The province of Hedong is located south of the Imperial Capital. It is a major mining region, produg various ores, and many of the heavy industries in Drakoria are based there.

  The day, Juliahe Imperial Capital and headed to Hedong Province. His destination was naturally the provincial capital, Rockwell City, which is home to the national-level Rock-Type Gym.

  He booked a challee online in advance, with the appoi set for five days ter.

  No matter the level of the gym, you always o schedule a challenge in advance.

  Since winter had already set in and it was snowing in the Imperial Capital, Julian didn't choose to fly to Rockwell City onite. Instead, he opted for a pne.

  While waiting, Julian scrolled through his phone and watched the videos Nicole and Hannah had sent him. Both had sent him the test trend—howling wolf cospy videos. Surprisingly, their figures were not all that different.

  Hannah: "So, what do you think? Am I better than Nicole?"

  Julian: "Nicole's outfit is just a little more revealing than yours."

  He hit send.

  Julian wasn't exaggerating. In the video, Nicole was wearing a crop top, while Hannah's outfit was more form-fitting but less revealing.

  In the dormitory of Imperial Uy, Hannah bit her lip, staring at Julian's reply with a hesitant look. After a moment, she turo her roommate and said, "Ava, didn't you just buy a strapless top? Lend it to me for a bit."

  Without waiting for a response, she typed a few words into her phone:

  Hannah: "I'll send another one."

  Julian was about to tell her it wasn't necessary, but b time had arrived. He slipped his phoo his pocket and headed to the gate.

  Ba the dorm, Hannah frowned when she didn't receive a reply. She g the strapless white top in her hands, blushing faintly.

  "You're in love, aren't you?" teased Ava, grinning mischievously.

  "Who exactly are you pnning to wear that for?"

  "Mind your own business."

  Hannah shot back, pulling her bed curtains closed.

  "I don't need you to say it; I already know. It's definitely for Julian. Lately, Nicole from the researstitute seems to have her sights on him too."

  "You better act fast. If I were as pretty as you, I'd definitely chase after someone like Julian. A top-tier sed-gen heir who's also outstanding on his oouldn't?"

  "Too bad my parents didn't bless me with better genes," Ava meoug her cheek.

  She was actually quite attractive, but pared to school beauties like Hannah and Nicole, she fell just slightly short.

  heless, she was still well within the "beauty" category.

  "Guys like Julian have women lining up to get into his bed. If one of them ends up pregnant, given how few heirs the Walker family has, she'd definitely secure a p the family."

  "I've got some es. Wao hook you up with some 'special' medie? Even a eunuch would end up getting someone pregnant after taking it."

  "Enough, stop it!"

  Listening to Ava's wild talk from behind the curtains, Hannah couldn't help but feel that her words carried a tiny bit of truth.

  As the pne prepared for takeoff, Julian g his phone o time. There was still no reply from Hannah.

  'Hah, turns out Luis was right—pretty womehe most deceptive'

  Slightly disappointed, he turned off his phone. As the pilted gently upward, it began its jouroward Rockwell City.

  ---

  At the Rock-Type National Gym in Rockwell City, a staff member was reviewing the daily challenge schedule. Suddenly, a new reservation notification popped up on the s.

  There were only 18 national-level gyms iire try, and oe-level trainers were eligible to challehem. Furthermore, there were just over 500 officially registered Elite trainers in Drakoria.

  Winning against a national level gym required, at minimum, ae trai the te stage.

  Because of this, it wasn't unon fym to go aire month without receiving a single challehe strohe gym, the fewer the challengers.

  Among the 18 national gyms, the Rock-Type Gym was one of the weaker ones. As a result, it averaged two or three challengers per month, slightly more thahers.

  "Another challenger, huh? People really think ym is an easy target."

  Oaff member grumbled as he clicked on the new reservation. However, upon seeing the challenger's information, his eyes widened.

  Name: Julian

  Age: 19

  Rae (Early-stage)

  "Wow... that's something."

  The staff member muttered to himself.

  "What's wrong? It's like you've just seen a ghost."

  A colleague asked, curious about the otion as he peered at the s. He half-expected to see a heavyweight Elite trainer on the list.

  "It's just some arrogant kid," the staff member scoffed.

  "He's Julian. You don't know who that is?"

  "My family only retly got i access, thanks," the colleague replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Of course I know—Drakoria's ty of the younger geion."

  "But so what? He's only the best among the yourainers. In the eyes of the eion, he's still a rookie. With just one early-stage Elite Pokémon, he dares to challenge Master Fred, who has four peak Elite-level Pokémon. Do you think he has a ce of winning?"

  "At first I thought he was the real deal, but it turns out he's just another overfident rich kid. It's the cssi with these heirs," the staff member added dismissively.

  "But his Pokémon, especially that Metagross... even if it's just a pseudo-Elite, it defeated ae-level oppo. It's ridiculously strong," the colleague retorted.

  He had withe strength of Julian's Metagross firsthand at the Hundred Schools League, and its overwhelming power left a sting impression.

  "That's still only an early-stage Elite. ym Leader is at the peak of Elite level. Do you really think his Metagross hahat?" the man remained unmoved.

  "You know as well as I do the gap between an early and a peak-stage Elite."

  When a Pokémon reaches the Elite level, advang even a siage requires signifit resources and time. As a result, the differen bat strength between stages bees noticeably rge.

  For a Pokémon with -grade potential, progressing from early Elite to peak Elite typically requires close to twenty years under normal circumstances.

  This is why most peak Elite trainers are usually in their fifties or sixties. At fifty, they're still sidered retively young.

  Take Julian's grandfather, John Walker, for instance—he reached peak Elite status around the age of forty and became a Champion at nearly seventy. It took him almost thirty years to advance from peak Elite to Champion.

  Given that Julian was already at the Elite level and his challenge schedule didn't flict with Fred's pns, his challenge was naturally approved.

  Fred was at home sipping tea, when he learned of this and chuckled before pig up his phoo make a call.

  "Brother John, yrandson is ing to challenge my gym."

  John Walker, currently overseas iating with other nations over first-entry rights to a newly discovered ruin, was resting in his hotel when he received the call.

  "You old fox, just put on a show and hand over the badge to my good grandsohe time es," John said bluntly.

  Unlike many other elders, John's love for Julian was nothing short of doting—pletely unditional and without limits.

  "Brother John, you're a Champion now. 't you be a bit more tactful with your words?" Fred replied with a wry smile.

  "Fine, I'll be serious. Just make sure you don't lose to my grandsohe time es."

  *****

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