"I would like to see the Hoenn region starters first: Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko," Cain said, ntioning the Pokémon he was most interested in.
"Alright."
Umbra then spoke to the air: "Alakazam, bring the high-quality Poké Balls with the Hoenn region starters."
It had been promised to Cain that if he delayed his reward for the starter Pokémon until after the Final Trial, the level of the starter Pokémon would be higher.
Then, a wave of psychic energy was felt.
Five Poké Balls appeared on the table, and through the transparent windows of the Poké Balls, the Pokémon inside were visible.
A flash passed through Cain’s eyes as the system scanned all the data of the five Pokémon.
The five were starters from the Hoenn region: a Mudkip, two Torchic, and two Treecko.
Cain pretended to observe them carefully while secretly comparing the data of the five Pokémon.
He quickly discarded the two lower-quality Pokémon, leaving him with one Mudkip, one Torchic, and one Treecko, all of which were blue quality.
It could be said that these three Pokémon had extrely outstanding qualities.
If anyone could choose one of these three as their starter Pokémon, and they had decent talent, their growth ceiling would undoubtedly be very high.
It was worth noting that Cain, with his strength as a Team Rocket captain or higher, had Pokémon whose quality mostly ranged from dark green to light blue.
And with that quality, he was already among the best in the new generation of Team Rocket, to the point where even Giovanni had taken notice of him.
For example, Vexor’s light blue Beedrill, as a trusted subordinate of an Executive, was already his ace.
But could Beedrill compare to the Hoenn starters?
The data for the three Pokémon was as follows:
Pokémon: Mudkip (Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 5
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Refresh, Bite, Counter, Ice Ball
Basic Moves: Tackle, Growl, Water Gun
Learned Moves: Water Pulse
TM Moves: None
...
Pokémon: Torchic (Blue) (Anomalous state)
Gender: Male
Level: 5
Type: Fire
Ability: Speed Boost
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Fla Burst, Agility, Last Resort, Feint
Basic Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember
Learned Moves: Heat Wave
TM Moves: None
...
Pokémon: Treecko (Blue)
Gender: Female
Level: 5
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Leech Seed, Magical Leaf, Bullet Seed, Grassy Terrain
Basic Moves: Pound, Leer, Absorb
Learned Moves: Seed Bomb
TM Moves: None
These three Pokémon had excellent quality and very useful abilities.
Since their quality was similar, Cain decided to eliminate Treecko from second priority first.
He didn’t have any grass-type Pokémon at the mont, but he didn’t consider it urgent. Additionally, Treecko wouldn’t bring much to his team.
It wasn’t like Swampert, which could integrate well with his current team setup and also have a role in Cain’s future plans.
Nor was it like Blaziken, which directly covered the deficiencies in Cain’s team and had room to grow in Cain’s future plans.
Now, he had to decide between Mudkip and Torchic.
Cain personally preferred Mudkip, which was relatively stable and, once evolved into Swampert, could beco an ace of the team.
Whether or not he decided to form a rain team in the future, Swampert could fulfill the necessary role.
Swampert’s resistance was so good that Cain found it hard to turn it down.
However, Torchic was also hard to ignore, as it had the hidden ability Speed Boost.
If Torchic had any other ability, Cain would probably have chosen Mudkip after a brief consideration, but fortune smiled upon him: Team Rocket had a Torchic with the ability Speed Boost!
In terms of type, Swampert had the advantage; in terms of ability, Blaziken with Speed Boost was in the lead.
Therefore, considering only types and abilities, both Pokémon were nearly on par.
When evaluating their moves, Mudkip’s moves were fairly common, with nothing particularly impressive or to criticize too much.
However, Torchic had a move Cain particularly valued: Last Resort.
A move with a base power of 140. Although the usage restrictions were sowhat high, its power couldn’t be underestimated.
Additionally, an important point was that Blaziken with Speed Boost could show all of its potential even before ga-evolving, whereas Swampert perford better once it ga-evolved and had the support of a rain team.
So, if Cain had to choose between these two Pokémon, he would probably choose Torchic.
It could be said that Blaziken with Speed Boost had a higher minimum level than Swampert with Torrent, but the maximum level of ga Swampert was slightly higher than that of ga Blaziken.
"System, what does this anomalous state of Torchic an?" Cain asked, hesitating. If Torchic had any defects, it would be better to choose Mudkip; he could afford the ti needed for its early developnt.
"Bip! An anomalous state in Torchic has been detected due to it having just been born, but it presents intense psychic waves. Its potential and quality are not clearly defined yet, and if not controlled, its quality may decrease," the system replied with its chanical tone in Cain’s mind.
"Intense psychic waves causing an anomalous state? Has it been affected by sothing?" Cain murmured to himself.
His expression changed, and he continued asking: "System, if Torchic shows fluctuations in its quality due to the psychic waves, is there a chance to improve its quality to stabilize it at dark blue?"
"Bip! That possibility exists, but the system cannot guarantee it. According to preliminary calculations, the success rate is one in five."
"One in five? So, a 20% chance of improving its quality? And what about the other probabilities? Is there any way to modify these odds?"
"Preliminary calculations: probability of improving quality: 20%, maintaining quality: 40%, reducing quality: 40%."
"If a more precise calculation is desired, the host must have physical contact with the Pokémon so that the system can perform an exact probability calculation. There are thods to modify the probabilities, but physical contact with the Pokémon is required."
This ant it was a sort of gamble. If the system couldn’t help, Torchic would have a 40% chance of losing quality.
But there was a 20% chance that its quality would improve.
Should he take the risk?
Torchic with the ability Speed Boost...
Was it worth the gamble?
(End of Chapter)
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