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Poliwag. A Water-type Pokémon whose final evolution is Politoed.
Politoed has Water and Ground attributes, and its Swift Swim Ability makes people naturally associate Politoed with Mega Swampert.
Indeed, apart from sharing the same type combination and Ability, the two also have many similarities in other aspects.
First of all, in terms of stats, their Speed is quite similar, and both have decent physical Attack. Of course, when it comes to physical Attack, Politoed is definitely no match for Mega Swampert.
Secondly, their roles on a team are the same—both serve as physical attackers in rain teams, though Politoed is essentially a lower-tier substitute for Mega Swampert.
This is because Politoed's physical Attack simply pales in comparison to Mega Swampert's terrifying offensive power, and its base stats are also inferior to Mega Swampert's. If Politoed has only one advantage, it's that it can fulfill its role without requiring Mega Evolution.
It frees up a Mega Evolution slot.
Finally, in terms of appearance, Politoed is far inferior to Swampert.
Looking at the Politoed with King-level potential before him, although the potential was quite respectable, Jacob wasn't satisfied.
As his collection of Pokémon had grown in number, Pokémon with King-level potential could no longer satisfy Jacob's requirements.
Now, he had very strict standards for his Pokémon's potential—they had to be at least at the Quasi-Champion level.
Seeing Jacob's eyes linger on the Poliwag Pokémon egg before him, Nina asked, "Do you like this Pokémon?"
"The potential of this Poliwag isn't bad, but it still doesn't meet my requirements. Of course, if I could buy it with money, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity," Jacob said.
Listening to their conversation, the guide beside them interjected, "I'm sorry, but the Pokémon eggs in the VIP area aren't available for direct purchase at this time. You must use your selection quota to obtain them."
"Never mind, let's keep looking."
Jacob shook his head. It wasn't worth wasting his precious national selection quota on a King-level Pokémon. For his national selection quota, his minimum requirement was a Champion-level Pokémon.
The Poliwag egg before him naturally didn't meet his standards.
...
Soon, all the Pokémon eggs had been brought out, but to Jacob's disappointment, aside from the Poliwag, he hadn't seen any Pokémon with potential above the King level.
When the last Pokémon egg was wheeled into the VIP area, Jacob's face showed clear disappointment. It seemed that this trip to Aqualis City would end up being just a vacation.
"What's wrong? Didn't you find a satisfactory Pokémon egg?" Nina also noticed the disappointed expression on Jacob's face and spoke to comfort him.
"Yeah. Although some of the eggs aren't bad, they're still quite far from what I'm hoping for," Jacob nodded. "Also, the national selection quota is too precious. I don't want to waste it carelessly, so I want to be very careful when choosing a Pokémon egg."
"I understand." Nina nodded, agreeing with Jacob's approach. "We should be cautious. If it were me, I'd definitely spend a month traveling to all the secret realms across the country to choose my favorite Pokémon egg."
While the two were talking, the guide beside them suddenly spoke up. "If you really want to find high-quality Pokémon, you could actually charter a boat and go out to sea."
"Although the deeper you venture into the ocean, the greater the dangers you'll encounter, at the same time, the farther out you go, the higher the quality of Pokémon you'll find. The quality and strength of ocean Pokémon are much superior to those found inland."
"Humanity hasn't fully explored the ocean yet, so it's easy to encounter powerful Pokémon when you go out to sea. But you must be well-prepared with Pokémon that can battle in the water."
"Because the sea isn't like land, many terrestrial Pokémon can't demonstrate their full strength at sea. On the other hand, Water-type Pokémon become significantly stronger."
Jacob listened to the guide's words with a thoughtful expression on his face and asked, "Charter a boat to go out to sea?"
"Yes." The guide said, "I have a friend who runs this kind of business. If you need a boat, you can contact me. Here's my business card."
After examining the business card, Jacob placed it in his pocket, nodded, and said with a smile, "If we decide to go out to sea, we'll contact you. Thank you."
"Alright. I'll ask my friend to give you a discount."
...
After leaving the secret realm, Jacob took the business card from his bag and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
Even if he wanted to rent a boat, he would never make that call, because the guide already knew his true identity. If he asked her to arrange a boat rental, there would inevitably be certain security risks.
Risks that could be avoided should naturally be avoided.
Moreover, Jacob actually had his own connections for renting a ship in Aqualis. His brother Asher had a friend who ran a business in Aqualis City, and that business was ship leasing and trading.
His name was something like od... should it be Odin?
Jacob wasn't entirely certain of his full name, but he was particularly impressed by his nickname, which people in certain circles knew as "Ladybug Man."
This person was also one of his brother's close friends. Jacob had met him at his brother's wedding celebration.
He had the appearance of a charming rogue with a mischievous smile constantly on his face. He was tall, dark-skinned, and powerfully built, with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and muscular arms. He was quite popular with mature women and truly lived up to his nickname of Ladybug Man.
"Nina, do you want to go out to sea?" Jacob asked, holding Nina's hand.
"Sure, I don't mind. If you want to go, I'll come with you," Nina responded with a smile. She didn't really care either way. She would be happy as long as she could spend time with Jacob.
"Alright, I'll make a call."
...
"Hey, brother," Jacob's voice came through the phone. "How's sister-in-law doing lately? The due date should be only about two months away now. How does it feel knowing you're about to become a father?"
"She's doing fine. Pretty much the same, though her temper's been a bit short lately. I don't feel much different, but I do feel a little melancholy. Without even realizing it, this handsome man is about to become a father. Thousands of girls will be heartbroken over this—what a tragedy, what a tragedy. Honey, take it easy! I'm just joking, just joking!"
Jacob chatted casually with his brother Asher.
The brotherhood between the two was really peculiar. They often went ten days or even two weeks without contacting each other, but once they did connect, they always had endless topics to discuss.
"Brother, let me ask you something."
After chatting for a while, Jacob steered the conversation back to his purpose.
"What is it? Go ahead and tell me," his brother's voice came through.
"Brother, don't you have a close friend who runs a shipping business in Aqualis City? I'm traveling in Aqualis City right now and want to rent a yacht to go out to sea," Jacob asked.
Listening to Jacob's words, Asher's voice suddenly became animated with excitement. "Why are you looking for Old Ladybug? And you want to rent a yacht? Jacob, why have you become so depraved now? You want to rent a yacht and go out to sea, and you specifically need to find Old Ladybug? You're planning to have quite the party, aren't you?"
"Jacob, you need to be careful about your reputation. It's normal for young people to want to have fun, and I can understand wanting to let loose a little, but this is going too far. Rent a yacht and go out to sea? Do you think that once you're out at sea, no one can keep an eye on you, and you can do whatever you want?"
"How can you do this? Beautiful faces are all the same. There's no meaning in hiring a few young and attractive models to accompany you on a trip. Can they give you a sense of belonging? It's impossible. We must have lofty ideals and interesting souls. Do you understand?"
"No, brother. I'm planning to go out to sea to catch Water-type Pokémon. Don't overthink it, and I'm with Nina."