"Hello, I'm Yuga Sato from Cerulean City. I'm here to participate in the Gym Leader Qualification Tournament. Here's my official invitation and Trainer ID."
After finishing the Young Elite Tournament, Sato had updated his Trainer information back to his registered hometown: Cerulean City in Kanto.
"Your information has been verified. Please present the Pokémon you'll be using in the tournament," the receptionist stated formally.
Sato placed all six of his Poké Balls on the counter. The receptionist took a scanner and methodically scanned each one.
"Trainer Sato, your registration is now complete. Here are the tournament guidelines. Please review them carefully!"
"Alright, thank you!"
Sato retrieved his Poké Balls and accepted the booklet handed to him by the receptionist. The format was almost identical to that of the Young Elite Tournament.
With his registration complete, Sato walked over to Joseph, who had been waiting for him.
"Now that I'm registered, do you need me to introduce you to some League members?" Sato asked.
"No need. The person who suggested I come here for help is already at League Headquarters. I just got in contact with her."
"Joseph!"
"Ah, there she is!" Joseph turned toward the voice, speaking to Sato as he did.
Sato also turned to look and immediately recognized the girl... someone who would eventually make a name for herself.
Winona, the future Gym Leader of Fortree City in Hoenn. But for now, she was just a girl around Clair's age.
"Long time no see, Winona!"
"Long time no see! And this is…?" Winona, wearing a cap with small wing-like decorations, looked quite adorable. She turned to Joseph, asking about Sato.
"This is my friend, Trainer Sato!"
"Sato… I know you! You were a quarterfinalist in this year's Young Elite Tournament, right? You're considered the strongest rookie Trainer!" Winona touched the wing-shaped decoration on her hat as she thought for a moment, then excitedly spoke.
"Yes, nice to meet you," Sato nodded, accepting the praise.
"Wow! Can I get your autograph? I'm a fan!" Winona practically bounced with excitement, quickly pulling out a notebook and eagerly handing it to Sato.
"…"
This was the first time Sato had ever been asked for an autograph, though Winona hadn't even recognized him at first.
After a moment of thought, he neatly wrote his name at the top of the page.
"Wow, your handwriting is so neat... really nice!"
"Ahem… Winona, I actually…" Joseph, eager to get things moving, lightly interrupted Winona's excitement.
"Oh! Right! I've already told my father about your situation. He said I should bring you to see him. Don't worry, he'll help you!" Winona quickly put away the notebook and spoke with a serious tone.
"Great! Can we go now?" Joseph asked, barely containing his excitement.
"Yes, let's go!" Winona nodded but then glanced back at Sato, as if silently asking: Are you coming too?
"I'll wait in my room. I need to go over the tournament guidelines," Sato said, raising the booklet in his hand.
"Got it! I'll come find you later! Let's go, Winona!"
"Oh! Right! This way…" Winona, momentarily distracted by Joseph's enthusiasm, quickly led him away. However, she kept sneaking glances back at Sato.
More precisely, she kept eyeing the tournament booklet in his hand.
"Hey! I'll be competing alongside Sato soon! Just thinking about it makes me excited!" Winona muttered to herself.
…
Back in his room, Sato opened the tournament booklet and began reading from the beginning.
The competition rules were more or less as he had anticipated. There were five evaluation categories in total: Pokémon knowledge and expertise, City protection capabilities, Gym leadership and teaching philosophy, Political and ideological alignment and Practical combat
Each of the first four categories was worth 10 points, while Practical Combat accounted for 60 points.
The order of the evaluations was as follows:
*Pokémon knowledge and expertise
*Political and ideological alignment
*Practical Combat
*City protection capabilities
*Gym leadership and teaching philosophy
For established Gyms with official successors, their inheritors were exempt from both the Pokémon Knowledge and Gym leadership and teaching philosophy.
Additionally, the remaining three categories would be significantly adjusted in their favor.
Since Sato wasn't part of an established Gym, he had to compete in all five evaluations and earn a high ranking to qualify as a Gym Leader.
And the first event -Pokémon knowledge and expertise- was set to begin in just two days!
There was an old saying: Even a last-minute preparation is better than none. Sato wasn't arrogant enough to assume victory was guaranteed.
So, for the next two days, his plan was simple: study and review nonstop until the tournament began.
However, trouble had a way of finding him first...
"They won't send him back? What's going on?" Sato frowned, directing his question at Winona, who was standing beside Joseph.
As for Joseph himself, after hearing that the League Headquarters refused to escort him back to Kalos, he was so dejected that he didn't even feel like talking.
"My father took Joseph to speak with multiple League officials, but they all said there's no way to reach Kalos. Some of them have never even heard of the place," Winona said, her voice filled with frustration.
She had genuinely wanted to help Joseph by bringing him to the League Headquarters in Indigo Plateau, but in the end, it had been for nothing.
Sato set his book down, rubbing his nose as he thought about what to do.
Technically, airplanes had existed for quite some time, but the moment they entered the stratosphere, they risked being attacked by the legendary Pokémon: Rayquaza!
To Rayquaza, the stratosphere was its domain, and any intruder into its territory -especially one that ignored its presence- would be destroyed without hesitation!
Meanwhile, flying in the troposphere wasn't a viable alternative due to its unstable weather conditions, making long-distance flights impractical.
Because of this, airships and small aircraft were more commonly used for short-range travel.
However, none of these methods were capable of reaching Kalos.
So, it wasn't necessarily that the League officials were unwilling to help; there was a real possibility that they genuinely had no way to do so!
"Take it one step at a time. We'll figure something out eventually. I'll ask around and see if there's another way," Sato said, making an effort to comfort the disheartened Joseph. Then, he walked over to the video call station and dialed Lilian Joy.
…
"Our expansion efforts have always been tied to the Pokémon League. I do know that Kalos exists, but as for a way to get there… I'm sorry, Sato."
"It's fine, thanks for trying."
"Don't mention it. I hope you qualify as a Gym Leader! Good luck!" Lilian offered him some encouragement before ending the call.
Sato turned back to Joseph, who had been quietly listening in. Seeing Sato's expression, Joseph simply gave a small, helpless smile.
"It's fine. You have a tournament to focus on, go study! Worst case scenario, I stay here for a few more years. There's bound to be a way home eventually," Joseph said, his mood somewhat improved.
"…Yeah. It'll work out."