"Awesome! Yozora is just too amazing!"From outside the arena, Ritchie's face was full of admiration as he clapped excitedly for Yozora.
Sherry gave a faint smile, her eyes fixed on Yozora standing in the spotlight on stage. Like Ritchie, she too joined in the applause.
She had never expected that a casual cruise trip would lead her to encounter such a promising Rookie…
Even putting Yozora aside, the boy next to her—Ritchie—already struck her as someone with extraordinary talent and limitless potential.
But Yozora? To call him a super rookie was no exaggeration at all…
With the match concluded, the award ceremony followed.
At the host's enthusiastic invitation, the champion, runner-up, semifinals, and even quarterfinals contestants all came up on stage to receive their prizes and glory.
The four quarterfinalists each received a flawed Water Stone.
Under normal circumstances, given their backgrounds, none of them would even spare such a substandard stone a glance.
But right now, they were holding their flawed Water Stones high with excitement written all over their faces.
The two semifinalists each received a mid-grade Water Stone.
Runner-up Derrick was awarded three mid-grade stones: a Fire Stone, a Thunder Stone, and a Water Stone.
As for the champion—Yozora—his prize was presented personally by Captain Edson himself.
Smiling broadly, Captain Edson carefully handed Yozora a rare Pokémon Egg, encased in a transparent incubation vessel.
The audience erupted in thunderous applause.
Yozora's strength was undeniable; his victory was well deserved!
"Congratulations, Yozora. Your strength and potential truly command respect." Derrick laughed as he offered his hand.
"Your strength is what's truly amazing, senior. If not for my good fortune in pushing through a breakthrough, I wouldn't have stood a chance against you." Yozora shook his hand with a humble smile.
Hearing this, and sensing Yozora's sincerity, Derrick let out a hearty laugh.
Who would've thought that someone so young could also be so modest and polite? His future prospects were immeasurable.
Patting Yozora's shoulder approvingly, Derrick turned toward Captain Edson and grinned."Captain, surely there's no need to keep it secret now? Tell us—what kind of Pokémon Egg is this treasure you've been keeping all this time?"
At those words, Captain Edson chuckled but didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked at Yozora."Yozora, why don't you take a guess first? I'll give you a hint. This egg comes from one of my three old partners—Gyarados, Poliwrath, or Pelipper."
Yozora nodded, focusing intently on the Egg in his hands—
[Pokémon Egg]: Magikarp
[Type]: Water
[Ability]: ?
[Level]: Unhatched
[Potential]: Elite Four-level
[Description]: A Magikarp with extraordinary talent, inheriting powerful genetics and special moves.
"Magikarp?" Yozora blurted out in surprise.
Captain Edson's eyes lit up as he burst into hearty laughter."Hahaha! Exactly right, Magikarp! As expected of Champion Yozora—you guessed it right on the first try!"
His laughter was full of admiration.
But the audience… their expressions were rather strange.
Seriously? A Magikarp Egg?Captain, was this really your idea of a worthy championship prize?
But after his initial shock, Yozora quickly calmed down.
After all, Magikarp could evolve into Gyarados. That alone made it worthwhile.
And more importantly—this was an Elite Four-level potential Egg. Absolutely worth raising.
"Yozora, this Egg is indeed valuable, but if you're not satisfied, I'd be willing to trade it for my second-place prize…" The blond gentleman Derrick smiled amicably.
Yozora instantly hugged the Egg tighter to his chest."No, no need for that…"
"Hahaha!"
The crowd burst out laughing.
Everyone knew Derrick was only joking.
Even if it was "just" a Magikarp Egg, an Elite Four-potential Pokémon Egg was worth tens of millions. There was no way anyone would trade that for three mid-grade stones.
Later, Yozora, Ritchie, and Sherry stepped out onto the deck to enjoy the sea breeze.
The S.S. Anne surged forward across the waves. By now, Vermilion City was already close—its port faintly visible in the distance.
Cradling the Magikarp Egg, Yozora's thoughts drifted back to a research paper he had read as a child.
He couldn't quite remember which professor had written it—perhaps Professor Oak, perhaps not. But the content was engraved in his memory.
The paper explained that most Magikarp born from Magikarp had only mediocre potential, with very few ever evolving into Gyarados.
But Magikarp born from Gyarados tended to possess much stronger potential, with a far greater chance of evolving into Gyarados themselves.
Yozora wholeheartedly agreed with this logic.
The stronger the Pokémon, the more powerful its life energy and physical constitution. Naturally, its offspring would also be stronger.
The weaker the Pokémon, the weaker its offspring.
Like begets like. This was the natural law of the world.
Exceptions existed, of course—but they were so rare as to be negligible.
As a researcher himself, Yozora always paid attention to such ratios.
And with that reasoning, it was easy to see why Dragon-type Pokémon were so innately gifted.
Because their growth rates were so slow…
Take Caterpie, for example. It matured in just a month or two, quickly reaching breeding age.
But Dragon-types took years to reach adulthood before they could reproduce.
Before that, they lacked both the ability and the instinct to breed.
For instance, Dratini usually evolved into Dragonair well before adulthood.
Once they did reach maturity, however, their offspring—born from the vitality and power of a Dragonair's body—were inevitably extraordinary.
Even if a Dratini somehow remained unevolved by adulthood, years of slow, careful growth still ensured that its offspring would be remarkable.
"Yozora, did you know?"
"Some Fire-type Pokémon have a natural talent for hatching Eggs quickly. Once we arrive in Vermilion City, you could post a request at the Pokémon Center. Trainers with such Fire-types can be hired by the day to help speed up the hatching process." Sherry suggested with a smile.
(End of Chapter)