Chapter 598 - 598: 598. G3 League pre-match preparation

Jacob hung up the phone, a little bewildered.

Since when had the staff's attitude turned so accommodating?

And hadn't Kyle and the others told him that entries for this kind of Gym Leader League usually sat in a queue for at least a month before anyone got a match? So why was he being slotted in within a single week?

And wasn't the Lie Kong Zuo Arena the largest stadium in the entire Imperial Capital? Why would a minor Level 3 Gym Leader League be held there?

The more Jacob turned it over in his mind, the more baffled he became. Could this possibly be some kind of scam?

He checked the number from the call again, carefully. It was, without question, the Pokémon Association's official short number.

And on top of that, they wanted promotional photos and a video — making such a production out of it. He'd assumed something on this scale was reserved for the High School Cup, or the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, or the Elite Ranking Tournament.

So why had he never even heard of this kind of treatment before?

The longer he thought about it, the more something felt wrong, so he quickly dialed Julia. "Hello, Julia."

"Jacob, were you missing me?" Julia sounded delighted the moment she picked up, teasing him warmly.

"Ahem — I actually have something serious to ask you."

"Tell me you missed me first, then." There was a playful edge to her voice that tugged at something in Jacob's chest.

"...Yes, I missed you." was all Jacob could manage. "Anyway — didn't you compete in a Gym Leader League before? I wanted to ask whether they had you do promotional photos and a video when you signed up."

"Just a promotional poster, and then I competed like normal," Julia said. "Why? What's going on?"

Jacob thought it over for a moment before answering. "I signed up for the Level 3 Gym Leader League, and then I got a call from one of their staff…"

He laid out what had happened, along with all the confusion swirling in his head.

"That's completely normal," Julia said, laughing once she'd heard him out. "They obviously want to ride on your popularity to sell tickets. So — what day is your Level 3 match? I'll come cheer you on."

"Next Saturday."

… … … …

Once he'd hung up, Jacob set the stray thoughts aside and turned his focus to preparing for the match ahead.

With the competition just a week away, time was short, and he needed to make the most of every day.

The first order of business was assembling his team and submitting his official roster.

For the Gym Leader Professional League, a Trainer's full team had to be registered with the event organizers three days before the match itself.

Jacob needed to settle on six Pokémon. Once the competition began, he would only be able to send out Pokémon from that fixed roster — no substitutions allowed once it was locked in.

Dragapult was an easy choice — a reliable Pokémon that had to make the cut. Beyond that, Jacob wanted Haxorus and Salamence to gain some real battle experience, so both of them were locks for the roster as well.

That settled three of the six.

The remaining three took a bit more thought.

Since this was only a Level 3 Gym Leader League, the competition wouldn't be especially fierce, and with Mega Evolution off the table besides, Jacob decided against fielding Charizard or Sceptile this time around.

That left four candidates that fit the bill: Dragonair, Diancie, Indeedee, Cinderace, and Gengar.

Diancie was ruled out immediately — a Legendary Pokémon was better kept out of the public eye for now.

That left four to choose three from, and Jacob decided Indeedee would be one of them. His Indeedee carried remarkably high, near Master-level potential, yet it rarely saw any real battles. With an opportunity like this in front of him, it was time to let it debut and gain some real experience.

As for the final two…

After a moment's hesitation, Jacob decided against including the Dragonair his brother had caught.

For one, Dragonair was a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, and having it appear publicly would invite questions he'd rather not answer about where it had come from — more trouble than it was worth. For another, it had only just been caught and was still early in its training.

So the last two spots went to Gengar and Cinderace.

With that, Jacob's roster for the competition was set: a three-dragon core of Dragapult, Haxorus, and Salamence, rounded out by Cinderace, Indeedee, and Gengar.

An oddly lopsided team, if he was honest.

Haxorus and Cinderace were pure physical attackers. Dragapult and Salamence leaned physical as well, though both could pivot into mixed attacking roles if needed. Gengar was a pure, high-speed special attacker, capable at best of a bit of disruption. Indeedee, also special-attack oriented, could offer some support and act as a special wall, while doubling as a counter against Trick Room teams.

As team compositions went, this one left a great deal to be desired — there was almost no real strategy behind it beyond raw force.

But then, cunning tactics only mattered when your own strength matched or fell short of your opponent's.

True masters, on the other hand, simply crushed their opponents through sheer power.

This time, Jacob intended to prove exactly that — how a single overwhelming force could sweep aside ten lesser ones. Against true strength, every clever strategy became secondary.

With the roster finalized, all that remained was to make the most of the time left and train hard.

… … … …

The next day.

Jacob arrived at the Giant Laboratory that morning, and no sooner had he finished his usual morning training session with his Pokémon than another call came in from a Pokémon Association staff member.

"Hello, Mr. Jacob! Would you have time today to come in for your promotional photos and video?"

"I do," Jacob replied.

"Wonderful — where are you now, Mr. Jacob? We can send a car for you. Just give us the address, and we'll have someone there shortly."

Faced with such eagerness, Jacob simply said, "I can make my own way there. Just give me the address."

"Of course — it's the Pokémon Association Building…" the staff member said, practically brimming with enthusiasm. "I'll be waiting for you right at the main entrance. Just give me a call when you arrive."

… … … …

Half an hour later, Jacob arrived outside the Pokémon Association Building and spotted the staff member waiting for him.

"Hello there!" The staff member recognized him immediately, waving eagerly before jogging over.

"Hello. Does the Level 3 Gym Leader League usually require promotional videos? I hadn't heard of that before," Jacob finally asked, now that he had someone from the Association in front of him.

"Not typically, no," the staff member explained patiently. "But for the more high-profile Level 3 Leagues, we do sometimes put together promotional material and raise the overall scale of the event. You're last season's High School Cup Champion, and your popularity is considerable right now, so we're treating this one as a top-tier event."

"Ah, I see." Jacob couldn't help but feel a small flicker of pride at that. So this was what his reputation could do. "All right then — what do you need from me?"

"Since you didn't bring an assistant, Mr. Jacob, I'll be coordinating everything with you directly. Let's start at the makeup room — the stylist and makeup artist are already waiting." The staff member led the way ahead of him. "The photos and video won't take too long. We should have everything wrapped up before the day is out."

"All right."

… … … …

Trailing after the staff member, Jacob got his first real taste of what it felt like to be shuttled around like a celebrity.

Makeup, then hair, then the promotional photos, the video shoot, and finally a round of interviews.

By the time it was all finished, evening had well and truly set in.

Director Aaren of the Association's Event Organizing Committee even invited Jacob warmly to join him for dinner, but Jacob turned him down. After a day like that, he was simply too worn out.

… … … …