Roy shifted his attention from Litwick to his other partner.
“Duskull.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The Appraisal Eye activated once more.
Pokémon Analysis
Pokémon: Duskull
Level: 28
Gender: Male
Ability: Levitate
Effect: Floats above the ground, making it immune to Ground-type moves.
Moves:
Leer
Astonish
Disable
Shadow Sneak
Confuse Ray
Night Shade
Payback
Will-O-Wisp
Mean Look
Held Item: None
Egg Moves:
Pain Split
Memento
Individual Value (Talent): 19
TM / Move Tutor Moves: None
“Levitate…”
Roy nodded thoughtfully.
He had never specifically tested Duskull’s Ability before.
Still…
Levitate was an excellent Ability.
Complete immunity to Ground-type attacks was never a bad thing.
Of course, once Duskull evolved into Dusclops, Levitate would disappear and be replaced by Pressure.
Roy couldn’t help laughing.
“So…”
“Does evolving make the bandages too heavy to float anymore?”
The Appraisal Eye really was leagues ahead of the League’s Pokédex.
Roy had borrowed one of the League’s older Pokédex models from Aya before.
Those devices could only identify a Pokémon’s species, approximate level, and typing.
They couldn’t analyze Talent…
Egg Moves…
Abilities…
Or anything truly important.
As the saying went…
“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never lose a battle.”
In Roy’s opinion…
Knowing exactly what an opponent’s Pokémon could do was far more valuable than raw power.
Even better…
His system could directly evaluate a Pokémon’s Talent.
Normally, determining a Pokémon’s natural potential required specialized equipment at a Pokémon Center or professional Day Care facility.
There was always one unavoidable problem.
Information leaks.
Imagine having your Pokémon evaluated before a tournament…
Only for your opponent to somehow learn its Ability, Talent, and moveset beforehand.
Even if confidentiality agreements were signed…
Who could guarantee everyone would honor them?
Because of that…
Many Trainers preferred relying on a much simpler rule of thumb.
The more Egg Moves a Pokémon inherited…
The greater its natural talent was likely to be.
It sounded almost ridiculous.
Yet the theory had been proposed by a famous Pokémon researcher from Celadon University in the Kanto region.
His name was Professor Elm.
A former student of Professor Oak, and the future Pokémon Professor of the Johto region.
Unlike ordinary speculation…
His research was backed by extensive statistical evidence.
Roy quietly summarized everything he’d learned.
“Extreme Ghost Force…”
“That’s my only direct combat enhancement.”
“The Shop…”
“Still locked.”
“And Appraisal Eye…”
“It’s basically an incredible support ability.”
Not flashy.
But unbelievably practical.
He could examine Pokémon Talent. This story is hosted at g.com.
Identify hidden moves.
Discover Abilities.
Even uncover overlooked treasures other people might completely miss.
A fantastic tool.
Eventually…
Roy’s gaze drifted toward the final locked option.
Shop.
It remained grayed out.
Unlock Requirement: 500 Popularity Points
“…”
“Where exactly am I supposed to get five hundred points?”
Just then…
He noticed something he hadn’t seen before.
Beneath the Shop…
A long progress bar stretched across the interface.
Overall Ghost-type Popularity in the Pokémon World
0.1%
Roy blinked.
“…”
“The system…”
“It wants me to change the world’s opinion of Ghost-type Pokémon?”
This time…
The mechanical voice didn’t answer.
Its silence was answer enough.
Roy slowly considered the implications.
The world currently consisted of the regions he knew.
Kanto.
Johto.
Hoenn.
Sinnoh.
Unova.
Kalos.
Galar.
As for Alola…
The Pokémon League hadn’t been established yet.
The islands were still jointly governed by the Island Kahunas and the Alolan royal family.
Below the global progress bar…
Ten sealed gift boxes appeared.
One every ten percent.
Each waiting to be opened once that milestone was reached.
Curious…
Roy tapped the very first box.
The one marked…
0%
Instantly…
Brilliant golden light burst from the screen.
“Holy crap!”
“I hit the jackpot!”
His heart nearly stopped.
A legendary item?
A Mythical Pokémon?
Something incredible?
The golden light slowly faded.
Floating in front of him…
Was a single black scale.
“…”
Roy stared.
It was surprisingly light.
Yet unbelievably sturdy.
Dense Ghost-type energy flowed from its surface.
An overwhelming aura quietly radiated from within.
Even Litwick and Duskull instinctively lowered their heads.
Neither dared look directly at it.
They felt an irresistible urge to submit.
“…”
“What is this thing?”
Roy had played Pokémon games for years.
He had never seen an item remotely like it.
Then he remembered.
“Right.”
“Appraisal Eye.”
The system immediately scanned the object.
Item Analysis
Item: Giratina’s Scale
Effect:
A scale shed by Giratina.
By infusing it with Extreme Ghost Force, the owner may summon Giratina.
“…” This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
“…”
“…Giratina?”
“The Renegade Pokémon?”
“One of Arceus’s legendary trio?”
“The ruler of the Distortion World?”
Roy nearly dropped the scale.
“Wait…”
“Why would I ever summon Giratina?!”
Although…
His body was far more honest than his thoughts.
Without hesitation…
He stored the scale inside his Storage Bracelet.
Who knew?
It might save his life someday.
“…”
“That loot box somehow felt both amazing…”
“And completely useless.”
At this point…
Roy had finally understood everything his system offered.
There were no hidden menus.
No secret features.
Nothing else.
Looking at the interface…
He suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Every value was still zero.
Except…
Extreme Ghost Force.
Level 1.
Taking a deep breath…
Roy finally asked the most important question.
“So…”
“How exactly do I earn Popularity Points?”
The system answered immediately.
[Increase public awareness of Ghost-type Pokémon.]
[Change people’s perception of Ghost-type Pokémon.]
[Help others understand Ghost-type Pokémon.]
[Increase discussion, recognition, and positive opinion toward Ghost-type Pokémon.]
[All of the above generate corresponding Popularity Points.]
Roy stared blankly into space.
“…”
“You want me…”
“To improve Ghost-types’ public image?”
He looked back toward Mt.
Pyre.
The only people who ever came here…
Either hired him to dig graves…
Or avoided him entirely.
How exactly was he supposed to make Ghost-types popular under those conditions?
“What kind of useless system is this?”
“Aren’t systems supposed to hand out shiny Rayquaza?”
“Then send me off to save the world?”
“Collect heroines?”
“And reach the peak of life?”
Instead…
His system wanted him to become…
A public relations manager for Ghost Pokémon.
Roy sighed deeply.
In the end…
He accepted reality.
A mediocre cheat was still better than no cheat at all.
Still…
Even after spending years around Litwick…
Aya had only recently gathered enough courage to pat the little Pokémon while Roy stood beside her.
Changing the opinion of the entire world…
Wouldn’t be easy.
“It really is…”
“A long road ahead.”
The sun was already setting.
Roy decided to postpone any further research until later that night.
He still needed to carry the groceries and snacks back up Mt.
Pyre.
Besides…
If he got home too late…
Phoebe would definitely lecture him again.
Honestly…
He couldn’t understand how a six-year-old girl managed to nag even more than her grandparents.