Liliana and Mayor Ishida had pinned their hopes on a recent development in the Pokémon League, which was the opening of Gym Leader positions.
Gym Leaders in various cities were considered one of the most important branches of the Pokémon League, and the League paid great attention to them. Consequently, regular audits were conducted, and any Gym that failed the audit would be disbanded.
Each year, various Gyms, large and small, declined for various reasons. To maintain a balance in the number of Gyms, the League periodically allocated positions for establishing new Gyms.
naturally, these positions weren't handed out lightly to any town. Towns seeking these positions needed to apply and then participate in the Gym Leader position competition. Only after achieving a certain ranking could they earn the right to establish a Gym.
However, not just anyone could represent their town in the competition.
First and foremost, they had to be a Trainer; this was the most fundamental requirement. Secondly, their family history had to be squeaky clean, with no criminal records within the past five generations in both the paternal and maternal lines. Additionally, they needed to hold local town citizenship, meaning they had to be locals. Lastly, they required joint recommendations from the local Mayor and the police department.
Meeting a few of these conditions was easy, but meeting them all was quite challenging for most individuals. Being a Trainer was relatively straightforward, as was having local citizenship. Having an untarnished family history wasn't too rare either. However, having no criminal records within the paternal and maternal lines for five generations was a rare feat.
Calculating based on one generation every twenty years, that meant your family had to have a clean record for at least one hundred years. Even if people in the Pokémon world married relatively early, assuming one generation every fifteen years, that would still require seventy-five years without a single family member committing a crime.
Many people themselves were upright and honest, but they couldn't vouch for their ancestors.
However, there were exceptions. The League's Merit Points could clear criminal records from deceased ancestors, but this only applied to your ancestors and couldn't cleanse your own record. Moreover, it couldn't erase major crimes.
Apart from the family history issue, gaining recognition from both the Mayor (or Town Mayor) and the police department wasn't easy either. Gym Leaders held crucial positions in towns, so they wouldn't simply entrust the role to an unreliable person.
Coincidentally, Yuga met all these conditions.
Yuga was an accomplished Trainer, a native of Verdanturf Town, and had a spotless family history. Going back even further, his ancestors were honored heroes of the League. Although most people had forgotten, the League's archives still held records of their accomplishments.
The last condition was easy for Yuga as well. He had a close relationship with Liliana, making it easy to secure a recommendation from her. As for Mayor Ishida, who had served in Verdanturf Town for decades and had witnessed the Gym Leader competition being held year after year without success, he had initially given up. However, Liliana approached him and recommended Yuga.
Despite differences in their age and perspectives, their common goal was to develop Verdanturf Town. Thus, this visit to YoYo Day Care took place.
Mayor Ishida had learned about Yuga's accomplishments and heard of his abilities from Liliana, which left him highly impressed.
After listening to Liliana's explanation of the reason for her and Mayor Ishida's visit, Yuga furrowed his brows.
Ever since he bound with the system, he had considered running YoYo Day Care as his primary mission and had never contemplated getting involved in anything else. Even his role as a Trainer was more of a part-time commitment.
Now, the proposition of competing for a Gym Leader position left Yuga perplexed. Could he wholeheartedly develop YoYo Day Care after becoming a Gym Leader?
Seeing Yuga's furrowed brows, Liliana and Mayor Ishida found it strange.
Becoming a Gym Trainer wasn't an extremely honorable thing to do? For anyone, it should be beneficial without harm! Why was Yuga hesitating?
Just as Yuga was deep in thought, the voice of the system echoed in his mind.
[ Congratulations, Host, on triggering the task: Complementing Each Other. ]
[ Task Name: Complementing Each Other. ]
[ Description: The Host and YoYo Day Care are intertwined; YoYo Day Care is the Host's backing, and the Host's achievements can elevate YoYo Day Care's reputation. Therefore, the Host should strive to make a name for themselves. ]
[ Reward: Eligibility to open two Sub-Ecoparks of your choice. ]
The system's task description suddenly cleared Yuga's mind.
Yes, if he could become famous in the Pokémon world, it would elevate YoYo Day Care's reputation as well. A Gym Leader was undoubtedly one of the most famous figures in any town, and their position in the League was significant. Once he became a Gym Leader, the fame of YoYo Day Care could spread more widely through Yuga's status as a Gym Trainer. Additionally, anyone with ill intentions toward YoYo Day Care would think twice.
Furthermore, the rewards for this task were exceptionally generous. It offered eligibility to open two Sub-Ecoparks, which was unprecedented. This tempting reward made Yuga agree to Liliana and Mayor Ishida.
Yuga said, "I promise to participate in the competition."
At the very least, Yuga could tell that Mayor Ishida was genuinely dedicated to developing Verdanturf Town. Otherwise, he wouldn't have worked diligently year after year for decades and even humbled himself to ask a younger generation like Yuga for help.
Although Yuga had never met this Mayor before, he had also never heard a single bad word about him from his neighbors. This indicated that the Mayor wasn't just commendable; at the very least, he was without fault.
"Excellent!" Hearing Yuga's agreement, both Liliana and Mayor Ishida displayed expressions of joy. When Yuga furrowed his brows earlier, they had begun to worry that he might refuse the proposition.