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Looking at the central branch of the Pokémon Alliance in Mountain City, which stood above dozens of steps in front of him, Jack sighed slightly in his heart.
Although Mountain City is only a prefecture-level city in the province of SC, cities capable of hosting Pokémon central branches are all promising.
There were many people coming and going. It was July, and numerous students applying to become novice trainers were here to collect their starter Pokémon.
Eevee, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgey, Pikachu—seeing the Pokémon accompanying the novice Trainers, Jack felt a twinge of envy. His gaze suddenly fixed on one Pokémon beside a Trainer—a Charmander.
An electronic screen suddenly materialized in the air, displaying the Charmander's information.
Race: Charmander
Attribute: Fire
Gender: Male
Level: 6
Qualification: ★★★
Items: None
Ability: Blaze [When the battle gets tough, this ability may activate, increasing the power of Fire-type moves by 1.5 times.]
IVs (Individual Value):
HP: 25 Attack: 30 Defense: 23 Special Attack: 25 Special Defense: 20 Speed: 30
Moves: Ember, Scratch, Slash
Egg Moves: None
Pokédex Entry: Charmander is gentle and loyal. Most live in mountains and caves.
Staring at the data, Jack swallowed enviously, then scanned the other Pokémon with focus. This was a unique ability Jack discovered within a year of arriving in this world. By concentrating, he could view Pokémon data as if in a game.
This ability was remarkable because even the Pokémon Alliance headquarters could only determine a Pokémon's potential by analyzing its habits, coat color, and spirit, followed by a series of detailed diagnostics.
While potential doesn't fully determine a Pokémon's upper limits, the resources needed to raise a 1-star Pokémon are several times that required for a 2-star Pokémon.
Yet, as expected from Pokémon provided by the Alliance, Jack observed that none of the Pokémon entering or exiting had a potential below 3 stars.
Without hesitation, Jack turned away from the Pokémon Alliance.
"Not in my budget! Time to leave!"
Jack wasn't there to claim a Pokémon. First, he wasn't a fresh graduate from a Pokémon science university. Second, he didn't have the money for it.
His previous self had dropped out of junior high and spent years struggling to make ends meet.
Jack belonged to the societal underclass.
After arriving in this world and understanding its workings, he had been juggling multiple part-time jobs to survive. Even so, his total savings amounted to a little over 130,000 Pokédollars.
There was no way he could afford the high fees of the Pokémon Alliance.
Jack's actual purpose for coming was to visit the Pokémon egg store opposite the Pokémon Alliance. A batch of Pokémon eggs was set to be sold at a low price. These eggs came from a Trainer who had swept through a forest in the wild.
Sometimes, when Trainers needed quick cash, they would venture into the wild to gather Pokémon or Pokémon eggs they didn't intend to raise, as being a Trainer is an expensive profession.
For common Pokémon, those captured are often sold at good prices on the black market. However, if the number is substantial, they are handed over to the Pokémon Alliance or sold in idle Pokémon stores.
It wasn't long before Jack arrived at the entrance of a Pokémon egg shop named "Dawn."
Without hesitation, Jack headed straight to the front desk.
"Hi, may I help you?"
The receptionist, a polite young woman, slightly bowed as Jack approached. She glanced at him discreetly and softly asked.
In fairness, Jack's appearance was somewhat charming.
Smiling politely, Jack replied, "Hello, I'd like to purchase a Pokémon egg."
"Of course. May I see your ID card for registration?"
Due to the strict regulations surrounding Pokémon-related transactions, presenting an ID card was mandatory. Jack handed his over without delay.
"All set," the girl said after completing the registration. "Would you like Pokémon eggs that have already been identified by race, or those without identification?"
Jack looked at her with a slight grin and answered decisively, "I'll take the unidentified ones."
He wasn't joking. The price difference between identified and unidentified Pokémon eggs was enormous. Even a Caterpie with basic identification could cost as much as 100,000 Pokédollars.
Although the racial characteristics of Pokémon eggs are often detectable during incubation, experienced stores can still estimate the potential of the Pokémon to some extent. Thus, the price of a common Caterpie with good potential could easily exceed 100,000 Pokédollars.
Given the high cost of appraisals, store evaluators charged based on the number of evaluations conducted, making the service prohibitively expensive for many.
In contrast, unidentified Pokémon eggs were uniformly priced at 80,000 Pokédollars.
Since many eggs didn't look promising to the untrained eye, Pokémon stores often stocked a batch of unidentified ones for those unable to afford identified options. However, these typically contained Pokémon with lower potential.
Aware of all this beforehand, Jack was undeterred. He entered the room where the Pokémon eggs were displayed, noting the other customers browsing alongside him.
After a quick glance, Jack drew a conclusion: they were all as broke as he was.
The room was filled with shelves of Pokémon eggs. Jack wandered through the selection, secretly shaking his head. Even an amateur like him could discern the stark difference in quality between identified and unidentified Pokémon eggs.
Finding a treasure here was as improbable as winning the lottery—unless you had an edge like Jack's special ability.
Without his ability, though, this store would still have been his only option—his finances left him no alternatives.
After an hour of searching, Jack still hadn't found an egg he was satisfied with. Using his ability, he checked each egg's potential. As expected, most contained Pokémon like Caterpie, Rattata, or Pidgey.
While Pidgey's final evolution into Pidgeot made it a decent Flying-type Pokémon, none of the Pidgey eggs here had potential exceeding one star. Most were zero-star Pokémon.
Raising such Pokémon would require immense effort, and evolving them would be a daunting task.
Repeatedly using his ability was beginning to take a toll on Jack. He felt mentally drained.
Still, he refused to give up. His unexpected arrival in this world left him no other path but to become a Pokémon Trainer.