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Early the next morning, Jacob woke up with a throbbing headache and slight dizziness. He seriously questioned whether his alcohol tolerance was simply too poor.

Jacob shook his head, his heart full of resentment toward Asher. His brother had been merciless yesterday, forcing one glass after another on him. In the end, Jacob had blacked out completely, not even remembering how he’d gotten back to the hotel.

“Did I really deserve that just for mentioning your PokéGram account? Why are you so sensitive?” he muttered.

Rubbing his temples, Jacob got up and took a shower to clear his head. After breakfast, he accompanied his uncle to the Bug-Grass Realm.

Jacob had rushed back from the capital specifically to visit the Bug-Grass Realm.

His Grovyle was now at the edge of evolution and could transform at any moment. Having trained in the Dragon Realm for an extended period, Grovyle’s body was already saturated with Dragon energy, but its Grass energy was relatively lacking.

The abundant Grass energy in the Bug-Grass Realm would perfectly compensate for this deficiency. Therefore, to ensure Grovyle evolved perfectly, Jacob had hurried back to Starlight City.

Although the back-and-forth travel was exhausting, Jacob felt that all his efforts were worthwhile if they helped Grovyle achieve perfect evolution. He looked forward to stepping onto the College Cup stage with his fully evolved Grovyle.

“Your father and brother can really hold their liquor,” Uncle Aris sighed. He was still shaken when he woke up that morning.

As a guest from afar, Aris had naturally been the center of attention at the dinner table. To be honest, under everyone’s enthusiastic toasting, he hadn’t lasted as long as Jacob had, soon succumbing to intoxication and forgetting everything that happened afterward.

“They both enjoy drinking and have built up their tolerance over years of business socializing,” Jacob explained.

“What about you?” His uncle glanced at Jacob curiously. “You seem to handle alcohol quite well.”

“I can’t compare to them.”

“Really? When we get back to the capital, I’ll test your tolerance properly and invite your master along. Hmm… let’s wait for Maximus to return.” Aris said.

Speaking of Maximus, Jacob realized he hadn’t seen his Master in quite some time. There had been no news since Maximus left on his mission, and it seemed his Duralodon was still out of commission as well.

As they talked, they arrived at the Advanced Area of the Realm. Thirty young trainers were standing in the training ground, with Jacob’s father Rory supervising their training. They formed the first training class of the Bug-Grass Realm.

Although the training program at the Bug-Grass Realm had started three months later than other training programs and was shortened to only three months, it had still attracted many eager applicants.

As the instructor of the inaugural class, Rory was putting his best effort into training these young people. His goal was to help these students achieve excellent results in the College Cup, thereby establishing the reputation of the Bug-Grass Realm.

When Jacob and Aris passed by the Advanced Area, they observed the group and recognized many of Jacob’s former classmates among them.

“Isn’t that Jacob?”

“Really? Wasn’t he training at the Dragon Realm in the Capital? Why is he back?”

“I bet he got expelled because he couldn’t keep up with the training.”

Everyone was discussing Jacob’s sudden return, their speculation tinged with malice and envy.

There were always people who, seeing Jacob suddenly become famous throughout China, earning substantial money and living an increasingly better life, became twisted with jealousy and harbored ill will toward him. They had all been attending the same school just a few months ago, but Jacob had suddenly opened such a wide gap between them. How could they accept this?

Jacob remained unaware of these dark thoughts. Even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared—he had no time to deal with such pettiness.

As Jacob passed through the Advanced Area, he immediately spotted Amelia among the crowd. Even dressed in the simplest training clothes, she always stood out in any gathering.

At that moment, she was concentrating on training her Pokémon, her eyes briefly flicking past Jacob. Beside Amelia, a short-haired girl gently nudged her with an elbow.

“Amelia, look, Jacob is back,” the short-haired girl said in a tomboyish voice. “You mentioned Mr. Rory thinks highly of you—you don’t think he wants you to marry Jacob, do you? In my opinion, Jacob is actually quite a catch—handsome and talented.”

“You’re overthinking this,” Amelia responded coolly.

Of course, she knew why Rory valued her so highly—she had signed a lifelong contract with the Rory family.

Originally, she had only signed a 20-year contract, but after expressing her desire to become a trainer and participate in this year’s College Cup, Rory had agreed to her request on the condition that she sign a lifetime contract.

While the short-haired girl was right that Rory valued her, they weren’t related, so it was naturally impossible for him to provide her with starter Pokémon for free, let alone invest time and resources to train her into an excellent trainer.

After all, every investment required returns.

Rory could provide the funding, but the crucial question was what kind of return Amelia could bring to him.

After lengthy discussions, Amelia finally agreed to sign a lifetime contract with the Rory family, and in exchange, Rory formally accepted her as an apprentice and provided her with resources.

The reason Rory was willing to agree to Amelia’s request was that he had his own plans. Primarily, the Rory family’s roots were in Starlight City.

Although Starlight City had always ranked in the bottom three cities of Frosthollow Province, the discovery of the Bug-Grass Realm had brought an opportunity for development.

Airports, large shopping malls, five-star hotels, major tourist attractions, prestigious universities—all were already in the planning stages and would be completed within three years at most. If the Rory family capitalized on this development, their strength would increase substantially, potentially becoming one of Starlight City’s most influential families. However, they faced a significant problem: who among the younger generation would inherit the Rory family business?

Rory knew his two sons’ personalities very well. Both were ambitious, just as he had been in his youth. Asher, despite being dismissed from his position as Gym Leader due to the death of two Pokémon, was diligently preparing for the Gym Leader ranking competition three years later. He intended to rise again from where he had fallen. He had clearly stated his intention to return to Olivine City and reclaim his position as its Gym Leader, making it impossible for him to remain in Starlight City.

As for Jacob, he had already established himself as a leader in the scientific research community at a young age and had become a disciple of Maximus, the Dragon-type Heavenly King. It was even less likely that he would return to Starlight City to inherit the family business.

Jacob’s future shouldn’t be confined to Starlight City or Frosthollow Province—his stage should be all of China and even the world.

Therefore, the Rory family now faced a situation where no younger generation member would remain in Starlight City, forcing Rory to plan ahead. The income from the Bug-Grass Realm was the foundation of the Rory family. With continuous funding, they could train one high-level trainer after another. The foundation in Starlight City could not be abandoned.

Recently, when Rory saw news about Jacob, he realized his son had grown up and made quite a name for himself. Additionally, Addison’s pregnancy made Rory suddenly aware of his own age—he was going to be a grandfather.

He could clearly feel his body wasn’t as strong as before, especially in recent years when he had begun to experience fatigue more frequently. In another decade at most, he would need to retire. Who would then take over the Rory family business?

Besides, everyone faces the inevitable cycle of life. If he were to pass away suddenly, there would be no one to inherit the family business in Starlight City.

Therefore, Rory had recently been actively seeking someone who could protect the Rory family’s foundation. They only needed to maintain it for about twenty years, until Asher’s children grew up and could take over the family business.

Under these circumstances, Rory discovered Amelia and, through careful observation, determined she was highly suitable as his successor.

First, Amelia possessed solid theoretical knowledge of Pokémon, was hardworking, intelligent, motivated, and most importantly, had a tenacious spirit. Second, her family background was uncomplicated, with her brother and father both employed in positions arranged by Rory. Finally, the Rory family had done her a favor, and Amelia, if not necessarily one to repay favors, was at least a young woman who respected tradition and followed principles.

Due to this combination of factors, Rory decided to accept Amelia as his disciple. Simultaneously, he secured a contract as insurance. The Rory family allocated resources to train Amelia with the goal of making her the Bug-type Gym Leader and successor to the position of Starlight City’s master trainer.

In truth, Rory didn’t need her to be exceptionally outstanding—he simply needed someone to protect the Rory family’s foundation in Starlight City.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep