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The teacher has more students than Chris thought.
Chris initially believed there were only Elliot, Roy, and Alexis, but after staying at the teacher's house for seven days, he saw more than ten students visit daily, bringing New Year's gifts.
Countless others never even showed up.
The sheer amount of gifts could probably fill the entire house. Eventually, they were all stored in the room across from the main one— a warehouse that Roy had specifically bought for the teacher. Clearly, this wasn't the first time such a large quantity had been received.
According to Senior Roy, many students had only received a few lessons from the teacher. Whether they were genuinely grateful or simply wanted to maintain a connection, no one could say for sure.
However, the teacher himself didn't mind. He enjoyed the lively atmosphere and welcomed them every year for New Year's greetings.
This reminded Chris of when the teacher had claimed him as his student to protect him. He seemed to truly enjoy nurturing students.
But the number of students he had personally mentored and cultivated was actually fewer than ten. Since Chris had returned too late, he could only send his New Year's greetings over the phone.
The seven days of New Year's visits were also the most exhausting for Chris.
With Senior Roy leading, Senior Alexis assisting, and Senior Stephen strategizing, they scheduled battles with Chris every day.
The main team would battle the second team, and the second team would battle the third team. Roy and Alexis didn't just have three teams—they had six. No matter what level of opponent Chris needed, they had the right Pokémon to match.
Additionally, Senior Elliot had Milotic, Blissey, and Audino, meaning Chris never needed to visit a Pokémon Center for healing. Thanks to her skills, his Pokémon could recover in no time and battle again immediately.
And with Elliot's medical expertise, there was no risk of lingering injuries.
Because of this, Chris spent the past seven days training relentlessly—almost to the point of exhaustion.
But he had to admit, his Pokémon's strength increased rapidly—not just in level but in skill.
His main Pokémon, like Gardevoir and Greninja, improved through intense battles against powerful opponents.
His second-team Pokémon, such as Aggron and Steelix, gained three to four levels.
As for the other Pokémon, their levels increased by at least seven.
Overall, in terms of leveling, Chris's Pokémon had improved significantly. This was much faster than leveling Pokémon one by one in a game.
After all, now it was a dozen Pokémon training simultaneously.
Beyond leveling up, the most notable improvement was in move mastery.
Elite trainers, top Gym Trainers, and experienced Pokémon investigators—regardless of their backgrounds—had spent decades refining their main Pokémon. Even if their Pokémon weren't the highest level, they had an incredibly deep understanding and mastery of their moves.
This allowed them to provide Chris and his Pokémon with new perspectives on using the same moves, helping them refine their techniques.
For instance, Chris observed how the teacher's Machamp and Senior Alexis's Haxorus used Slash to generate a visible "sword energy" effect. This was actually an advanced application of the move.
After consulting Senior Alexis, Chris managed to train his Pokémon to replicate the effect when using Slash.
Now, he planned to teach Greninja the same technique with Cut and eventually apply it to his other Pokémon.
If Cut could also release "sword energy"...
Tsk, tsk—just thinking about it excited Chris.
One day, Chris and Senior Alexis decided to battle.
Senior Alexis also had a Garchomp, so they agreed to a one-on-one fight between their Garchomps.
Chris's Garchomp had an advantage in the battle, thanks to the blessing of Landorus's Treasure, which significantly enhanced its ground control abilities. As a result, it managed to suppress Senior Alexis's Garchomp despite the difference in strength.
"Alright, let's stop here," Alexis said, raising his hand in surrender, his expression a mix of frustration and disbelief.
His Garchomp was undeniably stronger than Chris's, so why was it losing in terms of battlefield control?
Could it be that his own Garchomp was just naturally at a disadvantage in this area?
Roy, who had been watching the entire match, walked up to Chris.
"Your Garchomp seems to have a natural talent for ground control. You should focus on developing that," he advised.
"Got it, Senior. I was thinking the same thing," Chris responded quickly. Since he had Landorus's Treasure, he needed to maximize its potential.
Ground-type moves had no shortage of powerful physical attacks, which meant Chris could take full advantage of the boost from Landorus's Treasure while utilizing Garchomp's high Attack stat.
By stacking these strengths together, Garchomp's combat power would become truly terrifying—enough to suppress Alexis's Garchomp despite a level gap of at least ten.
After a short break, Chris handed his Pokémon over to Senior Elliot for treatment. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea. Training battles required a lot of shouting, and his throat was getting dry.
Just as he took a sip, his phone rang.
Checking the screen, he saw that it was Trevor calling.
"Hey."
"Chris, I'm heading back to the Gym. How should we meet? Should I come to Pokeland first, or should we meet at Star Moon Airport?" Trevor's voice came through the phone.
"Let's meet directly at Star Moon Airport. Send me your flight details, and I'll book a ticket for a similar time," Chris replied.
Originally, he and Trevor had planned to depart from Redwood City together.
However, since Chris hadn't gone home for New Year's this year, he couldn't start from Redwood City. But since he had promised Trevor, he still intended to go.
After ending the call, Chris went to inform his teacher.
Back in the teacher's room, the old man was watching TV, a Sylveon curled up on his lap. The Pokémon belonged to Senior Elliot and had been left there to keep him company during the New Year celebrations.
For some reason, Pokémon naturally felt drawn to the teacher. The Fairy-type lay peacefully, dozing off in his lap.
"Teacher, I'm heading to the Star Moon Gym in Star Moon Province tomorrow. I'll be back as soon as possible—no later than the Lantern Festival," Chris said.
He specifically mentioned returning before the Lantern Festival because his teacher had planned to take him to challenge the Gym Leader after the celebrations.
"The Star Moon Gym? Then be sure to pass along my regards to Robert," Vladimir nodded.
"You know Robert?" Chris asked curiously.
"I helped him out with something over ten years ago," Vladimir replied. "So every year around this time, I send him some New Year's gifts. Just a few days ago, he even sent some of his disciples over to pay their respects."