Haitian City, surrounded by the sea on three sides, hosted the celebratory ba for the Hundred Schools League on its eastern shore. With the vast o as a backdrop, trainers at the ba naturally grouped together with their respective Uies.

  The team coaches from various schools also gathered in small clusters, engaging in versations.

  In the area representing the Imperial Uy, 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 ae-level trainer.

  The two had known each other for years and were catg up after some time apart.

  "You've got a promising talent from your Imperial Uy this time. How about it? Help me ask if he's ied in joining the military after graduation. If he agrees, I'll immediately grant him the rank of major"

  Oliver said with a ugh.

  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 stro for the nation and the highest number of Elites, operated with strict discipline aions.

  Of course, being ae would afford a much greater degree of freedom, but even so, the straints were signifit.

  "Besides, Pierce is quite capable. If it weren't for Julian, he'd be the standout of the younger geion."

  "You've already got Pier the military, and now you want Julian too? Your appetite's way too big."

  " there ever be too much of a good thing?" Oliver muttered.

  Hearing this, Wade was left speechless, deg it was better not tue further to avoid getting annoyed by this shameless guy.

  'Even at the Elite level, some people never ge, 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 e knog at your door.'

  "Has Elite Drake already returned?" Oliver asked.

  Elite Drake referred to Victor, the Dragon-type specialist who had presehe awards earlier and was one of the nation's Top Elite.

  "He's already left," Wade replied.

  As a Top Elite, Victor's preseo present an award was already a rare honor. Staying for a bahat held no real significe wasn't something he had time for.

  "He left just like that? I wao ask him for some advice (battle)," Oliver pined, disappointed.

  Hearing this, Wade couldn't help but ugh. "You? Really?"

  Oliver: F**k You! (╬￣皿￣)

  'This guy really uimates me.'

  While they were chatting and bantering, tless Water-type Pokémon in the o were verging on Haitian City.

  At the Haitian City monit station, the radar detected an overwhelming number of Pokémon heading straight for the city.

  At first, the monit staff thought there was an error with the equipment. However, after a thh 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 p in from behind, the staff realized the severity of the situation.

  Is something major about to happen? A disaster?

  The staff member at the monit station couldn't shake the ominous feeling. They quickly took out their phoo 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 bato work.

  The tless glowing dots on the radar, representing the ining 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 iigate.

  "If there are any updates, please notify us as soon as possible," the monit station's superied over the phone.

  "Uood. The association is sending three trainers at pseudo-Elite level to iigate. Please don't worry," the association's staff replied.

  Pseudo-Elites?

  The monit station superior thought of the densely packed red dots on the radar. He sidered voig s that pseudo-Elites might not be suffit and suggesting sending a full-fledged Elite instead. However, he remembered that the oe in Haitian City was the association's president, Jose.

  Before he could say more, the association staff member hung up.

  Ihe Haitian City Trainer Association's duty room, the staff member who had just taken the call smirked coldly as they hung up and disected the phone line.

  They left the room calmly, stepping over the bloodied bodies of seven ht people lying on the floor.

  A Gengar grinned wickedly before merging into the person's shadow.

  ---

  Back at the monit station, the staff turo their superior.

  "Director, what did the Trainer Association say?"

  Those endless red dots were currently less thay kilometers from the coastline.

  "They'll send someoo iigate. 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 fikarp is usually in December, and it's only October," one of the monit staff pointed out.

  "It's not impossible," said aaff member neariirement. "Twenty years ago, Magikarp migration occurred around this time as well."

  Sihe event was doted, no one argued against it. In fact, many people visibly rexed upon hearing this expnation.

  "But—"

  The staff member still had doubts, but before they could tihe director cut them off.

  "That's enough."

  The director waved his hand dismissively. "The Trainer Association has already sent people to iigate. We'll soon find out if it's really Magikarp."

  The likelihood of it being Magikarp wasn't small. There was no other clear expnation for why the radar suddenly showed so many red dots.

  Moreover, Haitian City was a well-known stop frating Magikarp, a phenomenon that drew tourists annually.

  Some lucky visitors even mao find shiny Magikarp among the tens of thousands swimming by.

  ---

  At the hotel, Julian was ying on his bed after a shower, scrolling through videos on TikTok. Occasionally, he replied to messages, especially in his css group chats—both from high school and Imperial Uy.

  Both groups were exploding with messages, with nearly everyoagging 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 st game, and he was itg to py.

  At this moment, Slowking, who had been reading 'Principles of Traditional Medie', set down its book, picked up the phone from the coffee table, and smoothly ehe game.

  Ranked matchmaking began. Julian was in the first slot and immediately pre-selected Metagross.

  "Slow, you take Scizor as a jungler"

  But the sed pyer had already locked in a jungler.

  Slowking, now ihird slot, calmly chose Gardevoir as a mage.

  Then the fourth pyer also selected a mage and clearly wasn't pnning to switch.

  Without saying a word, Slowking posted its stats:

  Top of the leaderboard with an impressive 83% win rate.

  The fourth pyer: "What kind of support do you need, boss? Just say the word."