Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 377 - 376: To Bet or Not?

"I would like to see the Hoenn region starters first: Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko," Cain said, mentioning 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 extremely 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: Flame 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 moment, 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 become 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 somewhat 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 mega-evolving, whereas Swampert performed better once it mega-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 Mega Swampert was slightly higher than that of Mega Blaziken.

"System, what does this anomalous state of Torchic mean?" Cain asked, hesitating. If Torchic had any defects, it would be better to choose Mudkip; he could afford the time needed for its early development.

"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 mechanical tone in Cain's mind.

"Intense psychic waves causing an anomalous state? Has it been affected by something?" 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 methods to modify the probabilities, but physical contact with the Pokémon is required."

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

This meant 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)