The next day, at Starlight Gym.
"Today, we are honored to have last year's High School Cup Champion, the genius Pokémon Doctor, and the hero of Starlight City... Jacob! Please give him a warm round of applause."
Hearing the host call his name, Jacob walked out from backstage, dressed in a fine suit and looking every bit the distinguished guest.
"Jacob!"
"Jacob!"
...
Thunderous applause and cheers rose from the crowd. Jacob took a deep breath, held up the speech Amelia had written for him, and began to read.
"Distinguished guests, dear friends, good morning to all..."
...
The speech was fairly standard as these things went. He shared his experiences, told a few stories from his own journey, and closed by encouraging this year's students. It was a smooth delivery of a script several thousand words long, and Jacob finished without a hitch.
"Finally, thank you all for being here today."
With his task complete, Jacob stepped off the stage to applause and let out a long breath. He had finished one part of three for the day.
...
In the afternoon, Jacob visited the Secret Realm to meet with the training class students and share his experiences. Since it was just an informal exchange, the mood stayed relaxed and easygoing the whole time.
He spoke briefly about the effort he had put in during his own days in the training program, and offered the current students some words of encouragement.
The hours slipped by until evening arrived, bringing with it the main event of the day: the exhibition battle.
...
Night had fallen over Starlight Gym.
Lights flickered across the stadium, and the crowd's voices buzzed like static.
Starlight Gym was packed to capacity. Cheers rang out again and again, with fans waving posters of Jacob to cheer him on.
"Good evening, everyone. Tonight, Starlight Gym brings you a special battle — the final public exhibition match of Starlight Gym for this year."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Julio, and I'll be your commentator tonight."
"And I'm Catalina, also commentating."
Starlight City had spared no expense for this broadcast, bringing in two celebrity hosts, Julio and Catalina, to cover the match. They were the very same pair who had commentated when Jacob won the Frosthollow Province Championship.
"First, let's give a warm welcome to our honored guests tonight."
"Please welcome Colby, Champion of the Southwest Region; Sylas, the Flying-type Elite of the Southwest Region; and Fletcher, the Water-type Elite of the Southwest Region!"
As the host announced their names, the camera panned to Colby and the other two seated in the viewing box.
As Champion of the Southwest Region, Colby rarely visited Starlight City, sometimes not even once a year. That he had come today was almost entirely because of Jacob.
When Starlight City had first announced Jacob's exhibition match, every ticket sold out within hours of going on sale. Colby happened to have some free time, so he decided to stop by and watch Jacob battle in person.
Besides the three guests, many other well-known faces filled the stands that night — famous Trainers, popular streamers, and successful entrepreneurs had all made time to watch Jacob compete.
It was said that front-row tickets for this match had sold for tens of thousands, and even then, demand had far outpaced supply.
After introducing the guests, the host went on: "Thank you to our three honored guests. And now, let's welcome both competitors to the stage!"
"First, representing the Red Team, Mr. Edgar — the former Water-type Gym Leader of Frosthollow Province, and now a King-level Trainer!"
"Mr. Edgar is one of the most celebrated Water-type Trainers in all of Frosthollow Province. Before earning his promotion to King-level Trainer, he held the position of Water-type Gym Leader for three consecutive terms, a testament to his overwhelming strength."
"During his time as Gym Leader, his win rate reached an astonishing ninety-nine percent. He remains a benchmark figure in Frosthollow Province, ranked among its strongest Gym Leaders ever."
"He is also considered one of the strongest contenders to become a future Heavenly King of the Southwest Region!"
Warm cheers rippled through the audience at the host's introduction.
Edgar's fame in Frosthollow Province came in large part from his years as Water-type Gym Leader — a position fought over fiercely, since Water is the most common type among all Pokémon. That he had managed to hold the post for three straight terms said everything about his skill.
Edgar had also been carefully chosen by the officials as Jacob's opponent for this match. Since Jacob's Dragapult already possessed strength comparable to a Heavenly King-level Pokémon, the officials selected Edgar — a Trainer who had only recently reached King-level — believing their overall strength was closely matched enough to guarantee an exciting battle.
What made this match even more compelling was that Edgar himself had once been hailed as a prodigy in his youth, virtually unbeatable in battles against Trainers of his own rank. Unfortunately, the limited potential of his early Pokémon had held him back, forcing him to spend several years training an entirely new team from scratch.
Now that this new team had matured, many expected Edgar to rise quickly through the ranks. The match tonight, then, carried extra weight: a veteran prodigy of the older generation against a rising genius of the new.
"And now, representing the Blue Team — currently the most popular genius Trainer in the country, and one of the top Pokémon Doctors in China, if not the world."
"Champion of the last High School Cup, the hero of Starlight City himself..."
"Please welcome... Jacob!"
...
Under the dazzling stadium lights, Jacob stepped onto the battlefield, his gaze settling on Edgar standing across from him.
Edgar was only forty years old that year — young, by the standards of King-level Trainers. His expression remained calm as he returned Jacob's gaze.
"This will be a three-on-three singles battle with no level restrictions. Any items may be used, including Z-Crystals and Mega Stones."
"Are both Trainers ready? Please raise your hand to signal the referee."
Jacob took a steadying breath and raised his hand. Across the field, Edgar did the same.
Seeing both signals, the referee lifted the flag in his hand and swept it down. "Let the battle begin!"
...
"Go, Charizard!"
"Go, Politoed!"
Jacob and Edgar threw their Poké Balls almost at the same instant. Twin flashes of red light burst across the field, and a moment later, a Shiny Charizard and a green-hued Politoed stood facing one another.
The instant Politoed appeared, a surge of Water-type energy radiated from its body. Within seconds, dark clouds rolled across the sky above the stadium, and a heavy rain began to fall.
"Edgar has gone with a classic rain team lineup — though interestingly, his weather-setter isn't the usual Pelipper, but the far less common Politoed."
"From a pure support standpoint, Pelipper is arguably the stronger pick as a rain-setter. It can learn Tailwind to boost the team's Speed, and its STAB Hurricane becomes a guaranteed hit under rain, which is especially useful against Pokémon weak to Flying-type moves."
"Politoed, on the other hand, brings more bulk and better base Speed to the table."
The two commentators traded analysis of the opening Pokémon with practiced ease.
"On Jacob's side, we're seeing his signature Pokémon: Shiny Charizard. As we all know, once Charizard Mega Evolves, its Ability shifts to Drought."
"By leading with Charizard, Jacob may be signaling that he isn't willing to hand over the weather advantage without a fight. It's nighttime, so Mega Evolving won't trigger Drought's usual sunlight — but it may still be enough to hold back the rain."
...