During this period, John and Jake were incredibly busy, having to receive numerous aristocratic families coming to seek cooperation every day.
The news of Julian bringing back a Top-tier secret realm had already spread among the major families.
Such a thing couldn't be kept hidden anyway.
The Walker family had already confirmed their collaboration with the military, and when it came to cooperation with aristocratic families, they naturally had to be selective. Families without sufficient strength couldn't even step through the door of opportunity.
Only large and powerful families like the Drake family or the Hearth family had the qualifications to collaborate with the Walkers.
Ember and the other two had already informed their own elders about the resources within that Top-tier Secret Realm. The most important of which were the Elemental Orbs, which could significantly enhance Pokémon potential and elemental energy.
That alone was enough to drive all the noble families crazy.
Of course, most of the orbs had already been taken by Julian. As for the few that remained, he deliberately left them behind. After all, if you're eating meat, you still have to let others drink some soup.
Otherwise, if the families they partnered with couldn't even find a single elemental orb, they might start thinking the Walkers were playing tricks on them.
A few days later, after John and Jake finalized partnerships with a select few families, the matter finally came to an end.
John returned to the imperial capital. As a Champion, the number of matters he had to handle daily was enormous.
---
"I'll be heading back to university soon," Julian said.
"Oh? Was that your girlfriend calling just now?"
Seeing Julian hang up the phone, Jake teased from the side.
"Women are too troublesome."
Julian shook his head. The call was from Nicole, who, knowing he had emerged from the secret realm, asked when he would return to university.
"You brat—"
Seeing Julian acting so nonchalant, Jake got a bit annoyed and said, "I've heard Nicole is a great girl. You better not miss your chance."
Julian almost retorted that 'women would only slow him down on his path to becoming a Champion', but noticing Tina approaching, he quickly changed his tone and said, "No rush."
When it came to women, Julian had always maintained a relaxed mindset. Given his status and strength, he really wasn't lacking in female attention—at least, ordinary ones.
As for someone like Nicole, whose grandfather was a Champion and who was exceptionally talented herself, she certainly wasn't short of suitors either.
---
"The association's assessment officer will arrive soon," Jake said, taking an apple from the table and peeling it skillfully with a small knife.
"As long as you defeat him, the Steel-type Gym will officially be yours."
Currently, he served as both the reigning Steel-type Elite and the national Steel-type Gym Leader—holding two positions at once. The extended workload left him with little time for his beloved fishing.
Now that his son had become a pseudo-Champion, it was time for Julian to share some of the burden. Hence, Jake intended to pass the Steel-type Gym Leader position to him.
Jake had actually considered this plan ever since he became the Steel-type Elite.
He just hadn't expected Julian to grow so quickly—after just one trip to the secret realm, he had reached pseudo-Champion level. Moreover, while Metagross was only at the late-stage of Elite, it could still unleash pseudo-Champion level strength.
As a father, having an outstanding son was certainly a point of pride. But if he was too outstanding… well, that brought its own pressure.
Julian's rapid growth gave Jake a real sense of crisis.
To put it bluntly, they were now in the same tier—both pseudo-Champions. Of course, in terms of overall strength, Julian was still no match for Jake.
At the very least, Jake already had six Pokémon at the pseudo-Champion level, while Julian technically only had Moltres.
It's like in ranked play: both might be in King tier, but one is a 10-star King, while the other is a 100-star King.
The gap between them was still quite large.
"Got it."
Julian nodded helplessly. He never expected he'd be inheriting the family gym at such a young age. He was still just a student!
As for the "association's assessment officer" Jake mentioned, their role was to evaluate whether Julian had the qualifications to become a national-level Gym Leader.
All Julian had to do was defeat them to earn the position.
Once he became a Gym Leader, his responsibilities would inevitably increase. For someone with a laid-back attitude like Julian, he wasn't naturally thrilled about it.
But there was no way around it—sooner or later, he had to inherit the Steel-type Gym. Unless he was a complete failure who couldn't even reach Elite-level, in which case Jake might have considered having a second child.
And these days, having a second kid even came with a 2,000 government reward!
"By the way, what do you know about the two slumbering First-class Legendaries in Secret Realm No. 20?"
Jake's expression turned serious as he asked.
Secret Realm No. 20 was the Top-tier secret realm Julian had acquired. It had now been officially designated as such by the national authorities, following the numbering sequence.
Including this one, Drakoria now possessed 20 Top-tier secret realms—the highest number in the world.
The second-highest was Celestria, with 17 Top-tier secret realms.
Everything about Secret Realm No. 20—especially the fact that it housed two dormant First-class Legendaries—was of utmost importance to Drakoria's higher-ups.
Any nation had to take First-class Legendaries seriously. The destructive power of a single one was enough to annihilate a small country. Even a major power like Drakoria couldn't withstand repeated disturbances from such beings.
"Not much. I only know one is called Solgaleo, and the other is Lunala. The former represents the sun, the latter the moon."
Julian truly didn't know much beyond that.
"The reason for their slumber is likely due to an intense battle against some incredible being. They protected Secret Realm No. 20 but exhausted themselves in the process, which is why they fell into deep sleep."
"My advice? Don't disturb them."
Sleep meant they were recovering their strength. If you went and woke them up—honestly, if they didn't blast you to pieces ten times over, that already counted as them being in a good mood.
When it came to First-class Legendaries, it was best not to provoke them unless absolutely necessary.
Even if you approached them with good intentions, that didn't mean they'll see it the same way.
"Hmm, the higher-ups think the same way." Jake nodded.
Over a decade ago, in a newly discovered Top-tier secret realm in Celestria, they found a slumbering First-class Legendary—and decided to wake it up.
That First-class Legendary emerged and destroyed several cities, causing millions of casualties, including a fallen Champion and dozens of Elites.
In the end, that First-class Legendary left on its own.
It was Groudon.
Its current whereabouts are unknown, though it was last sighted in the Pyramid Nation.
With that kind of precedent, of course Drakoria wouldn't dare disturb the two slumbering Legendaries in Secret Realm No. 20. If things went wrong, Drakoria could go from being a superpower to just… another regular nation.
So yeah—best not to tempt fate. The consequences would be way beyond what anyone could handle.
Right now, Secret Realm No. 20 had been placed by Julian in the eastern part of Lake City, with heavy military presence stationed nearby to prevent Pokémon from escaping.
If a large number of Pokémon tried to break out, Julian could simply close the secret realm entirely.
For smaller breaches? Well, that's what the army was there for.
*****
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