Vermilion City was a major port city in Kanto, located at the southern mouth of the region. Because it possessed a natural deep-water harbor, it had become the primary battlefield for competing shipping conglomerates.
Every morning at six o'clock, dozens of cargo ships weighing tens of thousands of tons would slowly glide into the Vermilion Harbor or fade into the distance, transporting goods to Kanto and carrying local products and specialties to other regions.
The moment he entered the city, Hisoka felt an unusual atmosphere. Many pretty girls wearing sexy sailor suits were standing on the streets, handing out flyers to pedestrians.
They were dancing while they distributed the papers!
This display caused many passersby to stop and watch. Naturally, the men were the most excited, enjoying the view immensely, while the female pedestrians looked rather annoyed. More than a few men who stared too long were scolded or "corrected" by the female companions at their side.
Because the road was crowded with people, Hisoka kept his motorcycle at the lowest possible speed for safety... Just then, a beautiful girl with vibrant red hair suddenly jumped out from the side, wearing the same sexy sailor suit as the others.
Hisoka was blocked. He had no choice but to step off the motorcycle and pull off his helmet. Looking at the beauty before him, he asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"H-Hello!" She had intended to just hand out a flyer, but she hadn't expected to stop such a handsome guy. Her face flushed slightly as she summoned her courage and handed over an elegantly crafted flyer that looked like an invitation. "Hello, I'm a stewardess for the S.S. Anne. Please take a look at this flyer. The S.S. Anne is a world-renowned luxury cruise ship..."
"The S.S. Anne?" Looking at the flyer and the exquisite ticket in his hand, Hisoka allowed a playful smile to touch his lips.
No wonder Vermilion City was so lively today. The S.S. Anne was a famous luxury liner. Ever since it launched three years ago, the ship only docked in Kanto's Vermilion City once a year. On this day every year, the officials of the S.S. Anne would organize parades and celebrations throughout the city to attract more attention.
The shipping company had spent a fortune building this luxury vessel to make a profit. Top-tier VIP clients were few, so they couldn't afford to ignore the middle-market. This was the only way to maximize their earnings.
By hiring beautiful girls and models and putting them in sexy sailor suits, they could target the men on the street. Unless a man truly had no spare cash, eighty percent of them would grit their teeth and buy a "standard" ticketwhich was still quite expensiveunder the girls' persistent persuasion. Only a select few wealthy individuals who didn't care about the price would spring for the VIP tickets.
Hisoka hadn't spent a single cent on this ticket. He hadn't been interested in the S.S. Anne in the first place. His purpose in coming to Vermilion City was two-fold: first, to earn his Ace Trainer certificate, and second, to check the Pokémon Center for any suitable bounty missions. As the largest port city in Kanto, there were bound to be some high-paying tasks available.
As for the ticket in his hand, the girl had given it to him. The shipping group gave every girl who went out to recruit customers a few internal tickets they could give to friends or family. These tickets allowed them to board the S.S. Anne for free and enjoy all the perks of a standard ticket.
It could only be said that there is a small portion of people in this world who can truly rely on their faces to get through doors.
There were only three cities in the Kanto region that housed Trainer Job Assessment Centers. One was Vermilion City, where Hisoka currently was; the second was the central hub, Saffron City; and the last was the developed city of Celadon City, which was second only to Saffron in scale.
Some League Trainers, due to various circumstances, might not have the time or the ability to collect all eight Gym Badges. However, if they still wished to participate in that year's Indigo Plateau Conference,
they could go to an assessment center two months before the conference started to apply for a qualification exam. If you passed all the tests, you could participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference without needing badges.
The Trainer Job Assessment Center was located just south of the Vermilion Gym, not far from the city's Pokémon Center. Unlike the Pokémon Center, the official logo above the assessment center's entrance was a giant white hand in a clenched fist, tightly gripping a red Poké Ball. The Pokémon Center used a simple white Poké Ball design.
As he passed the Vermilion Gym, Hisoka cast a curious glance at the open doors. He had never actually challenged a gym as a Trainer, though he did have a three-day stint as a Gym Leader himself.
When he first arrived in this world, he had also dreamt of being a League Trainer, challenging gyms one by one to earn badges, and then taking the championship at the regional conference to make a name for himself throughout Kanto. But slowly, due to the pressures of survival and other realistic problems, that dream had faded. Thinking back on it now, he had lost that initial hot-blooded passion.
Perhaps one day, when he grew tired of being a Bounty Hunter, he would consider traveling to a strange continent and becoming a formal League Trainerchallenging gyms and joining tournaments just like those kids.
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