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Before arriving, Roy had a vague idea about their destination.
But when he actually stood before the Promise Gym, he still felt a surge of surprise and excitement.
—Chinese martial arts, famous throughout the world.
After the advent of Pokémon, the birth of the Trainer profession had brought martial arts to a brand new path.
Techniques for adapting martial arts to suit Pokémon.
Pokémon who mastered martial arts gained a significant advantage in Close Combat.
The Pokémon most suitable for practicing martial arts were naturally Fighting-types.
A hundred years ago, China lagged far behind Western countries in technology, economy, standard of living, military strength, and more. Even former Eastern allied countries could flex their power before it.
Then came the advent of Pokémon, and a new era dawned.
Just when everyone thought China would be the last to board the train leading to the Pokémon era, an amazingly talented martial arts master appeared in this country... He improved his fighting techniques and passed them on to his Pokémon.
Not only that, this martial arts master traveled throughout China, disregarding sectarian views entirely, sharing his experience with others.
That same year, the Pokémon Alliance was established, and nations decided to use the peaceful form of "Pokémon Competition" to determine international standing.
The first Global Championship was particularly important. It not only determined speaking rights for the next four years but also established the "five permanent" seats of the Pokémon Alliance.
At that time, no one considered China, which had been weakened for half a century, as a contender for one of these permanent seats.
However, the same martial arts master made a spectacular showing at the first global championship, shocking the world with his unique Fighting Pokémon, intimidating all challengers, and winning a permanent seat for China.
It was precisely because of securing one of the five permanent seats in the Pokémon Alliance and obtaining numerous Alliance privileges that China would be able to catch up and reach its current position in the following years.
That martial arts master was the first champion of China.
His real name was Randon, also known as Master Randon.
It was clear from the name that the dojo in front of Roy was the legacy left by the first-generation champion.
"Wu~~" Dragonite waved, indicating it was leaving.
"Go ahead," Roy said with a smile. "I might need your help again sometime."
"Mo!" On his shoulder, Cosmog completely forgot the killing intent that Dragonite had shown toward it earlier, and cheerfully waved goodbye.
Watching Dragonite depart, Roy pressed the dojo's doorbell.
Thump, thump—
Heavy, powerful, and somewhat rhythmic footsteps approached.
When the door opened, Roy saw a strong man nearly two meters tall. He had a crew cut, pronounced temples, sharp eyes full of energy, and looked quite young—perhaps only in his early thirties, younger than Frances appeared.
But Roy knew that this Elite Sebastian was already 41 years old, making him a year older than Frances.
Just as Roy was about to greet him with the respect due to a senior, Elite Sebastian patted him on the shoulder and said with a broad smile, "Young Roy, you're even more handsome than you look on TV! Old Carter asked me some time ago if you might be my illegitimate child. Tsk, tsk, if my incompetent son had half your looks, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams."
The heavy-handed pat on the shoulder nearly caused Roy to fall, and the little Cosmog on his other shoulder bounced upward from the impact, its cosmic wisps flaring outward.
Seeing this, Elite Sebastian looked surprised and touched Roy's shoulder bones. "Hmm? You have a good physique. Have you practiced martial arts with anyone?"
"I haven't trained before. Maybe it's just natural. I usually enjoy sports," Roy said, reaching out to comfort Cosmog. What nonsense.
"You like sports? Not bad! Come on, let's go inside and talk..."
Elite Sebastian's eyes lit up as he pulled Roy into the dojo.
The Promise Dojo was decorated in classical Chinese style.
The reception room doubled as a tea room.
Roy sat at the tea table.
Across from him, Elite Sebastian prepared tea with a calm, focused expression, without the bold, energetic demeanor from before, displaying considerable poise.
After skillfully preparing the tea, Elite Sebastian handed over a cup and said with a smile, "Here, drink this. It's tea from my hometown."
Roy accepted the teacup and asked curiously, "Is Elite Sebastian from Lotus Province?"
"Yes, Southern Lotus." Elite Sebastian nodded and reminisced: "My family wasn't well-off back then, so I didn't have the opportunity to become a trainer. Fortunately, a professor from Capital University valued my potential and recommended me for enrollment. Thanks to that appreciation and funding, I was lucky enough to become a professional trainer, joined the Promise Dojo, and eventually managed to become an Elite."
And you just called your son 'incompetent'? Roy thought to himself.
"I'm not joking with you." Reading Roy's expression, Elite Sebastian seemed to guess his thoughts and said with a smile: "Compared to old Frances, I can only be considered an amateur... He also came from humble beginnings. He's a year younger than me but became an Elite three years before I did, and later became the strongest champion, while I've remained stagnant."
"He's the real genius. I'm nothing special."
Roy did the math—Frances became an Elite Four at 23, which meant Sebastian, who was three years later, became an Elite at 27.
The average age at which Chinese Professional Trainers reached Elite status was 30...
Sebastian was undoubtedly a genius, but unfortunately, he was born in the same era as Frances, and his brilliance was completely overshadowed.
"Enough about an old guy's past."
Elite Sebastian drank his hot tea, looked at Roy with great interest, and said, "Young Roy, I see a lot about Frances in you... No, that guy wasn't performing as well as you at your age. Tell me, at what age do you think you'll become a professional trainer?"
The sudden question startled Roy slightly.
Professional level...
Roy's interest was piqued, and he decided to use this opportunity to learn more from the Elite Trainer.
"It depends on what the professional-level assessment criteria are."
Below the professional level, trainers were divided into novice level, senior level, and Peak level.
Novice trainers had no threshold—people who had just become trainers all belonged to this category.
Senior-level Trainers needed three Pokémon with a comprehensive evaluation of C-level or above. This was the class with the largest number of trainers.
Peak trainers required six Pokémon with a comprehensive evaluation of A-level or above. For many trainers from ordinary families, this class was the ceiling of their careers.
Peak trainers didn't lack money—their annual salaries could reach millions of Pokédollars in almost any job.
As for the professional level standards, they had always been an industry secret.
The news media had hardly exposed them, clearly under official restrictions.
"What do you know about the professional level?" Elite Sebastian asked instead of answering.
Roy didn't hide his limited knowledge: "I only know that among the six Pokémon of a professional trainer, there must be a sufficiently mature team battle system."
"That's right, the team battle system is indeed one of the assessment criteria."
Elite Sebastian nodded and continued with a smile: "However, the prerequisite for all this is that the strength of all six Pokémon must reach the 'professional level'... You've probably heard the rumor that Pokémon with a comprehensive evaluation of A-level are the basic requirement for challenging the professional level?"
"So, do you know another name for the A-level comprehensive evaluation?"
Before Roy could guess, Elite Sebastian immediately revealed the answer.
"—Class A is the 'Racial Limit Class.'"
"It means bringing out the full potential of a Pokémon to reach A rank."
"And potential depends on the individual Pokémon, but more significantly on the Pokémon's... species."
"When fully tapping out potential, Pokémon with greater inherent potential are undoubtedly stronger."
"For convenience in distinguishing strength levels, Pokémon with high racial potential will be classified as A+ once they reach their 'Racial Limit Level.'"
"For example, the so-called Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, after reaching 'Racial Limit Level,' generally belong to the A+ level, while Pokémon such as Butterfree and Beedrill, even if they tap their full potential, are only ordinary A level, perhaps even at the lower end of A-level."
"The difference between A+ and A is simply the potential of the species."
Elite Sebastian's words reminded Roy of a concept from the games.
—Base Stat Total.
As the name suggested, it was the potential value of different species.
Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon had a racial potential value of 600 in the games, comparable to many lesser Legendary Pokémon, hence their classification as "pseudo-legendary."
At the same level, Pokémon with high Base Stat Totals had advantages in all aspects of their attributes.
To unearth all the potential of the species... did that mean reaching maximum level?
Was Level A equivalent to level 100 in the games?
The world beyond professional level and the mastery level?
Some of Roy's questions were answered, but more arose. He asked, "So you're saying the professional level is above 'racial limit level.' However, if a Pokémon has already tapped out its full potential, how can it become even stronger?"
"It's very simple," Elite Sebastian shrugged. "Just break through the limit of the species."
"?"
Roy replied, "What you're saying is like saying nothing at all."
"Don't worry, look at this first."
Elite Sebastian placed an empty bottle in front of Roy.
Then, he picked up the teapot and began pouring tea into the bottle slowly.
"Let's assume that the threshold of the professional level is the mouth of the bottle. If the tea reaches the bottle mouth, the Pokémon has reached the professional level, breaking through the limitations set in the Pokémon's genes."
As he said this, Elite Sebastian stopped pouring when the tea reached half the bottle.
He picked up a marker and drew a line at that level.
"We'll say this is Butterfree's 'racial limit class.'"
He continued pouring tea.
The water level rose to four-fifths of the bottle's capacity before he stopped again.
"This represents the Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon's 'Racial Limit Class.'"
"So, here's the question: how do you make the tea overflow to the mouth of the bottle without adding more water?"
Elite Sebastian posed this question with the complacency of a teacher giving an exam.
Well, his teaching method deserves full marks!
Roy thought for a moment and then replied:
"Turn the bottle upside down?"
Elite Sebastian's face immediately darkened, and he muttered: "That doesn't count. Let's try again, with an added rule: don't do anything to the bottle itself!"
Roy chuckled—he had just wanted to test the Elite's reaction.
The real answer had already occurred to him.
"—Fill the bottle with air."
"That's right!" Elite Sebastian showed a childish expression of satisfaction and continued: "To break through to the professional level, Pokémon must break the limitations set by their genes. For this, they must accumulate energy, and this power is 'qi'—if enough 'qi' is accumulated in the bottle, the tea can overflow past the mouth."
"A Pokémon with a high 'Racial Limit Level' needs to accumulate less 'qi.' Conversely, a Pokémon with a low 'Racial Limit Level' needs to accumulate much more 'qi' to break through."
"Now you understand why Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon are so respected?"
—Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon were the easiest to breakthrough to the professional level, and in battles at the same level, their attributes were superior in all aspects.
"I see," Roy said, suddenly enlightened.
"Of course, I'm just giving a simplified example. In reality, breaking the limitations of the species requires accumulating a tremendous amount of power." Elite Sebastian suddenly picked up the water bottle, stood, and walked to a half-meter-tall vase nearby, pouring the tea into it.
He then handed the vase to Roy.
Roy could see that the water only filled slightly more than a tenth of the vase.
Elite Sebastian shrugged and said with a smile:
"In reality..."
"The amount of energy that needs to be accumulated should be this much."
"The average duration of energy accumulation for Chinese professional trainers is between 4 to 8 years, and the longest record is 19 years. Of course, talented trainers can often find ways to shorten this time."
"Having explained all this, let's return to my original question." Elite Sebastian looked at Roy seriously and asked again: "How many years do you think it will take for you to reach Professional Trainer level?"