"Ding!"

  "Mai pleted."

  "Rewards: Rare dies x5 (usable below level 70), Mewtwments x10, Golden Legend Fragments x3, Beginner Luck Card (10 minutes), Potential Enhancer Potion (Blue)."

  As Juliahe trophy symbolizing his first-pce finish as the Best Individual Trainer, a system notification echoed in his mind. A faint smile appeared on his otherwise calm face.

  All his efforts over the past few days had been for this moment.

  Mai rewards were always the most generous, though they came with signifit challenges.

  If he hadn't led Imperial Uy to win the Hundred Schools League championship and cimed the individual title, the rewards wouldn't have been this bountiful.

  After the closing ceremony, a celebratory ba followed, but Julian didn't attend. He politely deed the invitation from Pierce, Carter, and others to sit down for a chat, choosing io return to the hotel early.

  "Don't take it personally. That's just how Julian is"

  Max expined on Julian's behalf.

  As the captain and a senior, Max felt obliged to smooth things over. Normally, he wouldn't bother, but the people here—Dyn, Carter, Yuna, and Pierce—were all among the Best Individual Trainers.

  inally, the six of them had po sit and chat, but with Julian gone, only the remaining five stayed behind.

  Except for Pierce, who was peting for the first time this year, Max had crossed paths with Dyn, Yuna, and Carter before—especially Carter, who had been a long-time rival.

  None of them took Julian's departure to heart. As gehemselves, they respected Julian for defeating them so vingly.

  Respect, after all, was built on strength.

  Yuna, who had never battled Julian, also knew she wasn't a match for him.

  "You guys at Imperial really struck gold this time"

  Carter muttered as he sipped his juice, giving Max a pointed look while sighing inwardly.

  The others nodded in agreement.

  With Julian at Imperial for the few years, what Uy could possibly challehem?

  Meanwhile, they themselves would be graduating by the middle of year.

  "Heh, go ahead and envy us"

  Max replied with a grin, unfazed by their remarks. He uood their feelings.

  Still, he had to let them vent a bit—better thaeaming up to give him a beating.

  "Pierce, why haven't we heard of you before? If it's something you 't talk about, that's fine," Yuna asked curiously.

  Typically, partits in the Hundred Schools League' senior division had already peted in the junior division the year before.

  Pierce, however, was a senior at the First Military Academy but had been absent from st year's petition.

  Yuna and the others wouldn't buy it, that someone as strong as Pierce, already at Elite level, had been unqualified to pete in the Hundred Schools League during his junior year.

  "I was expl ruins"

  Pierce replied calmly, ails about which ruins or what he was doing there.

  "Ruins, huh? That's so enviable. I've never had the ce to explore one," Yuna said wistfully.

  Pierced at her.

  "With your level of strength, you'd die in there."

  Yuna's face froze, and she gred at Pier frustration.

  'Do you even know how to talk? If not, just shut up.'

  Despite her annoyance, Yuna didn't refute him. Ruins were far more dangerous tha realms.

  Secret realms were cssified into four levels—basitermediate, advanced, and top-tier—based orength of the Pokémon inside.

  Ruins, oher hand, had no such cssifications.

  The Pokémon inhabiting Ruins were universally strong. Each ruin almost always taie-level Pokémon, and often more than one. Worse yet, you might run into Champion-level Pokémon if you were unlucky.

  Some legendary or mythical Pokémon also resided in Ruins.

  Except for a few particurly friendly ones, most Pokémon would attay humaering their territory.

  A trainer with pseudo-Elite strength could enter Ruins but wouldn't be able to venture far. Oe-level trainers had the qualifications to explore deeper.

  Even so, it was unwise for low-rankies to delve too far.

  "Yirock must've e from a ruin, right?"

  Pierodded. As he started using Regiro battle, this secret would iably e to light.

  "I'm so jealous of you and Julian, both of you have sucredible Pokémon," Yuna sighed, propping her on her hands as she gazed out at the distant o.

  The moon shone brightly that night, apanied by a sky full of stars. The sea sparkled uhe starlight, with the waves creating a mesmerizing, unduting pattern.

  ---

  Back at the hotel, Julian fed all five Rare dies to his Metagross, raising its level from 65 to 70, the peak of pseudo-Elite.

  To reach the Elite level, it would now o gradually accumute energy within its body.

  Fortunately, Metagross still had plenty of energy remaining from the Heart of Arceus, so Julian wasn't too worried. Besides, he always had the system to fall ba.

  As for the Mewtwo Shards and Golden Legend Shards, they weren't immediately useful. With 25 Mewtwo Shards and six Golden Legend Shards in total, he was still far from using them.

  The Beginner Luck Card, however, sparked some anticipation. Given his notoriously poor luck, having this card made him feel fident enough to test his luck—albeit only for the ten mi sted.

  He then released his Steelix into the room and ha the Blue Potential Potion. Thankfully, the hotel suite acious; otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough room for the massive Pokémon.

  Among Julian's Pokémon, only two had -tier Potential—Steelix and Slowking. The rest were either Blue or Purple-tier.

  As for why he chose Steelix over Slowking, it was simple: Steelix art of his main battle lineup.

  As Slowking wasn't fond of battling and saw itself as more of a household mahe Blue Potential Potion was given to Steelix instead.

  Julian figured that if the system rewarded another Blue Potential Potion iure, he would give it to Slowking.

  Steelix swallowed the Potion along with the gss bottle in one gulp, its expression shifting into one of sheer bliss. Its tail rose high into the air, swaying with excitement.

  "Hold it! Don't swing that tail—this is a hotel," Julian quickly warned.

  They were oh floor. If Steelix's tail struck the ground, it might smash through the floor, causing injuries or death to people below.

  Steelix nodded obediently, its eyes narrowing in satisfa. Internally, it once again praised its own decision to follow Julian.

  'This was the right choice! Since I started traveling with him, not only do I eat well and live well, but my strength has skyrocketed!'

  Initially, Steelix had only been a Green-tier Pokémon. Later, it advao -tier, and now it had reached Blue-tier Potential.

  Steelix: 'Mom, I've made it big!'

  Julian sighed as Steelix lowered its massive head and affeately nuzzled him. 'Seriously? With your size, is this the right way to show affe?'

  He winced, pinned against the wall by Steelix's bulk. If it weren't for his enhanced physique, he might have suffered internal injuries from the force.

  "Alright, alright"

  Julian muttered, patting Steelix's metallic surface.

  Through their bond, he could seeelix's overwhelming joy, gratitude, and even a hint of reliance.

  As Steelix's potential upgraded from to Blue, its level also rose from 67 to 68.