On his way back to the apartment, Jacob couldn't help but quietly admire Kyle, that crafty strategist with a head full of schemes. As annoying as his suggestions could be, this one had actually worked out well.
Sincerity really was the most powerful move of all. It seemed Julia had calmed down for now — but what about Nina and Raya?
Jacob sighed to himself. He was beginning to wonder if he was slowly becoming the kind of person he never wanted to be.
Creak.
He took out his key and pushed the door open, accidentally startling Nina, who was sitting on the sofa quietly grooming Whimsicott's fluffy white cotton fur. The small Pokémon let out a soft, surprised cry at the noise before settling back down.
"You're back?" Nina turned her head, eyes lighting up slightly at the sight of him. "It's already this late. Are you hungry? Do you want me to make something?"
"Now that you mention it, I actually am a bit hungry." Jacob nodded as he set down his bag. "I stopped by the school to go over some details about the International Pokémon Exchange Tournament."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "After we finished, I walked Julia back to her dormitory. That's what took so long."
Jacob kept his tone easy and calm, though his gaze stayed on Nina as he spoke, watching her expression carefully.
"Julia?" Nina's face remained calm. She turned back toward the kitchen and began preparing a late-night snack, letting out a quiet sigh. "Alas. She's had such a hard time of it. She's been like a completely different person for so long now." She glanced back at him. "Jacob, you really didn't have to tell her. It might have been kinder just to let it go."
"Nina, could we really have kept it from her forever?" Jacob smiled softly as he looked at her. Nina had always been like this — kind to the point of putting others before herself.
"Maybe not forever," she admitted. "But you were so direct about it. You could have at least given her time to prepare herself."
"I didn't have much of a choice." He smiled. "Oh, right — Nina, when I was walking Julia back tonight, she asked me who my girlfriend was."
"Ah?" Nina looked up quickly. "Did you tell her?"
"She already guessed it was you." Jacob replied.
"What?" Nina's expression shifted, her face going pale. She set down what she was holding, clearly flustered. "Then did she say anything? What if she tells other people? If word gets out about us like this…"
"What are you so worried about?" Jacob smiled at her. "There's nothing wrong with what we have. And honestly, if anyone starts spreading rumors, just have your master deal with it."
"If anyone needs to deal with it, it should be Giovanni, not me," Nina said flatly, rolling her eyes at his teasing. She reached over and gave him a light pat on the arm. "And if my dad ever finds out, I'm not sure he'll worry about silencing anyone else first — he'll come straight for you."
"You wouldn't let him." Jacob grinned and stepped behind her, wrapping his arms gently around her.
"Stop it, I'm trying to cook," Nina muttered, though the corner of her mouth curved upward despite herself.
Time passed quickly. In what felt like a blink, half a month had gone by.
Perhaps because the situation with Julia had finally found some resolution, Jacob had been in noticeably better spirits lately. He had been putting most of his energy into training his Pokémon, and the results showed.
Both Shelgon and Fraxure had evolved — Shelgon spreading its powerful wings as a Salamence, and Fraxure growing into a proud and fierce Haxorus. Hearing their triumphant cries echo through the training field had been one of the better moments of the month.
With these evolutions, Jacob's team had taken a significant step forward. Nearly every member of his team was now approaching Gym Leader–level strength. That meant he was close to being ready for the upcoming Gym Leader Ranking Tournament — and with his Pokémon's current setup and the synergy between them, he was shaping up to be a serious contender at that level.
Alongside his training, Jacob had been managing the day-to-day affairs of the laboratory while also searching for a specialist with deep knowledge of ancient Shu history. Finding someone with that kind of expertise was proving to be no easy task.
In recent days, Jacob had also noticed that Julia had been reaching out more often. The distant, heavy mood that had hung over her conversations was slowly lifting. Their chats, which had once been little more than brief check-ins, were shifting back toward something more like how things used to be — she was asking what he was up to, whether he needed help with anything, whether she could come along to see what he was working on.
Jacob hadn't turned her away. He had taken her along to visit the Giant Laboratory when he had the time, and the effect had been clear. The worry that had clouded her expression for so long began to fade, replaced by a genuine, bright smile that suited her far better.
As the year drew closer to its end, the launch ceremony for the Giant Laboratory project was fast approaching.
Inside Jacob's office, Eleanor and Sylvia sat across from him for a brief meeting. The three of them, in a very real sense, formed the core of the entire laboratory's leadership.
"For the launch ceremony, we need to have something concrete to present to the Pokémon Association," Jacob said, leaning forward slightly. "Something that shows real progress and gives them reason to stay invested."
He folded his hands on the desk. "My plan is to formally introduce the concepts of Dynamax and Gigantamax at this ceremony. Right now, the research community worldwide is still in the early stages of studying these phenomena. There's no agreed-upon definition, and most researchers don't distinguish between the two — they use the terms interchangeably. We need to be the first to clearly define and separate the two concepts."
"By doing that," he continued, "we take the lead in this field. We establish the laboratory's reputation, strengthen our standing, and make ourselves far more attractive to future investors and research partners."
He glanced toward Eleanor. "As for who presides over the ceremony — I'll handle it myself if I'm available. If I'm not, Eleanor will take over as Vice Director."
To be honest, Jacob trusted Sylvia's judgment more. But Sylvia was from overseas, and her background was still a sensitive matter. Even if he wanted to give her a more prominent role, that kind of formal recognition would have to wait until she had made her mark through clear, visible results — and until the Pokémon Association here had grown to trust her on their own terms.
Eleanor gave a quiet nod. She looked tired. The dark circles under her eyes were difficult to miss, and there was a heaviness in the way she sat that hadn't been there a few months ago.
She had, in truth, been carrying the weight of nearly everything. While Jacob moved about as the laboratory's director in name, Eleanor had become the one actually running things day to day — handling the small problems, the large ones, and everything in between.
Jacob had also noticed something else: ever since he had started assigning Eleanor new responsibilities, she had stopped bringing up the subject of Gigantamax Pokémon. Whether that was because she was genuinely too busy, or whether she had simply accepted that it wasn't the right time, he wasn't sure. Either way, he had quietly taken the opportunity to give her even more to manage, pulling her into the artificial Pokémon project alongside Sylvia.
And Eleanor had risen to the challenge. Her professional background was excellent, and she had quickly become an important contributor to the project, pushing the experimental progress further and faster than it had been moving before.
Based on the most recent update, it was looking like a new Porygon could be synthetically produced within six months — maybe sooner.
"Speaking of which — Sylvia, how is the artificial Pokémon project coming along? Any problems?" Jacob looked her way.
"Progress has been steady," Sylvia replied evenly, meeting his gaze. "Based on where we are right now, if things continue at this pace, we could have a new Porygon ready in as little as three months."
Jacob nodded. That was ahead of schedule. "Good work, both of you. But synthesizing Porygon is just the beginning. Once we've done that, the next step is building on that foundation — developing new forms of artificial Pokémon. I already have some ideas in mind, though there are still a few key pieces I'm missing."
He sat back. "Alright, that's everything from me. Anything else to report?"
"There is one thing." Eleanor's voice was quieter than usual, carrying a note of weariness she was clearly trying to hold back.