Jacob hadn't subjected his Pokémon to such high-intensity special training in a long time; not only were his Pokémon struggling, but Jacob himself was also unaccustomed to it.
While training his Pokémon, Jacob also engaged in fitness, which somewhat compensated for a Trainer's inherent physical weakness.
Also, due to being engrossed in training, Jacob didn't arrange to have dinner with Teacher Long that night; instead, he ordered takeout, quickly ate, and continued to accompany Noivern in Boomburst special training.
Boomburst was also the move Noivern most needed to master at the moment. Jacob specifically bought many high-end devices to adjust the frequency of the sound waves and guide Noivern in learning the Boomburst move.
Jacob didn't expect Noivern to learn it in a short time. After all, this was one of the most powerful Normal-type moves; it would be fine as long as it was learned within two or three months.
This training continued until 9 PM when Sylvia returned with Lucia.
Lucia was the little girl Jacob brought back from the Fluorescent Forest. After Raya completed the relevant procedures for her, she brought her to Capital University and entrusted her to Sylvia's care.
Both had similar experiences, having lost their parents, so they naturally got along better.
After half a month of living together, their relationship grew even closer, like real sisters.
Sylvia played the role of an older sister in their daily lives, taking care of Lucia.
"Ding!"
The doorbell rang.
"Come in."
Sylvia and Lucia walked into the underground training room. Looking at Jacob's Pokémon, Lucia's eyes showed a hint of curiosity, and she unconsciously used her Psychic power to communicate with Jacob's Pokémon.
Sylvia's gaze, however, fell on Jacob. "When did you get back? If Aunt Zade hadn't told me you were back, I wouldn't have known."
"I came back this morning. How is it? Are you getting used to living here?" Jacob shifted his gaze to Sylvia and asked with a smile.
"It's alright." Sylvia was wearing a loose T-shirt and very short shorts, which were completely covered by the T-shirt.
Recently, she had also entered Capital University as an exchange student. The stable life made her almost forget her previous nomadic existence.
"That's good." Jacob said with a smile. "Raya and I have already discussed your father's experiment. The construction of the new laboratory and the purchase of equipment will take some time, so we'll have to wait."
"It's fine, take your time. I can wait. You don't need to rush for my sake. Just make sure it doesn't affect you both." Sylvia quickly waved her hand, her gaze toward Jacob filled with respect and gratitude.
Jacob and Raya had already helped her enough. At least, in all these years, she had never met someone like Jacob who would help her without expecting anything in return.
Sometimes, when she lay awake unable to sleep at night, Sylvia would wonder why Jacob would help her in such a way.
Not only did Jacob not want her father's research results, but he also funded her experiments, helped her fulfill her father's last wish, provided her with a stable residence, and finally helped her investigate her enemies.
Originally, Sylvia was a little worried, thinking that Jacob, like many others, was interested in her body and beauty. But ever since she saw Raya's beauty, she realized she had been overthinking.
Raya's mature charm and elegant temperament were enough to captivate any man; even she, a woman, was incredibly drawn to her.
She considered herself very beautiful, but when facing Raya, she still lacked confidence.
Raya was truly too perfect. Besides being a bit fairer and taller than Raya, she really had no other advantages.
"I need your help with something recently." Jacob suddenly said directly.
"What is it? Just tell me." Hearing that Jacob needed her help, Sylvia was eager to assist and asked.
"I need you to help me monitor someone." Jacob said with a smile.
"Who?" Sylvia asked.
"Eleanor." Jacob slowly said. "A teacher at Capital University. You should know her, or have attended her classes."
Sylvia was slightly surprised, but she didn't refuse, simply nodding. "Okay, but... why do you want to monitor her?"
"She found out about my identity as Giovanni." Jacob said.
"Ah!" Sylvia frowned and said, "She knows? Then what do we do? Has she exposed you yet?"
"Why not just kill her?" Yu suddenly spoke up from beside them, but her words made Jacob frown slightly.
Yu seemed to harbor too much malice. Living too long in a lawless place like Myanmar had led to her current slightly twisted personality.
"This country is not Myanmar. Even I cannot guarantee that I can do whatever I want here, like killing people on a whim." Jacob turned to look at Yu, speaking seriously. "Killing is always the last resort, and killing her would cause far too much trouble."
Yu looked at Jacob, half-understanding, her eyes full of confusion.
Seeing Yu's confused expression, Jacob smiled, looked at Yu, and continued. "Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to kill people, especially not in Capital University. If you don't kill her cleanly, the consequences could be unpredictable. You need to plan before you act. Not to say you need 100% certainty, but at least 70% or 80%."
"Don't you have Darkrai? Why don't you just hypnotize her?" Yu asked earnestly.
"That's why you're too naive. You have to use your brain for everything—don't take things for granted." Jacob explained patiently. Killing is always the crudest method. "Since she has already guessed my true identity, she must also know that I have the Pokémon Darkrai. After all, Giovanni's signature Pokémon are Darkrai and Gigantamax Lapras."
"Since she dared to confront me, she must have made some preparations and definitely has a protective Pokémon." Jacob said seriously. "Leaving aside whether I can kill her, even if I release Iron Valiant and forcibly eliminate her, the commotion of a Champion-level Pokémon battle is not small. By then, the Champion-level Trainers in Capital University would arrive. If I kill her, my own identity would also be exposed, so what would be the point of all this?"
"Force is the last resort of the incompetent. Only those without brains think of solving every problem with force." Jacob gently patted Yu's head. "Yu, you need to read more books and think before you act."
Brains are meant to be used, not just for decoration. Don't just think about killing whenever you encounter a problem!
Spinoza once said: "The human heart is never conquered by force, but by love and generosity."
However, if it truly came to a situation where force was necessary, Jacob would absolutely use it without hesitation, just like in the Fluorescent Forest.
If Adonis and the others hadn't pushed too hard, leaving Jacob with truly no choice, he wouldn't have taken the risk of having Iron Valiant eliminate them.
Listening to Jacob's lengthy explanation, Yu was only half-understanding. In the remote and backward Myanmar, the education she could receive was quite limited, far from comparable to Sylvia, who had received an elite education since childhood.
"Sylvia, pick out some books for her to read, and also teach her some basic Pokémon knowledge. I will give her a starter Pokémon after a while. You too must persist in training your Pokémon every day. We may not seek to use force, but we cannot be without it."
"Mhm." Sylvia nodded, her gaze fixed on Jacob.
Jacob was only one year older than her, yet he didn't seem like a peer at all.
Although Jacob was sometimes childish and easily distracted, like occasionally browsing videos of attractive women, he acted quite mature and steady when facing major issues like this.