40 What it means to be a Trainer
"A Trainer? How does that help the Sniebel?", Arthur asked astounded.
"Yes, a Trainer! You could become a Pokemon Trainer registered at the Pokemon Trainer Association, become a world-wide acknowledged expert in your field of choice and use your resources to train your Sniebel back into the right shape!", she explained to him.
"I can help the Sniebel ... by myself?", Arthur still wasn't sure what she was talking about, wasn't he just a little kid, what resources was she talking about?
"Haha, I am sorry, I guess you haven't heard about what it means to be a Trainer, right?", Daisy asked nicely.
Arthur nodded shyly. He only knew what Trainers looked like from the media and games and ... not much else. It was every child's dream to become a Trainer, but he never really questioned what it meant to become a Trainer itself.
"Well, for starters, let's talk about the academy. The Pokemon Trainer Academy is a centralised institution administered and supervised by several governmental bodies of Kanto together with the Pokemon Trainer Association. It is a given when you consider that every elected governmental official needs to have certain qualifications as well as experiences as a Pokemon Trainer.
Of course this doesn't mean that every Pokemon Trainer is an official haha. Instead they are part of the executive force that keeps Kanto stable and maintains peace in various ways.
Other regions or countries have a dual governmental system, where one part takes care of human related affairs and the other of the Pokemon related ones. While this might have worked in the past, nowadays the relationship and importance of Pokemon in human society has become exceedingly interlinked with each other, so much so that the dual system was replaced in Kanto in favour of the mixed administration.
Well ... after a certain event ...", she glanced over at Blue saddened,
"... it also became clear that Pokemon became a sort of Power that countries needed more control of ... sigh... all in all, the importance of the Pokemon governmental side grew more and more with time, so much so that they took over more and more responsibilities from the human governmental side."
"But what does this have to do with the Trainer Academy?", asked Arthur curiously.
"Ahh yes, however, this shift to the new system also meant that every higher ranking official needed to have a certain amount of experience in dealings with Pokemon which resulted in a higher demand for qualified and skilled professionals.
Therefore, out of convenience and practicality, it became a rule and requirement to go through the Pokemon Trainer Academy education programs.", Daisy elaborated further.
"Haha, you know, in the past, the title 'Pokemon Trainer' was just a nice name and card you could show to your friends and family. You could then go on adventures and try your luck in the wilderness. Nearly anyone could become a Pokemon Trainer and the 'Academy' was less professional and more like a normal school.
People called it the 'Golden Age of Pokemon Trainers' sighhhh, but today it has become much more glorified and kind of an honor to become a Pokemon Trainer. The standards have become higher, the regulations stricter and the fees higher. Not everyone is able to meet the necessary requirements.", Blue took over.
"H?? I saw mum with her Glameow, isn't she also a Pokemon Trainer?", Arthur wondered.
"What? Haha, Arthur no, I don't mean to make fun of you.", Daisy chuckled for a bit, she was in a good mood today, though Arthur was still confused as to why. Wasn't everyone who possessed a Pokemon supposed to be a Trainer? She continued:
"Just because someone has Pokemon, doesn't make that person automatically a Trainer. That might have worked in the past were not many people cared about this, but today a Pokemon Trainer is a real profession!
They clear missions, pioneer through new territories, protect the population from natural catastrophes and strive to become stronger with their Pokemon in their specific fields of expertise. You can also see it as a sort of transitioning or stepping stone for your future career.
Many professions can only be carried out by skilled and experienced Pokemon Trainers. They have more freedom in their scope of action regarding Pokemon affairs or usage than normal citizens.
However, the right to own Pokemon is completely independent from the profession of a Pokemon Trainer. This right is a fundamental law anchored in our constitution, of course in concord with all the other laws haha.
You can imagine it like this, our society is made up many different groups of people who need to maintain our region e.g. lawyers, doctors, bankers, salesman, teachers, construction workers ... etc. But not all of these people really need a professional Pokemon Trainer license to study or carry out their jobs. They have their own universities and education facilities.
In contrast, police officers, field-researchers, rangers, gym-leaders, Pokemon hunters, Disaster fighters, the military ... etc. all these professions need to have a great foundation and education in handling Pokemon!
A real Pokemon Trainer by our current world's standards needs to frequently battle Pokemon, maintain peace and order in urban areas for the safety of the population, and help the government enact laws and prosper!
And to come back to our intial problem, Pokemon Trainees who study in the academy receive a lot of resources that help them grow and become stronger, it's natural, they are the future foundations of a region after all!
I am not allowed to go into much detail but it would be possible for you to help your Sniebel recover if you became a Trainee and gained access to the resources the academy provides to its students.
By making yourselves stronger, your Pokemon indirectly benefits as well-"
"I think that's enough Daisy.", Blue cut her off and ignored his sister's angry stares,
"I am sorry Arthur but there is only so much we can tell you, a regular citizen of the region. There are certain secrets that the public just shouldn't know about too much, to maintain the peace, do you understand?", he smiled at him warmly.
"You mean ... Infinity Force?", Arthur had an idea about what Blue was talking about. He had seen a lot of weird stuff already by watching Blue and Gary in the past couple of days. Infinity Force, this strange power that appeared around them sometimes should be the link to all this.
"Yes *sigh*", he threw annoyed looks at Gary,
"I heard my little brother irresponsibly told you about this already. Listen Arthur, the knowledge about Infinity Force is quite a secret because it is a power that can harm people when used by wrong inexperienced hands. That's why every Trainer needs to sign a confidential agreement to not disclose any of this to a third uninvolved party!
That doesn't mean that nothing has ever leaked out or that the public is unaware of it, on the contrary, Pokemon Tournaments, Pokemon Trainer Mixed Martial Arts fights and other contests frequently showcase the usage of Infinity Force for the broad public audience.
They know it's dangerous and that only Pokemon Trainers are qualified enough to handle this power but still, better safe than sorry! Besides, there is a multitude of secret organisations that take care of such leaked scandals and involved parties always get punished heavily!
Actually, this works in favour of the image that Pokemon Trainers have built up in people's minds and increases their popularity as well as prestige which then causes a rise in application for the academy - a good marketing strategy.
Just saying Arthur, keep the stuff my brother illegaly told you deep into your pockets, ok?"
"Ok *gulp*, I understand Blue!", Arthur answered a bit startled. he didn't know it would turn out to be such a big thing.
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(A/N: This will be a bit longer, so you can skip this if you want. I struggled a little with the idea of powers for humans in the PW. On the one hand they couldn't be too wide-spread or otherwise peace would be endangered if any random nobody/thug could gain access to superpowers in addition to using Pokemon, terror attacks would be more frequent I guess.
On the other hand it just felt unrealistic to me that people didn't know there were superpowers that Trainers or some people could use. It surely would have leaked out at some point in time, thanks to globalisation. Even if in the beginning governments could cover this up by supression of information, people's awareness would still gradually rise up until everybody somehow knows.
So I just made it public but restricted to only a small group of people, the Trainers or those with a Trainer license, who gain extensive knowledge and resources in this field. Which doesn't mean that bad guys don't have anything to show ... but that's another topic ;)
It's similar to how in 'My Hero Academia' almost all have superpowers, but only the 'Heroes' have legal permission to use those powers in public.
-End)
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"Good, I appreciate this Arthur. I as a Gym Leader have an important role to fulfill, including maintaining secrets secret.
On a side note ...", Blue looked a little nervous now,
"If I were you Arthur ... I wouldn't really go and become a Trainer!", he told Arthur uneasily.
"Why?", it was as if a hammer had hit his head. Why would the Gym Leader of Viridian City tell him he shouldn't become a Pokemon Trainer?
"If it's about your Sniebel Arthur, I might have other ways for you to procure you a Top Grade Potion, you would just need to stay a little patient. As to why, well ... Gary also told me you had practised the breathing method with him ... and that the results weren't that good ...", Blue's face was a bit worried now.
"Is it necessary to ... have a good grasp over this Force to become a Trainer ...?", Arthur's mind slowly connected the dots together and formed a speculation.
"Yes, that's exactly the reason.", Blue felt grateful that Arthur got his point without needing his explanation,
"Arthur, Pokemon Trainers don't have an easy job. It's actually quite dangerous and could make you lose your life! Without sufficient strength to protect yourself first it's just impossible to protect others. It's not enough to have a good control over Pokemon, a Trainer who can't survive without his Pokemon is not a real Trainer! Remember this.
Even if you got into the academy through other methods it wouldn't make your path as a Trainer smoother without a talent to use Infinity Force properly, at least I as a Gym Leader can't support you in this!", Blue looked towards Gary and said to him,
"And neither will you!"
"*Snort*", was the only response Gary had. He didn't look happy being ordered around by his older brother, but Arthur could see in his eyes that he also agreed with Blue's statement.
"I am sorry Arthur that I had to be so rough about this-"
"No, it's fine Blue. Some things just can't be helped .... I guess *sigh*. Either way, it is ok for me if just my little brother gets the chance to become a Trainer, I just want my family to be happy. Right now I want to earn more money and help my mother lessen her work. As long as I can achieve that, I would be satisfied!", Arthur smiled weakly.
Arthur felt dejected about this. It had always been his dream and now the Gym Leader of Viridian City himself wanted to dissuade him from pursuing this goal!
If it was someone random Arthur might not have cared but ... it was a Gym Leader! And also a Wartime Hero! If anyone had the experience and right to advise him to do better, it was definitely Blue!
Maybe he really wasn't meant to become a Trainer ...
"That's so mature of you Arthur! Your mother can be glad to have a considerate son such as you! You know, even without a career as a Pokemon Trainer you can become a successful person. You could work at an insurance company if it's money that you are looking for, or as typical doctor or lawyer. The world is big and I am confident that you will find a place for yourself somewhere!", Blue tried to cheer him up and encourage him to take a different path.
"Don't worry Arty, you're quite smart and I definitely agree that you would be a great doctor - just like me haha!", Daisy also tried to console him in her own way.
Gary saw that Arthur needed sometime to digest everything and wanted to leave him some freetime:
"Guys, I think Arthur has been through a lot already now, let's give him a break. I have gotten really hungry, who wants to eat something in the kitchen?"
"Ehh .., yes I have really gotten hungry."
"My stomach is killing me ...", the others got his message and left the room gradually until only two people were left in the room. And a Pokemon.
"Erriiieee!", the Eevee finally let out a sound after having been stopped by Celine.
"*Sigh* You sure caused a ruckus, boy ...", Cecile told Arthur while shaking her head disapprovingly,
and having her arms crossed and her eyes closed in a mature way.
Ehhh ... weren't they the same age? Arthur looked strangely at Cecile. Why was she speaking to him like she was an adult scolding a child?