[First time defeating a Raticate, rewarded with 1 lottery chance]
[First time inviting a companion to join the team, rewarded with 1 lottery chance]
Two messages appeared in the notification panel, each marked with timestamps: one had appeared when Ash first commanded Pikachu to defeat that Rattata, and the other came right after Misty agreed to join his traveling team.
"First time achievements... It looks like many different 'firsts' can grant lottery chances. I just don't know what other kinds of 'firsts' might give me more opportunities. I'll ask the experienced trainers in the group when I get a chance."
Ash murmured to himself, then mentally clicked on the roulette wheel interface to start the lottery drawing process.
This time, the roulette wheel looked slightly different - it now had a "two consecutive draws" option available.
He had to admit, this lottery system was pretty smart. Even multiple draws could be done consecutively for convenience.
Ash clicked on the "two consecutive draws" option without any hesitation, and immediately a second pointer materialized on the roulette wheel. Both pointers began spinning rapidly around the colorful sections.
"Stop."
The spinning pointers on the roulette wheel gradually slowed down, and after several tense seconds, they came to a complete stop.
One of the pointers had landed in an extremely narrow section - the coveted A-rank area.
The other pointer stopped in a much wider section - the standard C-rank area.
Two consecutive draws resulting in one A-rank and one C-rank. If Unlucky Ash saw results like these, he'd probably break down crying!
That poor guy had drawn over a hundred times without even getting a single B-rank reward. Meanwhile, Ash had only drawn three times total and had already obtained one S-rank, one A-rank, and one C-rank.
No matter how oblivious Ash could be sometimes, even he could tell that his luck with this roulette wheel seemed absolutely incredible.
[Congratulations on drawing A-rank ability: Insight Eye (A)]
[Congratulations on drawing C-rank ability: Speed Boost (C)]
Unlike his first draw with Aura powers, this time the lottery system didn't provide any detailed explanations afterward. It simply informed him about the abilities he'd obtained. As for what they actually did and how to use them properly, Ash knew absolutely nothing.
There weren't any helpful glowing knowledge orbs appearing in his mind like there had been for Aura, so how was he supposed to figure out how to use these new abilities?
Asking questions when he didn't understand something was one of Ash's best qualities. He immediately opened the chat group interface to consult the experienced trainers there.
[Newbie Ash: Hey everyone! I just drew Insight Eye (A-rank) and Speed Boost (C-rank). Which of you experienced trainers do these abilities belong to?]
[Unlucky Ash: Are you kidding me right now?! How many times have you drawn total?! You got another A-rank ability?! Did you somehow draw a hundred times all at once?]
[Newbie Ash: No way, I only drew twice this time.]
[Unlucky Ash: ...]
This is absolutely ridiculous! What the heck is going on?!
Someone else gets an A-rank reward in just two draws, while I can't even get a single C-rank in ten consecutive attempts. Is this probability system even fair? Is it reasonable?! Is there some kind of rigged system going on here?! Who created this broken chat group anyway?! I'm going to find them and give them a piece of my mind!!
Unlucky Ash raged helplessly in his own world. If there was an option to leave the group chat, he probably would have quit already and gone into complete isolation.
[Breeder Ash: Your luck is truly phenomenal. Is this some kind of special newcomer's blessing or something?]
[Aura Ash: You know what, that actually makes sense. Once we all joined the group, we became veteran members. The only genuine newcomer seems to be this newest version of 'me.' So maybe all the newcomer luck is concentrated on this particular 'me,' right?]
[Champion Ash: That theory makes a lot of sense actually. But honestly, besides abilities that are A-rank or higher, most other drawn abilities aren't particularly useful to those of us who are already experienced. Still, I have to say, this newcomer's luck is absolutely amazing! Even that C-rank ability happens to be the most practical one among all C-rank options.]
[Newbie Ash: So what exactly did I end up drawing?]
[Breeder Ash: That A-rank ability actually belongs to me. As a top-level Pokemon Breeder, I've developed a pair of incredibly skilled eyes. Just by looking at any Pokemon, I can instantly gather all of its data, and I can even detect what moves and abilities it possesses.]
[Breeder Ash: However, since the ability you obtained is only A-rank level, it probably isn't my complete ability set. I'm not sure what an A-rank version can accomplish exactly, but at minimum it should allow you to see a Pokemon's potential ability value limits.]
[Newbie Ash: What do you mean by ability value potential limits?]
[Breeder Ash: Pokemon have different overall strength levels, but actually, even within the same level category, their individual ability values can vary significantly. Based on the chat group's lottery ranking system, I've also created ability value rankings from S-rank down to E-rank.]
[Breeder Ash: For example, if two Pikachu are both Champion-level Pokemon, but one Pikachu's speed ability value is A-rank while the other's is S-rank, then the latter will be significantly faster than the former in terms of raw speed - and by quite a large margin!]
[Breeder Ash: Generally speaking, a Pokemon's overall level can be improved through consistent daily training, proper breeding techniques, and gaining battle experience. The process varies in speed, but as long as you put genuine heart and effort into caring for your Pokemon, they will eventually reward your dedication, and ultimately most of them can reach the pinnacle Champion level.]
[Breeder Ash: But ability values work differently. The upper limits of ability values are typically fixed from birth. Some Pokemon, even when their overall level reaches Champion status, can only achieve E-rank ability values in same-level comparisons. This is what most people refer to as a Pokemon's natural potential.]
Ash felt his head spinning a bit from all this information, but he somehow managed to understand what Breeder Ash was explaining.
Basically, the upper limits of all Pokemon's strength levels were roughly the same. If Champion level was considered the highest achievable level in the world, then theoretically all Pokemon could eventually reach Champion status.
However, each individual Pokemon had different ability value upper limits at the same level, which were restricted by their inborn potential.
Some Pokemon were naturally gifted, so that Pokemon's strength ability value upper limit might be A-rank. Ordinary Pokemon might have strength ability value upper limits of only B-rank or even C-rank - they simply couldn't reach A-rank no matter how hard they trained.
According to Breeder Ash's explanation, even at the same level, a single rank difference in ability values would create a relatively significant gap in actual performance.
[Breeder Ash: But nothing in this world is absolute. Nature is filled with all kinds of miraculous phenomena, and Pokemon themselves are creatures with truly infinite potential. My Insight Eye has witnessed more than once Pokemon whose ability potential was clearly only C-rank, yet their actual ability values somehow forcibly broke through to B-rank.]
[Breeder Ash: And in most cases, these Pokemon that manage to break through their supposed limits all have trainers who care for them with incredible dedication, treating them like family members. This represents a miracle created jointly by a trainer and their Pokemon working together!]
A Pokemon's potential might have an upper limit, but Pokemon themselves represented infinite possibilities. Under the miraculous power of bonds between trainer and Pokemon, mere limits were just obstacles that Pokemon would shatter for their beloved trainers!
This was the true meaning behind the saying: there are no useless Pokemon, only useless trainers!