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According to the regulations of China and most Asian regions, individuals must enter university and obtain their Trainer qualification starting from age eighteen.
Of course, systems varied significantly from country to country across the world.
In Europe and the United States, some countries allowed trainers to begin their journeys at the age of fourteen.
In this way, the professional career span of trainers was indeed extended considerably.
However, allowing minors with immature minds to become trainers and master such tremendous 'power' was not necessarily beneficial.
Childish violence often became a breeding ground for genuine evil.
In countries with lower age requirements, crime rates were typically extremely high. The number of Pokemon abandonment incidents that the Alliance had been severely punishing increased steadily over the years, and small to medium-sized poaching gangs operated commonly throughout those regions.
What kind of age requirement should be adopted? It could only be said that different people held different perspectives on this complex issue.
But one thing could be confirmed with absolute certainty.
Throughout the entire world, regardless of which country or system was involved, no one had ever reached professional-level standards after embarking on the trainer path for only one year.
"Here he comes, here he comes! He comes with a brand new record!" online commenters exclaimed.
"Since the news of Roy's participation in the assessment was released, we've been waiting eagerly, and he really didn't disappoint us at all."
"Achieving professional level in just one year—although I had mentally prepared myself, it's still completely outrageous..."
"National champion at age nineteen, professional trainer, winner of the Colress Award... woo woo woo, I remember when I was nineteen years old, I was still staying up late reviewing for small exams. Folks, I'm feeling really depressed right now."
"What's wrong with that? When I was nineteen, I was rushing around doing odd jobs every day! You're doing much better than me."
"Wait, what?"
Major social media platforms throughout China were buzzing with heated discussions about this unprecedented achievement.
Roy had accomplished such amazing results at only nineteen years old, sparking a widespread internet trend of "what were you doing at nineteen?" comparisons.
Of course, there were also some conversation threads that went completely off-topic, derailing into unexpected territories.
At times like these, there was often some internet hero who would appear with license plate numbers or download links, making a dashing appearance to save the day!
Meanwhile, Roy, who was being hotly discussed by everyone online, was brought to the laboratory of the Trainer Association by Ivy, who remained his examiner throughout the process.
"After becoming a professional-level trainer, you will enjoy treatment equivalent to a senior military officer within the country," Ivy explained comprehensively. "All Pokemon food, lodging, and medical care will be subsidized by the government. Facilities in Pokemon Centers around the world will be permanently free for your use."
She continued, "Immediate family members within three generations will also receive preferential treatment. Especially your descendants—as long as they reach eighteen years of age, they can directly become trainers without paying any fees, and they can receive excellent Pokemon offspring from eggs specially raised by the state."
Ivy said with genuine emotion, "This kind of welfare package might not mean much to you, Roy, but it represents the lifelong pursuit of many people."
Roy remained noncommittal about these benefits.
If it wasn't for obtaining qualification for the 'Island Challenge' trials, he really wouldn't have had much motivation to participate in the professional-level assessment in the first place.
These treatments offered no significant help to his current situation or goals.
But for a trainer from an 'ordinary' family background, becoming a professional trainer represented a remarkable transition between social classes.
Their children could finally be called 'second-generation trainers' with all the privileges that entailed.
"However, after becoming a professional-level trainer, there's another benefit that you'll definitely find very interesting," Ivy said with meaningful emphasis.
Soon, the additional treatment she had mentioned appeared before Roy's eyes.
"This is..." Roy stared at the genetic test tube being pushed forward by the researcher, which immediately reminded him of the enhancement serum he had been injected with previously.
Indeed, his suspicion was correct.
"Do you remember the blood test you participated in during childhood?" Ivy began her explanation. "It wasn't just a routine blood test for physical examination, but also regular collection of genetic samples... especially for those who were eligible to become trainers."
"The purpose of collecting genetic samples was for this exact moment."
"This is a custom-made genetic enhancement reagent based specifically on your DNA, which can dramatically improve physical fitness, reaction speed, dynamic vision, immune system function... the degree of improvement varies from person to person, but you can use the 'sparring partner' strength we demonstrated that day as an average reference point."
Roy suddenly understood everything.
No wonder he had been wondering at the time whether it would be inaccurate to use such a physically powerful 'sparring partner' to simulate real combat scenarios.
It turned out that everything had been designed to help him adapt in advance.
Not only that, but several previous confusions were now resolved as well.
In the national competition, Takeshi, who had become a professional trainer, had once displayed amazing long-distance vision when he spotted Roy from hundreds of meters away. At the time, Roy had thought it was quite strange.
"After Pokemon reach professional level, their combat power becomes increasingly stronger and gradually exceeds normal specifications," Ivy explained. "With standard human physical capabilities, it becomes difficult to keep up with their fighting rhythm."
Under Ivy's detailed explanation, Roy gradually understood the origins and development of this genetic enhancement reagent.
In fact, the prototype of this reagent had appeared over a hundred years ago.
During the Great Pokemon War, in order to effectively combat Pokemon, humans had analyzed Pokemon genetic structures, attempting to understand why Pokemon possessed such incredible power.
Among the researchers, there had been many fanatical scientists who directly injected Pokemon genes into human subjects, causing numerous tragedies and ethical violations.
However, given the fact that humans could produce offspring with certain Pokemon species, it could be observed that genetic compatibility between the two species wasn't particularly poor—in fact, it was surprisingly high.
Therefore, in such brutal experiments, while most test subjects died in agony, there had also been survivors.
The survivors had all displayed physical capabilities far beyond ordinary humans, including the first generation of psychic ability users.
After the Alliance was established, these inhumane experiments were completely banned and criminalized.
It wasn't until seventy years ago that Professor Victor in Germany developed a stable and safe genetic enhancement reagent, allowing this research to resume under strict ethical guidelines.
With technological advancement over the decades, while genetic enhancement reagents had achieved higher stability and safety, they remained extremely expensive and rare technical resources that couldn't be mass-produced.
The reason they couldn't be mass-produced was relatively straightforward.
For genetic enhancement reagents to remain stable and safe, they had to be customized according to each individual person's unique DNA profile.
Everyone's genes were different, and genetic enhancement reagents couldn't be universally applied—they required precise fine-tuning for each recipient.
Like something from science fiction, the kind of mass-produced enhancement that could successfully strengthen anyone with a single injection, regardless of the target, would either require technology so advanced that the reagent could fine-tune itself automatically, or the author simply hadn't thought through the science properly.
"Why hasn't this genetic enhancement reagent been announced to the general public?" Roy asked with genuine puzzlement, since he had never heard of such technology before.
Ivy remained silent for several moments before providing an answer that carried significant weight.
"Genetic Enhancement Reagent has another, more controversial nickname," she said carefully.
"What's that?"
"Human evolution guidance reagent."
She paused to let that sink in before continuing. "After your injection, it will also have positive impacts on your future offspring. They will become stronger, more intelligent, and quicker to respond to situations. If your children also become professional trainers and receive the reagent injection again, it will have even more profound effects on the next generation."
"It's been theorized that if three consecutive generations of immediate family members receive the reagent, the offspring will be fundamentally transformed and become superior human beings in every measurable way."
After listening to this explanation, Roy realized the serious implications and societal impact of this technology.
No wonder it wasn't announced to the outside world. Before mass production of this enhancement became possible, public announcement would only create dangerous class conflicts and social division.
But regardless of current policies, as time progressed, enhanced humans who were better adapted to the "Pokemon era" would inevitably become the majority population and slowly assimilate the entire human race through natural selection.
He wondered whether people in the original Pokemon world had experienced similar changes during a certain historical period.
Given the outrageous physical capabilities demonstrated by characters like Ash Ketchum in various media, Roy thought it was quite possible that such enhancement had already occurred.
Like the birth of the trainer profession itself, this represented something that would inevitably occur during the process of humans and Pokemon meeting, coexisting, and ultimately merging into a unified civilization.