After Jacob made his bed in the dorm, he and his three roommates left together and went to a restaurant near the school for dinner.
Since all four of them were from Frosthollow, they chose a hotpot restaurant near the school for their meal.
"Since I'm the oldest, I'll treat everyone today. Next time, Kyle can treat us," Chandler said generously.
The financial situations of the four of them were actually quite good. Or rather, students who could get into League University's Trainer Academy generally didn't come from poor backgrounds.
After all, being a Trainer was an extremely expensive profession.
...
The four of them ultimately chose a very famous soft-shelled turtle hotpot restaurant. Of course, it wasn't cheap either. The per-person cost for just food, without drinks, was 3000 Pokédollars.
Due to the recent start of the school year, even such an expensive restaurant was extremely busy.
For spontaneous gatherings like theirs, it was impossible to book a private room, so they could only sit in the main hall.
Soon, the dishes were served, and the four of them began chatting while eating hotpot and sipping wine.
Since all four of them were Trainers, their conversation naturally revolved around Pokémon and battles.
"Jacob, will you participate in the Gym Leader Professional League this year?" Chandler asked Jacob after taking a sip of wine. "You're the Champion of our graduating class, so you can directly enter the Gym Leader Level 3 League, unlike us who have to participate in the Gym Leader Amateur League."
"It depends," Jacob thought for a moment before replying. "I'm only a freshman, and I only have one Gym Leader level Pokémon, Drakloak. Participating in the Gym Leader Professional League now would be too disadvantageous."
"That's true. You can improve your strength further and be more confident before participating in the Gym Leader Professional League," Chandler nodded, agreeing with Jacob's cautious approach. "However, I heard that June, last year's National Champion, has already entered the Gym Leader Level 2 League. She's also one of the youngest Gym Leader Level 2 League participants in League University."
The Gym Leader Professional League was one of the most popular annual events in China, and also one of the most participated in and fiercely competitive.
The Gym Leader Professional League was different from competitions like the High School Cup. The High School Cup's rankings, other than honor and bonus points, didn't have much other use.
The Gym Leader Professional League, however, was different. The ranking in the Gym Leader Professional League directly determined whether a Trainer could participate in the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament three years later.
And the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament determined the ultimate ownership of Gym Leaders in each region, so the Gym Leader Professional League was crucial for everyone.
Currently, according to the latest requirements from the Pokémon Association, the Gym Leader Professional League was divided into four levels.
From lowest to highest, they were the Gym Leader Amateur League, Gym Leader Level 3 Professional League, Gym Leader Level 2 League, and Gym Leader Level 1 League. These were abbreviated as GN League, G3 League, G2 League, and G1 League, respectively.
The GN League was the most basic league. Dozens, even hundreds, of matches were held annually in various provinces and cities across the country. Each match only had 16 participants, and the top 4 winners would qualify for the G3 League.
Similarly, the G3 League also had only 16 participants per match, with the top 4 qualifying for the G2 League.
And so on. The top four in the G1 League qualified for the triennial Gym Leader Ranking Tournament to compete for the position of Gym Leader in various regions.
A Gym Leader could be considered a person of real power in a city and the fastest path for ordinary people to enter the upper class.
Once any Trainer became a Gym Leader, they would instantly complete the leap from the ordinary class to the upper class.
Therefore, countless people dedicated their entire lives to it, continuously participating in the Gym Leader Professional League as long as they hadn't become a Gym Leader.
This also led to a huge age range among Trainers participating in the Gym Leader Professional League, from college students like Jacob, who were eighteen or nineteen, to white-haired elderly people of sixty or seventy.
The Gym Leader Professional League was very much like the imperial examinations of ancient times.
The four levels of battles were like the preliminary, provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations of the imperial system. To become the final Gym Leader, one must overcome numerous challenges and defeat countless powerful opponents.
Every Gym Leader had fought their way through countless competitors, especially in a megacity like League University with tens of millions of people, where the competitive pressure was immense.
"Jacob, I heard that the new rule for this year's Gym Leader Professional League is that Mega Evolution and Z-Moves are not allowed, and only the final Gym Leader Ranking Tournament allows their use," Chandler suddenly interjected.
If what he said was true, then this rule would undoubtedly be a huge restriction for Jacob.
Everyone knew that Mega Evolution was crucial for Jacob to win the championship.
"It's fine," Jacob's mindset was excellent. The main reason he had needed to use Mega Evolution in the High School Cup was that he had been a Trainer for too short a time, and could only rely on external means to boost his combat power.
But now, with a full four years of university ahead of him, it was enough time for him to improve the strength of his Pokémon. Once all of his Pokémon matured, whether he used Mega Evolution and Z-Moves wouldn't make much difference.
"If I can't use them, I won't. One must be strong oneself. As long as my own strength is solid, what is there to fear?" Jacob said with a smile.
"Well said!" Kyle exclaimed from the side. "Jacob, you're my idol! Although there are already university student Gym Leaders in other regions, there hasn't been a single university student Gym Leader in major cities like League University and Magic City to date."
"Jacob, I think you'll definitely become League University's first university student Gym Leader."
"Stop jinxing me," Jacob said with a laugh, teasing Kyle. "I was wondering why the hotpot kept bubbling with foam in the dipping sauce. Turns out it was your doing, you rascal."
Hearing Jacob's words, the other two also burst out laughing.
The few of them continued eating, and after a short while, a man suddenly walked over with a wine glass.
"Excuse me, everyone. I apologize," the man said with a smile, walking to their table with a wine glass. He addressed the group, "I'm from the private room next door, and I'm a junior at League University. My name is Ronan. I just lost a game of Truth or Dare with some friends, so I came over to offer you a few drinks. I'll drink three, and you all can drink as you please."
The man's tone was very polite. He picked up the wine glass in his hand and directly drank three glasses of beer.
"Alright, let's all have one together," Chandler said with a smile, seeing the man's polite attitude. "How about it?"
"Sounds good," Jacob and the others had no objections. Since the other person was sincere and also a senior, they naturally didn't refuse. They all picked up their wine glasses from the table and drank them down.
"Excuse me," the man named Ronan said after finishing his drink, then returned to his private room.
"How was it? Did you see clearly? Was that Jacob?" As soon as Ronan returned to the private room, the person next to him immediately asked.
"Yes, it was Jacob. The others seemed to be his roommates."
...