Amid the stares of students young and old, Heiduo was led onto the field by the middle-aged principal, whose hair was graying but whose posture was straight and whose health clearly looked excellent.
The principal was named Sui Zhong. He was about fifty-five this year, roughly one of the earliest batch of Top Trainers.
His strength was fairly decent, and the Slowking by his side was level seventy-five.
He had previously held a position in the Pokémon Association, only retiring to Millennium Town in recent years to become the principal of the Trainer School.
He had apparently planned to retire, though nobody knew why he had agreed to become principal.
Still, he had never competed with Heiduo for the position of Gym Leader, so he was probably someone who preferred to stay out of worldly disputes.
Fifty-five was actually a little early for retirement.
Based on the average lifespan in this world, men generally lived past ninety, while women living beyond a hundred was nothing unusual.
Declining physical condition?
For Trainers, declining health really was fatal. Things like farsightedness and high blood pressure could let younger opponents grind veteran masters into the dirt.
Comparatively speaking, Agatha and Pryce did not have so many problems. Their legs were merely inconvenient—one used a cane, while the other sat in a wheelchair.
They could barely be considered fortunate.
The truly pitiable ones were those with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. If they could not handle excitement, stepping into battle again might make them drop dead on the spot.
Fortunately, with Heiduo's current physique, his condition would not decline too much even when he was in his fifties or sixties.
Who knew? Once he passed a hundred, perhaps extending his lifespan would not be impossible.
Forget immortality. In the Pokémon