As the image of Whitney leaning over and getting close to his face flashed through his mind, Ather felt a rush of heat to his nose and quickly shifted his thoughts.
Finding a shady spot, he began thinking seriously about his next steps.
Age-wise, Ather was just about to come of age—18. It was also the latest age allowed by the League to set off on a Pokémon journey.
According to the League Conference regulations, Trainers who start between the ages of 10 and 18 can freely participate in regional conferences. Those older than 18 need to have at least a Top 64 placement in a previous conference to apply again.
After all, being a Trainer is a high-risk profession. The League does not encourage talentless Trainers to go out adventuring.
So, this was Ather's last shot.
He had been saving money just for one final push.
Clenching his fists, a determined light sparked in Ather's eyes.
Since he had come to this world, how could he not make something of himself? How could he let down his identity as someone from Earth?
"Why don't I have the usual cheat that comes with transmigration...?"
Ather looked up at the sky, as if hoping for some miraculous system drop from above. He had waited so many years—yet nothing ever happened.
He was probably the most underwhelming transmigrator in history...
Just as he was moping, something blocked his vision—Whitney's "southern hemisphere" leaned in close.
"Ather, can you help me milk today? I'm not feeling too well..."
Whitney clasped her hands together, pleading just like when they first met.
"Help you...?" Ather froze, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward Whitney's generous figure.
It wasn't until he met her puzzled gaze that he realized his misunderstanding.
She meant help milk the Miltanks... the actual Miltank milk.
Ather quickly composed himself and said with forced seriousness, "Ahem Fine, but make sure you keep an eye on them. I don't want to get kicked by a hoof..."
Seeing that he agreed, Whitney gave a playful smile. "No problem~"
Soon, she led Ather to the cowshed, where several buckets of milk were already prepared.
"There's only a dozen or so left—go ahead and get started!"
Whitney instructed the Miltanks to line up, and Ather brought over an empty bucket, recalling the handful of times he had milked before...
Glancing at the tired look on Whitney's face, Ather sighed. Resigned, he grabbed a nearby Miltank and gave it a firm squeeze.
"Moo!" The Miltank let out a pained cry and immediately kicked Ather to the ground.
"That's not right... You need to start gently and then go firm. Be more tender..." Whitney began coaching from the side.
Rubbing his head, Ather got back up and tried again—might as well treat this as massage practice for his future Pokémon...
"Ah! The Miltank is huge—you can't just pinch the tip! You need to hold the whole thing and work from the base to the top... Yes, like that, up and down, just like that!"
Watching Ather improve rapidly, Whitney couldn't help but smile like a proud teacher. "Didn't expect you to be so talented~"
Meanwhile, Ather wore a very strange expression...
Seriously, why did this feel oddly similar to a certain "handicraft" he used to do back on Earth?
Basically, make the Miltank feel good, and the milk would come out...
He couldn't help but glance at Whitney again before focusing back on his work.
If only she'd told him the right technique earlier—he was really good at this stuff...
Still, if Whitney was this skilled at milking, then her other handiwork might be top-notch too?
For a moment, Ather's thoughts drifted a little too far...
Eventually, lost in the flow, they finished the day's work.
"Finally done!" Whitney stretched lazily, her curves fully on display.
Ather quickly averted his gaze. At that moment, a Miltank came over and rubbed its head against his palm.
"Moo~" The female Miltank squinted, clearly enjoying it.
Ather: ???
Did I just win over a Miltank... with my hand skills?
Just as he was thinking that, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Host has gained the recognition of Miltank. Award: Master Points ×3. Master Trainer System initializing...]
[Initialization complete. Please check your system panel.]
???
A SYSTEM?!
Ather's pupils dilated. "Finally! FINALLY!!! I, Ather, have waited so long for this moment! Hahahahahaha!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, he suddenly hugged Whitney tightly, pulling her hard against his chest.
Whitney blushed and mumbled, "Ather... you're hurting me..."
"Ah? Oh—oh! Sorry, sorry, I was just too excited..."
Only then did Ather realize the softness pressing against him, immediately letting go of the embarrassed girl.
"R-Remember to come eat later..."
Whitney fixed her clothes and hurried off flustered. Ather, however, was already fully absorbed in studying the system.
"System, what can you do?"
"...."
"Hey? You there? System, your house is on fire!"
"...."
"Can you just say something???"
"...."
"Don't tell me... was that all in my head?" Ather was a little dejected and absentmindedly patted the Miltank's head.
And then, he froze.
Right before him, a data panel popped up:
[Miltank ♀ Lv.30 (Advanced)]
Ability: Early Bird (Naturally resists sleep; wakes up twice as fast when asleep)
Friendship: 100 (Max: 255)
Held Item: None
Base Stats: 401 (Max species total: 490)
Moves: Rollout (Learned), Milk Drink (Mastered), Defense Curl (Learned), Body Slam (Known)
Description: This Miltank doesn't like sleeping in. Under the influence of ranch manager Ather, it has developed a routine of early to bed and early to rise.
"Huh?!" Ather was stunned.
As a professional Pokémon gamer and streamer, he knew for a fact—Miltank doesn't naturally get the Early Bird ability!
And according to the description, the ability developed after being raised by Ather?
Abilities... can be changed?!
Ather stood there in disbelief, his mind racing with bold ideas... Like a Hariyama with Huge Power!
If that were possible, then he might be able to carve out an entirely new path no one's ever walked before.
From his memory, this world did have Trainers and Pokémon level classifications, but nothing was data-driven.
Which meant—the system gave him the ability to view Pokémon stats directly!
After taking care of these Miltanks for so long, Ather knew that this ability was practically a cheat code.
Imagine being able to see a wild Pokémon's stats and preferences before capturing it...
Or watching your own Pokémon's move proficiency during training...
Or even knowing whether a Pokémon was going to fart or poop just by the twitch of its tail!
It was all about precision... personalized optimization.
In battle, being able to see the opponent's entire move pool was like playing poker with your enemy's hand face-up!
"Yeah, with a system, even a pig could fly..."
Ather sighed with emotion and began observing the other Miltanks around the ranch, gathering tons of data.
First, this interface did consume mental energy. The more Pokémon he scanned, the more tired and dizzy he felt. The farther away the Pokémon, the worse the drain—so it couldn't be spammed endlessly.
Also, according to the system, Pokémon levels are categorized as:
Novice → Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced → Elite → Gym Tier
Each rank spans 10 levels. For instance, the Level 30 Miltank just reached the Advanced tier, while the ranch had only one Gym-tier Miltank—owned by the old rancher—which was Level 53.
As for post-60 levels, Ather speculated those would be things like Elite Four, Champion, and Master level, but he'd need to see it to know for sure.