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According to Cynthia's explanation, using Pokémon eggs as prizes is a very effective way to attract popularity. No one knows what will hatch from a Pokémon egg, but there are frequent rumors online about people hatching some powerful Pokémon from eggs, making a huge profit.
These kinds of rumors, to varying degrees, stimulate people's attention towards the event and give the organizers, who pay for the competition, a huge boost in popularity.
Anyway, after hearing Cynthia's description, Luther's first thought was that all those online rumors were hype created by the event organizers themselves. Luther had seen such tactics before, simple, effective, and always used in operations.
Holding the Pokémon egg, Luther didn't care much about what would hatch. Since the egg was chosen by himself, it was fate. Even if what hatched couldn't fight or looked bad, it could at least help guard his home in the future.
Marill was now lying in Cynthia's arms; she was too tired to walk anymore.
Right after eating, Marill was fine, but once she started moving, she felt her belly was uncomfortably bloated. Luther was curious where exactly the food she ate went. Her weight clearly changed before and after eating, but it still didn't add up.
"Professor Rowan's Evolution research has a theory: the stronger the Pokémon, the more energy they need to prepare for Evolution, and this energy demand is often reflected in their eating habits."
Cynthia's words made Luther pause.
"You mean, Marill herself is very strong, and because she perceives where her Evolution bottleneck lies, she is frantically storing energy?"
"This theory is still under academic discussion, but when my Gabite evolved into Garchomp, it also ate a lot, several times its usual amount. Strong Pokémon should be able to perceive where their Evolution 'line' is. Remember when I told you that weaker Pokémon often rely on external Evolution items?"
Luther nodded.
"In nature, most Pokémon that cannot evolve into their final forms try hard to find Evolution items to help them take that last step, because they know if they don't grow stronger, they will be eliminated by their own species. You once asked me whether nature completed Evolution first, nurturing Pokémon, or if Pokémon Evolution changed the world, I submitted that question to Rainbow University."
"That sounds very serious…"
"Pokémon have lived alongside us for over a thousand years, yet our understanding of them remains limited. This seriousness is respect for life, and also respect for ourselves humans."
When Cynthia talked about academics, she seemed like a different person from usual. It was the first time Luther had seen this side of her.
Mai was nearby, waving frantically at Luther. When she saw the Pokémon egg in his hands, her eyes widened.
"Where did you get that?" Luther handed the Pokémon egg to Mai, picked up Marill, and said, "Came out of eating."
The key contributor, Marill, burped again, straightened her tail and wagged it at Mai, as if asking for praise.
Having spent so much time together, Mai already knew what Marill meant, so she immediately gave her a big compliment, leaving Marill satisfied… then she burped again.
Seeing a long line ahead, Luther asked, "What are you playing here?"
"Oh, it's a Pokémon Ability testing machine that measures the power of Pokémon moves. There's an event where if you successfully reach the highest S-rank rating defending against two Hydreigon and one Malamar, you can get a Pokémon egg. I checked it out, way too hard, so I just tested my Pokémon's move power and quit."
Pokémon eggs again?
But Luther was more interested in testing move power.
After all, in this world, there's no fixed damage or move power limit. If your Pokémon is strong enough and skilled enough, even Dragon Rage can one-hit KO.
With such a convenient machine available, Luther suddenly wanted to know the strength differences within his team.
"Ranks go from S to F, seven levels in total. Slowpoke is B-rank, Pachirisu is C-rank, Eevee is C-rank, Corsola is C-rank, Lopunny is C-rank, all tested using their most proficient moves."
Eevee snorted and turned her head away, very dissatisfied with being ranked below Slowpoke. Slowpoke naturally still wore that dull, blank expression, completely unaffected by whatever Bronzong did.
Luther and Cynthia casually paid and lined up, peeking through the glass to watch the testing scene inside.
It didn't take long for Luther to understand what Mai meant by "very difficult."
If the challenge was not just a simple Pokémon rating test, but an attempt to earn a Pokémon egg, challengers could only use one Move—and it had to be a ranged Move.
Psychic energy spread by the Malamar and two Hydreigon swirled around the circular testing platform.
A stubborn Pokémon Trainer had their Pancham use Dark Pulse, hoping to break through the defense by countering with the Move. However, the Dark Pulse light hadn't even gotten within a meter of the platform before it was warped and twisted by the combined power of the three super-ability Pokémon.
Considering his own situation, Luther decisively extinguished his unrealistic desire to try for another Pokémon egg.
When it was Luther's turn, none of the challengers before him had succeeded. The closest was someone who broke through the defense and earned an E rating.
Cynthia said that person's double Vanillish, if properly trained, could have been stronger. Having been around Cynthia long enough, Luther understood what she was implying.
The Pokémon were fine, but the Pokémon Trainer wasn't.
"Are you here to challenge or just to test?" A staff member asked.
"Just testing, six Pokémon in total. Thanks."
Hearing it was only a test, the Hydreigon and Malamar relaxed their defense, letting Luther's Pokémon approach the tester.
"Use the Move you're most confident in to attack the machine. Jumpluff, you go first."
Jumpluff stood not far from the tester and immediately began Bulk Up followed by Solar Beam.
Luther could see the machine's durability firsthand. From previous tests, many Trainers' Moves had only left faint scratches on its surface, so he wasn't worried about Jumpluff blowing it up.
A brilliant beam of light flared up, and all the waiting Trainers watched as a pillar of light struck the tester, then slowly faded away after a few seconds.
As expected, the circular tester remained undamaged, and a nearby column showing the rank reacted.
"Jumpluff, B rank."
Very close to an A, but still short of that line.
Jumpluff glanced at the rank but seemed indifferent.
She knew the limits of her abilities, and rather than fret over the data, she preferred to hope for the future. She had confidence in herself and in Luther.
This was only her current data.
"Marill…"
Seeing that Marill was still hiccuping and hadn't recovered, Luther shook his head and sent Ralts forward.
Psychic power burst forth as Ralts slammed her psychic energy into the machine.
"Ralts, D rank."
Ralts looked a little disappointed, but just as she stepped down, Jumpluff went over and hugged her, whispering explanations into her ear that quickly eased Ralts' burden.
Espurr, who was very close to Ralts, floated up instinctively. She thought for a while and then slightly arched her body.
No one watching, including Luther, saw what happened next, but the tester's index started to climb rapidly.
It broke through D and C ranks, then slowly crawled in the B range, finally settling exactly at the midpoint between B and A.
Cynthia thoughtfully whispered to Luther, "It's Psyshock. Her battle talent is strong; she's already mastered the suppression technique when releasing moves, reducing the chance of being caught off guard."
"Pokémon that learn these kinds of techniques usually endure harsh environments, constantly suffering and self-summarizing, adapting out of survival pressure."
Cynthia didn't continue, but Luther had already bent down and gently picked up the Espurr who had finished her test, encouraging her warmly.
A child who had endured some unknown harsh environment and still maintained kindness and innocence deserved praise.
"Chansey, your turn."
During training, Luther usually only let Chansey be the others' punching bag. This test was the first time he was truly curious about how Chansey, with such low attack ability, would perform.
Chansey's body was surrounded by electric light as a bolt of lightning struck directly at the machine.
Was that… Thunderbolt?
The machine's numbers quickly appeared: D rank.
Chansey looked indifferent. She knew her battle ability wasn't strong. Luther had also told her that if she didn't like fighting, she didn't have to participate in battles. So Chansey played the role of the team's "punching bag," and her powerful self-recovery ability allowed her to keep training alongside the others.
Mismagius suddenly sprang forward. Just as the machine's reading stabilized, she casually flicked a purple-black Shadow Ball onto the machine.
The machine's numbers soared! It broke through C and B ranks and shot straight up to the A rank line, nearly halfway through the A tier.
This was the highest score among all Pokémon tested today, causing a stir among the watching Pokémon Trainers.
Using Moves was so effortless, yet the power was this strong! Mismagius swayed over to Luther, clearly asking for praise with her left-right shimmy.
"Alright, alright, awesome job, just as expected from you," Luther satisfied Mismagius's request.
Marill wobbled over to the machine, and Luther was a little worried she might suddenly feel sick and throw up...
After a long moment of preparation, Marill fired Ice Beam at the machine, then staggered and collapsed to the ground.
Luther quickly rushed over and picked her up. Marill let out a long, heavy hiccup, then rubbed her belly and sighed comfortably.
A murmur spread behind Luther. Confused, he looked up and saw the tester's data freeze just past the A rank line.
Marill's most practiced Ice Beam actually had that much power?
Handing the Pokémon over to Cynthia, Luther looked at Marill in a daze.
"Looks like Cynthia was right. Your evolution might be something else entirely."
"Lilu…" (Marill's nickname)
"Wonder how much you'll end up eating then."
Marill's eyes brightened at the mention of food again, making Luther smile wryly in resignation.
"I'm not testing. I'm challenging."
Cynthia's words made Luther raise his head.
Malamar and the two Hydreigon took their positions; the psychic energy spread out as before.
"Garchomp, come out and stretch your muscles!"
The Garchomp appeared on the field, opened its wings, and roared fiercely. Its powerful intimidation made Malamar and Hydreigon instinctively step back.
"The rules are…" The staff member intended to reiterate the rules to Cynthia, but she interrupted him.
"Got it. Only one Move allowed, and it must be a ranged Move."
"Garchomp, Hyper Beam."
Garchomp's Bulk Up speed was surprisingly fast. Without moving any other parts of its body to assist, it bent halfway, standing firm.
Is that still a Hyper Beam?
Light blazed across the test field as the thick beam of energy pierced through the defenses constructed by Malamar and Hydreigon at an unbelievable speed.
Realizing the danger, the three Pokémon all used Moves to try to stop the Hyper Beam.
But it was futile.
Their Moves collided with the Hyper Beam but couldn't diminish its power. The tremendous roar shook the entire field slightly.
Garchomp impatiently flapped its wings, blowing away the lingering smoke. The numbers rocketed up like a rocket launch; even the A rank couldn't hold back the rising numbers.
After breaking through the S rank line, there was still no sign of stopping. But the tester's maximum rank was only S… an unstoppable force prevented the machine's numbers from climbing further.
The glass surface of the machine began to crack little by little, until, under everyone's watchful eyes, it shattered into a pile of broken glass shards.
In the sudden silence, Cynthia's voice rang out.
"Looks like I'm getting the prize?"
(End of chapter)