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"You deserve it. Pretend to be someone you're not—it's only natural for your face to be slapped. At least it was slapped by a junior. It would have been even more embarrassing if it had been someone else." Elliot couldn't hide his delight at seeing Alexis humiliated.
Elliot then glanced at Chris with a hint of surprise.
No wonder Teacher said Chris was planning to challenge the Gym. With this level of strength, he was indeed qualified to be a Gym Trainer.
But if I remember correctly, Teacher also mentioned that Chris is just a freshman this year.
Is this really the level of combat power a freshman can possess?
Freshman year lasts only one semester—less than half a year.
And yet, in under six months, one of his Pokémon has reached Gym Trainer-level strength? If this continues, what kind of powerhouse will he become by the time he graduates?
A fresh graduate turning into an Elite?
I recall reading in the news not long ago that Junior Chris is already a senior breeder.
So… what is this?
A case of dual mastery?!
If there's such a thing as a born genius, then Chris is exactly that!
Meanwhile, Alexis, the one who had just lost the battle, couldn't help but feel his ten years of training had gone to waste.
Chris's performance didn't just shock Elliot—it stunned everyone present, except for Vladimir.
Even Roy, who had seen Chris's Haunter before, was surprised. After all, Haunter alone hadn't yet met the Gym Trainer standard before its full potential was unleashed.
"One-on-one battles aren't enough fun, Junior Chris. How about we switch to three-on-three? Two more rounds?" Alexis tried to redeem himself.
He had used his second team of Pokémon, and his Dragon-type Pokémon had been destroyed by Mega Gardevoir. There was no way he could accept that.
Chris didn't mind. In reality, even if you lose against a strong opponent, your Pokémon still gain experience. Since his Pokémon were in perfect condition, he saw no harm in playing a few more matches.
But before he could answer, Teacher Vladimir stood up.
"Let's leave it at that for today."
Chris didn't go home for the New Year and has been staying at Dragon University.
"If you seniors aren't traveling for the holiday, you can use this time to battle him more. Treat it as a challenge for him."
"Consider it special training for the Gym Trainer position."
Everyone nodded, whether out of respect for their teacher's words or recognition of Chris's potential. Either way, they were eager to interact with him more.
Alexis didn't push for an immediate rematch, but he still insisted on battling Chris at school tomorrow—this time, using Ice-type Pokémon to show him what real skill was.
Everyone followed Teacher Vladimir back inside to watch TV together, celebrating New Year's Eve.
The old man couldn't stay up too late and retired to bed around ten o'clock.
The rest stayed up, chatting and watching the countdown. However, Stephen received an unexpected task and had to leave early.
The remaining seniors stayed with Chris until midnight.
Before leaving, they tidied up the room, leaving only Roy and Chris behind with Teacher Vladimir.
Chris stayed because Teacher Vladimir was going to give him a lesson on learning Aura powers. Teacher had also arranged for him and his Pokémon to begin training in Aura mastery the following morning.
At 7 a.m. the next day, Chris woke up. Roy and Teacher Vladimir had already returned from their morning run—and they brought breakfast for Chris.
"Sorry, Teacher, I overslept." Chris scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's okay. I actually planned for Roy to wake you up at 8 o'clock. Since you're already up, go wash up first. We've already bought breakfast for you. After you eat, I'll take you to train with Aura power," Vladimir said with a smile.
Chris quickly freshened up and ate his breakfast.
Once he finished, he went downstairs with Teacher Vladimir and Senior Roy, heading to the battlefield in Central Park where they had trained yesterday.
As the three stood on the battlefield, Teacher Vladimir began his lecture.
"Before training in Aura power, you must first determine whether you have the talent for it. Think of it as a seed—if you have it, then it's just a matter of time and effort before you can cultivate it successfully. But if you don't, then no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to learn."
As he spoke, Vladimir reached out and retrieved a dark blue crystal ball from Gengar's stomach.
"Here, take this crystal ball."
Chris obediently accepted it, and as soon as the dark blue crystal ball touched his hands, it changed to a very faint light blue—so faint that one could barely see it unless they looked carefully.
"It seems you have the talent for Aura!" Vladimir said in surprise. He explained, "This crystal can detect even the slightest presence of Aura in a living being. If there's no talent at all, the crystal remains completely transparent."
Roy reached out to take the crystal ball from Chris's hands. As soon as he held it, the faint light blue glow disappeared entirely, leaving the crystal perfectly clear—confirming that he did not possess the talent for Aura.
"You can test your Pokémon as well."
Chris released his Pokémon one by one, allowing them to take turns holding the crystal ball to see if they had the power of Aura.
After testing all of them, he discovered that four of his Pokémon had the potential to wield Aura: Blaziken, Greninja, Slakoth, and Hariyama.
Chris wasn't too surprised about Mega Machamp, as he had already known it could use Aura Sphere.
Among his seventeen Pokémon, four possessed Aura potential.
That probability…
Ridiculously high!
In reality, Pokémon with the power of Aura are one in a million.
While Pokémon with high potential have a slightly better chance of possessing Aura, the fact that four out of Chris's seventeen Pokémon had it left both Vladimir and Roy stunned!
Of course, it wasn't just the presence of Aura that shocked them.
They had thought Chris only had three Shiny Pokémon—his Hariyama, Gardevoir, and Gyarados.
But unexpectedly, he also had a Shiny Steelix, a Shiny Fraxure, a Shiny Aggron, and a Shadow Aerodactyl. Since they were unfamiliar with Shadow Pokémon, they mistakenly assumed Aerodactyl was also a Shiny.
Which meant…
Chris owned seven Shiny Pokémon?!
Roy couldn't help but ask, "Chris, did you catch all seven of these Shiny Pokémon yourself, or did you buy them?"