Although they might not reach Elite Class before May Day and break the world record, they should still have been able to manage it sometime in May.
But now, it looked as though they would need several more months.
Their Starter Pokémon and second Pokémon were both quite strong, generally around mid Elite Class.
But their third Pokémon and those that followed lagged far behind. Going from mid Entry Class to Elite Class was not something they could accomplish in a month or two.
Unless they relied on the power of evolution to break through. But doing so would diminish their Pokémon's potential somewhat, making it far less preferable to evolving after the breakthrough.
Ultimately, this was also a consequence of the approach many Freshman Year students took to raising their Pokémon.
After receiving their Starter Pokémon, they naturally devoted all their efforts to raising it, then began preparing for a second Pokémon after enrolling.
At that point, the financial pressure of raising two Pokémon forced them to slow down temporarily and focus on those two.
Even Pokémon Trainers who had a third Pokémon struggled to give it attention under the heavy burden of coursework and training, creating a temporary gap in strength among their Pokémon.
This situation would only begin to improve once their first two Pokémon truly reached Elite Class.
By then, the Pokémon Trainers were strong enough to obtain resources from Secret Realms and the wilderness, raise more Pokémon, and enter a period of rapid growth.
This approach was common not only abroad, but at home as well. The difference was that their own country invested more heavily in nurturing the Awakened, even sparing no expense.
As a result, the Awakened at home never lacked resources. Even a genuinely poor Pokémon Trainer like Bai Tingjiao merely couldn't