That evening, Oliver arrived at the hotel owned by Guo Shengfu's family.
Although it wasn't the most luxurious hotel in Rongcheng, it was still among the top-tier establishments in the city.
Guo Shengfu's father—Old Guo—truly lived up to his reputation as a businessman. Right outside the hotel, he had erected a massive display screen. On it was a photo taken at the moment Oliver and his team won the championship, accompanied by a bold line of text:
"Warm congratulations to Rongcheng No. 1 High School for winning the Southwest Inter-High Tournament!"
With that sign in place, everyone immediately knew where Rongcheng No. 1 High's celebration banquet was being held.
Some especially curious people even dug deeper and discovered that Guo Shengfu, one of the team members, was the hotel owner's son.
Under normal circumstances, a high school tournament champion wouldn't warrant such fanfare. After all, the Inter-High Tournament was held every year, and a champion emerged every year—it wasn't exactly rare.
But this year was different.
Before the competition, no one had expected a Pokémon researcher like Oliver to participate at all—let alone dominate the battlefield and claim the Best Individual Player title.
Because of Oliver, the status of this year's champion team was on a completely different level.
People began to speculate.
What was the relationship between the hotel owner and Oliver?
How close was the owner's son to that rising star?
Some people even came specifically just to see what kind of place was hosting Oliver's celebration banquet.
This was the influence Oliver now carried.
Oliver had no objections to Old Guo's actions. After all, they didn't affect him in any negative way—and it was entirely possible that Old Guo was simply proud of his son's achievements and got a bit overenthusiastic.
During dinner, Old Guo was tactful enough to give the space entirely to Oliver, his four teammates, and Coach Liu. He didn't hover or intrude, ensuring no one felt awkward because of his presence.
The meal passed in a warm and lively atmosphere.
Without anyone realizing it, the bonds between the five teammates grew even closer.
With the competition officially over, life gradually returned to normal.
This semester was the final semester of senior year. In just two or three months, the college entrance exams would arrive. Even students who were usually mischievous had started to study seriously.
But Oliver and the others were in a very different situation.
Because of their championship victory, admission offers from multiple universities had already landed in their inboxes.
When others were grinding for exams, they were already guaranteed admission—
no further explanation was needed to understand how that felt.
Mu Xue returned the day after the competition ended.
Perhaps she didn't want Oliver to worry, so she never told him what she had gone out to do. Oliver, for his part, pretended not to know either.
Life seemed to return to how it had been before.
From time to time, Oliver would ask Mu Xue to guide Milotic's training, and she would gladly agree.
In addition to that, Oliver frequently went to the Qinglin Secret Realm to test new ideas related to Pokémon training.
At first, the Celebi residing there would curiously watch from the sidelines.
Once, wanting to keep his own Celebi from being bored at home, Oliver brought it along to Qinglin. Unexpectedly, it even carried a phone with it. When the other Celebi saw this, its curiosity was instantly ignited.
Watching the two Celebi stare unblinkingly at the phone screen, Oliver couldn't help but wonder—
Was this species naturally prone to gaming addiction?
One day, a specially designed wristband arrived at Oliver's home.
It had a unique shape, with a recessed slot embedded into it.
Oliver took out the Key Stone from his system inventory.
The shape matched perfectly.
He gently set the Key Stone into the groove—
It fit seamlessly.
Perfectly aligned, neither too tight nor too loose.
This wristband was something Oliver had specially commissioned after obtaining the Key Stone.
And now—
It was time.
Time for his first Mega Evolution experiment with Gardevoir.
As for the location, Oliver had already made his choice.
The Qinglin Secret Realm.
With Celebi present, no one could interfere with the experiment. There was also no risk of outsiders witnessing it.
In every sense, it was the ideal experimental site.
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