looking at the rapidly departing figure, David smiled, not taking the dramatic teenager's words to heart.
He crouched down and vigorously rubbed Zorua's little head. "Well done, but it would be even better if you did fewer flashy things."
"Zorua~ Zorua! (I know, David! Next time, next time I'll definitely change)," the little fox called out twice, a bit guilty, knowing that David was referring to it toying with its opponent.
Just then, the system's notification sound unexpectedly rang in David's ear.
"Ding~ Relevant conditions detected... Large-scale Continuous Quest · First Major Competition triggered... Current Quest Stage One completed."
David was slightly surprised. The system hadn't reacted during the first battle, and he had thought that competitions like the Rookie Cup were too low-level to trigger quests. He didn't expect the system to have been building up to something big for him!
This was his first time seeing a continuous quest.
"Large-scale Continuous Quest · First Major Competition · Rookie Cup has been triggered. Current First Stage · Preliminaries has been completed. Rewards can be claimed. Note: Once a continuous quest is activated, each time the quest progress is updated, the final reward is refreshed. The higher the quest completion, the rarer the reward."
"Looks like there are good things again! Then let's set a small goal first: win the Rookie Cup Championship!" David muttered to himself.
Hmm, he definitely wasn't doing it for any rewards! He mainly wanted to test the results of his training these past few days.
David looked at the other arenas. The matches for the Class President and Emma hadn't ended yet, and there was still plenty of time. Since he was already here, he figured he might as well take care of that other matter too!
David turned and walked toward the interior of the school.
...
Passing through the sports field, he arrived at the teaching area. David didn't linger but walked directly deeper inside.
Soon, a vast, oval-shaped building appeared before him. David looked up—the words "Imperial City No. 1 High School Breeding Center" came into view.
As soon as he entered, David headed straight for the Breeding Center's front desk.
"Hello! How may I help you?"
The front desk receptionist saw David arrive and asked.
"Hello, I'm here to collect the Pokémon Egg the school awarded me. Do I need to complete any procedures?"
David replied, simultaneously pulling up the information the League had sent him and handing over his phone.
Just last night, after a full half-month, David's reward qualification was finally approved by the League's official channels. He had originally planned to collect the reward after finishing his preliminary matches, but he was lucky that the preliminary venue was at Imperial City No. 1 High School, so he could take care of both matters at once.
The receptionist took the phone, looked at the information, and after some operations, said, "David, is that right! Your reward qualification has been approved by the League: one selection opportunity for a rare-grade Pokémon Egg, available for collection at any time."
Saying this, she handed David an identification card along with his phone.
"The Incubation Storage Room is on the fifth floor behind us. You can go directly with this pass. There will be relevant staff there to assist you."
David took the identification card, thanked her, and walked toward the elevator inside.
Taking the elevator, David quickly arrived on the fifth floor. After passing several security checks, he finally reached his destination.
The staff member outside the door registered David's identification card, then finally opened the last door and led him into the Breeding Center's Incubation Storage Room.
"Come, let me first introduce you to the Breeding Center's facilities!" the staff member said.
"Our League City No. 1 High School Breeding Center is a top-ranked advanced Breeding Center in the entire League, the result of decades of the school's efforts with strong support from the League's official channels..."
"For example, nearly 80% of the world's Pokémon species live in the habitat behind us, and this incubation room also houses many rare Pokémon Eggs..."
"Taking the Rookie Cup as an example, many competition rewards within the League City area actually come from here..."
Along the way, the staff member continuously introduced the Breeding Center's facilities to David, a proud expression on his face.
League City No. 1 High School's Breeding Center didn't just rely on League support; it also depended on the efforts of their researchers and breeders. This was their pride.
David listened to the staff member's introduction while looking around.
"This is Incubation Room No. 1. Every Pokémon Egg inside is specially selected from the offspring born to the strongest and most excellent Pokémon."
Suddenly, the staff member stopped and pointed to an incubation room in the very center.
David looked in the direction the staff member was pointing.
The incubation room, spanning over a hundred square meters, contained only a few Pokémon Eggs. Looking closely at the Eggs through the window for a while, David couldn't make out anything particularly special.
The appearance of Pokémon Eggs in this world was basically identical. Even professional researchers could only roughly distinguish them by subtle differences in patterns and colors on the Eggs.
However, just the staff member's words and the way each Pokémon Egg was preserved in its own independent chamber made it clear how precious they were.
He looked at the golden nameplates displayed on the outside of the preservation units.
"Beldum" — Offspring of an Elite Four Metagross
"Jangmo-o" — Parents: Elite Four Kommo-o
"Larvitar" — Father: Champion Rhyperior, Mother: Elite Four Tyranitar
"Goomy" — Parents: Elite Four Goodra
"Dratini" — Father: Elite Four Charizard, Mother: Champion Dragonite
Familiar names came into view, one after another.
Pseudo-Legendary species, powerful parent generations—all highlighted the strength and preciousness of these Pokémon Eggs.
Looking at the Pokémon Eggs before him, David admitted he was a bit envious.
Without exception, the Pokémon Eggs here were representatives of "late bloomers" in the Pokémon world, or, to use a more familiar term—Pseudo-Legendaries!
Excluding Mythical Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon, they were the pinnacle among ordinary Pokémon—powerful Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
David gazed at the Pokémon Eggs in the incubation room, almost pressing himself against the transparent glass. He was truly craving them! He was practically drooling, in the literal sense.
Regardless of whether his family needed them or not, with this row of Pseudo-Legendaries, each with at least purple-grade potential, placed before him, anyone would be tempted.
"However, unfortunately, your reward selection range does not include these."
The staff member's words immediately brought David, who was pressed against the glass, back to reality.
David stared at the staff member with a resentful look. "Then why show me these? I can't get them, but you let me see them. Isn't that just tormenting me?"
"Haha! These precious Pokémon Eggs, each one would fetch at least eight figures at an auction outside. They aren't prizes you can get just by passing a simple exam. Work hard, young man—I hope to see the day you can come in and choose one," the staff member said, laughing at David's resentful expression.
This was a small, mischievous pleasure of his—watching the expressions of these young Trainers always brought him great joy.