After Kebi made his choice, Tobias casually pointed at Chimchar.
“Him.”
Dr. Shanli also gave him a Pokédex and five empty Poké Balls.
However, Dr. Shanli did not give Tobias any advice.
Tobias returned Chimchar to its Poké Ball, nodded to Dr. Shanli, and said,
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Kebi was also about to leave, but Dr. Shanli waved him over.
“I have a task here. The reward is quite good, but it requires a trip to the Hoenn region. Are you interested?”
Go to the Hoenn region?
That would be great.
A year is enough time to collect badges. If one cannot collect eight badges within a year, it generally proves a lack of talent in the Trainer path.
Kebi was also considering whether to stay in the Sinnoh region for the six months before challenging the Sinnoh League, or to explore other regions’ Pokémon and scenery.
Now that Dr. Shanli had given him a task, he would travel to the Hoenn region.
“What kind of task is it?”
Dr. Shanli smiled and explained:
“I need wild starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region, preferably in their initial forms: Treecko, Mudkip, or Torchic. You only need to catch one.”
“You can then board the extra Pokémon at Yamabuki Research Institute for three years, and the Pokémon you catch will belong to you. They just need to cooperate with me for some research.”
Catching any one would mean help boarding Pokémon for three years, and there was no limit to how many he could board.
Dr. Shanli, are you sure you’re not running a charity?
“I accept. Thank you, Doctor.”
Dr. Shanli patted Kebi’s shoulder.
“When I returned to my hometown to open this institute, I also had the intention of cultivating more excellent Trainers for my hometown. Kebi, work hard. I have high hopes for your future.”
“Doctor, I’ll take my leave now.”
Mudkip and Torchic would require luck, but Treecko would not.
Kebi remembered that in the anime, the forest where Ash caught Treecko had a Treecko clan. He could go there to catch one.
The location of that forest was between Petalburg City and Rustboro City.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
Stepping out of the institute, Kebi noticed Tobias leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, not having left.
Upon seeing Kebi emerge, Tobias walked up to him.
Kebi raised an eyebrow, “Is something wrong?”
Tobias took out a Poké Ball and handed it to Kebi.
Kebi was a little puzzled, “This is…”
“It’s the Chimchar I just received from Yamabuki Research Institute.”
Kebi frowned. “What do you want?”
“It’s for you.”
Kebi took the Poké Ball, looking at Tobias in confusion.
“Why give it to me? This is a Pokémon you just received. You haven’t even understood Chimchar’s abilities yet. Isn’t it inappropriate to abandon him like this?”
Tobias took out a Poké Ball and tossed it casually.
Behind Tobias appeared a black, humanoid Pokémon like a shadow, with flowing white long hair, red jagged edges around its collar, and a dark, terrifying aura emanating from its entire body.
Darkrai!
Although he knew Tobias possessed the Nightmare Pokémon, Darkrai,
it was only when facing Darkrai directly that Kebi truly sensed the powerful oppressive aura of a Legendary Pokémon.
“I already have Darkrai. I don’t want to waste time training ordinary Pokémon like Chimchar. My goal is to catch more Legendary Pokémon.”
Kebi couldn’t help but inwardly grumble, *Damn it, he’s showing off.*
“Then why give it to me?”
Tobias’s lips curved into a slight smile.
“You have a special aura. Perhaps you will become an interesting opponent. Only when enough strong Trainers participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference will my championship have true value.”
Tobias giving Chimchar to Kebi was something Kebi appreciated, but Tobias releasing Darkrai to show off made Kebi unhappy.
After a year and a half of hard work, he was determined to win the Lily of the Valley Conference!
Now, let me see just how strong your Darkrai is.
【Darkrai】
【lv70 lv68】
【Ability: Bad Dreams】
【Potential: Red (8/100)】
【Status: Indifferent】
【Stats: 800】
【HP: 100】
【Attack: 130】
【Defense: 100】
【Special Attack: 195】
【Special Defense: 100】
【Speed: 175】
The stats displayed by the detector are similar to the combined manifestation of base stats, individual values, and effort values in games. Each point of stat strength corresponds to base stats, allowing for a clear and intuitive assessment of a Pokémon’s power.
Kebi then looked at Piplup’s stats.
【Piplup】
【lv70 lv8】
【Stats: 339】
【HP: 63】
【Attack: 51】
【Defense: 53】
【Special Attack: 71】
【Special Defense: 61】
【Speed: 40】
Darkrai’s Level was a fraction of Piplup’s, and its stats weren’t even half of Darkrai’s.
Kebi thought to himself.
【System, activate Brock character card.】
After activating the Brock character card, Kebi immediately felt his understanding of Darkrai become clearer, even more intuitive than the analyzer’s data.
Kebi sighed with emotion that it was truly a profession that even technology couldn’t replace. Brock’s Breeder ability allowed Kebi to discover that Tobias and Darkrai’s bond wasn’t very deep.
Tobias might not even be able to fully unleash Darkrai’s power, let alone have a burst of strength in battle.
Moreover, Darkrai had some imbalances; it overly pursued attack power, disrupting the Pokémon’s normal physical balance.
He believed that when Darkrai attacked, there would be a momentary flaw.
If it couldn’t switch to defense in time, the opponent’s attacks would be more likely to land a Dire Hit.
In martial arts film terms, Darkrai’s training wasn’t complete, and its body had a weak spot.
Kebi’s mind raced, already formulating some ideas to compensate for Darkrai’s physical balance.
Looking at Kebi, who was staring blankly at Darkrai, Tobias smiled contentedly.
Darkrai’s power was indeed formidable.
“How about it? Are you shocked by Darkrai’s immense power?”
【System, deactivate character card.】
Kebi, holding Chimchar’s Poké Ball, nodded and said faintly,
“It is powerful indeed, but there’s a saying, ‘too much of a good thing.’ Overly pursuing destructive power isn’t a good thing. I advise you to re-evaluate Darkrai’s coordination.”
“I imagine that as an excellent Trainer, you couldn’t have noticed nothing, could you?”
Having said that, Tobias did give Chimchar to Kebi.
Kebi was someone who repaid kindness. Since he discovered a problem, he couldn’t keep silent.
Tobias’s expression turned somewhat grim.
He did indeed feel that Darkrai’s offense and defense were not coordinated enough.
But he hadn’t expected it was due to his pursuit of destructive power.
“Why tell me? If Darkrai’s flaws are fixed, you’ll have even less chance of beating me.”
Kebi also smiled and said,
“Just as you said, only when the Trainers participating in the Lily of the Valley Conference are strong enough will the championship have true value.”
Tobias smiled knowingly.
“Interesting. You are indeed the opponent I chose. You truly have the potential to become a strong person. I look forward to seeing you again at the Lily of the Valley Conference.”
With that, Tobias recalled Darkrai, released a Garchomp, and leaped onto Garchomp’s back, soaring into the sky.
【Garchomp】
【lv70 lv70】
【Ability: Rough Skin】
【Potential: Gold (54/100)】
The time was too short; he couldn’t scan all of Garchomp’s data.
Pokémon potential is divided into seven levels: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red, and Rainbow. Potential affects a Pokémon’s Level and stat growth rate, as well as a higher Level cap.
One Red Darkrai, one Gold Garchomp, and one Latios that was most likely also Red.
A powerful opponent. Kebi was already fired up.
Releasing Chimchar from its Poké Ball, Kebi stroked its warm fur and told him everything.
“Chimchar, do you want to travel with me, then train hard, battle to improve yourself, or go back to the institute and wait for the next new Trainer to choose you?”
Chimchar clenched his fists in anger, jumping around to vent his frustration.
Why did they call him ordinary? He could be very strong, okay!
Chimchar decided he wanted to travel with Kebi.
He wanted to work hard to become stronger and soundly defeat Tobias’s Pokémon.
Seeing the fire in Chimchar’s eyes, Kebi squatted down and extended his fist towards Chimchar.
“Excellent! Let’s work hard together and burn with youthful passion!”
Chimchar touched his fist to Kebi’s, “Chi-chi!”
【Chimchar】
【lv70 lv5】
【Stats: 327】
【HP: 46】
【Attack: 62】
【Defense: 46】
【Special Attack: 58】
【Special Defense: 44】
【Speed: 71】
From the stats, the Blue potential Chimchar was not too far behind the Purple potential Piplup for now.
Looking at the Level, with the same resources provided by the institute for training, Piplup’s progress was simply faster and greater.
However, Kebi believed that a hardworking genius was still a genius.
Infinite power was hidden within a Pokémon’s heart, waiting for its Trainer to ignite it.
Now, let them depart for the Hoenn region!
Oh, right, he hadn’t checked in today.
【System, check in!】