National Pokémon League (Please Follow)

"You don't know about the perks of being first in the whole school?" Qian Kaile asked.

"I don't. I used to be dead last, so why would I care about being first in the whole school? If I said it out loud, people would think a toad wanted to eat swan meat," Shu Tong said.

"Aren't you about to eat it now?" Qian Kaile said.

Shu Tong felt that there was something off about what Qian Kaile had said.

"Our school has five guaranteed university admission slots. As long as you get into university, you can obtain a Professional Trainer license. The school's rule is that whoever ranks first in the end-of-month battle summary gets one of those guaranteed admission slots," Qian Kaile said.

"Guaranteed admission to which university?" Shu Tong asked.

"Which university you can attend still depends on your college entrance exam score," Qian Kaile said.

"Then what the hell is the point?" Shu Tong complained.

"There is a point. If you get that slot, the Trainers Association will recognize that you're going to become a Professional Trainer and grant you the right to carry a second Pokémon early. You just can't use it in official assessment battles. I've wanted a second Pokémon for ages, but I never had the chance. It's so frustrating," Qian Kaile said.

"A second Pokémon?" Shu Tong suddenly found himself longing for one.

If his finances allowed it, it really was time to consider getting a second Pokémon. Besides, Qian Kaile provided food for free. The sooner he got a second Pokémon, the sooner he could mooch off Qian Kaile.

"So? Tempted?" Qian Kaile asked.

"Where can I get a Munchlax?"

"Holy shit!"

The battles continued until nightfall, and the class's top ten were finally decided. The top ten could participate in tomorrow's schoolwide end-of-month battle assessment.

As first place, Shu Tong would enter the top thirty-two directly as a seeded contestant. There were fifteen classes in total, with each class's first-place student serving as a seeded contestant while everyone else competed for the remaining seventeen top-thirty-two spots.

Wu Hongzhen's Persian and Cheng Du's Ponyta had both been badly poisoned and would need at least two days to recover. They could only forfeit tomorrow's matches.

It seemed that Persian would be unable to use Pickup to collect the Hondew Berries in South City Woods three days from now. Shu Tong would have to go claim them himself.

That night, Qian Kaile threw a celebratory banquet. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, the trio from last night, were there as well.

After Shu Tong arrived at the restaurant's private room,

Zhang Fei hurried over and said, "Shu Tong, hurry up and let out your Weedle so I can see it."

"I was planning to let it eat with us anyway." As he spoke, Shu Tong released Weedle.

Zhang Fei immediately took a selfie with Weedle.

"Me too, me too." Liu Bei and Guan Yu crowded over as well.

"What are you doing?" Shu Tong asked.

"You don't know yet? Your Weedle is famous. Someone from your class recorded your battle this afternoon and uploaded it to the Unown Live-Streaming Platform. It's caused quite a stir. I'm just here to ride the wave," Zhang Fei said.

Shu Tong quietly opened his Unown Live-Streaming Platform account and was shocked to find over ninety-nine unread private messages.

"Damn." Shu Tong was a little unaccustomed to it.

But then he thought, Maybe I can use this wave of attention to put out my analysis of the Run Away Ability.

"We were originally planning to help you trim away some of Wu Hongzhen's branches, but you went ahead and took Wu Hongzhen out directly. That was really clean and decisive," Guan Yu said.

"Wu Hongzhen definitely won't be able to participate in tomorrow's schoolwide battles. As for the people in his group, injure as many of them as possible. At the very least, make them understand that following Wu Hongzhen won't lead to anything good," Shu Tong said.

"Don't worry. Other than a few who are about as strong as us, most of them are no match for us. I've already analyzed their list and strengths. I'll send it to the group chat," Liu Bei said.

Shu Tong skimmed through the list and gained a rough impression of them.

Then Shu Tong asked Qian Kaile, "I heard Liu Bei and the others say that your Makuhita came from the National Research Institute?"

"Yeah. Why?" Qian Kaile asked.

"The National Research Institute's main personnel are researchers and breeders, right?" Shu Tong said.

Liu Bei said, "That's right. Under the National Pokémon League, there are three main organizations: the Trainers Association, the National Research Institute, and the Pokémon Corps. The Trainers Association is the nation's face to the world and mainly emphasizes a Trainer's individual ability.

"The Pokémon Corps, on the other hand, is the country's primary strategic force operating in the shadows. It emphasizes coordinated Pokémon combat and excels most at large-scale, siege-and-conquest warfare.

"As for the National Research Institute, it provides technological research and logistical support. Local research institutes, Pokémon Nurseries, and Pokémon hospitals all fall under its jurisdiction."

Guan Yu continued, "The Trainers Association handles Trainer advancement assessments, evaluations, and certificate issuance. But a Trainer's rank is only a symbol of status; the government won't just give you money. You can only earn prize money through competitions. If you want a stable position, you'll need to join organizations under the Trainers Association, such as the Rangers, Inspectors, Fire Department, or Stability Maintenance Squad."

"Of course, some Trainers also join the Pokémon Corps. But the Corps doesn't use the whole Professional Trainer rank system. The Corps is a military force, so it has military ranks. Naturally, Professional Trainer ranks correspond to equivalent military ranks," Liu Bei added.

Shu Tong actually had his own understanding of the Trainers Association and the Pokémon Corps. Professions that needed to face the public generally fell under the Trainers Association.

The Pokémon Corps placed greater emphasis on state secrets. Its members underwent unified training in major military districts, and positions within it corresponded to military ranks.

The Trainers Association used ranks and also had corresponding political positions. For example, the president of a city-level Trainers Association held an official rank equal to that of a mayor, beneath the city's top official.

"You explained all that in great detail, but what I want to ask is how to obtain Pokémon from the National Research Institute," Shu Tong said.

"Ah..." Liu Bei and Guan Yu looked embarrassed. Then they said, "You'll have to ask Rich Qian."

"Points," Qian Kaile said.

"Points?"

"Yes. As long as you do something that contributes to the country or advances Pokémon research, you'll receive points. My dad earned points by donating two Hope Primary Schools, and that was how I got to claim Makuhita from the research institute in Jinling, Su Province," Qian Kaile said.

Shu Tong and the others laughed awkwardly. Donating two Hope Primary Schools? A true big shot. Not someone we can afford to offend.

Still, this gave Shu Tong a direction. He no longer needed to submit some of his ideas to private companies. At most, they would pay him a manuscript fee, and since their goal was profit, they would definitely find ways to buy out his patents.

The National Research Institute was different. Although it did not offer manuscript fees, it offered points. By accumulating points, he could obtain high-quality Pokémon, which was far better than getting a little manuscript fee directly.

When Shu Tong returned home that night, he registered a verified account on the National Research Institute's official website.

Anyone interested could join the QQ group: 693721996