40 What it means to be a Trainer (1/2)
”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.
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.
”Hä? 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?”