[attr="class","top"]
callan young [break]
@marcato

[attr="class","comment"]
Arceus[break][break]

How are you currently doing Josh?[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
cian maher [break]
@cianyoubelieveit

[attr="class","comment"]
ayo hope you're doing alright!![break][break]
i'm omw tho care package incoming

[attr="class","top"]
josh devlin [break]
@raikougoesfast

[attr="class","comment"]
I'm okay now. No surgery, thank Arceus, but I had to have a bunch of stitches put in my back. They've got me on enough meds that the pain isn't that bad. It still hurts but it's not bad like it was. Arceus, I thought I was gonna die that day. Take it from me--being in a NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE is something I would recommend against. Thank you Callan Young for keeping me in your prayers. And all of you. It means a lot. [break][break]

noah faber Just a picross book or two from the book store is good by me. I'll reimburse you. Had a friend get my phone and phone charger for me so I can at least text yall from my room. I'm just frustrated I might miss the Silph Cup championship race. The time trials are coming up on the 13th and I'm not sure they'll discharge me in time.[break][break]

CIAN MAHER Thank you. Looking forward to seeing you.[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
rosmontis lune [break]
@edelweiss

[attr="class","comment"]
Josh Devlin That's really close to my gym... I'll have a look around with the forest buddies! We'll find the perp as soon as we can!! For now, take care of yourself and rest up :c

[attr="class","top"]
josh devlin [break]
@raikougoesfast

[attr="class","comment"]
Sorry for not updating everyone, but I'm back at full strength and riding at full speed. No security incidents at the Gym since, but the case has gone cold. I am not confident that the identity of my assassin will ever be known. Rosmontis, everything okay with your Gym, too? No unscrupulous visitors?  [break][break]

CIAN MAHER , great match. You're a tough one. Once I'm less booked at my Gym, I'll need to challenge you again. And with different Pokémon this time. [break][break]

Johanna Joy Congratulations on becoming Hoenn's newest Gym Leader! I already signed up for your challenge and am looking forward to it.[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
callan young [break]
@marcato

[attr="class","comment"]
That's unfortunate Josh, but it's a good thing you're better now.[break][break]

Also, welcome Johanna![break][break]

I wanted to take a moment to ask everyone's opinions on the recent changes to the gym challenge, what're your thoughts on it so far?[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
derek hoffman [break]
@derekhoffman

[attr="class","comment"]
Oh, welcome to the league Johanna! Hope everything is going well over there in Ever Grande. Let us (me?) know if you need help with anything. As for the changes, where to start...[break][break]

Making more money is nice. (At least I think we're making more now.)[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
callan young [break]
@marcato

[attr="class","comment"]
Should be! I think the commissions should have doubled on the completion of traditional battles at any rate.

[attr="class","top"]
josh devlin [break]
@raikougoesfast

[attr="class","comment"]
I have mixed feelings on it. The pay bump is nice and I like Hoenn implementing its own version of Paldea's Champion Assessment. That alone has made me get back into grinding the Gym circuit myself. What I have a problem with is the League brushing off Gym Leaders' custom challenges that represent the tenets and educational objectives of their Gyms better than simple battle. I've talked about this with Alexei Ivanov at length. Both of us advertise our racing and flying challenges heavily.[break][break]

I get that the League is trying to push battle challenges; that was something I distinctly remember FERNANDO SILPH grilling us over. I just think that the League has made an overcorrection. I get that my opinion, and Alex's opinion, are probably in the minority of Gym Leaders here. Just want to put my .02 out there, even if it's unpopular.[break][break]

Can one of the admins please get Andrea Vaneau an invite? She's new to the Minor League and is quite good. Almost thrashed me at my own game.[break][break]

[attr="class","top"]
rosmontis lune [break]
@edelweiss

[attr="class","comment"]
Josh Devlin Don't worry about me! I took care of the perp and I'm pretty sure they won't be trying it again! :0

[attr="class","top"]
callan young [break]
@marcato

[attr="class","comment"]Yeah this is something I’m also hoping to address, not the first time I’ve heard this even if it’s just the second time. So I’d like to put down the reason as to why the change was implemented. [break][break]

There are two reasons why I suggested the change to have a minimum requirement for traditional battles. First, as a gym challenge is meant to improve the battling skills of everyone that partakes in it. As you’re aware, Hoenn is a pretty dangerous place to live in, the educational purpose of a Gym Challenge is foremost to equip trainers with the battling skills to defend themselves from threats and be able to use pokemon effectively in battle. This is especially true if the expectation of the gym challenger intends to complete the gym circuit and challenge the Elite Four. Which leads me to my second point. [break][break]

A Gym Challenge also serves the purpose of training a future Champion ranked trainer. The Elite 4 also serve this purpose. But in order to do that, a trainer must have stepping stones and meaningful progression. At minimum, this means they must have some experience with battling others in a proper format with established experience so that they aren’t flattened by later challenges in the Elite Four. If the challenge is easy, if it is possible for a person to just coast by on 6 non-traditional challenges, they will be flattened when it comes to the Elite Four. Then the gym challenge will have failed it’s purpose. It will have failed to create a trainer tempered enough for the challenges ahead. [break][break]

At the end of the day, when I was discussing with Dahlia and Kyle and when I was reading FERNANDO SILPH’s comments here, I feel there should be an alignment on what education means: We exist to create trainers strong enough to face threats and defend others when necessary, that is the reason why a Champion is now a rank, not just a single position.[break][break]

That said, I’m happy to hear suggestions on how to correct the overcorrection, and I’ll speak to the higher ups about it. But I can’t make any promises, just let me know what you think are appropriate changes and send them to me separately from the group chat. Hope this clarifies, Josh and Alexei. [break][break]

Andrea Vaneau Also, welcome to the gym leaders!

[attr="class","top"]
dragonborn27 [break]
@dragonborn27

[attr="class","comment"]
Oops! How do I change my name and pfp again?

[attr="class","section"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

[attr="class","top"]
josh devlin [break]
@raikougoesfast

[attr="class","comment"]
Glad to see you in here, Andrea Vaneau! If you have any questions on how to run your Gym, we're here to help.[break][break]

Andrea's point is something I've been trying to beat around the bush about for a while. This is the sort of philosophical discussion Alexei Ivanov and I have had back and forth into the wee hours of the morning before. I respect the decisions of the Elite Four, Top Champion, and Council, but I have the right to a dissenting opinion. And frankly, it's up to them what they do with our feedback. As long as the lesson the Gym is trying to teach can be reinforced by either the battle option or whatever special challenge the Leader comes up with, why should it matter how the Badge was obtained?[break][break]

Ultimately, it is our responsibility as Gym Leaders to ensure only those who are truly worthy of our Badges receive them. Don't get me wrong. I think that there should be a minimum standard of battle that Badge holders should be able to demonstrate. I reiterate: I'm very happy with the new framework. I just feel some of the numbers need tweaking is all. I can offer two suggestions:[break][break]

1) Reduce the percentage of Badges obtained through pure battle needed to become eligible for the Champion Assessment. If people are trying to achieve Champion Rank and their battle skills weren't tested well enough, it will show on their interviews. There's more to a trainer's skill than just battle.[break]
2) Re-evaluate some of the custom challenges at Gyms. Johanna Joy's new Gym, for instance, has a custom challenge that is simply a standard battle with an added gimmick. If this means my Gym's racing challenge has to go, so be it. I won't be happy about it, but if it has to be done, I'll accept that.[break][break]

My DMs are open if you need to speak to me privately.