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At the Trainer Association headquarters.
Chris sat confidently in the main seat, listening as Vice President Nora reported to him the details about the Secret Realm where a Gardevoir potentially possessing "divine authority" had been discovered.
"This Secret Realm has appeared in the Western Region. We've tentatively named it: Beauty Under the Moon."
"Because the strength of the Pokémon within this Secret Realm is generally quite high, and the specific power level of the strongest Pokémon among them hasn't been fully investigated yet, we cannot make a definitive determination. Our preliminary rating for the Beauty Under the Moon Secret Realm is SS-level."
"As for whether the Gardevoir in the video truly possesses divine authority, that remains uncertain."
"Normally, the exploration of Secret Realms should be conducted by the Elite Four, but recently, high-risk Secret Realms have been appearing with unusual frequency, and the Elite Four are already stretched thin. Considering the unique characteristics of this Gardevoir, we decided to send this video to you."
"If you're interested, please undertake the exploration of this SS-level Secret Realm—Beauty Under the Moon."
Chris nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Neither China nor Pokémon scholars worldwide had established an accurate definition of what constituted a "god." It was perfectly natural that the Trainer Association couldn't make a definitive judgment.
If he wanted to confirm whether this was truly a Gardevoir with divine authority, he would have to investigate personally.
"Alright, I'll accept this exploration mission."
"Send me the location coordinates of this Secret Realm, and I'll depart today," Chris decided. He planned to return home, switch to his primary team, and prepare for departure.
Rest could wait—he'd already gotten plenty of rest on the Sky Island.
"Understood. We'll transmit the Secret Realm's location to your Trainer phone immediately. Please review it carefully," Nora replied professionally.
Chris stood up and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask a question.
"You mentioned earlier—why have high-danger Secret Realms been appearing so frequently during this period?"
Nora paused momentarily, then after thinking carefully, she responded, "Every Secret Realm discovered by the Association is meticulously recorded."
"I'm not entirely certain why, but the lowest-ranked Secret Realms recorded recently have all been A-level, with dozens of S-level and SS-level discoveries as well."
Four or five highly dangerous Secret Realms that would typically appear once every few years had all emerged this year alone.
Chris nodded in understanding, then issued a warning. "If another Pokémon that may possess divine authority appears in the future, please notify me immediately."
"Yes, Champion Chris," Nora readily agreed.
Even if Chris hadn't specifically requested this, she would have informed him at the earliest opportunity anyway. After all, even an ordinary Pokémon with divine authority possessed the power to destroy an entire nation. To put it bluntly, such a being was equivalent to a living nuclear weapon.
If such a Pokémon existed within China's borders, the Champion must be informed, make contact with it, and ultimately determine whether it represented a genuine threat.
After leaving the Trainer Association building, Chris and Wanda took a private car back home.
Throughout the journey, Chris repeatedly reviewed the available information about the "Beauty Under the Moon" Secret Realm.
While reading, he contemplated the concept of "divine authority."
Chris had first learned about divine authority at Dragon University. He'd discovered from Theodore that the Dragon Nest in the East China Sea—where Dragon University raised Dragon-type Pokémon—was home to a Wailord possessing divine authority, also known as the "Whale God."
Furthermore, this Whale God had been the partner Pokémon of Mr. Ledger, the founder of Dragon University.
Later, Chris learned about another deity—Landorus. Incidentally, Chris had also claimed Landorus's "Divine Treasure," which was the "Treasure of Abundance."
However, Chris and Professor Vladimir had also discussed how divine authority didn't seem to be as straightforward as simply possessing a "Divine Treasure."
The Divine Treasure was indeed a symbol of divine status, but it wasn't the entirety of what divine authority represented.
To truly obtain godhood, one still had to defeat the original deity as a member of the same species to become the new god.
As for what achieving divine authority would actually entail, and what benefits a Pokémon would receive, Chris had no way of knowing. After all, Mr. Ledger had been deceased for many years, and there were no records documenting his experiences with divine authority.
Chris hadn't heard of anyone successfully challenging for a divine throne recently. He'd heard previously that Marvin had used his ace Blastoise to challenge for the Blastoise divine throne. However, judging from that Blastoise's combat effectiveness during Chris's duel with Marvin, the challenge had presumably failed.
Therefore, Chris would have to obtain a divine throne himself to understand its true significance.
Returning to his villa, Chris opened the front door.
A large blue cushion-like Pokémon immediately bounced toward the entrance.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet saluted and greeted him cheerfully.
"Whoa!" Chris caught it in his arms. Fortunately, he possessed considerable strength from his three orbs; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold it.
"Togepi!!"
"Mew~"
"Ji ra~"
Togepi, Mew, and Jirachi were also present, surrounding Chris to welcome him home.
The little ones were accustomed to Chris reminding them about breakfast every day. It was only natural they'd missed him after not seeing him for the past month.
However, these little creatures came quickly and departed just as fast. Mew used its Aura powers to confirm that Chris was perfectly healthy. Togepi and Jirachi offered Chris their enthusiastic blessings, then immediately slipped away to play video games.
As technology progressed, more and more games became available, and they'd even acquired five computers through Jirachi's wish-granting abilities to form a gaming group.
Chris was left speechless.
When Chris arrived at the villa's backyard, his Pokémon were resting and training in an orderly fashion. Nothing had changed due to Chris's departure or arrival. After all, in the eyes of these Pokémon who were frequently trained by Chris through his handheld device system, their trainer had never truly left.
"Greninja, Blaziken, Garchomp, Zeraora, Tyranitar—come here!"
Chris called out to them.
Then he retrieved their Poké Balls and recalled each of them one by one.
According to what Nora had told him, the wild Pokémon within the SS-level Secret Realm "Beauty Under the Moon" were exceptionally powerful.
Based on the designated difficulty rating, they would need to be at minimum Elite-level to safely explore it.
Therefore, Chris decided to bring his primary lineup, while his second and third-string Pokémon would remain at the manor to continue their training regimen.
This was especially important for the Urshifu, who had only recently evolved. Its strength had improved dramatically, but its control over its new body hadn't yet reached the level of complete mastery.
This would be an excellent opportunity for it to train thoroughly and acclimate properly.
Chris planned to focus specifically on leveling it up in the near future, aiming to raise it to at least Level 95 or higher as quickly as possible.
Then he could challenge Legendary Pokémon with confidence!
After collecting all the Pokémon he needed to bring, Chris released Lugia, climbed onto Lugia's back, and accelerated toward the Western Region.
As they passed high above the capital city, people vaguely caught glimpses of an enormous dark shadow flashing overhead.
They raised their heads one after another, but couldn't identify what it was.