“Hey, what about this Pokémon?”

While walking and stopping periodically, Jacob’s eyes fell on a particular Pokémon egg, examining it carefully. This was the first King-level Pokémon that Jacob had discovered in this area.

[Pokémon Egg]

Darumaka

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Potential: King-level

Ability: Inner Focus

Moves: ? ? ?

The fiery Darumaka resembled a round, red-furred monkey with fluffy crimson hair covering its entire body. When it retracted its limbs, it could hide within its fur and transform into a round ball. It had distinctive yellow eyebrows shaped like clouds, three yellow spots on its abdomen, and seagull-like yellow markings across its back.

The special characteristic of this Darumaka was the hidden ability Inner Focus, which meant that when it evolved into Darmanitan, its ability would become Zen Mode.

In the games, Darmanitan with the Zen Mode ability would transform into its Zen form when its HP fell below half. In this state, its Speed and Attack would decrease, while its Defense, Special Defense, and Special Attack would increase dramatically. Additionally, its typing would change from pure Fire to Fire/Psychic. This was a versatile ability with numerous applications.

It seemed impressive on paper, but wasn’t particularly practical in the games. Players typically preferred Darmanitan’s other ability, Sheer Force, which eliminated additional effects from moves but increased their power by 30%. It was straightforward and effective, boosting raw damage output. Since the games were turn-based with each trainer making one move at a time, increasing power by 30% often meant defeating opponents in a single hit.

However, reality differed from the games. In the real world, Darmanitan with Zen Mode was quite popular, commanding a price several times higher than Darmanitan with Sheer Force. This was because real Darmanitan with Zen Mode could enter their alternate form voluntarily, rather than only transforming when their HP dropped below half.

This meant that Darmanitan could shift into Zen Mode to double its defenses when withstanding attacks, then revert to normal form when attacking. The flexibility made it extremely powerful.

Another Pokémon with a similar trait was Aegislash, the Ghost/Steel type whose ability, Stance Change, was equally versatile. With both Defense and Attack at 140 in Shield Form and Blade Form respectively, plus Speed and HP both at 60, Aegislash was theoretically a top-tier Pokémon with a base stat total of 500. This was actually nerfed from the original design, which had Defense and Attack at 150 in each form, totaling 520.

Combined with its excellent Ghost/Steel typing, Aegislash had only four doubled weaknesses, but three type immunities, eight resistances, and one quadruple resistance.

Whenever Jacob thought about this, he wanted to shout, “The Steel type is truly the best in the world!”

“Mr. Jacob, do you like this Pokémon egg? This is a Darumaka egg, not native to our region. The Darumaka population in the Flame Realm was introduced fifteen years ago. The quality of this batch of eggs is exceptional. Moreover, this particular egg is available for public purchase. As long as payment is made, it won’t count against Gym Leader Asher’s two selection quotas.”

Aria noticed that Jacob had lingered longest in front of this egg. Her eyes brightened as she carefully explained that the Flame Realm had imported Darumaka fifteen years ago, and during that time, many generations had been bred. However, their potential after hatching was generally unremarkable. Until the previous batch, the highest potential achieved was only at the Overlord level.

The officials of the Flame Realm hadn’t expected the sudden appearance of this King-level Darumaka, so they made it available for purchase, with the price being quite reasonable at only…

Wait, 128 million Pokédollars?

This price wasn’t actually expensive for a Pokémon with King-level potential, but considering that the Flame Realm believed this egg to be merely Overlord level, asking for 128 million was rather steep.

Jacob wanted to buy it immediately, but unfortunately lacked sufficient funds. His brother, however, did not: “We’ll take this egg and pay for everything later.”

“Certainly.” Aria’s face lit up with a bright smile. She would earn substantial commission from this transaction, and her expression grew even more cheerful.

Jacob continued exploring but didn’t encounter any other King-level Pokémon, though he did find three with Gym Leader-level potential.

Just then, Asher finished his own inspection and walked over.

“What Pokémon egg is this?” Asher asked, examining the egg that Aria had set aside.

“Brother, this is the egg I selected for you. It doesn’t count against your quota and costs only 128 million Pokédollars,” Jacob explained quickly.

Only 128 million?

Asher was perplexed. He had just been eyeing several promising eggs but was discouraged by their prices. Surprisingly, his younger brother wasn’t hesitant at all, directly selecting an egg and having it prepared.

Asher didn’t object, though, because Jacob had proven remarkably skilled at identifying valuable Pokémon eggs. Asher’s ace Blaziken and their father’s Shiny Scizor were both discoveries made by Jacob.

“Then we’ll take it,” Asher confirmed. Over a million wasn’t a significant amount for him. “Miss Aria, please show us to the collection room.”

“Of course. This way, please.”

The brothers entered the collection room. Compared to the previous area, there were even fewer people here. Besides the Asher brothers, there was only another young man and a middle-aged gentleman who had arrived about a minute earlier.

With fewer visitors came fewer Pokémon eggs in the collection room. Each egg received careful attention, and even the least impressive specimens had Overlord-level potential, while most were Gym Leader-level or even King-level Pokémon!

Jacob was awestruck and couldn’t help but marvel at the confidence of the Secret Realm, possessing so many high-potential Pokémon. It would be entirely possible to train a world-class trainer with such resources. His brother having access to two selections meant the Pokémon Association was being incredibly generous.

“The Pokémon here are of exceptional quality and not available for public purchase. Only those who have made significant contributions to the Pokémon Association are granted selection privileges,” Aria explained seriously. “You may now make your choices.”

This time, the brothers didn’t separate but walked together, discussing their options.

“Brother, the quality of the eggs here is remarkable. Just look at their size—they’re larger than those outside,” Jacob observed.

“Indeed,” Asher nodded. This was his first time participating in such a selection process. Quite curious, he explored the collection room, looking around like an inquisitive child.

“I believe this egg must have excellent potential,” Asher said, pointing to an egg of extraordinary size with a light red shell featuring faint fire patterns.

Looking in the direction Asher indicated, the egg was truly exceptional. Not only was it impressively large, but the subtle flames flowing within the shell were quite unusual.

[Pokémon Egg]

Growlithe

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Potential: Gym Leader-level

Ability: Flash Fire

Moves: ? ? ?

Jacob examined it more closely and discovered that while the egg appeared powerful, its interior revealed less impressive qualities. Its true potential was only at the Gym Leader level.

Jacob realized that since arriving in Embermere City, his perspective had broadened considerably. In Starlight City, he could hardly ever see a Gym Leader-level Pokémon. Now, in Embermere, he found himself almost dismissive of Gym Leader-level Pokémon. He recognized he was becoming rather arrogant.

A guilty feeling washed over him.

“Excuse me, may we pass?” At that moment, the middle-aged man nearby suddenly spoke, interrupting Jacob’s thoughts.

“Please, go ahead,” Asher replied. He had obviously noticed the two luxuriously dressed individuals earlier but hadn’t been concerned. He stepped aside, allowing them to approach and examine the egg’s potential.

After carefully inspecting the egg, the middle-aged man turned and whispered something to the young man, then addressed their guide: “Please set this egg aside for us. We’ll select this one.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep