Petalglen City wasn't far from the sea. Axel quickly arrived at the eastern entrance of the city.
In just over a year of not coming back, the city had already undergone huge changes.
A wide road stretched eastward, leading straight to Emberpine City. It looked like it could accommodate two Copperajah charging side by side in the same direction.
At the city entrance, red banners were hung everywhere.
[Congratulations to our university's Eva for obtaining Regional Doctor Certification, Petalglen University!]
[Congratulations to Dr. Eva, whose research has officially been put into application. Slow-speed Pokémon are welcoming a new spring!]
[Warmly celebrating Dr. Eva…]
At a glance, every banner was celebrating Eva successfully obtaining her doctorate.
Further inside was Petalglen University's new campus. Although it had moved from the city center to the outskirts, it still looked imposing.
Compared to the old campus, its area had expanded by nearly ten times. It even had facilities like an ecological dome, already faintly showing the potential of a world-class university.
"We're here, Gyarados. Land."
After passing a fiery red Gym, Axel spotted a residential area full of villas.
In front of one of the villas, Eva was standing on tiptoe, looking up at the sky, waving at Gyarados.
"Axel, over here!"
"Roar!", Gyarados let out a low cry. Afraid its massive body might damage the buildings, it opened a spatial passage on its back and sent Axel down.
"You jerk, gone for so many days. Someone who didn't know better would think you didn't want to come back anymore."
"Huh, where's Sister Diao Chen?", Eva hugged Axel for a moment, then quickly remembered the purpose of his trip. Seeing that Diao Chen wasn't there, she asked curiously.
"She…", Axel's mouth twitched the moment he thought of Diao Chen.
"She felt a bit too embarrassed to come back. She's already taken her Pokémon to the Ultra Wormhole."
"She used to be a city lord before, so she should be able to patch up some of the flaws in the Ultra Wormhole."
Eva gave Axel a resentful look, "Big jerk, I really don't know how you're this lucky… if I weren't pretty capable myself, I'd probably have been left in the dust by you."
"Cough~ Cough~", Axel cleared his throat. Eva still had a bit of jealousy in her.
If she found out that Briar had also gone to the Ultra Wormhole to be a principal, it probably wouldn't just be a simple eye roll.
"Keep talking nonsense and I'll spank you," Axel pulled her into his arms and pinched her cheeks a couple of times, "You know what kind of person I am."
"Yeah, yeah, you're just 'broad-minded,' right?", Eva knew Axel wasn't someone any single person could handle, so she wasn't actually that angry.
It was just a tiny bit of unwillingness in her heart. She wrinkled her nose cutely and bit Axel's ear.
"You girl, why are you acting like a dog again?"
"Mmhm! I am a dog."
"Hey, Axel's finally back?", Just then, a familiar voice came. Eva jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Oh, Dad, why are you off work so early today?"
Graham glanced at the bite mark on Axel's ear and his daughter's cheeks, which had been pinched red, and immediately laughed.
He had been worried that the two kids getting busier would make their relationship fade.
Now it seemed his worries were completely unnecessary.
"The boss insisted on giving me a day off today. I was just drinking tea and taking it easy at work anyway, so I thought I'd come back."
"Why are you two still standing outside? It's almost time to eat, and aren't some leaders coming this afternoon?"
"If they arrive and we're still not done tidying up, that won't look good."
Hearing Graham's words, Eva and Axel exchanged a glance and both laughed.
Looks like Graham had been working too long. He still didn't really have a clear idea of what a regional doctor or Axel's strength meant…
———
[At the same time, Petalglen Gym]
Sasha and Incineroar stood to one side like outsiders, their presence extremely faint.
The Gym doors were tightly shut. At the center stood a young man wearing a red T-shirt.
One of Aurient's Four Heavenly Kings, Great Bear.
For the people of Aurient, he was a living legend.
At ten years old, he had been kidnapped by human traffickers. Fortunately, his parents were both veteran trainers and pursued the traffickers aggressively with their Pokémon.
During the escape, the traffickers took Great Bear out to sea, drifting for three months. By the time his parents found him again, he had already reached a place in the Galar region called Isle of Armor.
By then, Great Bear had already caught Kubfu. Relying on himself alone, he secretly trained his Pokémon and wiped out the trafficking group.
After being found by his parents, Great Bear entered Kyoto University at fifteen and became Aurient's youngest Champion-level trainer at twenty.
From that point on, Aurient began its largest-scale crackdown on crime.
Up to now, Great Bear already possessed Champion-level strength. His Urshifu, before Axel's Rayquaza appeared in the world, had been called the Pokémon closest to a god in Aurient.
"Champion Great Bear, didn't expect you to be the one in charge of awarding Dr. Eva."
"It's just that the Pokémon Center is too far from Dr. Eva's home, otherwise I would definitely host a banquet there."
Beside Great Bear, Aulus, the president of the Petalglen City Pokémon Center, had a face full of smiles.
In the past, although he held the position of president, there were dozens across the country with the same role.
Whether in position or status, he was still a level below the Four Heavenly Kings.
But ever since Axel and Eva rose in their respective fields, these top figures of the Aurient League treated him as an equal.
Wasn't that a kind of honor?
"President Aulus, you're too polite," Great Bear had no airs, wearing a warm smile similar to Leon's.
"Originally, Champion Kong and the Chairman were both going to come. But the Champion wants Axel to take over as the new Champion, yet is worried he might refuse…"
"You know, everyone in the League had been saying I would take the Champion position, so after we discussed it, we decided it would be best for me to bring it up."
"With Axel's strength, he can definitely drive the overall growth of Aurient's power."
"And having me propose it will also prevent Axel from worrying about taking my position. Of course… I mean Axel is righteous, not that he'd be afraid of me."
Great Bear spoke casually about what he was about to do, while Aulus and Sasha beside him were both stunned.
Axel, someone who had only become a trainer for two years.
He was about to become Champion?
"Th-then… what reason will we use to propose making Axel the Champion?"
Great Bear thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his tone slightly.
"Welcome back, Trainer of Rayquaza!"
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