Chapter 264: Not a Master Yet? If Not, I’m Going to Snatch!

Chapter 264: Not a Master Yet? If Not, I'm Going to Snatch!

Compared to the first day, the second day of the Pokémon Contest was even more spectacular.

The ten finalists showcased dazzling performances, each igniting waves of cheers from the audience.

In the end—

Aqua Grace secured first place.

Lily took second place.

And the trainer with the Meowscarada came in third.

As for Rose… she seemed to have made a small mistake and ended up in fifth place.

And just like that—

The National Holiday flew by.

---

October 8th – The Start of the Freshmen "Military Training"

At the break of dawn, before the sun had even fully risen, someone knocked on Hikaru's door.

Drowsily emerging from his room, Hikaru glanced at the time—

5:30 AM.

…Great.

Even though today was the start of the "freshmen military training", did they really need to get up this early?

Over the past few nights, Hikaru had been crafting Energy Cubes to replenish his stock.

And—

He had discovered something interesting.

His [Professional Expert] trait, originally purple, had begun to shift towards red.

This led him to a theory—

Was it because his Pokéblock crafting skills had improved?

If so, did reaching mastery in just one field cause the trait to evolve to red?

And if he wanted to fully upgrade [Professional Expert] into [Professional Master]—

Would that require gold-level mastery in multiple professions?!

…That's going to take forever.

While Hikaru was deep in thought, Sakura pouted.

"Come on, let's go already~"

She grabbed his arm and explained cheerfully—

"The secret realm is far away! The earlier we arrive, the sooner we can enter!"

"Our school doesn't provide transportation, so if we go now, we'll have a head start!"

She then turned to Latias and smiled.

"Latias, I'll have to trouble you again~"

"So that's how it is."

Hikaru nodded, and Latias happily responded.

The Changchun Secret Realm wasn't inside the university.

It was located outside Kyoto, in a remote area.

"Alright, let's take off from the balcony."

"…Huh?"

Now, it was Sakura's turn to be confused.

From the balcony?!

Flying straight into Kyoto's restricted airspace was a huge risk!

This is Kyoto!

"Brother, are you serious?"

Hikaru chuckled.

"Don't worry, Latias can hide her presence."

"…Fine."

Sakura wasn't convinced, but since Hikaru seemed so confident, she reluctantly agreed.

She figured—

Worst case scenario, she'd just ask her family to smooth things over.

On the balcony, Latias transformed back into her true form.

Before Hikaru could even mount up—

Sakura hopped on first.

"Hehe~ Brother, I'll sit in front. You sit in the back."

Hikaru didn't really care.

Watching her hug Latias' neck and snuggle up, he sighed.

If this keeps up, she's going to steal Latias from me…

Shaking his head, Hikaru got on as well.

Latias wrapped a protective barrier around them, and—

Whoosh!

With a single blur, they vanished into the sky.

---

Sakura was anxious the entire flight.

Flying Pokémon were not uncommon in Kyoto, but—

If someone noticed Latias, they might try to stop them.

With Kyoto's level of security, capturing a Master-level Pokémon would be trivial.

Fortunately—

By the time they reached the secret realm's entrance, no one had intercepted them.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Latias, you're amazing!"

Latias beamed proudly.

"That's because Hikaru taught me."

She wasn't wrong—

Her [Phantom Concealment] trait came from Hikaru.

Sakura tilted her head but didn't ask further.

At that moment, they had arrived at the secret realm's entrance.

---

Changchun Secret Realm – Entrance

The location wasn't ideal—

Originally a small town, the government had evacuated its residents when the S-rank secret realm appeared.

After all, once a secret realm fully manifested, it could consume an entire town.

The realm hadn't merged yet, but the town was already abandoned.

At the entrance—

Professors and law enforcement officers were welcoming the early arrivals.

However—

Hikaru also noticed something else—

A group of upperclassmen standing nearby, watching the freshmen with predatory smiles.

Their gazes were like wolves staring at sheep.

A professor stood up and addressed the crowd.

"The secret realm will open at exactly 6 AM. You may now summon your Pokémon."

"Remember— your safety is the top priority. You have all signed liability waivers.

Most of the wild Pokémon inside won't kill you… but be careful."

One by one, the freshmen summoned their Pokémon.

At the same time, the upperclassmen summoned theirs.

Hikaru even spotted Ming Shuang among them.

She winked at them.

Hikaru and Sakura smiled back.

---

Even without using [Insight Vision], Hikaru could instantly tell the power difference.

Compared to the freshmen's Pokémon, the upperclassmen's Pokémon were far stronger.

It was obvious—

Most upperclassmen's Pokémon were Master-level or near it.

Meanwhile, most freshmen's Pokémon were only at the Gym Leader level.

Some weren't even at that.

As expected, the seniors made no effort to hide their conversations.

"This year's freshmen look pretty decent."

"Yeah, yeah. See that Snorlax? It looks comfortable sleeping… I'm taking that one later."

"Are you serious? Look at his trainer—he looks scared to death."

One of the freshmen turned pale and glanced at the professor for help.

The professor ignored him.

He then turned to his assigned senior mentor, but his mentor simply shrugged.

Some students turned their eyes to Hikaru and Sakura.

"Whoa, up close, Latias is even cuter!"

"That's the High School League champion, right?"

"Not just the champion—he also has the runner-up with him. Those two have a… special relationship."

"Sakura is from the Hayashi family, huh? And those two… they're actually really strong…"

Then, someone grinned wickedly—

"They haven't reached Master level yet, have they?"

"If they're not Master-level… I'm going to snatch from them!"

"The school's always followed this tradition—

This 'bullying' is just a lesson: out in the real world, nobody will take it easy on you!"

---

Read up to 20 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin

[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]

*Thank you*