Chapter 8 - The Suicune Cup Pokémon Challenge (Part 1)
Grandpa Lin turned around, saw Jason, and greeted him with a warm smile.
"Jason, you're back? Haven't seen you these past few days."
Jason smiled. "I just got back yesterday. Haven't really been out."
Grandpa Lin was retired now. Before that, he'd been a Chinese teacher at Rongcheng No. 6 High School for decades. Three years ago, when he retired, his children, worried he'd get lonely, bought him a Growlithe for companionship.
Grandpa Lin adored that Growlithe spoiled it rotten and took it for walks every single day.
As they chatted and strolled along, Jason suddenly felt a strange warmth in his eyes.
When his gaze landed on the frolicking Growlithe ahead, a translucent green panel appeared in his vision, rapidly filling with lines of text and numbers.
Thinking he was imagining it, Jason shook his head hard but nothing changed. The text and numbers stayed right there.
He slowed his pace and focused on reading it.
[ Pokémon: Growlithe
Type: Fire
Potential: ★★
Level: 16
Ability: Intimidate]
…
"What… is this? A status panel?"
---
Am I seeing things? Or maybe I ate too much and I'm hallucinating?
Jason shook his head again and looked. The green data panel was still there, unchanged.
His heartbeat quickened. This felt… important. He turned his head, looking for another Pokémon to test it on. Not far away, a young woman was walking an Yamper.
[ Pokémon: Yamper
Type: Electric
Potential: ★
Level: 12
Ability: Ball Fetch]
He scanned a few more Pokémon nearby each had completely different data.
A wild thought came to him: Could it be… I've got some kind of "status panel" ability now?
Was it possible that back on the bus, that rainbow-colored orb had absorbed all the data from the Pokédex, then merged it with everything he knew from his past life's games, manga, novels, and anime to form this panel?
The idea was insane… but didn't feel impossible.
If this colorful orb was his "golden finger," then it was ridiculously powerful.
With this panel, he could see the exact stats of any Pokémon. Sure, there were devices out there to measure potential and level, but they were bulky, immobile, and had to be kept in one place under careful protection.
In a battle against another trainer, being able to read an opponent's Pokémon's details instantly would be a massive advantage. And if he ever had the chance to pick a Pokémon, he could always choose the best one.
---
After calming himself down, Jason parted ways with Grandpa Lin and went home.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Pikachu and Jigglypuff lounging on the living room sofa watching TV. At the same time, their data popped up in his vision:
[Pokémon: Pikachu
Type: Electric
Potential: None
Level: 18
Ability: Static]
[Pokémon: Jigglypuff
Type: Normal, Fairy
Potential: None
Level: 19
Ability: Cute Charm]
No surprises there both Pikachu and Jigglypuff had no-star potential. They'd cost just over 300 credits when he bought them and were strictly for keeping as pets.
After giving them both a good scratch, Jason went to his room. In the corner sat a small gray, round nest the one his mom had prepared for Aron.
The panel shifted again. This was what he'd been waiting for he'd come back early just to check Aron's potential and level.
[ Pokémon: Aron
Type: Steel, Rock
Potential: ★★★
Level: 1
Ability: Heavy Metal ]
"Three stars?!" Jason almost shouted. "This is… incredible!"
This starting point was already miles ahead of most people.
Then he remembered what happened that afternoon the colorful orb inside him had poured unknown energy into Aron. Other than the higher potential, there'd been no strange changes.
Could it be… it actually boosted Aron's potential? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
If the orb's powers included a status panel and the ability to raise potential… either one alone would be a golden finger. Combined? That was a straight rocket to the top.
Clearly, he'd have to study this colorful orb carefully.
---
Which brought up another problem how was he supposed to turn off the panel? It was floating in his vision all the time, making it hard to focus on anything else.
He tried experimentally:
"Status panel?"
"System!"
"Close!"
"Big bro!"
No reaction. Then he tried:
"Shut!"
"No!"
"Off!"
Still nothing. Finally, he thought the word in his head: Close.
Instantly, the panel vanished, and his vision cleared.
Jason nodded to himself and tried again: Status panel! nothing happened. He looked at Aron and thought the words again the green panel popped back up.
After more testing, he figured out the rules: the panel only activated if there was a Pokémon in his line of sight, and it had to be triggered by thinking status panel. To close it, think close or shut. Convenient enough.
---
After playing around with it for a while, Jason lay back on his bed, trying to calm down but couldn't help thinking:
Since his eyes could see other people's Pokémon data, what should he call this ability?
"Eye of Truth"? Too cringe. Something more straightforward… how about Data's Eye?
Simple, clear, and exactly what it did.
Yes Data's Eye it was.
After naming it, Jason checked the time past ten. He got ready for bed and called it a night.
---
June 26 — Clear skies, 31°C
This time, Jason didn't take the bus he walked to his destination. The heat was sweltering; he was already sweating after only a few minutes.
Today's destination was about one kilometer from Taiyu Residential District: the Cerulean Pokémon Supermarket, full name "National Cerulean Pokémon Chain Supermarket."
These stores sold everything Pokémon-related food, Pokéblocks, clothes, toys, houses, medicine, Poké Balls you name it.
Aron, still just a newborn, was at home sleeping; freshly hatched Pokémon spent most of their time eating and sleeping. Jason didn't want to disturb him.
On the way, Jason couldn't resist using Data's Eye on every Pokémon he saw, checking their potential and level with endless curiosity.
After about ten minutes, he arrived at the commercial street where the supermarket was located. The area was bustling pharmacies, restaurants, berry shops, milk tea stalls, and more lined the street. Business seemed good.
From twenty meters away, Jason could already see the massive blue storefront of the Cerulean Pokémon Supermarket, towering over its neighbors. Cars and motorbikes were parked outside, and music floated from within.
Mascots dressed as Pikachu, Eevee, and Charmander handed out flyers near the entrance. The LED sign above read: "This Sunday 10% off storewide!"
No wonder the place was packed.
Cerulean had opened just last year, but already overtaken a rival Pokémon store a hundred meters away thanks to better management.
---
Jason stepped inside and immediately spotted a huge banner hanging from the ceiling:
"July 25 The Second Suicune Cup Pokémon Challenge Sign Up Now!"
Beneath it stood a large billboard with the contest details. A dozen people were gathered around, reading and chatting.
Jason studied the rules carefully.
Anyone with a Pokémon could enter even pets. Small-scale tournaments like this were often organized by malls, companies, or big institutions to draw crowds and advertise.
The Suicune Cup was open to all ages, any Pokémon, any level.
Matches were 1 vs. 1 each trainer could only use one Pokémon. Battles continued until one side's Pokémon was unable to fight.
The format was single elimination win and you advance, until you're the last one standing and take the championship.
And the prizes… for Jason right now, they were very tempting.
First place: 20,000 Credits shopping card + three 2 kg bags of low-grade Pokémon food of your choice.
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