"Madam Herta? What brings you calling?"
Julian accepted the transmission, and a holographic projection of Herta immediately materialized in his office.
He was genuinely curious about the sudden contact. During her previous stay aboard the space station, she had already wrapped up her preliminary curiosity regarding Pokémon. It was entirely possible she had cooked up a fresh hypothesis and wanted to run another round of tests.
"I mentioned the little creatures to Ruan Mei, and she's surprisingly interested," Herta said, cutting straight to the point. "Didn't you want to cultivate real, living Pokémon outside the virtual engine? She's arriving at the space station in three days. Be there on time."
"Thank you, Herta! I'll wrap up my paperwork and head over immediately."
Ending the call, Julian felt a rush of pure excitement.
During his earlier research sessions with Herta, he had asked whether it was feasible to clone and cultivate physical Pokémon using the genetic sequences projected from his database.
Yet due to the bizarre biological architecture of Pokémon DNA, even Herta's specialized equipment could not produce a perfect clone. At best, her attempts yielded hollow replicas that mirrored the exterior form, entirely devoid of the elemental life force within.
In this universe, only Ruan Mei possessed the biological genius to bridge that gap.
Herta had casually promised to reach out to her back then, but Julian had been so buried under tournament administration that the matter had slipped to the back of his mind.
Herta really is vastly more dependable than Stephen...
Julian had naturally asked Stephen to help broker an introduction with Ruan Mei as well, yet days had passed with radio silence. Stephen had probably gotten so hooked on the new update that the errand had vanished from his memory completely.
Julian rang for his assistant. "Cai Xing, I need to make a trip to the Herta Space Station. Could you file a flight departure permit for tomorrow morning?"
Any native citizen seeking to depart the Xianzhou Alliance had to submit formal clearance. Even with Julian's verified security clearance and recognized standing, standard protocol required an assigned transit detail to ensure citizens remained accountable while traveling through external sectors.
Still, with his current privileges, the bureaucratic red tape was minimal, likely clearing within half a day.
"Understood, Boss. I'll forward the paperwork to the Sky-Faring Commission right away," Cai Xing said, tapping a stylus across his datapad before glancing up. "There is one more matter. Following the conclusion of the Grand Celebration, community demand for a second Masters Tournament has skyrocketed. Over eighty percent of forum traffic is begging for a new championship circuit. How would you like us to handle the response?"
"A Contest tournament making players crave a championship brawl?"
Julian chuckled. It sounded ironic on the surface, but having watched Argenti's climactic duels, he understood the sentiment completely. Even he had felt an itch for raw, high-stakes competition. That razor-sharp tension of pure combat was something casual ranked matchmaking could never replicate.
However, premier events like the Masters Tournament and the Grand Celebration were designed as annual spectacles; holding them back-to-back would dilute the prestige and burn out the community.
With rapid game updates, expanding Pokédex rosters, and rising player skill floors, the hunger for competitive glory was only natural.
While the global Masters Tournament had to wait, regional circuits, Gym challenges, and local leagues were ripe for development.
"Let's channel that energy properly," Julian instructed. "Have our operations team divide known civilized sectors into distinct competitive regions based on active player density. We will establish sanctioned Gyms across each region and launch local leagues, culminating in Regional Elite Four gauntlets and Regional Champion tournaments."
"Draft the structural framework, qualifier rules, and venue criteria. I'll review the proposals as soon as I return from the space station."
Julian knew his limits. When it came to administrative logistics and commercial rollouts, Xianzhou specialists were far better equipped than he was. His job was setting the creative vision; micromanaging venue contracts was better left to the experts so he could preserve his free time to play.
Cai Xing's eyes sparkled at the directive. The commercial value and sponsorship potential behind a galactic Gym network were colossal, demanding immediate, careful planning.
Julian had always intended to build an open, accessible competitive ecosystem. The circuit he envisioned wouldn't be restricted to exclusive corporate clubs; any Trainer with the passion and grit to earn eight badges could step onto the regional stage.
With the assignment settled, Cai Xing took his leave.
Julian, who had initially planned to begin early design work for Generation V, found his focus completely derailed by thoughts of Ruan Mei.
He leaned back in his chair, browsing the community boards instead.
The trending feeds were dominated by calls for the Masters Tournament to return, followed closely by the Sinnoh closed-beta announcements and the Ocean Treasure Hunt.
Once the extraction mode opened and Sinnoh's beta impressions began circulating, discussion would shift rapidly.
Julian had high confidence in the revised Treasure Hunt loop. Adding open-world PvP extraction mechanics to sunken ruin exploration created an addictive loop of searching, ambushing, and escaping with high-value relics, serving as the perfect testbed for future online multiplayer systems.
Meanwhile, Generation IV was backed by the grand cosmic mythology of Arceus and the Creation Trio, ensuring its cultural impact would easily match the legendary reputation of Hoenn.
The following morning, Julian's transit permit cleared, and he boarded a VIP shuttle bound for the Herta Space Station.
Stepping onto the platform, he was greeted by Herta's puppet frame, flanked by Asta.
"You really don't waste any time, do you?" Herta remarked, folding her arms. "Scientific breakthroughs aren't something you can rush by booking an early flight."
"Bringing them into the real world has been my dream from day one," Julian replied with an easy smile, holding back his excitement. "Naturally, I wasn't going to sit around waiting."
Herta caught the subtle shift in his pulse and refrained from teasing him further. She understood that restless hunger all too well; it was the exact same drive she felt whenever an unsolvable mystery was finally on the verge of unraveling.
"You and Ruan Mei are two of a kind," Herta noted dryly. "The moment I transmitted the genetic schematics, she dropped all her scheduled plans. She cleared her queue yesterday and booked transit immediately. Looking at the clock, she should be arriving right about now."
Just as the words left her mouth, a sleek, private research vessel glided into the docking bay, setting down with a hiss of pressurized air.
The airlock opened, and an elegant figure dressed in an emerald-toned, classical gown stepped onto the deck.
It was Ruan Mei.
She offered Herta a brief, polite nod. Catching sight of Julian, her gaze sharpened, and she closed the distance with uncharacteristically swift steps.
Grasping his wrist, she pulled him slightly aside, her cool voice laced with an urgent, breathless curiosity:
"Where are the specimens? Show me at once."
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