Slateport City (Quarter Hour Revision)

Asakawa Chinatsu fell silent.

Look, did he seem like he knew about this?

"Does the Qualification Tournament refer to the qualifications for an official Gym?"

Asakawa Chinatsu still wanted to struggle a little.

"Yes."

What a pity.

Tetsuya's brief answer made her body involuntarily lean back slightly.

An indescribable expression appeared on her face. "I've been out in the wilderness for a period of time recently, so I didn't know you were involved too."

Tetsuya nodded as if he had suddenly realized something.

Indeed, for Trainers, this sort of situation was perfectly normal.

There were often people who spent years exploring signal-less wilderness areas, to the point that the first thing they did upon returning to human society was frantically go online to look up all kinds of information and materials.

However.

If he had heard correctly, Asakawa Chinatsu had said "involved too," right?

Facing Tetsuya's probing gaze.

Asakawa Chinatsu nodded wordlessly.

Yes, just as you thought.

A major reason she had returned to Hoenn at this time was that the Hoenn Alliance had invited her to become the Gym Leader of one of its official Gyms.

That was not hard to deduce.

The number of Elite Four Level Trainers in any given region was limited.

Except for those who were fiercely independent and spent all day appearing and disappearing without a trace, or those unable to serve as Gym Leaders for various reasons—such as being too old, holding positions in other departments, or even settling in another region.

The remaining Elite Four Level Trainers could be counted on one's fingers.

As a Direct Lineage Trainer of Hoenn, it was absolutely impossible for Asakawa Chinatsu not to participate in something like the Gym Qualification Tournament.

The position of an official Gym Leader was still highly attractive.

Beyond proving one's strength,