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"Finally, there's a new Elite. The last rotation was twelve years ago..."
"Yeah, finally some fresh blood in the ranks."
"The twenty-four-year-old Elite's achievement isn't inferior to Mr. Scott's record at all."
"I'm betting on the world's first female Champion."
"The nickname fits perfectly—Caroline is a well-deserved Psychic Queen."
"The younger generation still has Henry, Roy... hey, I don't think anyone can say that our China is getting old and stagnant anymore."
Heated discussions filled the internet endlessly, and even Roy found himself pulled into the conversations by netizens, rarely benefiting from Caroline's newfound popularity.
The citizens' enthusiasm was remarkably high.
If an Elite position in a country hadn't rotated for an extended period, it proved that no strong new talent had emerged for far too long.
Conversely, if a country's Elite positions rotated frequently, it demonstrated that more than four trainers with Elite-level strength existed within that nation.
Four Elite positions, but at least five capable trainers—this was common knowledge.
China's most prosperous period had been when the first-generation Champion was still alive. During that era, Elite positions rotated every two years on average, with as many as eight Elite trainers existing simultaneously.
Because of this unprecedented prosperity in trainer power, all other countries had been forced to avoid confrontation, allowing China to thrive even during its economically weaker periods.
Afterward, China had experienced both flourishing and decline, maintaining a low profile for decades. It had prospered for eight years after Frances first took office, then declined again over the past two years.
History truly was cyclical.
The passport review process was taking longer than expected.
Roy returned to his peaceful daily breeding routine. Besides practicing aura power and psychic abilities each day, he coached and monitored each Pokemon's training progress.
Apart from Caroline becoming an Elite, nothing particularly noteworthy occurred during this period.
Roy had assumed that no matter how lengthy the review process, it would take at most half a month. Unexpectedly, it wasn't until a full month later that he received a text message confirming his "passport verification" was successful, with the passport itself to be delivered to his home the following day.
This month had passed extremely peacefully.
The Pokemon who had entered the accumulation period showed no changes in strength, though their move proficiency had increased considerably.
Ninetales had also officially reached its racial limit half a month ago and begun its own accumulation period.
The Pokemon that had improved most dramatically was Metang.
Under the exceptional guidance of move TMs, Metang had spent half a month practicing three moves—Autotomize, Rock Polish, and Psych Up—to master level.
Then it had taken another ten days to complete the five-stage transformation condition.
Now it practiced Role Play against Lairon daily, allowing its body to gradually adapt to the Heavy Metal ability.
Unfortunately, the day of "split personality development" was approaching, and Metang's mood was growing heavier.
Its overall evaluation had upgraded from B- grade a month ago to B+ grade.
The next day, the villa doorbell rang.
Roy assumed the passport had arrived by courier, but when he opened the door, he encountered an unexpected visitor.
"Elite Sebastian?"
The visitor was none other than Fighting Elite Sebastian.
Since an old acquaintance had come calling, Roy directly invited him into the hall.
As soon as they sat down and Roy began preparing tea, he heard Sebastian say with a knowing smile:
"Kid, I heard you're preparing to travel abroad? Planning to participate in the European Junior Championships?"
"???"
Roy sensed something was amiss. Why was this old man so concerned about his travel itinerary?
"What are you thinking?" Sebastian said irritably. "Your situation has been causing arguments at the highest levels. There have been daily meetings during this time, debating whether to let you leave the country... Do you think every trainer requires a month-long review process when traveling abroad?"
"Arguing about me?" Roy was puzzled. "I have no reason to defect, and I'll definitely return. What's there to debate?"
"You're so young..." Sebastian said meaningfully. "What we're worried about is that you won't be able to come back, understand?"
Roy's heart skipped a beat as understanding dawned.
Yes, he had somewhat underestimated his influence in other countries' eyes.
For a genius of Roy's caliber from another nation, foreign powers definitely couldn't act openly—that would cause international disputes—but they might resort to underhanded tactics. Even if something happened to him, as long as there was no evidence, the matter would ultimately be dropped.
This possibility had to be guarded against.
Realizing his passport review had been approved, Roy asked, "So in the end, you're letting me go?"
Sebastian nodded. "A powerful trainer represents a country's military strength. It's impossible to cultivate such strength in a greenhouse—it can only be forged through life-and-death focus... Do you know what a professional trainer's first mission typically involves?"
Before Roy could answer, he continued:
"The first mission is usually related to 'Pokemon combat,' such as hunting down poaching organizations and various anti-government underground groups."
"If someone can't adapt to 'fighting,' that type of professional trainer loses the possibility of advancing further and can only work desk jobs."
Having said this, Sebastian displayed an expression of great interest.
"Including Elite Challenges, there's a very popular description among professional trainers for all competitive games with 'rules.'"
"Entertainment and spectator battle modes for civilians."
Roy smiled.
This description was admittedly somewhat ironic.
It seemed professional trainers also had their own hierarchy of contempt...
Trainers proficient in 'combat' would look down on trainers who only knew how to 'compete,' regardless of their strength.
Those who only understood competition were just civilian entertainment performers—decorative figures who couldn't become the military strength representing a country's "foundation."
"However, gaining 'combat experience' is something that happens after passing professional-level assessment."
Sebastian said with a smile. "You actually experienced it once in advance during the Illuminati incident, and you performed excellently... This is why we approved the review and chose to let you travel. At least we don't worry that when you encounter danger, your legs will go weak and you won't even be able to grab a Poke Ball."
"Of course, you must take this just in case."
Roy examined the two items Sebastian handed over.
One was a booklet with a red cover—Roy's passport.
The other was a small doll covered in knife marks.
"What's this?"
"This is a device created by our current Psychic Elite, Caroline. As long as you tear this doll apart, you can trigger the Teleport ability stored within it, which will randomly transport you hundreds of kilometers away," Sebastian explained.
"It was precisely because she provided this item that she convinced the opposition faction."
Roy suddenly understood.
He was familiar with this concept—it was essentially a teleportation scroll!
A life-saving artifact.
Could Caroline's psychic abilities really create something like this?
Roy picked up his passport, which already contained the necessary visa.
Tomorrow, he would depart for Europe...