"Dinner's ready, Jacob."
Nina's voice drifted in from the kitchen, pulling Jacob out of his thoughts.
"Coming." He set down the map, rubbed the back of his head, and walked out.
The smell of food hit him the moment he stepped into the hallway — warm and rich enough that he noticed how hungry he actually was.
"That smells great," he said, taking a slow breath as he reached the kitchen.
"Come sit down." Nina smiled, untying her apron and reaching for a bowl to serve him rice.
They ate together at the table, and Nina used the time to ask a few questions she had been turning over in her head — how permanent Gigantamax Pokémon came to exist, how many were out there in the world, things like that. Jacob answered between bites as best he could. It was an easy, comfortable back-and-forth.
Then Jacob set down his chopsticks, looked at her, and changed the subject.
"Nina," he said, with a small smile. "Do you want Gigantamax Corviknight?"
Nina's expression shifted. The question had clearly caught her off guard.
After a moment, she frowned lightly, turned it over in her head, and shook her head.
"Of course I want it," she said. "Anyone would want a Pokémon like that. But I don't think you should give it to me."
She folded her hands on the table. "You said it yourself — plenty of people in Team Rocket still don't have Gigantamax Pokémon. People like Cade and Davis, who have been with you from the start. If you hand one to someone who just joined, they are going to notice, and they are going to have thoughts about it. You should take care of them first."
Jacob gave a slow nod. She was not wrong, and he knew it.
"I understand what you're saying," he said. "But Gigantamax Corviknight is a special case. The fact that it can stay airborne indefinitely makes it ideal for an aerial base — a mobile stronghold no one would ever think to look for. Because of that, I want it to stay close to me for now."
"Then—"
"Here's what I'm thinking," Jacob said. "You use it for the time being. If the trade with Meyer goes well and you pull your weight, I'll make it officially yours afterward." He paused. "You said you wanted to come along for that, right? I'm planning to split Team Rocket into two groups."
"The first group comes with me to the agreed meeting point at sea to carry out the trade."
"The second group stays airborne with you — out of sight, ready to move in if anything goes sideways. We can work out who goes where closer to the time."
Nina listened quietly, then looked at him with a calm smile. "Whatever you think is best."
The weeks that followed kept Jacob busier than ever. He spent time scouting suitable locations in the southern sea, eventually settling on a remote island outside of the country's territorial waters as the exchange site. From there, he worked through the operational plan piece by piece — reaching out to Team Rocket's members, assigning roles, running through contingencies.
Champion Meyer was not someone to take lightly. Jacob approached the planning with more caution than he was used to applying, even by his own standards.
He placed himself among the strongest trainers in the world, and he believed that assessment was accurate. But Meyer was a different matter. The man had held his Champion title for over a decade and had rarely been seen in serious battles — yet on every occasion he had, the result was the same. Swift, decisive, and without a single loss.
There were also persistent rumors that Meyer had already trained at least one Pokémon to a strength rivaling that of the very top — a Master level Pokémon, some said. It was speculation, nothing confirmed, but it was the kind of speculation Jacob could not afford to dismiss.
At the end of December, another significant milestone arrived: Jacob's large-scale research laboratory was finally completed.
The facility was ready to take on staff and begin formal operations, and word spread quickly. Within days, his phone was ringing constantly — researchers, academics, and ambitious young trainers all hoping to secure a position and the credentials that came with it.
He turned down most of them without much thought. But some requests came through channels he could not simply ignore. Families with long-standing ties to the Lin family had gone to Elder Benjamin directly, asking him to put in a word. Facing his grandfather's generation, Jacob found it harder to say no outright.
He was pragmatic about it. He accepted several of those candidates and found them roles they could reasonably fill — but he was careful. Anything touching the real core of his research remained under his own control. The sensitive work would stay with people he had hand-picked himself.
About a week before New Year's Day, things shifted at the University as well.
"Our class needs to put together at least one performance for the New Year's party," Eleanor announced from the front of the room, looking out at the students with her usual composed expression. "If you have ideas, come talk to me. I'll review submissions before anything goes to the school."
It was obvious she had no strong feelings about the event one way or the other. Given a choice, she would probably have spent the evening in a lab. But she said what needed to be said and stepped back from the podium.
In the front row, Julia stared at nothing in particular.
The past two weeks had changed her noticeably. She and Jacob barely existed in each other's world anymore — no messages, no chance conversations in the hallway, no shared moments of any kind. Jacob had not seen her smile in a long time. She had cut her long hair to her shoulders, and the bright, easy expression she used to carry — hands tucked behind her back, looking up at him with that wide grin — was simply gone.
It made something tighten in his chest, even if he could not quite name what.
"A skit would be fun."
"What about a song and dance?"
"Singing, dancing, a little bit of everything!"
The classroom had dissolved into cheerful debate, students leaning across desks and talking over each other. For students in the Trainer track, a party like this was a rare break — they were going to make the most of it.
Jacob turned toward the window.
He would have liked to be part of it, honestly. To pick a performance and rehearse with his classmates like any other student. But his schedule had no room for it. Rehearsals, he could not commit to. He might not even make it to the party itself.
He was still staring out the window when he heard a voice nearby.
A well-dressed boy had walked up to Julia's desk. He had the easy, practiced confidence of someone used to being noticed.
"Julia," the boy said, offering a friendly smile. "Want to put something together for the show? We could work on it as a pair."
"Jacob." Kyle appeared at his elbow, tapping him on the shoulder. His expression was hard to read — somewhere between worried and bewildered. He kept his voice low. "What happened with you and Julia? Amira's been furious at you for two weeks straight. She even called me a scumbag by association and I don't even know what I did. What actually happened?"
"Nothing serious," Jacob said, eyes still drifting toward the window. "I told her I thought it was better if we stayed friends."
Kyle stared at him.
"You rejected Julia." It came out slowly, like he was making sure he had heard correctly. "You actually rejected Julia."
The disbelief on his face was genuine. He looked Jacob over for a long moment, something shifting in his expression, and then he leaned in a little closer with a deeply cautious look.
"Jacob, listen — you can be honest with me. I'm your friend. I won't judge you." He hesitated. "Is there… a chance you're not into girls? Because if that's the case, I completely support you, but I need you to understand that I am not available, and I would prefer you found someone else to—"
"Get out of here!" Jacob shoved him away with one hand.
Kyle stumbled back, laughing despite himself.