"Dad, do you mean that only the top families have enough fortune to support the emergence of an Elite Four member, or even a Champion?" Liu Qing asked after a moment's thought. "But why?"
"Because of the Creator God, Arceus!" Bofeng Yu explained. "Of the seventeen type-affiliated families, every family except the Oak Family possesses a Plate of its corresponding type. These Plates bring us fortune while also anchoring it. And because of their extraordinary essence, they give us the potential to reach the domain of gods-but only the potential!"
Liu Qing pondered this for a while, digesting Bofeng Yu's explanation. He also understood the implication behind his father's final emphasis. This fortune provided a door through which members of the top families could reach Champion level, but whether they could push that door open depended on their own abilities.
"Then what about the Oak Family, the Temple, the Sasaki Family, and the New Bell Tower? What do they rely on?" Liu Qing asked after some thought.
"Those four are much alike. They rely not on Plates, but on Pokémon. The Oak Family's fortune comes directly from Arceus. Although the Sasaki Family is one of the League's Four Great Families, it actually depends on the Oak Family and receives a share of its fortune. As for whom the Temple relies on, you can ask Cynthia yourself later. And the New Bell Tower... the less said, the better!" Bofeng Yu's eyes flickered as he finished. Liu Qing seemed to sense a trace of disdain from him-or perhaps anger?!
Liu Qing wisely refrained from pressing him on the reason and instead asked another question. "Dad, even after everything you've told me, I still don't understand why you're certain Liu Yuan and Jun can't become Golden Feather-class Champions!"
"Fortune waxes and wanes, and