The International Police Academy Kanto Branch, or Kanto Branch for short, was established in Vermilion City in the southern Kanto Region under the Kanto League's arrangements. Gongping and Agatha packed their things and set off the next day.
Vermilion City, also known as the Vermilion Archipelago, consisted of the large main island, Cinnabar Island, and dozens of scattered islands surrounding it, together forming the complete Vermilion Archipelago.
Focused primarily on tourism development, the Vermilion Archipelago blazed with lights day and night. Agatha and Gongping rode a massive airship as it slowly descended onto Vermilion Main Island.
The Indigo League had yet to end, but the two Kings had hurried to Vermilion City overnight. The entire process of establishing the academy was tightly scheduled. Admission notices had already been sent to a large number of applicants who had passed the initial online screening. Besides the principal and vice principal, hiring teachers for the academy was another very important issue.
The urban area on Vermilion Main Island was built around the mountain. The Kanto Branch campus had originally been a local private residence before the Pokémon League requisitioned it and converted it into a campus. Although it was a private residence, it occupied an enormous area. Compared with ordinary Pokémon Schools, this Kanto Branch looked like a luxurious aristocratic academy even at a cursory glance from outside.
Gongping leafed through a list containing more than a dozen Trainers who had been famous in the Kanto Region for years, but he soon rejected them, because hiring Trainers alone would not solve any problems.
"None of the Trainers here seem to be as strong as you or me. Rather than spend all that money hiring them to teach a bunch of miscellaneous things, we'd be better off restructuring the curriculum and finding genuinely capable teachers."
Agatha sipped her tea and regarded Gongping with some curiosity. "Oh?"
Gongping marked out some basic courses and listed the teachers they would need to hire for certain specialist fields. His categories mainly included basic studies, biology, language arts, history, mathematics, languages, chemistry, physics, battling, and wilderness survival.
Some of the courses seemed to cover things only specialists needed to learn. Hiring a few Trainers had not seemed particularly expensive, but switching to other types of teachers would change the costs.
"This curriculum seems rather packed."
Several dozen subjects filled the five-year curriculum. Under the Pokémon League's requirements, every graduating student had to achieve excellent marks in over eighty percent of the courses, or they would not receive a diploma.
"I'll personally teach chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computing, which will save us some money. For history and literature, I think Professor Oak would be qualified. Agatha, you seem to be on fairly good terms with him..."
Gongping confidently tinkered with these arrangements, leaving Agatha a little worried about the children's futures...
"You're also letting them travel? Giving them two months of vacation every year?"
"Yes, but they'll have to earn eight Badges within those two months to pass."
During their two-month outdoor vacation, they would also travel as Trainers through the various regions assigned to them by the Pokémon League, and they had to defeat eight of the designated Gyms and earn their Badges.
As for regional tournaments, Gongping imposed no mandatory requirements. However, earning eight Badges only counted as a passing grade, meaning that if they wanted better marks, they would have to achieve better results in the regional tournaments.
The vacation assignment Gongping proposed made Agatha's eyes light up. "Yes, competing in regional tournaments during their vacation will give them better opportunities to hone themselves through regional travel in addition to studying."
The selection of many of the Pokémon League's grassroots staff followed two routes. One was to enter a school through a family recommendation, study for a few years, and start working after graduation. The other was to follow the regional tournament and Champion Conference route, as Liu Ping and Gongping had, fighting through regional tournaments and Champion Conferences again and again before finally becoming part of the Pokémon League's middle management.
Gongping's position as a Regional King placed him at the pinnacle of middle management. Besides being a Regional King, Gongping held another position, just like Silph Co. director Giovanni: both were members of the Kanto League's Supreme Council.
Above them was Champion Leader Lance, whose other official position was as a member of the Pokémon League's General Council.
Apart from the Regional Kings, most past regional tournament winners and Trainers who distinguished themselves in the Champion Conference held management positions in the Pokémon League's various departments. For instance, Gongping's former rival Liu Ping was also on the Kanto Branch's teaching candidate list this time. According to Agatha, after he spent a few more years honing himself at headquarters, he would inevitably be assigned to a city to establish its local Gym.
Of course, because Gongping needed more technical specialists of other kinds, he crossed Liu Ping off the list...
Over the years, these Gym Leaders would establish families of some size in their local areas, and their descendants would either inherit the Gyms or join the Pokémon League as ordinary staff.
The Kanto Branch's first group of students would mainly be selected through online applications and internal Pokémon League recommendations, but Gongping had already prepared a vast amount of schoolwork for them during recruitment.
Gongping had many ideas, and he put forward his plans one by one. Apart from the courses, vacations, and enormous number of exams, he also had his own reward measures.
"I'd like to bring in a batch of Starter Pokémon from other regions, let each student freely choose one, and provide them with the latest-generation Pokémon League Pokédex, so neither their studies nor their travels suffer."
Watching Gongping like this made Agatha's head spin a little, but she still cautioned him, "I'll leave these practical arrangements to you. But don't devote too much energy to this school. After all, there's other work you need to finish."
The Gym assessment assignment was equally serious. Every Gym Gongping would be assessing next had a tangled web of local connections. The Pokémon League hoped to use him to light a fire that could change the current lackluster state of the Kanto Region's Trainers.
"There's about a week left before the entrance ceremony, and recruiting these teachers will still take some time. There are also a few other problems."
Hearing that Gongping had more ideas left Agatha feeling rather lightheaded. Still, as a senior who fully intended to delegate authority to the Sandstorm King, she remained very patient. "Go ahead."
Although Vermilion City was fairly substantial, it was mainly built below the plateau, around the mountain. The campus, however, stood atop the plateau and seemed somewhat isolated from the world, so Gongping's first concern was the area around it.
"I need to build a brand-new, large Pokémon Center. Cinnabar Island's Pokémon Center simply can't support the huge number of Trainers we'll have here."
Under Gongping's plans, these students would all become super Trainers with well-rounded moral, intellectual, and physical development. The number of Pokémon they caught would grow ever larger over the five years. Building a new Pokémon Center here would allow them to establish a dedicated breeding area, just like the one in Pallet Town, making it easier for the children to deepen their communication with their Pokémon.
The matter of the new Pokémon Center seemed like something they could resolve by discussing it with Lorelei. After a moment's thought, Agatha agreed. "And the second thing?"
"Attracting investment... because after these changes I'm making, it looks like we won't have much money left."
So you do know how much you love making work for yourself?
Agatha had run many schools, so she naturally understood the difference between a traditional Pokémon education academy and the school Gongping was describing. The funding required might well approach an astronomical amount.
"You can handle all of that yourself."
If you love making work so much, do it yourself. At my age, I just want to work properly for a while longer, get a decent evaluation, and retire.
Before you continue