c1: Elite Potential Magikarp
One of the well-known seaside resorts in the Kanto Region, the Resort Beach in Binu City, is not far away.
An angler sat on a reef by the waves, fishing. Unlike most anglers who were middle-aged or elderly, this one looked very young barely fourteen or fifteen at most.
Xiaohui's eyes were fixed on the float. When it suddenly bobbed and sank beneath the surface, he reacted instantly. "Hooked!"
He tightened his grip on the fishing rod and swung it back with both hands. A large, one-meter-long fish broke the water's surface, splashing foam into the air before landing beside him.
Xiaohui quickly glanced down. His eyes dimmed another Magikarp. This one had only entry-level potential. With disappointment in his expression, Xiaohui flicked his wrist and cast the line back into the sea.
Magikarp were hardy creatures. Even stranded on land, they could flop and struggle for long periods before finding their way back to water.
"Entry potential" was the lowest grade of talent Xiaohui had ever identified, something he had only seen in Pokémon like Caterpie, Weedle, and Magikarp. For a Magikarp, this rating meant it would never evolve into a Gyarados. Among wild Magikarp, those with such poor potential were the majority.
Xiaohui stared at the float without blinking, though his thoughts drifted back to the time when he had just crossed into this world.
Back then, he thought he knew Pokémon inside and out. After all, he had grown up obsessed with the games even though in this world he had just left the orphanage with no Pokémon of his own.
Naively, he believed that even starting with a Caterpie or Weedle, he could fight through a rags-to-riches journey and become a powerful Trainer.
But reality had given him a harsh lesson. A wild Caterpie, which canonically evolves as early as level 7, had rammed him with a Tackle and knocked him unconscious when he was only ten years old.
Fortunately, he hadn't wandered far. Caterpie often live in grassy patches and small forests, just outside Binu City. Passersby had found him and carried him back. When he awoke in the Pokémon Center, he discovered that Caterpie's Tackle had actually broken his ribs!
At that time, he had only been in this world for a year, and the blow reminded him how vast the gulf was between the games and reality.
Now, at fourteen, Xiaohui had been fishing on this coast for four years.
In terms of combat power, Magikarp and Feebas were considered the weakest of all Pokémon. But unlike Magikarp, Feebas could at least learn moves such as Tackle, Splash, and eventually Water Pulse or Mirror Coat. Magikarp, on the other hand, was mocked for having only Splash and Tackle until evolving.
Comparing the two was pointless. Feebas were rare and mostly native to the Hoenn Region, where they thrived in remote, harsh waters. For Xiaohui, catching one here was impossible.
Over the past five years, Xiaohui had caught an average of fifty to sixty Magikarp per day. Nearly all of them showed only entry-level potential. Out of thousands, only a few hundred displayed common-grade potential.
Fortunately, Xiaohui possessed the unique ability to read a Pokémon's hidden potential and growth data. Still, he always refused to accept a Magikarp with just common potential as his starter Pokémon.
After all, raising Magikarp to evolve into Gyarados required enormous resources. Feeding it quality Pokéblocks and vitamins alone would be costly.
The relief money Xiaohui had received over the years totaled 60,000 yen. After spending 10,000 on five Poké Balls, he had only 50,000 yen left.
At over fourteen years old, Xiaohui could only claim another six months of allowance. After that, he would be forced to work to survive.
For 50,000 yen, trying to train even one Magikarp was nearly impossible for a Breeder.
Thinking about it, Xiaohui suddenly felt the fishing rod in his hands jerking violently. He instinctively tightened his grip, pulled back sharply, and swung.
A Magikarp flew through the air and landed on the sand with a heavy thud. Xiaohui glanced over out of habit—yet the moment he turned, his expression froze.
Elite? Or even quasi-Master level potential?
Xiaohui spun around to focus on the Magikarp thrashing behind him. His heart pounded, it was true. Elite-grade potential!
That was a growth rating he had only ever detected in Pokémon at their final evolutionary stage. It was the same kind of potential seen in rare, non-evolving species like Lapras, Pinsir, or even the powerful Tauros that seasoned Trainers used.
For Magikarp to possess elite potential meant that, once it evolved into Gyarados, its ceiling could reach the level of Gym Leader-class or even Elite Four-class Pokémon.
This specimen was barely a meter in length, still juvenile but its level already registered at 11.
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[Pokémon: Magikarp]
[Level: 11]
[Type: Water]
[Ability: Swift Swim]
[Gender: Male]
[Egg Group: Dragon / Water 2]
[Potential: Elite — LV.48 ceiling]
[Intimacy: Wild (0/255)]
[Known Move: Splash]
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The Magikarp flailed violently, its tail smashing into the sand. Xiaohui knew from experience that if he tried to forcefully pin it down, he could be knocked unconscious by a single tail strike. Even a "weak" Magikarp had muscle density far beyond that of an ordinary boy.
He waited, gritting his teeth, until after ten long minutes the Magikarp's struggles slowed. Finally, it collapsed against the beach, sides heaving. Seeing his chance, Xiaohui hurled a Poké Ball.
The ball snapped open, swallowed the Magikarp in a beam of red light, and rocked once twice before bursting apart with a sharp crack.
Fragments of red and white casing scattered across the sand. Xiaohui's face twisted in pain 2,000 yen gone in an instant!
Without a Trainer's license, Poké Balls in Binu's black market were extortionate—three to five times the official rate, sometimes even ten. Many civilians had given up their dreams of becoming Trainers for this very reason. After all, the success rate with cheap red-and-white Poké Balls was already low.
With the average person's monthly wage only 4,000–5,000 yen, buying just two meant half a month of starvation—and even then, there was no guarantee of capture.
Frustrated, Xiaohui lashed out with a kick at the fallen Magikarp—but immediately regretted it.
The fish was nothing but bone and hard scales, its twenty-cattie weight offering no cushion at all. Xiaohui's flimsy flip-flops offered little protection, and pain shot up his toes. He winced, already imagining the swelling.
At that moment, the Magikarp suddenly flipped into the air again, as though mocking his recklessness. Weak or not, its physical fitness was still superior to a human's.
Xiaohui clenched his jaw, realizing his mistake. He scanned the sand quickly, spotted the short wooden stool he had been sitting on, hefted it in both hands, and turned toward the gasping Magikarp with a crooked, malicious grin.
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