With the capture of the fleeing poachers, the battle was officially over.
The veteran Security Officer in charge of the operation was full of praise for Luke's performance. "To be honest, when Master Silas from the Verdant Gym told me that having you alone cover the rear would be enough, I was skeptical. I didn't expect you to truly live up to your reputation!"
Luke gave a forced smile. Even though the officer was being sincere, his reputation in Ocre City was... divisive. Hearing praise for it felt more like a backhanded compliment.
"You flatter me, sir," Luke replied. "I'm just good at ambushing and backstabbing. It happens to be my specialty."
The officer chuckled, pulling several bills from his wallet and handing them over. "Alright, I won't keep you. This is your reward for the mission. Hurry inside and see if there are any rescued Pokémon you like; don't let the others pick them all first."
Luke took the cash, offered a quick thanks, and headed into the base with Arno.
The total came to five hundred League Coins. Honestly, it was a meager amount. Even this was only because the officer had made an exception by paying Luke out of his own pocket. Normally, it would take weeks for a contractor's fee to clear the League's bureaucracy.
Under Zenith League law, trainers have an obligation to respond to a Security Officer's summons; the pay was always secondary. However, the real perk was the right to adopt a partner from the rescued stock. These Pokémon were often rare species poached from other regions—highly coveted by the trainers currently scrambling through the base.
For Luke, however, this "benefit" was mostly useless. That was because of the Cultivation System.
The System allowed Luke to generate exclusive cultivation plans for unique Pokémon. The more potential a creature had, the more "illegal" Luke could make it. Arno was the perfect example: a rare, massive individual with a mutated venom sac.
After two and a half years of focused training dictated by the System, Luke had elevated Arno's [Toxic] trait to a level that defied standard biology. But individuals like Arno were one-in-a-million. It was the reason Luke still only had one Pokémon.
He didn't expect to find a masterpiece in a random poacher's warehouse. Still, with Arno's evolution on the horizon, he needed to bolster his roster for the next leg of his journey. He didn't need a miracle—just a Pokémon with enough raw potential to be worth his time.
While other trainers gawked at the exotic species, Luke retreated to a quiet corner and activated his scan.
A sea of White and Green names filled his vision. He sighed in disappointment. Even the few Blue names interspersed among them didn't pique his interest.
According to the System's ranking:
White Nameplates: Potential capped at Level 30. These were "Amateur" tier—Pokémon that would encounter a genetic wall before they could even reach their final evolution.Green Nameplates: Potential up to Level 45. These were "Professional" tier.Blue Nameplates: Potential up to Level 60. These were "Superior" tier, fit to be the ace of a standard Elite Trainer.
Currently, Arno's nameplate was Purple.
This indicated "Elite Four Tier" talent, with a potential cap of Level 75. Such Pokémon were the mainstays of legendary teams. Above that lay the Gold Nameplate—"Champion Tier"—a rarity Luke hadn't encountered once in the sixteen years since he'd arrived in this world.
He glanced at Arno's updated status window:
Species: Nidorino
Level: 45
Ability: Poison Point / Hidden Ability: Hustle
Traits:
Toxic: (Extremely Toxic; doubles poisoning probability and doubles damage against poisoned targets.)
Big Fellow: (Massive size; Physical/Special Defense and Attack increased; Speed and Evasion decreased.)
Psychic Master: (Inherited ancestral power; bonus to Psychic-type moves.)
Element User: (Damage bonus for Special Attack moves.)
Moves: Confusion (Inherited), Horn Drill (Inherited), Thunderbolt, Toxic, Venom Drench, Stomping Tantrum, Sludge Bomb, Toxic Spikes, Poison Sting...
Cultivation Goal: Evolve via Moon Stone.
Without the System, Luke might have been a trainer who relied on "fate" and "friendship," much like the protagonists of the old cartoons. But those trainers often hit a ceiling. Luke wanted the summit.
If a Pokémon wasn't destined to go the distance, forcing them into his grueling regime was a disservice to both.
Satisfied there was nothing worth his time, Luke led Arno out of the base. Outside, the officers were loading the criminals into transport vans. The officer from before looked up, surprised to see Luke leaving so early.
"Out already? You didn't find a partner?"
Luke gave a helpless shrug. "None of them were quite the right fit for me."
"Really? Not even a second look? I saw a few Alolan variants in there—you don't see those every day!"