Join my p@treon for more chapters
p@treon.com/Tempest_29
After explaining the principles behind Z-Moves, Roy declined to answer other personal questions about topics like 'Pokemon breeding methods' and 'relationship status,' bringing the interview to an end.
As soon as he returned to the team room, he saw his teammates holding their medals and laughing cheerfully together.
The championship in the East China Division was already one of the most outstanding achievements in Capital University's history.
After graduation, this accomplishment alone would attract strong investment offers from many companies and business groups.
Although all the school team members came from trainer families, they couldn't rely on their parents forever. In the world of trainers, 'strength' was the most important element for earning respect.
If they lacked strength, after their parents retired from the industry, they would be no different from ordinary people. No one would invest in or sponsor them, and they would quickly lose their standing in the community.
It could be said that this honor was already a guarantee for their futures.
Seeing Roy return, Elon smiled and said, "Is the interview finished?"
"Yeah." Roy nodded.
"Here, this is your medal."
Roy took the medal. The design featured the upper body of a Dragonite.
This Dragonite looked familiar somehow.
"It's Mr. Frances's Dragonite," Elon explained when he noticed Roy's curiosity. "The medals for champions of all official competitions in China are engraved with the ace Pokemon of the current champion, to encourage all trainers to strive toward the 'champion' position."
"I see."
Roy hadn't expected Dragonite to be so popular.
He had to admit, this kind of motivation was quite effective. Roy was already imagining which Pokemon should be engraved on medals after he became champion.
Carving Lucario's upper body? That would look like Egyptian artwork with all those canine features...
And now Roy's strongest Pokemon had become Electabuzz. By the time he reached champion level, it was unknown which Pokemon would become his ace.
Just then, there was a knock on the team room door.
"That should be the organizers."
Saying this, Elon went to open the door, then froze in place.
"Mr. Benjamin!"
Standing there was the elderly man with the highest reputation, seniority, and strength in China's entire trainer community.
As a trainer, it was impossible not to recognize him.
"Hello, everyone."
Elder Benjamin smiled warmly and walked in without any pretension.
"Congratulations on winning the East China Division championship."
Seeing that everyone had gone silent and looked somewhat tense, Elder Benjamin said helplessly, "I'm here this time representing the organizers to present you with your championship rewards. In addition to your medals and seeded player status, you can also choose freely from various gym technique manuals... Of course, each person may only choose one."
"One manual each!" Elon showed surprise.
The annual championship rewards were kept secret, called a 'mysterious surprise.' In reality, some resources were limited - after the rewards were distributed, they wouldn't be available again next year. To prevent annual champions from feeling disadvantaged compared to previous years, the organizers kept it confidential.
This year's rewards, as could be seen from the "Crown Tundra" expedition opportunity, showed that the organizers had invested heavily.
But Elon still hadn't expected them to spend this much.
As mentioned before, a trainer who could create master-level technique manuals could establish a dojo and found their own school.
However, with only one type of master technique to teach, it would just be a small dojo.
The reputation wouldn't be significant, and there wouldn't be many students.
If this small dojo wasn't upgraded, it normally wouldn't survive more than a few years. After all, the students hadn't yet gone out to earn money through sponsorships and endorsements.
Only trainers who possessed more than five different master-level techniques and had obtained "master level" certification could establish a large dojo.
As long as the technique manuals of large dojos had no flaws, weren't unpopular, and were well-advertised, they wouldn't have to worry about students coming to them, and could earn substantial profits daily.
Only officially recognized large dojo masters could be promoted to 'gym' status and become noble gym leaders.
Gym leaders received strong support from the government, and their gyms were promoted through official channels. They didn't need to worry about finding students, and could also pass their gyms to the next generation - truly a golden opportunity.
If the champion was a country's commander and the Heavenly Kings were the generals of the four directions, then gym leaders were the commanding officers of major cities. When natural disasters or emergencies occurred, gym leaders were obligated to protect the safety of local residents.
Becoming a gym leader meant officially entering the trainer power class.
Being able to freely choose a technique manual from any gym made this reward undoubtedly extremely generous.
You had to understand that some gym techniques couldn't be learned just by paying money - they also required contribution requirements. Some gym leaders also set up unique tests that you had to pass before they would teach you.
If this reward were converted to money, it would be worth at least hundreds of millions, and it wasn't something you could buy on the market.
Five people, five master technique manuals - saying it was worth two billion wouldn't be excessive, right?
Therefore, Elon and Anya, who heard this news, both showed expressions of excitement.
Roy, though happy, wasn't as excited as the others. Master-level techniques, for someone with his high standards, could no longer reach the level of "surprise."
'However, I might be able to pick a suitable manual for Beldum,' Roy thought to himself, deciding to research the various gym techniques later before using this opportunity.
Seeing the happy faces of the young people, Elder Benjamin smiled slightly.
This youthful energy and hope represented the future of their country.
Then, he turned his gaze to Roy and walked over.
"Roy, come here. I have something to tell you."
"Okay."
Roy nodded.
He still remembered that this old man had recommended him for the Nirvana Spirit Realm expedition. He wondered if this time he would open another door for him, increase his reward, and let him choose a Heavenly King-level technique manual?
But soon, Roy realized he had misunderstood.
Mr. Benjamin was righteous and had never been known to abuse his power for personal gain. The last time he had recommended Roy for the Alliance breeding list, it was because Roy truly was outstanding. Otherwise, coming from an ordinary family, it wouldn't have been his turn - countless second-generation trainers wanted that opportunity.
So when he called Roy over, he really just had one thing to tell him.
"Are you familiar with the Alola Spirit Realm?"
"Mm."
Hearing this, Roy already had a faint premonition.
Previously, when Alliance's Pokemon Daily hadn't come to collect information about Mimikyu, he had guessed something might happen with the Alola Spirit Realm.
As expected.
Under Mr. Benjamin's explanation, Roy learned about Alola's recent situation.
Due to the existence of incredibly powerful 'Totem Pokemon' that commanded various species, the Alola Spirit Realm was very difficult to explore.
Alola had been accessible for several months, and Alliance officials had only explored about a third of it. Just some time ago, the Alliance finally made contact with the supposed "gods" of the Alola Spirit Realm.
"Guardian deities," Elder Benjamin said. "They claim to be Alola's guardian deities, and there are four of them total."
"We wanted to establish friendly contact with them, but were sternly rejected and warned to evacuate the Alola Spirit Realm quickly, or they would attack us."
"These gods are rather temperamental..." Elder Benjamin seemed puzzled. "They allowed us to explore the spirit realm for months before, but suddenly appeared and demanded we leave. It's truly confusing."
Roy wasn't surprised by this.
In the Pokemon world, the guardian deities of the Tapu family could be described in four words: utterly capricious.
Among them, Tapu Koko, the leader of the guardian deities, was a fierce and hot-tempered character. It enjoyed teaching trainers and Pokemon who displeased it lessons, and especially loved to battle.
Unlike Ho-Oh's divine nature, the Tapu guardian deities were more 'human' in their behavior.
"The Alola Spirit Realm is a rare super-large spirit realm. Once it merges with Earth, it will inevitably encompass the entire Hawaiian Islands. Of course, the Alliance can't give up on this territory. But it would be equally unwise to offend all four 'gods' simultaneously."
"As a last resort, we invited Ho-Oh, who has the closest relationship with the Alliance, and when it intervened, the guardian deities made a neutral proposal."
"Island trials."
The old man said.
"This is a trial decreed by the guardian deities."
"They only allow professional trainers under twenty-five years old to participate in the trials."
"Only trainers and the organizations behind them who pass the trials and gain the guardian deities' recognition will be allowed to freely enter and leave the Alola Spirit Realm."
"The island trials will be held this autumn."
Under twenty-five years old, professional trainer...
A trainer who could meet these standards, regardless of which country they were from, was a true genius.
"I shouldn't really be telling you about this, since you're still quite far from professional level..."
Speaking of this, Elder Benjamin suddenly laughed. "However, after watching your match today, I don't dare judge your potential. Who knows - you might suddenly shoot up like a rocket and pass the professional assessment before autumn arrives, hahaha..."
Seeing Mr. Benjamin's 'praising' expression, Roy suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Actually, his original goal was to become professional before summer this year.
After all, the national competition was in summer, and only by becoming a professional trainer could he hope to defeat Henry.
Forget it, better not mention it.
Sometimes, Swampert's approach to training was worth learning from.
He wanted to make progress quietly, then amaze everyone with his sudden improvement.