Prologue
"For the Children"
"People, let's face the facts: our children aren't learning enough."
Dr. Natalie Buechner, chancellor of the University of Pokémon, brushed back her blue-black hair, folded her hands on the table and stared directly at the barrage of media reporters and cameramen in front of her. She was seated in the center of the panel of experts. The chancellor was a sharp, if not uptight, women in her forties, and a former professor of pokémon battle law.
She continued matter-of-factly. "Every year we have had to dumb down our admissions test, and still, the students seem to be less and less knowledgeable. I've had kids enter my university without knowing the difference between the rock-type and the ground-type. Some of them think that rare candies are the only way to raise a pokémon's level. Hell, I've even had students who didn't even know how to catch a pokémon! It…" She enunciated her words carefully. "Is. An. Abs-ol-ute. Travesty."
The reporters at the hearing bombarded Chancellor Buechner with questions, but she answered none as the woman next to Chancellor Buechner on the panel decided it was her turn to speak.
"Don't even get me started!" The elderly gray-haired nurse raged in her raspy voice. Nurse Jeanine Joy was the president of the National Association of Nurses, the vast labor union representing all Nurse Joys. She went on a cantankerous and somewhat clumsy rant. "Just last week, we had to heal some kid's level five bulbasaur after he tried to battle the elite four! That poor bulbasaur almost died! These kids don't know what they're doing! And I don't blame them, though, it's not their fault-I really don't think kids are getting dumber." Her demeanor had softened slightly, but soon returned. "It's the trainer schools' fault! Clearly they aren't teaching them right!"
Chancellor Buechner and the rest of the panel nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you know, as much of it pains me to say it, I agree with Natalie and Jeanine here." Young, dark-skinned Cody Richardson peered over his sunglasses at the reporters, keeping a suspicious demeanor. The notorious Pokémon League talent scout leaned forward to speak into his microphone. "There is just less and less talent in pokémon trainers today. Up at the League, we're facing a trainer shortage. We can't find enough good trainers to keep the battles going. Older ones are settling down with families, and the new ones are just...not as motivated. Don't get me wrong, they have aspirations, but they're just not willing to work hard to achieve them. And, they often lack basic skills."
"Oh yeah, we've all seen it. I don't need to elaborate much." Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina, the strongest gym leader in Kanto, sitting at one end of the panel, spoke quickly and promptly. "I'll give you one example: last month, this kid comes and challenges me. He says, 'Sabrina! I got all bug-type pokémon! I'm gonna beat you and get me a Marsh Badge!' Turns out, he had a whole bunch of metapod and all they knew was Harden! Ha! Give me a break!" The young psychic woman rolled her eyes.
Charlie Hampton, the elderly white-haired businessman seated on the opposite end of the panel of five, cleared his throat. "As C.E.O. of PokéMart, Inc., I can tell you we in the business world are dealing with this crisis too. We're now spending money on extra training programs for employees, which is something completely new. We have to teach them things-basic things, like the difference between potions, full restores, and full heals. I've been in the business for fifty years, and I don't remember us ever having to teach new employees that stuff. But now we do, and every year it gets worse. You see…" He glared angrily at the media. "That is all stuff that we used to expect people to know upon graduating from trainer school back in my day, no questions asked. Clearly something's gone awry."
The panel of experts nodded again.
The reporters began asking questions overwhelmingly.
"What do you suppose we do?"
"How can we fix this?"
"What are your solutions?"
Chancellor Buechner held up her hand, silencing the reporters. "I called this conference for a reason." She spoke powerfully, reasonably, and politically. "We are in an educational crisis. Children are graduating from trainer schools without basic knowledge. They are learning less and less. This will have a slew of negative effects-on the league, on the business world, and on the health of people and pokémon. We need to fix this problem now, before it is too late. So, I'm proposing that we make trainer licensing more similar to the university admission process. By that, I mean we standardize the process, and use examinations to evaluate the students on their actual readiness to enter the pokémon world. This is what we do at the University of Pokémon, to ensure we are admitting the best and brightest students.
"We need to act now, and implement a global, standardized trainer licensure test that students must succeed on in order to graduate from pokémon trainer school and get their license. Assessments may seem harsh, but in reality, they are a part of life, and they are necessary to improve the licensure process. However, I've decided to call on leaders of different sectors of the pokémon trainer world, to see if they would agree. I'm asking you all…" She looked at the media. "...to consider this proposal, and if we can unanimously agree, I will look into getting it submitted to the government and made law."
Cody Richardson was the first to speak. "As a young guy myself, I know a lot of kids hate tests, but they are a part of life, and I agree that a national standardized test would be the best way to make sure we are graduating students with good trainer skills. It's for the best of the league."
Sabrina nodded. "I agree. It's for the best of all pokémon trainers, present and future."
"It's for the best of the economy!" said Charlie Hampton.
"It's for the health of all pokémon!" Nurse Joy declared.
Chancellor Buechner nodded with each panel member's agreement to her proposal, but did not drop her stern facial expression. She turned to the mass of reporters and addressed them directly, in a motherly tone.
"It's for the children."