Three days before the start of the school year, Jacob dragged his heavy suitcase back to League University. After two months of traveling and intensive training, Jacob's strength had improved steadily, and his restless heart had gradually settled down. He was ready to embrace his university life with a fresh perspective.
University was a period when all Trainers' strength exploded, and it was also a time when the gap between Trainer abilities became most apparent.
During their university years, some weaker Trainers would graduate with Pokémon that had only reached Lord level or Overlord level. Meanwhile, some top-tier Trainers would graduate with Pokémon that had already achieved Gym Leader level strength, or even Heavenly King level.
What made things even more remarkable was that starting a few years ago, there had already been university students serving as actual Gym Leaders. This was something completely unimaginable in previous years.
A Gym Leader and a Gym Leader level Trainer were two completely different concepts.
A Gym Leader level Trainer simply meant having at least one Pokémon with Gym Leader level strength. For example, Julia could now be called a Gym Leader level Trainer.
However, a Gym Leader referred to the strongest Gym Leader level Trainer of a particular type. For instance, the Dragon-type Gym Leader of League University was the strongest Dragon-type Gym Leader level Trainer in the entire League University.
It was incredibly difficult for a university student to become an actual Gym Leader, but this had genuinely happened, and it left everyone without a single complaint.
The reason was simple: this university student had relied on his own strength to enter the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament and achieved first place.
Therefore, before entering university, Jacob had also set a small goal for himself. Without relying on the strength of those few powerful seniors, using just his own team of Pokémon, he wanted to become the Dragon-type Gym Leader of League University before graduating.
The Dragon-type Gym Leader of League University—the difficulty of achieving this goal could easily be imagined.
But as the saying went, the greater the pressure, the greater the motivation. If you didn't push yourself, how could you know how much potential you actually had?
Moreover, Jacob wasn't without a chance. Which of his team's Pokémon wasn't capable of fighting well? Noivern, Sceptile, Charizard, and in the future, Dragapult, Haxorus, and Salamence.
As long as these six Pokémon grew normally, combined with Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, Jacob believed he still had a great chance to serve as the Dragon-type Gym Leader during his university years.
After all, Z-Moves and Mega Evolution weren't prohibited in the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament.
It was time to let everyone see the power of money.
...
Upon arriving at League University, Jacob immediately went to the Dragon-type Secret Realm to visit his master, Maximus, and, Nina.
"Master, Nina."
Jacob greeted Maximus and Nina warmly. After such a long time apart, Nina seemed to have gained a little weight, though she was still very thin overall.
Looking at Jacob, Nina's face was bright with a smile, and her eyes remained fixed on him.
"Sit down," Maximus said, looking at Jacob and motioning toward the sofa. "I heard you've been staying in the water Secret Realm in Magic City recently. What have you been busy with? And that giant Dondozo that was fostered with me a while ago—where did you catch it? What exactly happened with that Secret Realm Gap in Aqualis City?"
Maximus sat with his legs crossed, looking at Jacob. His string of questions made Jacob break out in a cold sweat.
More than a month ago, Jacob had specifically called Maximus, telling him not to meddle in the affairs of the Aqualis City Secret Realm.
Maximus had felt at the time that something must be wrong, but he hadn't asked any further questions.
Sure enough, just a few days later, a large amount of ice had appeared on the sea outside Aqualis City, and the Secret Realm was confirmed to be a Secret Realm Gap. Seeing this news, Maximus became certain that the Secret Realm Gap incident must be related to Jacob somehow.
Jacob listened to Maximus's words, feeling a slight hesitation in his heart as he pondered how to respond. Then Maximus's voice sounded again.
Maximus seemed to have noticed Jacob's hesitation. He smiled and said casually, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to ask about these things. Just remember—no matter what happens, you must never do anything to betray China."
"Master... the matter in Aqualis City is related to my new experiment," Jacob said. Although Maximus had said he didn't care, Jacob still decided to reveal some information, so as not to leave any rift between them. "Even if you don't ask, I have to tell you and Senior Sister Nina."
"Forget it, you don't need to tell me," Maximus said, waving his hand. He truly didn't have the energy to manage these things right now. He was simply worried that Jacob might go astray.
Of course, if Maximus had known about the power of solidifying Eternally Gigantamaxed Pokémon, he definitely wouldn't have had this attitude. Maximus paused, then continued, "The reason I wanted to see you this time is to tell you something important."
"What is it?" Jacob asked, noticing Maximus's serious expression.
"I have already submitted an application to the Pokémon Association to resign as one of the Heavenly Kings in the Northern region and serve as one of the Heavenly Kings in another region. The Pokémon Association has also agreed, so I will be leaving the Dragon-type Secret Realm soon. Your Senior Sister has also resigned from the Dragon-type Secret Realm and will be taking up a position at League University."
Upon hearing Maximus's words, Jacob immediately realized that his master was planning to go to other regions to challenge for the Champion title.
In the Northern region, because of Westin—an unworldly genius—no one could shake his Champion position. This led to all the Heavenly Kings in the entire Northern region having to go to other regions if they wanted to challenge for the Champion title.
At such a sensitive moment, Maximus, as the chief of the Heavenly Kings, being transferred to another region clearly indicated his intention to challenge for the Champion title.
Jacob immediately thought through the seven regions of the country in his mind: Northwest, Southwest, Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Northeast.
The Northern region was excluded first. The Champion of the Southwest region, Colby, was a close friend of his master, so Maximus would never go to the Southwest region to contend with Colby for the Champion position.
Next, the Southern region could also be excluded. The last three Champions of the Southern region had all been from the Su Family. With three Champions in one family, the Su Family's strength was unfathomable, so that region was naturally excluded as well.
The Northwest region was too remote, and his master had also explicitly stated that he would never go to the Northwest region.
So it seemed that his master could only go to the Northeast, Central, or Eastern regions.
And to become a Champion, one must defeat all the other Heavenly Kings in that region.
The Northeast region had the Ice-type Heavenly King, Fia, and the Eastern region had the Fairy-type Heavenly King, Raya. Ice-type and Fairy-type had always been natural enemies of Dragon-type. These two Heavenly Kings were undoubtedly the biggest obstacles to Maximus becoming Champion, especially Raya, who with her Mega Gardevoir was a complete Dragon-type killer.
One should know that back when Daigo had been delayed in becoming Champion, Lorelei's contribution had played a significant part.
So, to be safe, his master would most likely go to the Central region.
...
"Congratulations, Master! Which region are you planning to become Champion in?" Jacob asked.
"The Pokémon Association gave me a few choices, but I myself prefer to go to the Central region," Maximus said.
As expected.
However, Jacob's heart suddenly stirred at this moment. If he thought about it carefully, he felt that Maximus might actually be more suited to go to the Eastern region.
Although the Eastern region had the Fairy-type Heavenly King Raya, Raya was one of their own people!