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After stepping down from the stage, Jacob could still clearly hear his heart pounding with an extremely rapid rhythm. Such an intense battle performed in front of so many spectators had made Jacob's palms sweat from nervousness, but fortunately, he had emerged victorious and could claim the final triumph.
Upon returning to the competitor lounge, Jacob discovered that Kyle, Amelia, and his father Rory had already been waiting for quite some time.
"Jacob, you were absolutely incredible out there!" Kyle immediately wrapped Jacob in an enthusiastic bear hug. Witnessing his best friend's outstanding performance on stage filled Kyle with genuine happiness and pride. "Jacob, your performance today was simply amazing."
"Just a minor accomplishment, nothing special," Jacob replied with a casual smile, his tone light and confident while wearing a satisfied expression. "It's only the top sixteen—easily manageable."
"Damn, Jacob, you're really showing off now!" Kyle laughed and shook his head. "But today you've definitely earned the right to boast. Jacob, you looked absolutely awesome out there."
The two friends looked at each other and burst into simultaneous laughter.
At that moment, Amelia also stepped forward, her eyes curving into cheerful crescents as her bright, clear gaze focused on Jacob. A warm smile graced her lips as she congratulated him on reaching the top sixteen. "Jacob, congratulations on your victory."
"It's far too early for congratulations," Jacob was clearly in excellent spirits and playfully teased Amelia. "This is just the beginning—only the top sixteen. I need to reach at least the finals before celebrating. You can't pop champagne at halftime; we need to stay humble and focused."
Parker, who had been standing nearby, also offered his congratulations, though a hint of envy flickered in his eyes. He wished he could achieve Jacob's level of success and reach the top sixteen or even the quarterfinals, but he understood his own limitations realistically.
Finally, there was his father, Rory. As the team leader for this High School Cup tournament, Rory felt immense pride looking at his youngest son's achievement. However, since so many people had already congratulated Jacob, as a father, he needed to play the role of the strict parent in this moment. He regarded Jacob with a stern expression and said, "Jacob, go back and rest properly today, then seriously prepare for your upcoming matches. Remember, this is only the top sixteen."
"Yes, Father. I understand."
...…
Back at the hotel, while feeding his Pokemon their evening meal, Jacob discovered that Dreepy was already on the verge of evolution and could transform at any moment.
According to Jacob's carefully planned strategy, he would travel to the Dragon-type Secret Realm and utilize the rich Dragon-type energy concentrated there. Combined with a premium A-grade dragon scale and the Ghost-type core energy from the Poison Bottle, this environment would allow Dreepy to evolve directly into Drakloak in a single, powerful transformation.
Thinking about the Dragon-type Secret Realm naturally brought Teacher Nina to mind—someone he hadn't seen for far too long. Remembering her elegant figure and graceful presence, Jacob felt his heart rate quicken unexpectedly.
What was wrong with him? How could he harbor such inappropriate thoughts?
Jacob harshly criticized himself for these wandering thoughts, then initiated a video call to Teacher Nina.
"Ring, ring."
The video call connected quickly, but Teacher Nina wasn't directly facing the camera, which made Jacob feel slightly disappointed.
"Teacher Nina, where are you right now? I can't see you properly," Jacob asked with curiosity.
"Jacob, what do you need?" Upon hearing Jacob's voice, Nina turned the camera to face herself while gently adjusting her hair to look more presentable on screen.
"Teacher Nina, my Dreepy is about to evolve. Once I advance to the National Finals, I'll come to the Secret Realm to meet with you. Dreepy should be able to complete its evolution in that environment."
"Certainly. Just come whenever you're ready," Nina replied with calm assurance.
"By the way, Teacher Nina, did you happen to watch my match today?" After finishing their business discussion, Jacob couldn't resist asking.
"I did watch it," Nina nodded in confirmation. Although she hadn't attended Jacob's match in person, she had watched the entire battle via livestream. She couldn't help but speak with genuine sincerity. "You've made tremendous progress, and your performance today was truly excellent. However, don't let success make you overconfident—this is still only the top sixteen."
"Understood." Hearing that Teacher Nina had watched his match filled Jacob with secret joy. He then began chatting casually with her. "Teacher Nina, have you been busy lately?"
"Not particularly. I haven't been very busy recently." Nina had been enjoying a rather peaceful period lately, usually just cooking, training her Pokemon, and not much else of significance.
"Then make sure you get adequate rest, don't eat anything unhealthy, limit your alcohol consumption, and avoid staying up too late," Jacob advised with genuine concern, his tone completely unlike what would be expected from a student speaking to their teacher.
Listening to Jacob's caring words, Nina felt a flutter of shyness as a light blush colored her cheeks. "I understand. I've been staying in the Secret Realm recently and haven't gone out drinking at all."
"Oh, by the way, Teacher Nina, I remember you made me a promise," Jacob suddenly recalled.
"What promise was that?" Nina asked, her brow furrowing slightly in concentration.
"I remember you promised me that if I could advance to the National Finals, you would have dinner with me, correct?" Jacob suddenly remembered their previous agreement.
Nina searched her memory and indeed recalled a time when Jacob had asked to treat her to dinner. She had declined at the time, telling him to ask again once he reached the National Finals. "That's right. As long as you advance to the National Finals, I'll agree to it."
"Excellent! Teacher Nina, please wait for me," Jacob said with an enthusiastic smile.
"I'll be waiting," Nina responded softly, her voice carrying a gentle warmth.
...…
After ending the video call, Jacob lay back on his bed with a contented smile playing across his lips. After quite some time, he finally refocused his attention, put away his smile, and began seriously preparing for tomorrow's crucial match.
Earlier, Jacob's opponent for the following day had been officially announced: Lee, the runner-up from Eldrador City. Lee's overall strength wasn't particularly impressive—in fact, he seemed slightly weaker than Wylder had been.
He had advanced to the top sixteen more through fortunate matchups and strategic positioning, successfully avoiding several stronger opponents along the way.
Lee specialized as an Electric-type Trainer, and his ace Pokemon included a Heliolisk with the Solar Power ability, a Pincurchin with the Electric Surge ability, and a Swampert for type coverage.
Lee's team composition followed a straightforward strategy: Pincurchin would establish Electric Terrain and Sunny Day conditions, allowing Heliolisk to unleash devastating special attacks.
Heliolisk naturally possessed excellent special attack and speed statistics. Under the combined boost of Sunny Day and Electric Terrain, the power of its Electric-type moves reached genuinely terrifying levels.
Aside from Ground-type Pokemon, most other Pokemon struggled to withstand Heliolisk's relentless barrage of attacks. However, when facing Ground-type opponents, Lee would deploy Swampert to handle the type disadvantage. Additionally, Lee's three main Pokemon were all quite formidable, each one achieving Overlord Class status without exception.
After thoroughly reviewing Lee's tactical information, Jacob didn't feel particularly pressured by the upcoming matchup. Jacob's Pokemon team possessed several favorable matchups against Lee's strategy.
When Pincurchin established Sunny Day conditions, Charizard could take full advantage of the enhanced solar energy. Jacob also had his Grass-type Sceptile, which could completely shut down Swampert due to its quadruple weakness to Grass-type moves.
Furthermore, Heliolisk posed minimal threat to Sceptile, since the Grass-type naturally resisted Electric-type attacks. Honestly, Jacob's Sceptile alone might prove extremely difficult for Lee to handle effectively. There was a genuine possibility that Sceptile could sweep through his entire team single-handedly.
Therefore, Jacob wasn't overly concerned about the next match. His real worry focused on the potential quarterfinals battle, as Jacob had examined the tournament bracket and realized he would very likely face Nikolas, the top-seeded Fire-type Trainer from Olivine City.
Nikolas's ace Pokemon was also a Charizard, but his Charizard followed a mixed attacker strategy rather than specializing in one area. His other two main Pokemon were a Ninetales with the Drought ability and a Leafeon with the Chlorophyll ability—a classic Sunny Day team composition.
Since Jacob lacked any Water-type or Ground-type Pokemon in his current roster, he possessed almost no effective counters to Fire-type opponents.
His only Pokemon that could potentially counter Fire-types was his Rock-type Diancie, but Jacob wouldn't seriously consider sending Diancie into official tournament battle, would he? Speaking of Diancie, Jacob had noticed that the Mythical Pokemon's growth rate was absolutely incredible, which might represent a unique characteristic inherent to legendary Pokemon species.