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A crisp sound echoed through the arena.
It wasn't the sound of Alexis's fist connecting with Chris's face, but rather the sound of his fist being caught firmly in Chris's hand.
"Senior, there's no need to apologize. Even if this were a real battle between us, you wouldn't be my rival," Chris said calmly, holding Alexis's fist as if it were nothing more than a small stone.
He spoke with complete sincerity, meaning every word.
Alexis tried to pull his fist free from Chris's grip, but he immediately discovered that his hand seemed to be bound by iron chains. He couldn't pull it out at all.
Suddenly, Alexis looked at Chris as if he were staring at some kind of monster.
"Chris, you're not actually a Machamp in human disguise, are you?" Alexis couldn't help but ask.
His suspicion wasn't entirely unreasonable. Fınd the newest release on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Chris was still maintaining the mega evolution of five Pokemon simultaneously, and he had just used five Z-Moves in a row.
Despite such enormous physical strain, he had still managed to catch Alexis's punch with what appeared to be effortless strength.
Compared to accepting that Chris was human, the conclusion that Chris was actually a Machamp seemed more believable.
The audience had fallen completely silent. They had already been rendered speechless with shock when Chris began unleashing five Z-Moves with such casual confidence. Looking at Chris now, it was no different from staring at a humanoid Tyranitar.
Beyond shock, there was only more shock.
Chris smiled heartily. "Senior, have you forgotten? I'm a Psychic!"
"What kind of Psychic would have such terrifying physical strength? I think you must be some kind of martial arts master who practices body cultivation!" Alexis couldn't help but complain. As far as he knew, no one possessed the kind of incredible physical capabilities that Chris was displaying.
Alexis waved toward the referee. "I surrender!"
In order to defeat Chris, he had even resorted to that final "sneak attack," but he had still lost completely.
Chris hadn't even thrown a counter-punch in response. He was already showing considerable respect for Alexis as a senior, so there was no point in being stubborn about it.
It was time to admit defeat gracefully!
After the referee confirmed that Alexis had conceded the match, he immediately announced the final result.
"Ice Dragon Gym Leader Alexis has surrendered, so the winner is Green Valley Gym Leader Chris!"
"Come on, let's go get something to drink. I've been so nervous these past few days that I've barely eaten," Alexis said, withdrawing his hand and patting Chris on the shoulder.
Even though he had lost, he wouldn't be petty about it. That wasn't becoming of a senior trainer. Besides, he had a strong premonition that Chris might become an Elite during next year's Gym Leader Ranking Tournament.
Actually, it wasn't just a possibility – it was absolutely certain!
Just think about how quickly Chris had risen to become the top gym leader.
Think about his performance in the battle they had just witnessed.
A team of Pokemon all capable of mega evolution, a collection of Z-Crystals, and a body strong enough to maintain five Pokemon mega evolutions simultaneously while using five Z-Moves in succession.
In simple terms: Chris was champion material!
And he was still so young!
Alexis's last bit of sadness about losing the match disappeared immediately.
What was there to be sad about?
His junior would become an Elite in the future! He might even become a champion! Perhaps he would even become a Pokemon Master!
What was wrong with making way for such a talented junior and becoming an Elite one year later?
It just so happened that he wasn't completely confident about challenging the Elite Four yet anyway. He could use this year to polish his skills and prepare properly before making his attempt.
When the time came, having one school produce two Elite trainers would be something wonderful to boast about!
"Let's go," Chris agreed, taking out his Poke Balls to recall his Pokemon.
Then he and Alexis left together through the same player entrance they had used to enter.
Before leaving the Trainer Association building, Chris was suddenly approached by a group of high-ranking Trainer Association officials.
"Hello, Gym Leader Chris. We have a question we'd like to ask you, if you have time?" The person speaking was an elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair and old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses. When he smiled, it gave people the impression that he was filled with kindness.
"This is the honorary president of the Capital Trainer Association, Senior Samuel, and he's also a renowned Pokemon researcher," Alexis quickly introduced Chris to the man.
"Hello, Senior Samuel," Chris responded politely. "I'm not sure what question you wanted to ask?"
Samuel smiled, looking slightly embarrassed, but he still pressed on with his inquiry. "It's about Greninja's mega evolution. We noticed that you had it evolve without using a Mega Stone, so we wanted to ask if there might be a higher evolutionary form of Greninja, or perhaps the possibility of a branching evolution path..."
"Of course, since this concerns your unique Pokemon, it's perfectly fine if you don't want to answer."
When it came to Greninja's mega evolution – what was actually the Bond Phenomenon – this world had not yet discovered this ability.
The reason was simple: there were too few Greninja with the Bond Phenomenon ability.
Chris had previously introduced some junior trainers to Greninja and Venusaur when they went to the official ranch to select Pokemon, and he had taken a look at the Froakie there.
Among nearly ten thousand Froakie in the breeding facility, not a single one possessed Battle Bond Ability.
This showed just how rare Froakie with the Battle Bond truly were.
Thinking about this, Chris suddenly realized how incredibly lucky he had been when he first encountered his current Greninja.
"This represents my new discovery about Greninja," Chris said after thinking for a moment.
"I already have a general theory, but I still need to conduct more research. When I have definitive results, I'll publish related papers as soon as possible."
Regarding Greninja's Battle Bond ability, there was nothing secret about announcing it.
It just so happened that his teacher had asked him to submit a research paper on Pokemon studies. Wasn't this the perfect topic?
However, even if he were to write a thesis on Greninja's Battle Bond, he would need to examine Pokemon ranches throughout China and potentially around the world.
He needed to acquire more Pokemon from the Greninja evolutionary line that possessed the Bond Phenomenon ability.
After all, a Greninja with the Battle Bond wasn't simply an ordinary Greninja – it was essentially a starter Pokemon with its own built-in Mega Stone!
Moreover, as he continued to use Greninja in major competitions, its value would only increase further!
As soon as the high-ranking members of the Trainer Association heard this, several people immediately stepped forward excitedly.
"Gym Leader Chris, if you're conducting research on Greninja, then you should visit our ranch! We have plenty of Froakie!"
"Alright, let's pick a time to take a look!"
Chris readily agreed. This was like someone offering him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy – perfect timing indeed.