"It seems that when we return, it will be necessary to begin the reform from the local levels," Cain said thoughtfully, as if speaking to himself, but also as if saying it to Steven and the others.
Steven, in contrast, nodded with an approving expression.
The matter of Pacifidlog Town could be considered finished.
...
For a long period afterward, the entire Pokémon world slowly became chaotic.
Only a small portion of people could see clearly that the origin of all this chaos came from the Kanto and Johto regions, that is, the former great Kanto region.
The Team Rocket there officially began to challenge the authority of the League.
For a time, the Kanto and Johto regions, originally the most prosperous and economically developed areas under the jurisdiction of the entire League, became the most chaotic point in the whole Pokémon world.
In almost every city and town, battles between the League and Team Rocket occurred every day.
The only fortunate thing was that, under the League's intentional restraint, most of the clashes did not happen in the commercial areas of the cities. Because of that, they did not cause too much destruction. But if this continued for longer, it was unknown whether the League would still have the ability to contain it.
The inhabitants of the Kanto and Johto regions also felt increasingly insecure.
Not only in Johto; other regions also became less safe because of this great turmoil affecting the entire Pokémon world.
Among all those regions, the Hoenn region could be considered a relatively quiet and safe place. For the inhabitants of that region, this could be said to be a fortune.
And the inhabitants of Hoenn attributed all of this to the Champion of their region: Cain!
After finishing the Pacifidlog Town incident, Cain immediately convened the highest-level meeting of the Hoenn League. At the same time, this was the first time he had convened such an important meeting.
The content of this meeting was very simple: through investigation, he quantified the League's defensive strength in every city and town of the entire Hoenn region, as well as the strength of the Gym Leaders and their respective forces, presenting it before the League's high-ranking officials.
In some relatively large cities, that is, those fairly famous cities of the Hoenn region, the strength of the Gym Leaders was still quite good, headed by Norman of Petalburg City.
But even so, in the end, there were still some deficiencies. Including certain large cities, although the main problem lay in some small towns, where the strength of the Gym Leaders was still insufficient. Even in some specific towns, after investigation, it was discovered that their Gym Leaders only had Advanced-level strength.
In other eras, perhaps it could be overlooked, but in a period like this, without a doubt, they would become breaking points for the underground forces.
Although the identities of these Gym Leaders had come through relatively formal channels, to a greater or lesser extent, they had still passed through some family connections and nepotism.
Because of that, under Cain's direction, a large-scale personnel mobilization in these Gyms was prepared.
At the same time, in order to promote the overall development of strength throughout the Hoenn region and respond to the current environment, Cain decided to hold a large-scale League Competition across the entire Hoenn region.
It was different from the competitions the Hoenn League had held in the past.
Although the Hoenn League held one or two competitions almost every year to promote the motivation of Trainers throughout the region and improve their strength, and although after these competitions ended, those who obtained good placements could receive fairly good prizes, this time was different.
The competition organized under Cain's insistence had a very high entry threshold. Most Trainers were not qualified to participate, because the strength requirements were very high.
But, correspondingly, the rewards of this competition were also very special.
Whoever obtained the championship could establish their own Gym in any city or town throughout the Hoenn region that still did not have a Gym.
All resources necessary to establish the Gym would be fully assumed by the League. In addition, the operating funds for the first three years of the Gym would be provided unconditionally, until it could operate stably and independently.
Besides the champion, the runner-up and third place would have an opportunity to challenge an existing Gym Leader. As long as, under the League's certification, they managed to challenge them successfully, they would obtain the qualification to directly replace the original Leader of that Gym and become the new League-certified Gym Leader of that area.
When this information had just been published by the Hoenn League, all Trainers from every region of the Pokémon world felt that the Hoenn League had gone crazy.
Because in this information, the only requirement for participants was strength. There was nothing else.
In other words, as long as your strength met the standard, even if you had been born a commoner, you would also have the qualification to participate.
Even many frustrated Trainers without opportunities could take advantage of this occasion to soar to the sky in a single leap.
Gym Leader!
What concept was that?
To a certain extent, this could already be considered an existence similar to a great territorial official.
A true direct member of the League, and moreover, someone capable of coming into contact with the League's true high-ranking officials.
Currently, wanting to open a Gym in the Hoenn region was not something that could be accomplished with strength alone. It was also necessary to have the support and help of high-ranking officials within the Hoenn League. Back then, Cain had taken advantage of the influence of his master, Matsuda Takashi, within the League to be able to open a Gym in a town as remote as Leafy Town.
For other people, it was basically impossible.
Because of that, one could imagine what enormous shock the publication of this policy would cause.
(End of chapter)