Chapter 472: Status

Chapter 472: Status Yuga was completely unaware of the Gym Leader competition, and if it weren't for Liliana and Mayor Ishida's visit today, he wouldn't have even known about it.

According to Mayor Ishida, the League had announced this news three days ago, and the competition was scheduled for next month. It was open to all towns without a Gym, making it a rare and grand event organized by the League. Representatives from various regions and towns would participate.

To ensure fairness, the event's location had not been announced yet. It would only be revealed to all registered towns a week before the competition.

Furthermore, this competition would be broadcasted live throughout the region. The performance of all participants would be showcased on television for the entire population to see.

Yuga hadn't expected such a grand event for this competition. In terms of scale, it seemed that regional League tournaments could hardly compare to this. Representing a town in such a competition meant that the participants had to be carefully selected, and their skills would undoubtedly be top-notch. League tournaments were nothing in comparison.

Thinking about it this way, Yuga suddenly felt the pressure. As Mayor Ishida had mentioned, the number of slots allocated to each region during this competition averaged less than five. This number was minuscule when compared to the number of participating towns, making the competition fierce.

Becoming a Gym Trainer wasn't limited to participating in this competition.

The most well-known method was inheritance, but this was only applicable to well-established Gyms. For instance, in the Hoenn region, Gyms like the Lavaridge Gym and the Sootopolis Gym had the privilege to choose their next Gym Leader once the previous one stepped down.

However, the successor had to be an internal member of the Gym. They could either be related by blood (like Flannery and Mr. Moore) or in a master-disciple relationship (like Wallace and Juan). This was the League's way of entrusting well-established Gyms.

Such well-established Gyms were those that had made significant contributions to the League and had never been dissolved for ten consecutive Gym evaluations. This qualified them to appoint their successor.

It was quite common to find well-established Gyms in the Kanto and Johto regions, as they were the birthplaces of the League and had a higher number of these Gyms.

Apart from participating in the competition and inheritance, there was also the option of direct League assignment. In this case, Yuga was most familiar with Mr. Norman.

Mr. Norman was originally from the Johto region but became the Trainer of the Petalburg Gym through League assignment.

Examples like these were very common, and the number of Gym Trainers obtained through League assignment was not much different from those who earned their position by participating in the competition. Gym Trainers appointed by the League were widespread in regions like Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova.

Many who gained the eligibility to establish a Gym through the competition were from small towns like Verdanturf Town. However, those directly appointed by the League generally worked in larger cities or towns with a unique status.

This was because the role of a Gym Trainer had immense significance in a town. Their status, authority, and influence were on par with that of a mayor or town leader. They also held control over the town's armed forces. If a Gym Trainer had issues, it could be devastating for a town.

For small towns like Verdanturf Town, problems might not be a significant concern. However, for large cities like Sootopolis City, Rustboro City, and Petalburg City, any issue involving a Gym Trainer would keep the League busy. Therefore, the League had to be extremely cautious in selecting Gym Trainers.

The role of a Gym in a town's development is crucial. Its presence signifies that the League will allocate more resources to the town, making development more convenient. These opportunities are vital for a town's rise. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The existence of a Gym attracts numerous challengers and visitors to the town every year. These challengers and visitors stimulate local population movement, thereby boosting local economic growth. This is precisely why Mayor Ishida had been striving to establish a Gym in Verdanturf Town.

Many towns have thrived due to the presence of a Gym, such as the neighboring Lavaridge Town.

Lavaridge Town's conditions weren't much better than those of Verdanturf Town, but thanks to the existence of the Lavaridge Gym or, more precisely, Mr. Moore, Lavaridge Town was well-known in the Hoenn region. Despite being a small town, its reputation wasn't any smaller than that of larger cities like Sootopolis City.

Of course, achieving such status for Verdanturf Town would be extremely difficult. That was because Verdanturf Town lacked a Trainer with a reputation that could rival Mr. Moore's. However, Mayor Ishida still had ambition, and whether they could achieve it or not, they would make the effort.

Even though having another Gym Trainer would significantly reduce his influence in Verdanturf Town, Mayor Ishida wasn't concerned. He genuinely wished for the town under his jurisdiction to experience better development. In this regard, he was quite pure in his intentions, even more so than Liliana, who shared the same goal.

While Liliana also hoped for Verdanturf Town's development, her ultimate goal was to prove herself and earn her family's recognition. In terms of mindset, she couldn't compare to Mayor Ishida.

No one would have expected such a pure-hearted attitude from Mayor Ishida, a portly middle-aged man with a bald head. He had an unwavering and sincere desire to see Verdanturf Town succeed.

If Yuga had known about Mayor Ishida's thoughts, he would have held him in great respect. At the very least, Yuga couldn't match such purity. Like Liliana, his agreement to participate in the competition was primarily aimed at helping YoYo Day Care develop, and aiding in Verdanturf Town's development was a means to that end.

Once he became Verdanturf Town's Gym Trainer, it was equivalent to having half of the town under his control, making it his territory. YoYo Day Care's development would also become more stable.

Yuga and Mayor Ishida, along with Liliana, discussed the competition for a long time, mainly focusing on information about past competitions. Mayor Ishida, who had participated in numerous competitions, was very familiar with the competition's procedures, and he could be considered highly experienced.

Yuga entrusted the registration process entirely to Mayor Ishida. After bidding farewell to Liliana and Mayor Ishida, he went to the Pokémon Center to register as a Trainer. From today onward, he officially became a member of the League's active Trainers.

Accompanying him in the registration were his ten main battle Pokémon. This meant that from today onwards, no one else but him could use these ten Pokémon in official battles.