At the dinner table, because everyone was young, the atmosphere was quite lively, filled with laughter and joy.
Amidst the clinking of glasses, everyone had unknowingly drunk quite a bit.
"Drink less." Julia, seeing Jacob's face flush, frowned and reminded him.
Julia had obviously dressed up carefully today. She had a light blush on her face, wore a cute long dress, and had a cute hair clip in her hair.
She looked like the most beautiful princess—breathtakingly beautiful.
"Mm." Jacob nodded. His alcohol tolerance was growing, and he was actually fine now. "Don't worry, I won't drink too much."
"Mm." Julia was still a bit worried. She quickly called a waiter to bring a box of yogurt, which she handed to Jacob. "Drink some yogurt and eat more to line your stomach."
"Mm, thank you."
This scene was coincidentally spotted by Amira at the table, who smiled and teased, "Julia, why are you siding with Jacob? You're not worried about me, but about him?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Julia's face flushed slightly as she softly replied.
"Did I hit the nail on the head?" Amira laughed loudly.
With Julia's interruption, Jacob slowed down his drinking considerably. Feeling his head getting a little heavy, he switched his wine glass for yogurt and chatted with everyone.
Because most of the people present were Trainer majors, the conversation quickly turned to the Gym-level professional league, which was a challenge that all Trainer majors had to face.
"Jacob, when do you plan to compete in the G3 League?" The speaker was a short-haired girl with fair skin, a tall figure, and a somewhat neutral style of dress. Jacob vaguely remembered her name was Fu Lanlan.
The G3 League was the Gym-level tier 3 professional league. Normally, one needed to reach the top four in the Gym-level Amateur League to qualify for the G3 League.
Because Jacob was the Champion of this High School Cup, he received direct qualification to participate in the G3 League within one year, without needing to participate in the Gym-level Amateur League.
"No hurry. Anyway, this spot has no time limit, and the Gym-level professional league explicitly prohibits Mega Evolution now. I need to be well-prepared before competing," Jacob said with a smile.
He actually didn't want to compete in the Gym League yet, because even if he successfully broke through the Gym-level professional league and obtained qualification for the final Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, he would still have to wait two years.
There were still two years until the next Gym Leader Ranking Tournament.
It was still too early. It would be better to start competing in the Gym-level professional league a few months before the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament.
"Then you need to work hard, Jacob. You and Julia are the hope of our class," Fu Lanlan said. "Many of our seniors have already entered the G3 League, and June, for example, has even entered the G2 League. You two need to work hard to break June's record and strive to enter the G2 League in your freshman year."
Fu Lanlan spoke to Jacob and Julia, a look of envy on her face.
Her strength wasn't outstanding, and her family background was only average. Without high-aptitude Pokémon, her potential was limited, and her own strength ranked among the lowest of the new students admitted this year.
The reason Fu Lanlan was able to get into Capital University was more because her academic performance was good enough, and she benefited from having a local household registration.
Because of this, Fu Lanlan was more worried about what would happen after graduation than anyone else. Even though she was only a freshman, she was already planning her future career.
After all, there were only a few hundred people in this world who could become a Gym Leader. She had a clear understanding of her own abilities, level, and family background.
Without a great opportunity, she could forget about becoming a Gym Leader in this lifetime. The best path for her was to become a Deputy Gym Leader or get into the Pokémon Association and become an official.
She didn't have any other grand ambitions—living a simple life was enough.
Of course, if she could become friends with Julia and Jacob, it would be a great help for her future.
"I probably can't. If I don't have Mega Evolution, I'm no match for Julia," Jacob humbly replied. "The top person in our class still has to be Julia."
"Jacob, you're making fun of me again. I'm no match for you," Julia said, looking at Jacob.
"I'm telling the truth. If I couldn't use Mega Evolution in the finals, I really wouldn't have been your opponent." This was true for Jacob. In that situation, using only one team of Pokémon and not using Mega Evolution, he really might not have been Julia's opponent.
"I can't beat you. I'm the runner-up," Julia pouted and said. "When I have time, I definitely want to compete with you again."
"No thanks, I'll just surrender," Jacob said with a smile.
"Not bad, Jacob. You've learned to defer to a woman. Your marriage will definitely be very happy in the future, right, Julia?"
Listening to everyone's teasing, Julia said with a red face, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
As the group chatted and laughed, Amira suddenly brought up Elian, who was sitting nearby.
"Senior, speaking of this, you're already a junior this year. Is the pressure great?" Amira asked, looking curiously at Elian.
Elian was Summer's boyfriend. He had a slightly dark complexion, distinct features, and a lean build, and he was the only junior among those present.
Seeing everyone's gaze converge on him, Elian, with a slightly red face, spoke. "Of course the pressure is great. I've already entered the G2 League this year. My goal is to strive to enter the G1 League before graduating in my junior year, and to obtain qualification for the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament before graduation. Then, in two years, it will be just about time for the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament. Although becoming a Gym Leader is difficult, I still hope to achieve a good ranking and find a good job after graduation."
By their junior year, most Capital University students had a clear plan for their future lives.
Elian was like this. With his strength, it would be quite good if he could become a Gym Leader within five years. Of course, it was more likely that it would take five years or even more than ten years to become a Gym Leader.
"A Gym Leader is the highest combat power below an Elite-level trainer," Elian sighed, then a smile spread across his face. "Similarly, the Gym-level professional league is also the most brutal competition in the region. Perhaps you haven't participated in this kind of competition yet and aren't quite clear. Let me explain it to you like this."
"In the amateur league, besides students like us, almost all participants have three or more Gym-level Pokémon."
"And in the G3 League, every participant has five to six Gym-level Pokémon, and even Quasi-Elite-level Pokémon appear."
"Starting from the G2 League, almost all of every participant's Pokémon have reached Gym-level strength, and even Quasi-Elite-level Pokémon appear very frequently."
"As for the G1 League, it's even more brutal. To break through this stage, there are only two possibilities. One is that your Pokémon's combat power is extremely strong, capable of achieving same-level type disadvantage battles—one versus two or even one versus three."
"The second is that your team has formed a complete system, such as a weather team, a Trick Room team, a stall team, a hyper offense team, and so on."
"As for the final Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, it's a pure test of strength. After all, it's divided into eighteen groups for competition. For example, Jacob, if you participate in the Dragon-type competition, at least three Dragon-type Pokémon are required to participate, and your opponent will also need to prepare at least three Dragon-type Pokémon. With consistent types, it's a competition of raw strength."