Chapter 53 Clues and the Battle Factory's Cutting-Edge Technology
Every step leaves a trace.
Growlithe has inhabited Blizzard Island for over a thousand years; how could it not have left any information among the local Pokémon?
Therefore, Link had planned from the beginning to seek help from the local Pokémon, asking them to assist him in finding the legendary Growlithe.
However…as the sun set, Krabby silently blew bubbles, ignoring the human's inquiries.
"Fennekin~"
They seemed indifferent to the outside world, even when someone tapped their head with a twig, they didn't seem to care.
Tourists often frequented the outskirts of the Battle Zone, feeding these less dangerous Pokémon; perhaps they were already used to it.
But Link didn't give up, taking out the Starf Berry Pokémon Cubes he had made earlier from his backpack.
The aroma wafted out, and the Krabby Pokémon, who had been quietly watching the sunset on the beach, immediately gathered around.
"So you guys are also 'pay-to-win' types?"
he chuckled, feeding the giant crabs one by one on the beach, and casually asking them again, "Excuse me..."
But before he could finish, the smallest of the giant crabs extended its pincer and nudged his empty left hand.
"A handshake?"
Link tentatively reached out and gently grasped the giant crab's pincer.
The next instant, the giant crab pulled back, and its pincer detached from its body, remaining in his hand.
"..."
"Huh?"
"!?"
Humans and Pokémon had never seen anything like this before.
Link had received an unexpected gift.
He stared speechlessly at the half-meter-long, one-centimeter-thick pincer in his hand, unsure how to describe this absurd physiological mechanism, or how the giant crabs had evolved such an ability.
"Alright, alright, I'll take it. Here, take this to replenish your strength."
He stuffed a few more Energy Cubes into the small giant crab's hand, forgetting even to inquire about Growlithe, and left the crab swarm with the crab pincer.
Thinking about it carefully, it's indeed difficult to see Growlithe, a Pokémon that inhabits the coastline.
It would be more likely to be a Fire-type Pokémon or a Flying Bird-type Pokémon that inhabits the vicinity of Mt. Frosty.
So they put away their claws and headed north along the road to the Battle Zone park.
In this area, they frequently saw Spearow, Omanyte, and Morpeko flying around, making them wonder about the social circles and intelligence networks of Flying Birds.
Link took out his Power Cube and used his old trick, relying on the simulator's translation function to understand the emotions in Pokémon calls and chat with the Pokémon around the park.
This time, the harvest was even richer than he expected!
After receiving a considerable tip (Power Cube), a wild Nautilus revealed its past experiences patrolling its territory over Blizzard Island.
It had indeed seen Growlithe with its pointed head and long bangs; once it saw their pack west of Mt. Frosty, and another time it saw people caring for them in the Scenic Area.
In a villa in the southwest of the scenic area, humans with equally striking hairstyles kept many of these Growlithe, and even the larger Arcanine.
However, since they weren't particularly interested in these two Pokémon, they only remembered their general appearance based on their hairstyles and didn't know any further details.
"Thank you, Staraptor, this has been a great help."
Although they didn't know why Staraptor cared so much about "hairstyles," things became much easier after getting to this point.
The objective was clear:head to the Scenic Area or the western side of the Severe Mountain!
"Speaking of which, are those humans with such striking hairstyles descendants of the Rock Stone? Sally… maybe she's not even born yet."
"Fennekin?"
The Fennekin didn't understand.
"It's nothing, don't overthink it, just treat it as a vacation."
Link shook his head, no longer dwelling on Bei Shang and the others, focusing instead on Growlithe.
Unfortunately, the Scenic Area was a resort "for those who need it," frequented only by renowned academics, battle luminaries, and top-tier trainers.
If he wanted to enter legitimately and confidently propose exchanging information about Growlithe, he'd probably need to prove himself as an excellent trainer.
For this, sufficient reputation was required, and the Battle Factory, where one could challenge simply by renting a Pokémon, was the best option.
After much wandering, he ended up back in the Battle Frontier.
By the time Link returned, it was late, and the Battle Factory was closed, so he had to stay overnight at the Pokémon Center.
Another night of total defeats passed. The next morning, he finished washing up, preparing breakfast, and exercising early, rushing to submit his registration application just as the battle facility opened.
Perhaps because there weren't many people, the staff quickly entered Link's information.
"Okay, Mr. Link, your application has been accepted. Do you need to store your Pokémon?"
Link shook his head: "No need, I only have three with me. The number of Poké Balls won't exceed the limit during the process."
The staff nodded and began to seriously announce the rules of the battle factory:
"Please confirm the rules set by the factory manager, Mr. Nezuki.
"Challengers in the battle factory must choose three Pokémon from six random Pokémon for rental battles. The order of the starting Pokémon cannot be changed. Each round consists of seven battles.
At the end of each round, you will be able to choose one Pokémon from all the opponents' lineups in that round to exchange with your existing Pokémon.
"After each battle, the Pokémon's HP and status will be refreshed..."
As he listened, Link suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Wait a minute, what does 'refresh' mean?"the staff member explained. "It's like this: all the Pokémon in the Battle Factory are products of technological simulation. That's why we can ensure that the level, individual stats, and training level of each Pokémon are all adjusted to the same degree."
If the Battle Frontier were to train hundreds or thousands of Pokémon with completely similar strengths, what an enormous project that would be! And who can guarantee that the data from the instruments is absolutely accurate?
Therefore, computer simulation is the only option.
Link quickly sorted out his thoughts. Indeed, reality isn't a game; how could they possibly train so many perfectly level 50 Pokémon?
He had previously chatted with A-Liu for a long time based on stereotypes from the game, only to find that they weren't even on the same wavelength.
It's just that the advanced technology of this world is still so unexpected. In the future, during the Sun and Moon era, humanity might even be able to use technology to simulate special weather phenomena like Delta currents.
"I understand. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"
"That's mostly it. Also, to avoid bugs and improve calculation speed, each Pokémon in the Battle Factory simulation currently only has four moves, and their ability data is fixed. During battle, they will attack in the order recorded in the data each turn."
"..."
"Huh?" Link was stunned for a moment.
Turn-based?
Four moves!?
If you're going to talk about this, I'm not sleepy anymore!
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(End of Chapter)