Christopher led Julian into the school's breeding park.
Along the way, Julian saw many Pokémon living comfortably inside the park's carefully simulated natural habitats.
When his eyes landed on a Pokémon resting beneath a tree, lines of data instantly appeared in front of him.
Pokémon: Scyther
Aptitude: Elite Level
Strength Assessment: Lv.10 — Novice Rank
Type: Bug / Flying
Ability: Swarm
(When HP drops below one-third, Bug-type moves become stronger.)
Moves: Swords Dance (Egg Move), Quick Attack, Pursuit.
Individual Values (IVs):
Physical Attack: 20
Special Attack: 25
Speed: 19
HP: 0
Defense: 0
Special Defense: 3
In this world, Pokémon aptitude was divided into seven ranks:
Novice → Standard → Professional → Superior → Gym Leader → Elite → Champion
Aptitude didn't strictly determine how strong a Pokémon could eventually become, but the higher the aptitude, the easier it was to break through power limits.
Conversely, a Pokémon with Novice aptitude would find it incredibly difficult to reach Elite level strength.
Although Julian personally felt this Scyther's aptitude wasn't particularly impressive…
In this world, it was already considered quite good.
However, the Scyther's IVs were rather poor, with several stats almost reaching zero.
The maximum IV value was 31, and the closer a stat was to that number, the better the Pokémon would perform in that area.
Because of this, Julian wasn't particularly interested in the Scyther.
Even though he possessed the modifier system, each Intermediate Modification cost over 500 Shock Points, which clearly wasn't cheap.
Christopher seemed to notice where Julian was looking, though he misunderstood the reason.
He sighed helplessly.
"Ah, Julian… the Pokémon in this area all require at least a 30,000 yuan processing fee. They're not something you can obtain."
"Let's keep going."
Julian couldn't exactly explain what he had been thinking, so he simply nodded and followed.
They walked through two or three more sections before finally stopping at a much smaller enclosure.
"Alright, this is the area where you can choose a Pokémon for free."
"Take a look and see if any catch your eye."
Julian looked inside.
Just as he expected.
The Pokémon here were mostly very common species with low base stats and average talent.
Pidgey, Rattata and Spearow.
After searching for quite a while, Julian didn't find a single Pokémon with aptitude above Novice level, and their IVs were generally mediocre.
Which made sense.
After all, these were the Pokémon everyone else had already passed on.
Julian began to think seriously.
Although he possessed the Modifier System, he still intended to treat every Pokémon he caught seriously, raising them together as true partners.
Because of that, he still had certain standards when choosing a companion.
IVs and aptitude could be modified.
But…
Base stats?
He still wasn't sure if those could be changed.
Among this group, the Pokémon with the highest final evolution base stats was probably Pidgey.
Its final evolution, Pidgeot, was known as the classic "starter bird."
It was once "temporarily released" by a certain overly optimistic Trainer and—according to jokes—still hadn't been called back.
Pidgeot's base stat total reached 479, which was significantly higher than that of Raticate or Fearow.
Julian thought for a moment.
He was almost ready to choose one of the Pidgey.
But just then—
"Hm?"
He suddenly noticed something unusual.
In the center of the enclosure stood a large tree.
And beneath that tree…
Lay a white figure.
Half-closed sleepy eyes.
A body covered in soft white fur.
It was a Slakoth.
Its data instantly appeared before Julian.
Pokémon: Slakoth
Aptitude: Champion Level
Type: Normal
Strength Assessment: Lv.9 — Novice Rank
Ability: Truant
(During battle and actions, the Pokémon frequently falls into extreme laziness.)
Moves: Scratch
Individual Values (IVs):
Physical Attack: 31
Special Attack: 20
Speed: 18
HP: 31
Defense: 29
Special Defense: 25
Julian's eyes widened slightly.
Champion-level aptitude…
And rarely high IVs.
How could such a Pokémon appear in the free selection area?
A Pokémon like this was one in tens of millions.
If Trainers discovered it, they would go absolutely crazy.
Christopher noticed Julian staring at it and spoke up.
"Julian… don't tell me you're interested in that one?"
His expression looked somewhat complicated.
"That Slakoth actually has excellent aptitude, according to the scanners."
"But the problem is…"
He paused before quietly finishing the sentence.
"It's a Slakoth."
He spoke softly, as if he didn't want the Slakoth to hear and feel discouraged.
Julian, however, immediately understood the problem.
Slakoth's final evolution was Slaking.
Its base stats were ridiculously high, strong enough to rival many Legendary Pokémon.
Of course, this was the real world, where base stats were only a reference.
But even so—
Slaking's stats could completely overwhelm most rare starter Pokémon.
And yet…
Almost no Trainer wanted one.
The reason was simple.
Its Ability.
Both Slakoth and Slaking possessed Truant.
No matter what they were doing, they would constantly become lazy during battle and daily life, sometimes even falling asleep in the middle of a fight.
Training such a Pokémon was absurdly difficult.
In Julian's memory, no top Trainer had ever successfully raised one to greatness.
No wonder this Slakoth—despite its incredible talent—was left here.
Because even if someone captured it…
With Truant, it was practically impossible to train.
Taking it into battle would just make others laugh.
But suddenly—
A spark of inspiration flashed through Julian's mind.
Other people couldn't train it.
But he could.
Because Intermediate Modification could change a Pokémon's Ability!
Imagine a Slaking with the Ability Huge Power…
It could probably rip apart opponents with its bare hands.
For Julian, this was practically a top-tier Pokémon waiting to happen.
Julian quickly formed a plan.
Once he obtained this Slakoth, he would immediately use the Intermediate Modification reward from the quest to change its Ability.
After that, he could upgrade its aptitude and IVs.
With that decision made, Julian pointed directly at the Slakoth.
"Uncle Christopher, I want that Slakoth."
Christopher's eyes widened as he immediately pulled Julian aside.
"Kid, are you crazy?! That's a Slakoth!"
"I'm telling you—even the Elite Trainers of the Dragon Kingdom wouldn't dare claim they could train one properly!"
"Uncle Christopher, I've already decided."
Julian shook his head firmly.
"You… you really…"
Christopher looked anxious.
He frowned for a moment before sighing softly.
"Julian, I know you want a good Pokémon."
"How about this—I'll lend you the 5,000 yuan so you can choose something a little better."
"Something like Hoppip or Oddish."
"They're easy to raise and still have good growth potential."
Julian felt a warm feeling in his chest.
He knew Christopher was genuinely looking out for him.
But he still shook his head.
"No need, Uncle Christopher."
"I've already made my decision."
"You stubborn kid!"
Christopher looked both annoyed and helpless.
Finally, he handed Julian a Poké Ball.
"For other Pokémon, you'd usually have to talk to them and see if they're willing."
"But this one… just throw the ball."
"I seriously don't understand what you're thinking…"
He sighed and shook his head.
Julian didn't hesitate.
He tossed the Poké Ball.
The ball struck the Slakoth and opened with a flash of red light, pulling it inside.
The Poké Ball didn't even shake.
Perhaps the Slakoth didn't want to resist.
Or perhaps…
It was simply too lazy to bother.
At that moment, the system's voice rang out in Julian's mind.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the Main Quest: New Arrival! (Obtain a Pokémon)"
"Would you like to claim the rewards now?"