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Roy rested in a chair, watching the exams of other candidates on a screen.
"Congratulations, Roy, you've successfully defended your position as chief recommender again."
Elon entered with Brian, and after they both sat down, he smiled and said, "With your outstanding performance, you'll easily maintain the university chief position for four consecutive years."
It had been a while since Roy had seen Elon. After greeting them both with a smile, Roy didn't bother being modest about this obvious achievement: "Just basic operations. Hasn't Senior Elon been elected for four consecutive years as well?"
"I wasn't as dominant as you are now. I had to give my absolute best just to avoid being surpassed."
Elon laughed.
The gap between him and other students had accumulated bit by bit, gradually widening over time.
Roy, however, was strengthening like a rocket. After just one semester, even the fourth Pokémon he had trained was able to defeat three ace Pokémon from his peers.
At Roy's current rate of improvement, barring any unexpected circumstances, he would likely reach Elon's level by next year.
Thinking about this, Elon said seriously, "Roy, unless something unexpected happens, after I graduate next year, the position of school team captain should be yours."
Brian, sitting beside him, was slightly taken aback, though not entirely surprised by this 'internal decision.'
He knew that Elon's prediction was highly likely to come true.
Elon continued:
"A genius like you who completely outclasses your peers—I've only seen Henry and Caroline demonstrate similar potential."
"There's no doubt you possess the same talents they do."
"As long as you make it through this year, and when Henry graduates, the national competition will become your stage for the next three years. I believe you'll end the era of the 'two kings' who have dominated the league for nearly two decades and usher in a new era—a brand new one belonging to our Capital University."
"Roy, become the pillar of Capital University!"
Roy thought to himself: Senior Elon, have you also watched The Prince of Tennis?
He complained internally, but seeing Elon's excited and expectant expression, Roy could feel his deep affection for the school team and Capital University.
Roy laughed: "Senior Elon, do you also have the ability to use Future Sight?"
Elon looked puzzled: "Also? What do you mean?"
Roy said: "Otherwise, how does Senior Elon know that after Henry graduates, I'll dominate the national competition?"
Elon frowned: "Roy, excessive modesty is actually arrogance. With your talent, when Henry is gone next year..."
"No, Senior Elon, you misunderstood."
"What I meant was..." Roy shrugged and said playfully, "Why can't it be this year?"
Both Elon and Brian were speechless.
Why did I think this guy was humble?
Elon rubbed his eyebrows, feeling a headache coming on.
"It's good to be ambitious."
After casually bringing up this topic, Elon took out a stack of documents and handed them to Roy.
"Take a look at these..."
"It's all intelligence gathered on our old rivals."
Roy accepted the documents and slowly turned the pages, examining them carefully.
The old rivals, of course, referred to the other members of the 'East China Elite Six.'
In the East China Division, the "top four" spots in the national competition had always been monopolized by six schools: Capital University, Eastbridge University, Stonecrest University, Brightmoor University, University of Science and Technology of China, and Silver University.
The Six Elite competed against each other, and only against each other.
It was a 'six into four' situation.
As long as you secured a top-four position in the East China Division, you were considered successful.
The first-place team would advance to the national competition as a seeded player.
Those who failed to qualify for the national competition last year were Brightmoor University and Silver University.
The competitive performance of these two schools had been somewhat lackluster in recent years.
However, according to intelligence reports, Brightmoor University and Silver University appeared to have strengthened their team battle capabilities significantly this year. The school teams that participated in training matches against them were brutally defeated.
They needed to be vigilant.
Reading this, Roy felt pleased.
Invincible in training matches?
He was familiar with this concept.
Next in the documents were details about Eastbridge University and the University of Science and Technology of China. The performance of these two schools last year had been comparable to Capital University, but this year...
"Foreign assistance?"
Seeing these two words in the report, Roy was taken aback.
"Is it still possible to recruit foreign assistance for competitions between school teams?"
"Of course."
Elon explained: "They're called foreign assistance, but they're actually exchange students. The school team can't object if they qualify based on their strength. Over the years, there have always been foreign players in the national competitions, but this is the first time we've seen so many."
Brian sneered and said, "Hmph, the goals of these foreigners are obvious..."
What made this year's National College League different from previous years were the prizes.
In this year's National College League, those who performed well could enter the world's largest field—the "Crown Tundra."
The national champion would even qualify to capture a quasi-legendary Pokémon.
Obviously, these sudden foreign exchange players all had their eyes on China's official promise. Even without winning the championship, getting a chance to enter the 'Crown Snowfield' was still extremely valuable!
After Roy noted the main Pokémon information of their school team members, he turned to the last page.
——— Stonecrest University.
When turning this page, Roy clearly noticed Elon's breathing become heavier.
This seemed to be what Elon really wanted him to see.
Stonecrest University had always been the leader of the East China Elite Six.
As champions of the East China Division for seven consecutive years, they participated in exhibition matches as a seeded team every year.
Not only that, in the national competition, Stonecrest University's performance was second only to the 'League and Central University,' ranking them as the third-best school in the country. They were sometimes called the uncrowned kings.
Stonecrest University's roster remained the same as last year, with no sudden transfers of powerful foreign players.
Since there was no change in personnel, it was obvious that the strength of some members of the school team had undergone a qualitative improvement.
As expected.
When Roy saw the information about Stonecrest University's captain Roman, he immediately frowned.
"...Professional grade?"
The standard for a professional-level Trainer was to have six 'professional-level' Pokémon that could form a relatively mature team battle system...
It was extraordinarily rare to have a professional-level trainer among college students—it completely unbalanced the competition.
Currently, in universities across the country, only the two so-called "Kings" had achieved "professional trainer" status as college students.
Those two had both passed the rank assessment at the end of their third year in university.
If it weren't for such a significant gap, they wouldn't be described as dominating their generation.
If it weren't for such a significant gap, Elon wouldn't have advised Roy to remain dormant for another year after recognizing his talent.
Roman didn't quite meet the standard of a 'professional trainer.'
However, this year, his ace Pokémon had successfully broken through the [Racial limit Level] and was promoted to professional level.
"A professional-grade ace Pokémon..."