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"Mr. Scott, may I ask where Dragon Master Maximus is carrying out his mission now?"
"Mr. Scott, may I ask what mission the Dragon Master is on? Can you tell us?"
"Mr. Scott, which country is the captured Heavenly King from?"
...
The capture of a Heavenly King from abroad immediately caused an uproar, and the focus of all reporters shifted from the exclusive Z-Moves to Maximus's secret mission. The foreign reporters in particular asked questions one after another.
"I'm sorry, this is classified information from the Pokémon Association and it's not appropriate to disclose. I hope you won't waste your time asking such questions," Ruben, the vice president of the Pokémon Association, said at the perfect moment. "In the message sent back by the Dragon Master, he specifically mentioned that the exclusive Z-Move is extremely powerful and effective, and it was the key to successfully completing the mission to capture the foreign Heavenly King. The theme of this press conference is the exclusive Z-Move. I hope everyone can ask questions related to that topic."
At this point, a blond foreign reporter raised his hand and asked aggressively: "Is China willing to publish detailed information about its exclusive Z-Moves and the manufacturing technology of its Z-Power Ring? Let all countries make progress together. Scientific innovation can only advance through sharing. Standing still will only limit the development of technology and the progress of human civilization."
"When a certain country developed the Z-Move in the past, they imposed a comprehensive technological blockade on China. The blockade wasn't lifted until we developed Z-Moves ourselves. Now they ask us to share technology. It's truly ridiculous." Facing the reporter's question, Mr. Scott responded frankly with evident sarcasm. As a witness to that difficult period, Mr. Scott always put national pride first. His patriotic heart remained unwavering even in old age. If this weren't a public setting, he would probably have pointed at the reporter's nose and cursed.
"But we are not like certain countries. The reason we're sitting here now is to release relevant information about the exclusive Z-Move so that everyone can make progress together."
In reality, the exclusive Z-Moves didn't have too much technical complexity. The key was to identify the exclusive Z-Crystal and Z-Power Ring, along with the corresponding poses for the exclusive Z-Moves. These three points would naturally not be disclosed to the public by the China Pokémon Association.
Now only the existence of exclusive Z-Moves had been announced, and they were quite powerful—people could decide for themselves what to make of that.
"Then is China willing to disclose the manufacturing technology of the Z-Power Ring?" The blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign reporter asked persistently.
"I'm sorry, this is proprietary technology developed by our Fountainhead Laboratory. We've invested significant manpower, material, and financial resources in this. We've also applied for a patent. We can't make this technology public for free," Mr. Scott said seriously with a stern expression. "But we are willing to sell the Z-Power Ring. If anyone here needs to purchase a Z-Power Ring, please contact the Pokémon Association as soon as possible. Our current production capacity is limited, and we can only produce a very small number of Z-Power Rings. The first batch available for sale is limited."
"Mr. Scott, what is the price?"
"Excuse me, how many units are available for sale?"
...
The press conference made Jacob famous again. His name appeared on trending searches again in less than a month. Compared to last time when everyone doubted and criticized Jacob, this time the praise for him online far exceeded the negativity.
Compared to arguing with trolls, showing concrete research results was the most direct and satisfying method.
"Well done, Jacob! Win glory for the country and make us proud!"
"Excellent work, you should let those foreigners see the strength of our country. That foreigner is too shameless, wanting to take our technology for free."
"Where are those people who were barking half a month ago? They said that Jacob succeeded only thanks to Mr. Scott's support. Come out and face this. It's impossible that the exclusive Z-Move was also developed by Mr. Scott with Jacob just getting first author credit, right?"
"The person above, why not? I don't believe such talent can emerge at the age of 18."
"I'll remain anonymous because we're acquaintances. I'm fortunate to be Jacob's high school classmate. Jacob is a very hardworking person in school. He loves to study. He's also very handsome and popular with female classmates. His grades are indeed very good—he almost always ranked among the top three in our grade. But I don't believe he could develop his own Z-Move, because I didn't see anything special about him during our three years of high school. But since it was officially announced by the Pokémon Association, I'm willing to believe it. After all, this is a major achievement for our country. I also look forward to Jacob continuing to shine in the scientific community."
"What a coincidence! I'm also Jacob's classmate."
"Me too."
"I'm his girlfriend."
"I am his fiancée."
"I am his secret wife."
...
Becoming famous at a young age wasn't necessarily a good thing for Jacob. He was troubled now. The classmates in his training class suddenly became very enthusiastic and greeted him warmly.
After all, studying the corresponding movements of Z-Moves was merely impressive, but developing exclusive Z-Moves was truly remarkable. Based on this achievement alone, even though Jacob was the weakest trainer among them, he had far surpassed all his peers present. Looking at the current Mr. Scott, one could tell that Jacob's future achievements would definitely be significant.
The College Tournament produced a champion every year, but it took several years for a talent like Jacob to emerge.
...
In the afternoon, in the ice energy training room's battle arena, Jacob had just finished a match with Julia. Julia's Milotic had once again won by relying on poison, defense, recovery, and Protect.
"You're such a sly opponent. This is so unfair. I won't fight with you next time," Jacob looked at Julia with a face full of resentment.
Ever since Julia's Milotic learned Protect, it had been almost impossible for Jacob to win. Moreover, Julia seemed to be teaching Milotic Hypnosis recently. If it learned Hypnosis, that would be truly frustrating.
"Jacob, should I switch to Haxorus or Gardevoir instead?" Julia smiled beautifully, but Jacob couldn't help feeling there was something mischievous in her expression.
Haxorus? Why not just use Rayquaza while you're at it?
"Okay, don't be angry," Julia seemed to notice Jacob's resentful look, so she went to buy a bottle of water and handed it to him. "Here, I bought you some water."
"I can drink the water, but I still have to be upset when it's warranted."
"..."
"By the way, Jacob, I watched the press conference this morning!" Julia looked at Jacob with bright eyes, her expression full of admiration, eyes sparkling with excitement. If she had liked Jacob for his appearance initially, now she admired his talent. To put it simply, it began with his looks and developed because of his abilities. "You're amazing!"
In Julia's heart, Jacob was now the person she admired most besides her father.
Facing Julia's admiring gaze, Jacob couldn't help but feel a little elated. Being looked at in such a way by someone as beautiful as Julia made Jacob's confidence soar.
As expected, men naturally enjoy the admiration of others. Simply put, they enjoy the thrill of appearing impressive. Alas, how many men lose themselves in chorus of "Brother, you're so great, you're so awesome."
Be careful and vigilant. Countless examples of our predecessors are warning me, Jacob thought to himself.
"Ms. Julia, it's not a big deal, just a small matter, really," Jacob appeared indifferent, as if he wasn't affected by the praise. If he was going to play it cool, he had to commit fully, maintaining the demeanor of a master.
"Jacob, I was actually wondering—I see you training every day, including at night, and you're only absent for one and a half days on weekends. How do you find time to develop your own exclusive Z-Moves?" Julia looked at Jacob with curious eyes, full of interest.
"Have you heard of Cao Zhi?" Jacob asked. "In ancient times, Cao Zhi could write a poem in seven steps, and now there is Jacob who can develop Z-Moves in seven days..."[T/N:Cao Zhi is a poet in ancient times who wrote a poem in the time it takes to walk seven steps, hence the name The Poem Of Seven Steps.]
"Who is Cao Zhi?" Julia looked at Jacob with confusion on her face.
"Ahem." Jacob was suddenly interrupted as he remembered that the history of this world was completely different from what he was referencing. It seemed there was no Three Kingdoms period and no such person as Cao Zhi here.
This suddenly gave Jacob a burst of inspiration. He decided he could change his career and become a writer, creating a story about Pokémon Three Kingdoms.