Kyle slumped on the sofa, his face gloomy with dissatisfaction. He couldn't believe he had lost to Jacob, a complete novice in Pokémon battles.
"This round doesn't count," Kyle declared, desperately trying to salvage his pride. "I want a rematch with my Rockruff."
"No," Jacob replied firmly. He wasn't foolish enough to fall for that. His Noibat had only managed to defeat Kyle's Charmander because both Pokémon were relatively weak, their combat power barely reaching the ordinary level.
In this world, combat power was classified into ten distinct levels: ordinary, rare, elite, lord, overlord, gym leader (Quasi-King), king, champion, master, and legendary. These levels corresponded directly to trainer qualification rankings in the official league system.
Kyle's Rockruff had been carefully trained since it was just a tiny pup, and its strength had long since reached the elite level. Even if Noibat possessed higher potential, the significant difference in their current combat power ant Jacob's Pokémon stood no chance against Rockruff.
"Your Rockruff is close to evolving," Jacob said, tactfully changing the subject. "Which form do you plan to evolve it into?"
"Dusk Form," Kyle answered without hesitation, clearly having planned this evolution path carefully. "Lycanroc's Dusk Form has the Tough Claws ability—it's incredibly powerful."
Jacob nodded in agreent. If given the choice, he would also evolve Rockruff into its Dusk Form. The combination of high speed and attack power, further enhanced by the Tough Claws ability, made for an excellent battle competitor.
"Jacob, are you really not coming to the internet café today?" Kyle asked, his competitive spirit rekindled after their battle. He began trying to persuade Jacob to join him for so online gaming.
"I really can't today," Jacob shook his head. "Noibat just hatched; I need to stay ho and care for it. You go ahead without . Playing solo will better showcase your skills anyway. I won't be there to carry you today."
"That's nonsense!" Kyle exclaid, visibly provoked by Jacob's teasing comnt. "With your skill level, you think you're carrying ? Just watch—if you're not there holding
back today, I guarantee I'll reach gold rank." Without further attempts to convince Jacob, he dashed off to the internet café alone, determined to prove that Jacob was the real amateur.
...
After Kyle left, Jacob had the house to himself. He divided his ti between caring for the little Noibat and studying his textbooks.
The college entrance examination in this world was similar to the one in his previous life, except for an additional subject: Pokémon Studies. This subject was also required for the trainer certification exam and Pokémon research programs, and it was notoriously difficult.
"For a Scyther with a height of 1.5 ters and weight of 56 kg to evolve into Scizor, what is the perfect amount of tal Coat required?"
"Which Pokémon cannot learn Normal-type moves? What's the standard weight of its final evolution?"
"Please list all Pokémon that have Poison/Ground as their primary typing."
...
So questions were relatively straightforward, but others presented quite the challenge.
Beyond this specialized knowledge, Jacob also had to review regular academic subjects, including language arts, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, and biology. This routine made him feel like he was reliving his high school days—a bittersweet mixture of struggle and satisfaction.
After studying for a while, Jacob rembered he had completed a system task.
[First Victory]: Win your first match. Failure penalty: None. Reward: One random draw.
"The lottery system has been activated. Do you want to proceed with the draw?"
"Draw," Jacob ntally commanded.
After his silent confirmation, a large spinning wheel materialized before him and began to rotate rapidly.
"Stop."
As Jacob ntally said "stop," the lottery wheel gradually slowed until the pointer finally landed on a disc.
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the one-ti Technical Machine: Surf."
Surf: Attack the opponent with a powerful wave of water.
Technical Machines allowed Pokémon to learn moves they wouldn't acquire naturally through leveling up. In this world, TMs ca in two varieties: one-ti use and permanent. The value difference between them was substantial.
Most Technical Machines were controlled by influential families. These TMs ford the foundation of their wealth and power, widening the gap between them and ordinary people. Outsiders who wanted to use these TMs had to pay a considerable price.
Jacob's family owned a permanent TM for Bug Buzz. The advertised learning price was 5,000 Pokédollars per use, limited to one Pokémon per day. Operating year-round, it provided Jacob's family with a stable inco of roughly a million Pokédollars annually.
This was only because Bug Buzz wasn't particularly powerful in the current ta. If it were a move like Protect or Swords Dance, the price would skyrocket to around 500,000 Pokédollars per use, with appointnts required well in advance. Cutting the line would incur substantial additional fees.
Anyone who possessed a permanent TM essentially owned an endless gold mine—provided they had the strength to protect it.
According to Jacob, the most shocking news last year was the massacre of a family who had owned the Shadow Ball TM. All family mbers were killed in the incident.
Since then, the whereabouts of the Shadow Ball TM remained unknown. Only a few one-ti Shadow Ball TMs circulated in the market, their prices skyrocketing to astronomical levels.
If it weren't for his elder brother, the youngest quasi-king-level trainer in the region, Jacob's family probably wouldn't have been able to keep their Bug Buzz TM safe either.
Jacob examined the Surf TM carefully. Noibat couldn't learn Surf, but its evolved form, Noivern, could. However, by the ti Noibat evolved into Noivern, it would have already learned many powerful moves naturally and wouldn't necessarily need Surf in its moveset.
Therefore, Jacob decided not to use the Surf TM himself but instead to sell it on the market.
Popular moves like Surf, especially in a one-ti TM format, commanded high prices. The purchase offers online averaged around 300,000 Pokédollars. Jacob couldn't help but marvel at his luck—he'd essentially gained 300,000 Pokédollars with a simple spin of the wheel.
Jacob opened the online marketplace app, carefully compared prices from three different vendors, and contacted the most reputable buyer, who purchased his Surf TM for 320,000 Pokédollars.
With the substantial sum of 320,000 Pokédollars now in his account, Jacob felt a surge of excitent. At the sa ti, he noticed several new private ssages on his post seeking various evolution stones.
"Are you there? Premium stones, perfect quality, interested?"
"C-grade Thunder Stone, expert certified, fair price, just one left."
"This is a top-quality Shiny Stone, family heirloom for three generations. Reluctantly selling because my mother-in-law demanded 28,800 as dowry paynt."
...
Jacob quickly browsed through the ssages and responded to each one. There were beautiful, unusual stones for sale, as well as special evolution items like Thunder Stones. Unfortunately, these weren't what Jacob was targeting, and the quality was difficult to guarantee on the online platform. After careful consideration, Jacob modified his purchase post, limiting the scope to Frosthollow Region and emphasizing that he was only collecting various sparkling stones.
Stones like Evolutionary Keystones, ga Stones, Wishing Stars, and Tera Orbs all shared one notable feature: they sparkled with an unmistakable brilliance.
Jacob had just updated his post and was about to close the app when he imdiately received a new private ssage.
"I have a strange stone in my hand."
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