Chapter 3: Potential Reallocation Card

Taking out her Pokédex, Leaf aimed it at her Bulbasaur.

Ding! Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon, Grass/Poison type. Usable moves: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip.

Leaf shook her head. Alright, as a beginner Pokémon, its available moves are indeed very limited.

"Bulbasaur, use Growl!" Leaf commanded with a sense of determination.

However, the command left Gary stunned. Was this child serious?

Right now, Charmander was controlling the pace of the match; using Growl would just be asking for trouble…

"Charmander, use Ember!" Gary waved his hand. It was best to gloss over this amateurish exchange.

"Wow!!" Charmander opened its mouth and unleashed a burst of sparks.

While Bulbasaur was still making its growling noise, it was directly hit by the Ember attack!

Watching Bulbasaur fall to the ground, Gary shook his head. A trainer's basic skills include dodging and getting back up—Leaf didn't even know that. This kid had a lot to learn ahead of her…

"Phew~ Gary, you're really impressive." Retrieving her Bulbasaur, Leaf sighed.

"It's not that exaggerated; we're both using starter Pokémon, so the difference isn't that big. But I do suggest you watch some battle videos; it seems like many things are unfamiliar to you," Gary advised.

"Okay, thanks for your suggestion! I'll go find Professor Oak to heal my Bulbasaur, and then I'll set off. I want to be the early bird!" After shaking hands with Gary, Leaf turned to find Professor Oak.

Gary looked at his Charmander. "How are you feeling? Are you tired? Do you need a rest?"

"Char~" Charmander shook its head. As a combative little creature, having just won a match, it was in high spirits.

"Here, have some food; there are more battles waiting for you later." After feeding his Charmander some special Pokémon food from the lab, Gary smiled.

Hearing that there were more battles ahead, Charmander obediently sat down to eat and conserve energy.

While his Charmander rested, Gary released his little Eevee as well.

"Come out, Eevee~"

"Eevee~" The little one jumped into Gary's arms immediately after emerging from its Poké Ball.

Previously at the Eevee Research Institute, this little one had always been treated as an experimental subject and kept in a cage, often subjected to blood tests and examinations.

Thus, when it was first brought back by Gary, its worldview had exploded.

It discovered that Pokémon food could taste so good. It realized it could run freely on the grass. It learned that it could be held by its trainer and sleep on soft blankets…

In the eyes of Eevee, Gary was like a kind-hearted deity—an award from heaven after enduring so much suffering!

So, Eevee loved Gary the most; it wanted to stay with him forever!

"Haha, don't lick me! That tickles~" After teasing Eevee, Gary placed it next to his Charmander.

"Let's get acquainted; from now on, you two will be brothers—sharing meals, training together, and battling side by side. Promise me you'll protect each other, okay?" Gary earnestly instructed them.

"Char?" As Charmander looked up, it saw the shiny black pearl-like eyes of Eevee.

After thinking for a moment, it pushed its Pokémon food toward Eevee.

In the world of Pokémon, sharing food is the most direct form of kindness.

Understanding this well, Eevee lowered its head to take a bite of food and then looked up with a healing smile.

"Eevee▽～"

"Char.'▽'?" Wow!

"I'm really happy to see you two getting along so well! But since you're both boys, can we tone down the pink bubbles a bit?" Gary teased from the side.

The two little ones shook hands amicably; they were family now.

Gently tapping his forehead for identification—

A six-pointed star pattern flashed in his eyes as information about the two little creatures automatically appeared before him. After years of relentless effort, Gary found that the skills mastered by his Eevee had become increasingly impressive.

With the ability to copy a hundred different moves, it could be called Eevee the Copycat!

Next, he checked Charmander's stats.

Charmander

Potential: Gym Level

Ability: Blaze

Level: 10

Height: 0.6 m

Weight: 8.5 kg

Moves: Ember, Growl, Scratch, Smokescreen.

Gary furrowed his brow. No wonder that in his previous life, the trainer who chose Charmander, named Shawn, couldn't even make it into the Indigo League.

Charmander's potential destined it to level up slowly and reach a lower growth ceiling.

To put it simply, under equal conditions, the better the potential, the faster the growth.

Moreover, when Pokémon are at the same level, those with better potential will have higher energy purity in battles.

For example, a Champion-level Charizard and an Elite-level Charizard, when at the same level using Flamethrower, will see the Elite-level lose because their energy purities are not the same.

"Right! Didn't the system give me items?" Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Gary's head as he thought, "Use the Starter Pokémon Potential Reallocation Card on Charmander!"

Ding! You are about to use a Potential Reallocation Card on Charmander. The first use will elevate the Pokémon's potential to its species' maximum value. Do you wish to proceed?

"Use it!" Gary nodded eagerly.

He was curious to know where the potential limit of the Charizard species lay!

Whoosh! While eating, Charmander remained unaware of what was happening; it simply thought that today's food smelled especially good and decided to eat a bit more.

However, for Gary, it was a completely different scene.

A beam of light shot out from the top of Charmander's head, forming a fountain of starlight in mid-air!

The light then gradually converged and was entirely absorbed by Charmander's body.

Once again, Gary checked on Charmander.

Charmander

Potential: Divine…

Gulp! Gary swallowed hard. Wow! The maximum potential for the Charizard species really is godly—this is a huge win!

"Is anyone home?" A boy's voice called from outside.

Gary recalled both Pokémon and got up to open the door.

"Good morning, Gary! I hope I'm not late!!" A boy with a backpack rushed in anxiously.

"Hmm~ You're not too late," Gary shrugged. "Come on in."

"Oh, it's Shawn!" Professor Oak happened to come downstairs at that moment. "You really timed this well; if you had come any later, all the starter Pokémon would have been given out."

"Ah?! No way!!" Shawn exclaimed while holding his head in despair.

"Stop yelling! There's still one left. If you don't take it, I'll give it to Ash!" Gary teased with a grin.

"Don't do that! I was here first!" Shawn quickly covered his mouth and followed Professor Oak upstairs.

As he glanced at the rising sun, Gary couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. My foolish rival really can sleep…