These five effeminate men reminded Julian of that Leo-something guy he had once seen at the airport. pared to them, that Leo-something guy actually seemed a bit better.
Effeminate and greasy—it almost made Julian vomit up last night’s dinner. It truly refreshed his worldview.
To think a group like this could actually have fans… Has the world really fallen to this level?
The atmosphere was awkward, especially since the audience below kept clapping and even cheering for Julian—particularly the male audience members.
One by one, they treated Julian like a kindred spirit.
Only a very small number of female viewers thought Julian had gone too far, but since the majority were supporting him, they naturally didn’t dare to speak up.
Howard really lived up to his reputation as a pillar of the show. He realized things were about to go off the rails—or rather, that they already had—and quickly tried to salvage the situation by saying, “Choco Sweet, please head backstage and take a rest for now.”
The five of them didn’t want to stay there any longer anyway, so they left in a hurry.
bined, they didn’t carry half the weight of Julian—literally or figuratively. Since neither Julian nor the audience liked them, it was best to let them leave early for the sake of the show.
After that, the program returned to normal. The production team improvised by adding some game segments and even had Julian showcase a few of his Pokémon.
He didn’t send out all of them—just Moltres, Lucario, Arcanine, and Aggron (plus the Metagross that was always by his side).
Finally, it was time for the audience Q&A session, where five live audience members would be selected.
To avoid any mishaps, these five "random" audience members were actually plants from the production team, and their seating positions had been prearranged.
Of course, Julian pletely ignored that.
Pointing at Mia, who had raised her hand enthusiastically, he recognized her and said, "You there."
Mia stood up excitedly, took the microphone, and asked, "Gym Leader Walker, what inspired you to bee a Trainer?"
Julian replied with a disappointed tone, “Why didn’t you ask me what the most useful thing I’ve learned is? This kind of proper question—it actually throws me off a bit.”
Mia’s face turned red. She had wanted to ask something else, but the show was going to be aired, and most of the country would be watching. If she asked something weird, she’d embarrass herself in front of the whole nation.
“As for why I became a Trainer… that’s a boring question. The Walker family has been a Trainer lineage for generations. I’m just following the path laid out by my ancestors.”
After answering, Julian pointed at the person next to Mia and said, “Next question—you.”
The chubby girl stood up, her face flushed red, clearly nervous. For a moment, she couldn’t even speak, but after taking a few deep breaths, she finally asked:
“Gym Leader Walker, what’s your goal for the near future?”
“My goal? Right now, it’s to challenge the National Gyms. So far, I’ve already earned the Rock-type and Grass-type Gym badges.”
Including the Steel-type badge, Julian had now collected three National-level gym badges, unlocking the first stage of rewards—30,000 points and six Mewtwo fragments.
The next milestones would be at six, twelve, and eighteen badges.
“Third question—you, the guy with the hat.”
“Hello, King Julian.”
“Just call me Gym Leader Walker. ‘King Julian’ sounds way too pretentious.”
Julian waved his hand, making an exaggerated "I can’t handle that" expression, which drew laughter from the crowd.
“Alright, Gym Leader Walker. We all know you e from a privileged background. So, would you say your success is mainly attributed to your birth?”
Now that was a sharper question. Many people resented the unfairness of fate and harbored some envy toward the wealthy.
“Money, effort, talent, luck—if you have money, you can bee a Trainer. If you also work hard, you might bee a Pseudo-Elite one day.”
“But if, on top of that, you’re also talented? Then you could maybe reach the Elite-level.”
“And if you’re lucky too? Then you’ll definitely bee an Elite-level Trainer—maybe even one of the strongest.”
“I’m fortunate to have been born into the Walker family. My starter Pokémon was a silver Beldum, which absolutely gave me a head start over most of my peers.”
“Resources, money, rare and powerful Pokémon—thanks to my family, I lacked none of these. To put it bluntly, I was born in Rome.”
“But having a good background doesn’t mean you’re talented. It doesn’t mean you’ll work hard. And it definitely doesn’t mean you’ll have good luck.”
“In fact, many privileged people don’t work nearly as hard as those from ordinary backgrounds.”
“I’m twenty years old now—a Pseudo-Champion-level Trainer. That’s because I had a better upbringing than most, talent beyond the average, the courage to explore a Top-tier secret realm, and decent luck. All of that made me who I am today.”
“So yes, my family gave me a huge advantage, and I’m proud of that. But if you ignore the grueling training and life-risking adventures I’ve gone through with my Pokémon, that’d be unfair—to me and to them.”
Clap clap clap…
Julian’s answer earned a round of applause.
“Fourth question—you.” He pointed at a girl in the audience.
She stood up and shouted:
"GYM LEADER WALKER, CAN I BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!"
"Ooooh!!"
The crowd burst into an uproar, all looking at Julian with teasing eyes.
With a look of mild distaste, Julian replied, “No. I’m worried my future kids would starve.”
'You don’t even have an ‘A’ cup. Where does your confidence e from?'
The girl immediately sat down in embarrassment and anger, thinking Julian was just the worst.
“Last question.”
“Julian, may I ask this one?”
Howard, who was beside him, suddenly spoke up.
“Of course.”
Julian nodded.
Having already prepared his question, Howard didn’t hesitate:
“Julian, how many years do you think it will take for you to bee a Champion?”
Champion!
Julian fell silent for a moment.
In the past, being a Champion had seemed like a distant dream.
But now—it seemed almost within reach. He was already at the Pseudo-Champion level, with one foot essentially in the door.
Of course, many others had also taken that first step. But for some, the second step never came, even until death.
A Champion was the highest peak a human trainer could currently reach—the pinnacle of human achievement.
So far, the youngest Champion in history was 45 years old. His own grandfather hadn’t reached that level until his sixties.
“Three years.” Julian raised three fingers.
He had reached the Pseudo-Champion level in three years, so he believed he could reach Champion in another three.
Many in the audience didn’t believe him.
“Meta!”
Metagross rumbled—"it wouldn’t even take three years—two would be enough."
The Poké Ball containing Moltres wobbled at his waist, signaling that it only needed one year.
Arcanine claimed it would take just half a year.
Kartana's silently vibrated, as if to say: 'Even if a Champion showed up right now, I could cut them down.'
*****
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