Sylveon, Togekiss, Mimikyu, and Primarina were all possibilities. The only one that seemed unlikely was Milotic.
Because Milotic's strength was still somewhat weaker, it ranked at the bottom of Julia's team.
Any of these four Pokémon would be difficult to handle.
Hyper Voice Sylveon, Serene Grace Togekiss, Disguise Mimikyu, and Liquid Voice Primarina—each one was formidable. In fact, they were all very strong.
The more Jacob thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and he couldn't help but curse Julia in his heart.
Julia, you're truly shameless! How can you use such annoying Pokémon? Why don't you use Pokémon like Magikarp or Beldum instead?
Fairy-type, my lifelong nemesis.
...…
Seven days—neither long nor short. Jacob also pushed aside all social commitments during these seven days, dedicating himself entirely to preparing for the final match.
The family elders also knew that Jacob was in a critical period these days, so they didn't disturb him unless it was something extremely urgent.
...…
The same scene also occurred in the Su Family. Julia was also actively preparing for the final match these days, thinking about ways to defeat Jacob.
She didn't want to lose to Jacob. Especially seeing Jacob now rising like a new star, Julia even more so didn't want to lose to him.
Even if she couldn't be as dazzling as the sun like Jacob, she hoped to shine like the moon. To achieve the brilliance of the sun and moon together, two people complementing each other, their light surpassing the stars of the night.
...…
For seven days, almost all mainstream media in China reported on this final championship match, building anticipation for it.
The official promotional posters had been released early, on the night of the semifinals.
On the huge poster, Jacob and Julia were battling for the Champion trophy.
Three Pokémon surrounded Jacob: Mega Charizard, Mega Sceptile, and Noivern. As a pioneer of Mega Evolution, the official poster even gave a close-up of Jacob's jade pendant and ring, which were emitting dazzling light.
On the other side, Julia's team was much more eye-catching, with six Pokémon surrounding her, and every single Pokémon was extremely beautiful.
Especially Gardevoir, the 'wife Pokémon,' occupied the central position, even outshining Dragonite.
In addition to posters, subway advertisements, bus advertisements, short videos, and social media were all broadcasting news of the finals, building momentum for the match.
Jacob and Julia's names frequently topped trending searches. Even some netizens who enjoyed gossip discovered that both Jacob and Julia were participants in this year's capital Dragon-type Secret Realm training class, which consequently made the capital Dragon-type Secret Realm popular as well.
Of course, there were also busybodies who claimed to be students from Jacob and Julia's training class, swearing that the two were secretly dating during the training camp.
Immediately after, others claimed that the Lin Family and the Su Family had plans for a marriage alliance, and that Jacob and Julia were already engaged, just waiting until they reached legal age to marry.
Enthusiastic netizens naturally loved to see such gossip. Under frantic sharing, netizens even jokingly called this year's finals 'The Couple's War.'
'Jacob won the finals, then went home and had to kneel.'
'They showed affection on the field, and dated off the field.'
'Jacob, you're truly despicable! I don't feel bad about how amazing you are in research and as a Trainer, but you found such a beautiful girlfriend—you're truly despicable.'
'@Jacob, speak up.'
'Hello everyone, I'm Jacob's wife fan. I'm a fan of his wife, she's really beautiful.'
...…
A week later, the highly anticipated High School Cup finals finally began.
The match was held at the Dragon's Den Stadium, an international battle arena in the capital. As the largest stadium in the entire capital and even the country, the Dragon's Den could accommodate over 100,000 spectators.
Tickets for the final day were snatched up instantly upon release. An hour before the finals officially began, the Dragon's Den Stadium was already packed, and more people continued to arrive.
The weather today was also exceptionally good; the sunny conditions were quite favorable for Jacob.
Jacob and Julia had already arrived at the venue early. When they entered, they looked at each other from a distance.
Julia was also full of fighting spirit today, symbolically waving her small fists, seemingly telling Jacob that she was going to beat him soundly today.
After a brief encounter, both returned to their respective resting rooms to prepare for the match.
...…
"Jacob, are you ready?" A staff member checked the time and confirmed with Jacob, "The match starts in five minutes. You can prepare to go on stage. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready." Jacob nodded.
"Let's go, I'll take you to the player's tunnel."
Jacob took a deep breath, followed the staff member, and entered the player's tunnel.
Standing in the player's tunnel, his gaze fixed on the light at the end of the tunnel, he felt a little nervous at this moment. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his palms, and his hands trembled slightly.
This was his first time being so nervous. Perhaps it was because the Champion title was so close that he felt this way; the closer he got to the championship, the more he feared losing it.
...…
"Audience friends, let us give a warm round of applause to welcome the genius Trainer from Starlight City, Frosthollow Province—Jacob!"
Hearing his name, Jacob walked along the player's tunnel toward the arena.
As he stepped out of the player's tunnel, what met his eyes were dense crowds of spectators and an endless roar of cheers!
"Jacob!"