Pokémon: When the World Changed

Time passed very quickly and, in the blink of an eye, November arrived.

During the initial period in which Ethan had begun serving as the temporary Gym Leader, the number of challengers had been very large.

Most of those challengers came with an opportunistic mindset, thinking that a temporary Gym Leader could not be that strong.

But, little by little, as information about the Solaria Town Gym spread, most of the challengers gave up on challenging it.

Battling under sunny weather, combined with the evaluation criteria of the Solaria Town Gym, made its difficulty one of the highest among all Gyms.

In comparison, those Gyms that focused purely on one attribute were much easier to overcome.

Of course, there was also no lack of some challengers who had already obtained six or seven Badges and still went to challenge it.

In terms of strength, those challengers were truly very powerful, but even so, they discovered that, relying only on brute strength, they were not able to pass the Gym evaluation.

That Litwick seemed to have no limit whatsoever. No matter how strong they were, Litwick always managed to show strength of the same level as the opponent.

That level of control over its own strength demonstrated power far superior to what it showed on the surface, leaving all the challengers deeply shaken.

And, as people investigated more, the information that Ethan was the junior champion of the Pokémon World Championship spread everywhere without anyone needing to spread it directly.

Fortunately, challengers who wanted to challenge a Gym first had to submit an application through the Trainers Guild; otherwise, the Solaria Town Gym would have ended up completely packed with challengers.

"The junior champion of the Pokémon World Championship... I never imagined he would appear in this competition for Ironvale City's Gym qualification."

Some clubs that planned to participate in the competition for Ironvale City's Gym qualification also received that news and frowned.

"With Ethan's strength, if he participates in this competition, one of the eight spots in the quarterfinals is practically already assured."

Trainers like Lucas Silver and Lucien Foster, who knew Ethan's strength, had a great deal of confidence in him.

"He is nothing more than a junior champion. This time, the competition for Ironvale City's Gym qualification has no age limit."

"I refuse to believe that a guy who has only been a Trainer for two years can compare with veterans like us, who have been doing this for more than ten years!"

At the same time, some old experts showed total disdain and planned to personally enter the arena to test Ethan's strength.

"Originally, I wasn't planning to participate. But with the situation as it is now, if those guys also enter the competition, it seems there won't even be enough of the eight available spots."

Some veteran Trainers who originally had no intention of entering the battle also let out a long sigh.

Going from being a private club to becoming an official League Gym was equivalent to something like a crow landing on a branch and transforming into a phoenix.

With Ethan's appearance, it seemed that a certain balance had been broken, and more and more experts began participating in that competition.

"Lately, there are a huge number of people applying for Gym Leader qualification."

In the rest area of the Solaria Town Gym, the examiners were also discussing the recent events in the Trainers Guild.

"Yes, and many of the applicants are veteran Trainers too."

Another examiner replied.

"I see everyone is here. According to the notification from the Trainers Guild, we must speed up the Gym evaluation process."

At that moment, chief examiner Damian entered the room while speaking; it seemed that he had just received the notice.

"Speed up the Gym evaluation process?"

"It seems to have to do with this large number of veteran Trainers who have applied for Gym Leader qualification."

"These clubs really are ridiculous; for a mere Gym spot, they have dragged all those old Trainers into the competition."

"But everyone knows that those clubs only want Gym qualification. Once those veterans become Leaders, in the end, they will only put their name there and nothing more."

The examiners began commenting among themselves. Looking at it in the long term, that was not a good sign at all.

"There is nothing to be done. These are rules jointly promoted by the Pokémon Clubs Guild and the Trainers Guild. Those clubs were created from the start for profit, and furthermore, behind them there are powerful families involved in the matter; everything is a mess."

Another examiner added. That was very different from the original intention with which Gyms had been created.

"That is no longer something we need to worry about. As examiners, the only thing we have to do is properly fulfill our work. And besides, even if those Gyms change Leaders, they will still have to undergo our annual end-of-year evaluation."

"If they do not pass that annual evaluation, their Gym qualification will also be withdrawn!" examiner Damian said. Then he changed the subject: "I think Ethan's evaluation for Gym Leader qualification can almost be considered concluded."

Hearing the chief examiner's words, several examiners exchanged glances.

"Judging from his current score, it is truly quite a good result."

"Yes, that is true, it is very good. It is hard to imagine that he is a young man of only 20 years old."

Examiner Damian showed a rare smile and, at the same time, reached the conclusion that Ethan had passed the evaluation.

...

"Litwick, you have worked hard all this time."

After learning that he had already obtained Gym Leader qualification, Ethan also let out a sigh of relief.

"Littwwiikk!"

"Littwwiikk!"

Litwick let out a couple of happy cries.

"Charrzz!"

"Magmortt!"

"Cac!"

At one side, Charizard, Cacturne, and Magmortar also cried out happily.

"You three... In this Gym evaluation, the truth is that you barely had anything to do."

Seeing that those three Pokémon were also showing an expression of relief, Ethan's face was covered with black lines.

During this time, Charizard, Cacturne, and Magmortar had also entered battle a few times. But those three clearly were not good at acting and, moreover, could not stand allowing themselves to be defeated by opponents weaker than them, which had given Ethan quite a few headaches.

In comparison, Litwick's acting ability had improved by leaps and bounds during this time. And, furthermore, as a Ghost-type Pokémon, mischievous and playful by nature, it had treated the battles completely as if they were a game and had enjoyed itself greatly.

"But things cannot continue like this. This time it was a Gym evaluation, so I could still adopt a 1-on-1 format. But when the Gym truly opens, aside from Litwick, I will also need a few Pokémon capable of holding the situation."

Ethan massaged his head with some concern. Charizard and the other three were somewhat unreliable; he felt that he would have to raise some additional Gym Pokémon.

However, since it was a Gym whose core was sunny weather, those Gym Pokémon would necessarily have to know how to use the move Sunny Day.

Only in that way could he remain faithful to the Gym's core. Otherwise, his score in the annual end-of-year evaluation would not be good at all, and there was even the possibility that his qualification would be directly withdrawn.

In addition, the occupation of Gym Leader consumed too much time. In every battle, one had to adjust the level according to the challenger, let go a little or hold back depending on the case, answer certain basic questions about the battle when necessary, and at the same time be prepared at any moment to receive new challengers without stopping. It really was work that demanded an enormous amount of energy.

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