This kind of ranking system appeared mainly because regions like Unova, Sinnoh, and Kalos hosted numerous official and unofficial Pokémon tournaments, with the most important of them all being the League Conference.
To even enter the conference, a trainer needed eight Gym Badges, and that requirement alone blocked countless ordinary trainers who lacked money or luck.
Under normal circumstances, anyone who made it into the conference at least had a parent who was an Advanced-level trainer. Many outstanding rookie trainers were then selected by the League for focused training.
With so many competitions taking place, people needed a simple way to measure the real gap in strength between trainers. That was how the ranking levels gradually formed.
Shiro did not really care what the titles were called; what interested him was something else.
"What levels are above Elite?"
Cynthia kept driving as she explained slowly, "Above Elite-level is Champion-level. Those trainers are already famous top-tier figures, and in a single region, there might not even be a few of them. As for the level above Champion… I've heard it's Master-level, meaning a trainer who has mastered one type to the extreme."
She paused and pressed her lips together in thought. "Master-level trainers… to be honest, I haven't met one yet. I've only heard they exist. They should belong to an older generation."
"And above Master?" He asked again.
"Above Master…" She spoke word by word. "Is Legendary. Legendary also means a living legend. It's the level where most true legendary Pokémon stand. Trainers at that stage can fight against legendary Pokémon, and their power is close to that of gods."
She looked at Shiro seriously, and his heart tightened at how overwhelming it sounded.
"Heh." Cynthia suddenly chuckled. "But there isn't a single Legendary trainer in the world right now."
Shiro let out a long breath. For a moment, he had imagined several Legendary-level trainers secretly dividing up the Pokémon world.
Still, Legendary-level corresponded roughly to level eighty-one to ninety.
And there wasn't even one?
"I heard it from Grandma," Cynthia added. "There isn't a single Legendary-level trainer in the world right now, but there should be a very small number of Master-level trainers."
Shiro nodded at that.
Training Pokémon was simply too troublesome. No wonder people preferred researching technology; using machines to capture legendary Pokémon was far easier than raising one yourself.
In the anime, power levels were often inconsistent, but in the movies, even Lance would not dare to fight Lugia directly. The legendary Pokémon that appeared later were sometimes suppressed by technology or special items, yet they still carried their presence.
As for the manga, powerful trainers were everywhere and legendary Pokémon were frequently defeated, which was another matter entirely.
"Then what about above Legendary?" he asked once more.
"Above Legendary?" Cynthia frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure either. All current rankings exist because someone once trained a Pokémon to that level. Since no trainer has ever raised a Pokémon beyond Legendary, no one knows what lies above."
"I see."
'That probably belongs to Arceus alone,' Shiro thought, feeling relieved.
If he calculated carefully, his own strength was already at Elite-level.
Unown A and Unown G both possessed Champion-level psychic power. Although their direct attack strength was not high, they could still hold their own against a Champion-level Pokémon. If their power boosted Corviknight and the others, defeating an ordinary Elite-level Pokémon should not be a problem.
Champion-level, Master-level…
For now, the most important task was to help Corviknight, Haunter, and the others step into Elite-level first.
While thinking this, Shiro turned his gaze back to the window.
Cynthia noticed but did not say anything further.
* * *
Jubilife City.
The streets were bustling with people, and cars moved back and forth without pause. Distinctive buildings stood everywhere, most of them five or six stories tall, their thick square shapes making them stand out.
The most famous landmark was the Jubilife TV station in the northern part of the city, a huge white cube with a dark blue sign embedded in its surface.
After parking the off-road vehicle in the underground garage, the two of them walked slowly along the red brick streets.
Shiro felt almost dazzled.
In his previous life, he had seen taller and more impressive skyscrapers, yet a modern city filled with Pokémon elements like this was something he had never experienced before.
The prosperous cities of Galar, such as Wyndon, always carried a sense of pressure, as if Macro Cosmos and the League were watching at all times. There was none of that tension here; this place felt relaxed.
"Jubilife has the Global Trade Station, which is the GTS. There's also the Global Terminal. Oh, and there are quite a few trainer schools here too," Cynthia explained.
She suddenly stopped walking.
Not far ahead, she had spotted an ice cream shop.
Early summer had just begun, and it was already ice cream season.
Meanwhile, Shiro was watching a boy around ten years old run past while holding a Piplup. For a brief instant, his eyes met the clear gaze of the little blue penguin.
Then Unown A's voice rang in his ear.
'Shiro, quick! That blonde woman went to eat alone! Ah!'
Unown A floated in midair, anxious and flustered.
He paused for a second and looked around. Only then did he notice Cynthia standing in front of a shop not far away. She was staring at a freezer, thinking deeply about something.
'It must be something good! Hurry and check!' Unown A urged.
Shiro walked over and glanced inside the freezer, where ice creams of various colors and flavors were neatly arranged. Behind it stood a slightly plump woman with a warm smile.
"What flavors would you two like?"
"...."
Cynthia pressed her fist against her chin and stared silently at the choices. As someone with serious decision difficulties, she was struggling over which flavor to pick.
"Then let's get one of each," Shiro said directly.
He did not particularly want ice cream, but Unown A did, and the other Pokémon had never tried it before. They might as well buy them all; if they tasted good, he could always buy more. Ice cream was not some rare Pokémon resource, and he had more than enough money.
The shop owner's smile widened until her eyes nearly disappeared. She worked quickly, preparing each ice cream and placing them neatly into a rectangular box before handing it over.
"Eighteen flavors. That will be one hundred and eighty Pokédollars."
After paying, Shiro took out a blue ice cream labeled Oran Berry flavor and handed it straight to Cynthia.
"How about Oran Berry?"
She blinked slightly and tapped her cheek with her finger, her brows still faintly furrowed. "That's fine, but the others also…"
"Then Oran Berry it is."
Without giving her time to think further, Shiro placed it firmly in her hand. Then he walked to a shaded seating area under a sun umbrella nearby and set the box down.
Holding the deep blue Oran Berry ice cream, Cynthia's troubled expression instantly faded.
After all, there were no other choices left now.
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