Haitian City, surrounded by the sea on three sides, hosted the celebratory banquet for the Hundred Schools League on its eastern shore. With the vast ocean as a backdrop, trainers at the banquet naturally grouped together with their respective Universities.
The team coaches from various schools also gathered in small clusters, engaging in conversations.
In the area representing the Imperial University, Wade chatted warmly with Oliver, the team coach of First Military Academy, a Dragon-type specialist who held the rank of lieutenant general and was also an Elite-level trainer.
The two had known each other for years and were catching up after some time apart.
"You've got a promising talent from your Imperial University this time. How about it? Help me ask if he's interested in joining the military after graduation. If he agrees, I'll immediately grant him the rank of major"
Oliver said with a laugh.
In his view, it would be a real pity if someone as talented as Julian didn't enlist in the military.
Wade rolled his eyes. "Why do you always want to pull the best into the military? Julian's monstrous potential would actually be stifled if he joined."
The military, while boasting the strongest force in the nation and the highest number of Elites, operated with strict discipline and regulations.
Of course, becoming an Elite would afford a much greater degree of freedom, but even so, the constraints were significant.
"Besides, Pierce is quite capable. If it weren't for Julian, he'd be the standout of the younger generation."
"You've already got Pierce in the military, and now you want Julian too? Your appetite's way too big."
"Can there ever be too much of a good thing?" Oliver muttered.
Hearing this, Wade was left speechless, deciding it was better not to argue further to avoid getting annoyed by this shameless guy.
'Even at the Elite level, some people never change, always eyeing what belongs to others.'
'And you'd better believe it—if you really try to recruit Julian into the military, Elite Walker himself might come knocking at your door.'
"Has Elite Drake already returned?" Oliver asked.
Elite Drake referred to Victor, the Dragon-type specialist who had presented the awards earlier and was one of the nation's Top Elite.
"He's already left," Wade replied.
As a Top Elite, Victor's presence to present an award was already a rare honor. Staying for a banquet that held no real significance wasn't something he had time for.
"He left just like that? I wanted to ask him for some advice (battle)," Oliver complained, disappointed.
Hearing this, Wade couldn't help but laugh. "You? Really?"
Oliver: F**k You! (╬￣皿￣)
'This guy really underestimates me.'
While they were chatting and bantering, countless Water-type Pokémon in the ocean were converging on Haitian City.
At the Haitian City monitoring station, the radar detected an overwhelming number of Pokémon heading straight for the city.
At first, the monitoring staff thought there was an error with the equipment. However, after a thorough check, they found no issues. Their expressions turned pale as they urgently reported the situation to their superiors.
Looking at the densely packed radar blips, numbering over 100,000 Pokémon with even more pouring in from behind, the staff realized the severity of the situation.
Is something major about to happen? A disaster?
The staff member at the monitoring station couldn't shake the ominous feeling. They quickly took out their phone to call their family, urging them to leave Haitian City immediately and to keep quiet about it.
"I hope it's not what I think it is"
The staff member murmured, setting their phone aside before throwing themselves back into work.
The countless glowing dots on the radar, representing the incoming Pokémon, made it clear that something was seriously wrong.
The situation was swiftly reported to higher authorities, who immediately informed the Haitian City Trainer Association.
The association's staff assured them that specialized personnel would be dispatched to investigate.
"If there are any updates, please notify us as soon as possible," the monitoring station's superior urged over the phone.
"Understood. The association is sending three trainers at pseudo-Elite level to investigate. Please don't worry," the association's staff replied.
Pseudo-Elites?
The monitoring station superior thought of the densely packed red dots on the radar. He considered voicing concerns that pseudo-Elites might not be sufficient and suggesting sending a full-fledged Elite instead. However, he remembered that the only Elite in Haitian City was the association's president, Jose.
Before he could say more, the association staff member hung up.
Inside the Haitian City Trainer Association's duty room, the staff member who had just taken the call smirked coldly as they hung up and disconnected the phone line.
They left the room calmly, stepping over the bloodied bodies of seven or eight people lying on the floor.
A Gengar grinned wickedly before merging into the person's shadow.
---
Back at the monitoring station, the staff turned to their superior.
"Director, what did the Trainer Association say?"
Those endless red dots were currently less than eighty kilometers from the coastline.
"They'll send someone to investigate. Don't worry too much. Those red dots on the radar might just be a school of Magikarp on a migration tour."
Magikarp were the most numerous Pokémon in the world. Whether in freshwater, seawater, or even polluted water, they could thrive.
If all the red dots were indeed just weak and harmless Magikarp, there wouldn't be much to fear.
Magikarp were known for their migration patterns, which varied by region and temperature.
"But the migration season for Magikarp is usually in December, and it's only October," one of the monitoring staff pointed out.
"It's not impossible," said another staff member nearing retirement. "Twenty years ago, Magikarp migration occurred around this time as well."
Since the event was documented, no one argued against it. In fact, many people visibly relaxed upon hearing this explanation.
"But—"
The staff member still had doubts, but before they could continue, the director cut them off.
"That's enough."
The director waved his hand dismissively. "The Trainer Association has already sent people to investigate. We'll soon find out if it's really Magikarp."
The likelihood of it being Magikarp wasn't small. There was no other clear explanation for why the radar suddenly showed so many red dots.
Moreover, Haitian City was a well-known stop for migrating Magikarp, a phenomenon that drew tourists annually.
Some lucky visitors even managed to find shiny Magikarp among the tens of thousands swimming by.
---
At the hotel, Julian was laying on his bed after a shower, scrolling through videos on TikTok. Occasionally, he replied to messages, especially in his class group chats—both from high school and Imperial University.
Both groups were exploding with messages, with nearly everyone tagging Julian. The reason was obvious.
Many of the trending TikTok videos were clips from the Hundred Schools League matches.
"Get online, Slow! Carry me for a few games!"
Julian opened 'Pokémon Glory', and logged in. It had been days since his last game, and he was itching to play.
At this moment, Slowking, who had been reading 'Principles of Traditional Medicine', set down its book, picked up the phone from the coffee table, and smoothly entered the game.
Ranked matchmaking began. Julian was in the first slot and immediately pre-selected Metagross.
"Slow, you take Scizor as a jungler"
But the second player had already locked in a jungler.
Slowking, now in the third slot, calmly chose Gardevoir as a mage.
Then the fourth player also selected a mage and clearly wasn't planning to switch.
Without saying a word, Slowking posted its stats:
Top of the leaderboard with an impressive 83% win rate.
The fourth player: "What kind of support do you need, boss? Just say the word."
*****
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