Julian couldn't help but plain about his father's choice of gift, "It's Gemma's birthday, not her dad's, and you're giving her a fish?"
"Dad, do you really think this is a good idea?"
An extra-large Feebas was indeed quite valuable as a Pokémon, and giving one to a fishing fanatic would be no problem at all. But Jake had mixed up who the main guest of honor was.
If you were giving a Milotic, that would at least make sense. But giving a fish to her—should she even accept it or not?
Jake's expression froze slightly before suddenly realizing the issue, "That's true."
He genuinely had forgotten that detail. He had only been thinking about showing off in front of Gavin, which was why he planned to gift such an oversized Feebas.
"Eh, no worries, no worries. Anyway, son, whatever you're giving is bound to be great. Mine can just be an extra bonus."
"Besides, if such a huge Feebas evolves… then the resulting Milotic would definitely be enormous too."
That was indeed true. The size a Pokémon reached after evolution was directly proportional to its size before evolving. If it was stunted before evolving, it would still be stunted after.
As the two talked, it wasn't long before they arrived directly above the Stein family estate.
The two pseudo-legendaries landed, and Julian and Jake each jumped down from their backs.
When the staff nearby saw that it was the two Champions, they immediately informed Gavin, who was currently inside the main hall acpanying the guests.
Having two Champions visit the family at the same time was something that would bring immense prestige to the Stein family, even though they were already the third-ranked Steel-type family.
The moment Gavin heard that Jake and Julian had arrived, he immediately set down his wine glass and quickly headed toward the entrance.
At the same time, his father—the previous Stein family head, Roy Stein, a Pseudo-Champion trainer ranked eighteenth on the Elite rankings—also walked toward the entrance.
The surrounding guests noticed that both the current and previous heads of the Stein family were personally standing at the door, apparently waiting to wele some soon-to-arrive guest.
Everyone immediately became curious. After all, among the guests present, very few had been personally greeted by Gavin. As for Roy personally greeting someone, there had not been a single case.
Yet now the two of them were weling someone together.
Roy was a Pseudo-Champion, after all. For him to personally greet someone, that person had to be at least a Pseudo-Champion as well, and their strength and standing had to be even greater than his.
Could it be that someone from the top ten of the Elite rankings had arrived?
"Perhaps Champion Walker is ing," one guest said quietly.
"Champion Walker? Do you mean Champion Julian?" the person beside him curiously asked.
Nowadays, when people referred to Julian, they basically all called him "Champion Walker," while John was called "Old Champion Walker." As for Jake, he was more often referred to as "Champion Walker's father."
Jake: 'Is my presence really that weak?'
"Yeah."
"Don't you know that Champion Walker personally trained the Stein family head's daughter for a while?"
The man shook his head, then revealed a shocked expression, while saying enviously, "Then doesn't that mean the Stein family will have very close ties with the Walker family from now on?"
While the two were speaking, Julian and Jake, led by an attendant, had already arrived at the entrance of the banquet hall.
When Roy and Gavin saw the two approaching, they immediately stepped forward with smiles.
"Champion Julian, Champion Jake, wele. It is an honor for the two Champions to attend."
Roy stepped forward first, his face full of smiles.
Although the Stein family was the third-ranked Steel-type family, they had never produced a Champion. The family did possess an ancestor Pokémon at the peak of Pseudo-Champion tier. But no matter how powerful a peak Pseudo-Champion was, it still was not a Champion.
"Elder Stein, you're too kind," Jake said with a light laugh, then turned to Julian and said, "Brat, call him Grandpa Stein."
Roy was of the same generation as John, and the two had interacted in their younger days.
One couldn't say the Steins and Walkers were particularly close, but at the very least, there was no conflict between them.
Watching his father exercise his paternal authority in front of him, Julian felt both helpless and amused inside.
"I couldn't possibly accept that. It's enough for Champion Julian to call me Elder Stein. If he called me Grandpa, John would definitely e looking for trouble with me later."
Roy hurriedly shook his head, looking slightly flustered.
It wasn't an act.
Given Julian's current status, even though he was of the elder generation, it was a seniority without blood ties.
How could he allow Julian to call him Grandpa? And if John found out that his precious grandson was addressing someone else as "Grandpa," wouldn't he e making trouble for him?
"Elder Stein it is, then." Jake didn't insist.
He appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. The moment he'd told Julian to call the man "Grandpa Stein," he'd realized it was a slip of the tongue—he'd misspoken.
If his father found out about this later, wouldn't he e back and give him a few kicks?
"Elder Stein," Julian greeted calmly.
In fact, he wouldn't have minded calling him Grandpa Stein; he didn't really care either way. The only question was whether John would be happy about it or not.
"Jake, Champion Julian."
While they were talking, Gavin also came over and greeted the two of them.
"Hey, hey, hey—you call my son 'Champion,' but you just call me by my name? Don't you know you're supposed to show respect to a Champion?" Jake said with feigned dissatisfaction.
He and Gavin were actually quite close in private, and both shared a love for fishing. So Jake wasn't really dissatisfied with the way Gavin addressed him.
"Coach!"
Just then, a cheerful voice rang out, and Gemma, dressed in a white evening gown, came trotting over.
She immediately threw her arms around Julian's arm and said with delight, "Coach, why did you arrive so late?"
"I got lost."
Julian tried to pull his arm free, but she was holding on too tightly, so he gave up.
Looking down—
Well, if you squeezed a little, there was indeed something there.
"Coach, you're lying."
Gemma had long since bee immune to Julian's nonsense.
"You've gotten smarter. You can even tell it's a lie now," Julian said with a smile.
"Coach!"
Gemma stamped her foot in exasperation.
Did this guy really have to tease her every single time?
Seeing his granddaughter being so intimate with Julian took Roy somewhat by surprise, and a flicker of something passed through his eyes.
Meanwhile, after learning that the visitors were Julian and Jake, the surrounding guests naturally followed outside curiously. Even though they were all people of status, Champions were still lofty existences in their eyes.
Very few of them had ever actually seen one in person.
"I'm so jealous of Gemma. She gets to hold Champion Walker's arm."
"Why can't that be me?"
"Damn it, let go of my husband!"
"Is Champion Walker really only Gemma's coach?"
Gemma's female classmates and close girlfriends were filled with envy and jealousy.
As for the boys who had feelings for Gemma, no matter how unwilling they felt inside at this sight, there was nothing they could say.
They weren't brain-dead side characters from some novel—if any of them dared to step forward and spout jealous remarks at a moment like this, the Stein family would throw them out before Julian even had to lift a finger.
Most importantly, Gemma was doing it of her own free will. The expression on her face practically wished she could bury Julian's arm in her cleavage forever, like it was meant to be there.
"Let's go inside," Julian said, noticing how many people were watching, and spoke to Gemma.
Gemma nodded but still didn't let go of Julian's arm.
*****
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