With a big grain of salt here since this is all very tentative and Kit & Worm might have other thoughts, but I'm thinking along these lines:
- The Aurora League (and badges) would be kept separate - a new member doesn't come up super often so it's honestly not a lot of (mod) work to maintain.
- Being an Aurora League Gym Leader would be 100% optional for max rank, but could probably be used as part of someone's evidence for getting to the max rank! (I did think about having max rank be a a requirement to get a Gym alongside the badges, but honestly... someone who is making an entire Gym is generally pretty engaged in VR and the badges are a relatively long haul as is! So my inclination is, it makes more sense to use it as "if you can become a Gym Leader, it's evidence that you've Made It in your career".)
- Since the careers/ranks are meant to be flexible, title would be up to the player and based primarily on how they want their character to be perceived! Someone being a max rank Ace Trainer with a Gym makes perfect sense. If that's not evidence of being an Ace Trainer nothing is. Someone who had been Ace Trainer all the way before max rank, and then at max rank, asked to switch the title to Gym Leader, also seems like a logical progression to me. The character is now known as a Gym Leader first, people think of that specifically before they think "extremely good Trainer". Aaaand I also wouldn't be mad about someone being a PokeProfessor, and saying "Part of my evidence for my character becoming max rank is that they have a Gym now - yeah, they're a Professor instead of a Trainer, but it's actually part of their career as a Professor. They've studied their particular Pokemon specialty so much that they can now open a Gym about it, and they're still using the Gym to conduct so-and-so research, and..."
no subject
- The Aurora League (and badges) would be kept separate - a new member doesn't come up super often so it's honestly not a lot of (mod) work to maintain.
- Being an Aurora League Gym Leader would be 100% optional for max rank, but could probably be used as part of someone's evidence for getting to the max rank! (I did think about having max rank be a a requirement to get a Gym alongside the badges, but honestly... someone who is making an entire Gym is generally pretty engaged in VR and the badges are a relatively long haul as is! So my inclination is, it makes more sense to use it as "if you can become a Gym Leader, it's evidence that you've Made It in your career".)
- Since the careers/ranks are meant to be flexible, title would be up to the player and based primarily on how they want their character to be perceived!
Someone being a max rank Ace Trainer with a Gym makes perfect sense. If that's not evidence of being an Ace Trainer nothing is.
Someone who had been Ace Trainer all the way before max rank, and then at max rank, asked to switch the title to Gym Leader, also seems like a logical progression to me. The character is now known as a Gym Leader first, people think of that specifically before they think "extremely good Trainer".
Aaaand I also wouldn't be mad about someone being a PokeProfessor, and saying "Part of my evidence for my character becoming max rank is that they have a Gym now - yeah, they're a Professor instead of a Trainer, but it's actually part of their career as a Professor. They've studied their particular Pokemon specialty so much that they can now open a Gym about it, and they're still using the Gym to conduct so-and-so research, and..."