Seeing Lucario not moving, Mimikyu tilted its head in confusion...
'Does he not like these PokeBlocks? But they're really delicious!' Mimikyu thought.
Mimikyu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Caleb with a pleading expression.
Caleb stepped forward, sat down opposite Lucario, took out a PokeBlock from his inventory, and took a bite himself to demonstrate.
The PokeBlock had a sweet taste, with a texture somewhat similar to fried dough twists... crispy, slightly sweet, and melting quickly in the mouth.
Only then did Lucario open its mouth and take a bite.
Seeing this, Mimikyu's expression seemed to say, See? I told you it was tasty!
Meanwhile, Caleb opened Lucario's status panel:
«Lucario»
- Level: 42
- Gender: Male
- Type: Fighting / Steel
- Ability: Steadfast
- Egg Move: High Jump Kick
- Known Moves: Aura Sphere, Detect, Foresight, Counter, Feint, Swords Dance, Power-Up Punch, Work Up...
Caleb stared at the information on the panel, deep in thought.
Swords Dance + Power-Up Punch could boost Lucario's attack to terrifying levels in battle.
Detect allowed its Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-type Pokémon.
Foresight could completely block an opponent's attack.
Counter let Lucario return twice the physical damage it received back at the foe.
Paired with the Focus Sash that Hatsumi had given him, Lucario could pull off a last-second reversal when at critical health...
Also, Feint could strike opponents who used Protect, and with High Jump Kick, a move with a base power of 130, Lucario essentially became a high-burst assassin-type Pokémon.
And if facing a Dark-type Pokémon? That was even simpler.
- Steadfast: When hit by a Dark-type move, the Pokémon's sense of justice raises its Attack...
With this ability, Lucario could practically be called the 'Dark-type Slayer'.
The more Caleb looked, the more satisfied he became. He planned to properly train with Lucario in the next Instance.
It was now the second day since he left the previous Instance, and there were still five days left before the next one would begin.
Caleb equipped Lucario with the Focus Sash, then fed Dragonite the 100 Large Exp. Candies he had obtained from the previous Instance.
Under bursts of dazzling white light, Dragonite's level skyrocketed. In just a few breaths, it went from Level 69 all the way to Level 100.
At this point, there were still eight Exp. Candies left. Caleb gave these to Mimikyu, raising its level from
70 to 75.
The moment Dragonite hit Level 100, a notification panel appeared out of thin air:
[Congratulations on obtaining your first Level 100 Pokémon!]
[Ranking System Unlocked!]
[Player (Caleb Chase) has officially logged into the Infinite World! Online features unlocked!]
[Calculating overall combat strength. Please wait a moment...]
[...]
[Congratulations! Your combat strength has been evaluated at 850! You have beenranked #35 298 on the Player Power Rankings!]
[This ranking allows you to claim a reward of 100 points after each Instance! If you break into the top 20 000, the reward increases to 200 points per Instance cycle!]
[Would you like to upload your Pokémon team? Note: If uploaded, other players will be able to view your team on the rankings! You may choose which Pokémon to display.]
Caleb felt it was better to stay low-key, so he decisively chose
[Additional Note: A Pokémon reaching max level does not mean the journey is over. Sometimes, the end is just the true beginning!]
[Although a Pokémon's level will no longer increase, a skilled Trainer can continue improving their Pokémon's hidden potential through bonds, strategy, and training!]
Caleb glanced at this note, then opened the Player Power Rankings:
1. Ye Fan, Power: 32 500 | Team: Sceptile, Altaria, Metagross, Infernape, Garchomp, Espeon
2. Kozuki Yuna, Power: 32 200 | Team: Hidden
3. Baek Gyeol, Power: 31 900 | Team: Musharna, Delphox, Sylveon, Primarina, Milotic, Altaria
4. Dick, Power: 31 800 | Team: Zapdos, Snorlax, Haunter, Venusaur, Golbat, Vileplume
5. Lia Blume, Power: 31 700 | Team: Caterpie, Caterpie, Caterpie, Caterpie, Caterpie, Caterpie
Caleb: "..."
'Well, well. These names... Some of them sound similar to those main characters from web novels...'
He scrolled up and down, noticing that aside from Zapdos and Regirock, there wasn't a single other Legendary Pokémon in the top 100.
After a quick look, Caleb closed the panel, grabbed a foldable beach chair, and took Lucario and Mimikyu to the Pokémon Paradise to sunbathe...
...
Meanwhile… In various corners of the Infinite World, countless top players stared at the #1 spot on the Title Rankings in stunned silence...
Someone started a thread in the Infinite Forum:
{Who the hell is Caleb Chase, the mysterious player who got 7 Achievement Points in 3 consecutive Instances and the first-ever SSS-rank title in the Infinite World?}
1L: Same question! I wanna know too!
2L: Any big-shot brothers care to chime in?
3L: Checked the top 100 player rankings. There's no Caleb Chase there...
..
86L: BREAKING NEWS! Found him! Freakin sh*t, that took forever! Flip to page 3 529 of the Power Rankings. The guy named Caleb Chase is at the very bottom!
87L: ??? No way! His power rating is only 850!
88L: That can't be right. Are you sure there aren't any other players with the same name?
- Reply to 88L: Bro, my eyes are bleeding. I swear on my little brother, there's no other Caleb Chase before this one!
89L: This Caleb doesn't seem like a veteran… His power is way too low. He probably just started recently...
....
While the forum was in an uproar, the man at the center of it all was peacefully napping under the sun...
When Hatsumi's message arrived, Caleb was in the middle of a nightmare about being chased by Gigantamax Pokémon.
{Haruno Hatsumi: You're famous!}
{Caleb Chase: ?}
Hatsumi didn't explain, she just forwarded a link.
Caleb clicked it and saw a thread with over 9 000 replies.
He replied, exasperated:
{These people have nothing better to do?}
{Haruno Hatsumi: Hahaha, but you really did make too big of a splash! Rumor has it even Ye Fan, the #1 ranked player, only has 12 Achievement Points so far! Come on, tell your big sis, how did you farm those points?}
Caleb: "..."
He really hadn't been farming. He'd just been… unrestrained in the Instance runs.
{Haruno Hatsumi: Be careful in the next Instance. Fame brings trouble.}
Caleb nodded and replied: {Got it.}
He wasn't worried about his identity being exposed. After all, in the Instance runs, there was no Caleb Chase, only Terrence Jones...