Join my p@treon for more chapters
p@treon.com/Tempest_29
Headquarters of the Capital City Trainer Association.
The annual Gym Leader meeting was about to begin.
Gym Leaders from thirty-four provincial capitals had gathered to discuss matters related to their roles over the previous year and plan ahead for upcoming tasks.
However, the main purpose was to facilitate communication between Gym Leaders from across the region, while simultaneously conducting this year's Gym Leader qualifying tournament.
The distance from Green Valley to Capital City wasn't far—just a two-hour flight.
That's why Chris had only departed on the morning of the meeting itself.
His 9 AM flight had arrived shortly after 11 o'clock.
He found a restaurant for lunch, then waited until 1 PM before reporting to the Trainer Association headquarters.
Under the enthusiastic gazes of a group of "fans," Chris made his way to the third floor.
The Gym Leader meeting was held in the Central Conference Room.
Walking in, he saw a massive round table with thirty-five seats. The extra seat was reserved for the meeting organizer—the vice president of the Capital City Trainer Association.
As for why the Champion wasn't running this meeting—well, the China region Champion typically only participated in Elite Four gatherings.
"Chris! Over here!"
The moment Chris entered, he spotted his senior colleague Alexis waving him over.
"Senior," Chris responded, hurrying toward her.
The thirty-five seats each had a gym name labeled on them. Next to the Ice Dragon Gym was the Green Valley Gym spot. Chris wondered if Senior Alexis had deliberately arranged to sit beside him.
Many Gym Leaders had already arrived, and upon hearing Chris's name, several heads turned to locate him.
Over the past months, Chris had become quite famous throughout China.
It wasn't just that his Chris Breeding House had pioneered the concept of "Individual Values," creating a trend that attracted Trainers from all over.
There was also his astonishing record of winning twelve consecutive battles against challengers in just over a month. Anyone who reviewed the records of these twelve battles would discover something remarkable:
In each of these twelve battles, Chris had never substituted a Pokémon.
In other words, Chris had ended every match with a single Pokémon sweeping through the opponent's entire team.
Such formidable battling prowess and ruthless strategy had led to an interesting situation—after these twelve battles, Chris hadn't received any new challenges for quite some time. Instead, there were numerous Trainers who wished to enter the Green Valley Gym to request that Chris take them on as apprentices.
Chris, naturally, had declined these requests.
Whether through reputation or strength, he had already earned recognition throughout China's Pokémon community. His position as a Gym Leader was well-deserved.
No one considered Chris merely a shooting star that had temporarily brightened the night sky.
Some had even begun predicting when Chris might become an Elite Four member, and eventually challenge for the Championship.
"It's been a while since I've seen you, and I feel like you've changed somehow!" Alexis examined Chris carefully, sensing that her junior colleague seemed different from when they'd first met.
"What's different?"
"Well... you're a bit taller, and your demeanor has changed," Alexis said after careful observation. "Your presence feels more... ethereal, almost like a Master Trainer. Hmm, I can't quite explain it specifically. Perhaps I should bring you to visit my teacher someday so he can see for himself."
"Senior, I'm 19 years old—isn't growing taller perfectly normal?" Chris replied with a smile as he took his seat.
His height had indeed increased considerably recently. He'd originally been around 5'11", but now he was approaching 6'1". As for his demeanor... perhaps it had something to do with the orbs.
The sensation of commanding the elements with a mere gesture did tend to give one a more masterful presence.
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd almost forgotten you were only 19," Alexis remarked, unable to help curling her lips in amusement. Beyond his handsome appearance, her junior colleague's battling prowess, manner of speaking, and overall demeanor hardly resembled what one would expect from a 19-year-old.
"Alexis, aren't you going to introduce your friend when meeting new colleagues?"
While the two were chatting, a bald man approached them and sat down on Alexis's left.
Three or four others had arrived together, apparently eager to meet Chris.
"Get lost! You troublemakers are up to no good. If I introduce my junior to you, I'll probably regret it soon enough," Alexis responded with mock disgust, though she proceeded with introductions anyway.
"This is Atticus from the Forest Gym. You can just call him Baldy Atticus."
"Who are you calling bald? Be careful or I'll destroy you in the qualifying matches!" Atticus protested, looking momentarily irritated. However, when he turned to Chris, his expression immediately softened into a smile.
"The famous Chris! I've admired your reputation for quite some time. If you ever need any Water-type Pokémon in the future, feel free to contact me!"
"Destroy me? Please! Remember the last ranking match when I had you running circles around the arena? Or did you forget?" Alexis scoffed before continuing with the next introduction.
"From the Cloud Gym, this is Remi. I like to call him Camera Remi!"
"Hello, Gym Leader Chris. I've heard so much about you."
Remi was an intellectual-looking young man wearing a light blue pinstriped shirt, black-rimmed glasses, and a silver watch. A vintage camera hung from his neck.
The combination seemed somewhat eccentric.
He had a gentle smile and appeared to be a few years older than Alexis.
"Hello," Chris nodded politely.
Afterward, Alexis introduced several more Gym Leaders to Chris—all people he believed would make good allies.
He also warned Chris about certain Gym Leaders with whom he should avoid associating, advising caution around them.
After all, there existed an inherently competitive relationship among Gym Leaders.
In the gym ranking battles, only the first-place finisher earned the right to challenge the Elite Four, but that didn't mean the other rankings were meaningless.
The thirty-four Gym Leaders were divided into four tiers.
Apart from the singular first place position, the remaining thirty-three Gym Leaders were grouped by eleventh position.
Salaries for Trainers in differently ranked gyms varied accordingly.
For example, regarding Treasure level Pokémon items:
As a Gym Leader, the basic allocation was three items, but the number one Gym Leader might receive six or seven.
Similar differences applied to other income sources and tax rates—not just 1%, but potentially 2-3%.
"Time's up! Let's officially begin this meeting!"
Suddenly, a plump woman in black professional attire stood at the meeting convener's position and addressed everyone.
She was Nora, the vice president of the Trainer Association.