Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"You even have bee honey! You're really brave and lucky. It's worth 1000 Alliance Coins per gram. There are 421 grams here, totaling 42.1 Alliance Coins. Combined with the previous two items, it's a total of 46.2 Alliance Coins."

The staff member quoted the price very skillfully and then sighed.

As Tetsuya listened to the staff's quote, he was still pleasantly surprised by the generous profit. Although he was prepared, the amount was still quite a surprise.

After the staff deposited the profits, Tetsuya took the ID card handed to him by the staff and left the trading area after leaving a positive review.

Upon arriving at the mission hall, Tetsuya stood before a machine with a red and white Poké Ball printed on it.

"Code name: Mercenary, submit mission, number 573677400."

Tetsuya inserted his Alliance ID card into the slot on the machine.

A photo of Tetsuya immediately appeared on the machine screen, next to his bounty hunter codename Mercenary, along with information about how he completed the mission.

A red light swept across.

"Identity confirmed. Code name: Mercenary, mission number: 573677400. Please place the required items at the entrance below."

The following line of text immediately appeared on the machine's screen.

Tetsuya took out a large pile of herbs from his backpack. These were the Star Grass, the target of his mission. It grew sparsely in areas where Grass-type Pokémon were abundant. The harvesting difficulty was moderate, but it took a long time, and the amount required by the mission giver was also quite large.

Place it into the storage slot below, and the machine will automatically close the lid.

"Detecting..."

Chapter 3: The Golden Finger and Reality

"Test passed, task confirmed."

"Your task difficulty level is C, completion rate is 100%, and the reward is 5 Alliance Coins (after tax), which has been deposited into your identity card."

You have completed a total of 0 S-rank missions, 0 A-rank missions, 1 B-rank mission, 42 C-rank missions, 132 D-rank missions, and 201 E-rank and below missions. Your current hunter rank is C.

The machine flashed text rapidly.

Tetsuya didn't take it seriously. After confirming that the earnings had been deposited, he pulled out his ID card and left the Hunter Hall.

After buying some Pokémon food and daily necessities at the department store, Tetsuya spent 50 League Coins to take a Dodori back to his small villa in the suburbs of Viridian City, where several common berry trees were planted in the back.

Viridian City is located near Viridian Forest and is sparsely populated. Although housing prices in the city center are not low, housing prices in the suburbs are quite ordinary.

Moreover, the housing prices in the city center are actually not that high, since most trainers and hunters who come to adventure don't stay there for long, and the accommodations at the Pokémon Center are sufficient.

At least Tetsuya had seen it, and the value of his suburban villa was about the same as the price of a toilet in Goldenrod City. If converted to the city center of Tokiwa, it would be just a very small single-person bungalow, which was outrageous.

It's not hard to understand, since occasionally Pokémon still escape from Viridian Forest, and some aggressive Pokémon even enter houses and attack humans.

Therefore, most people still prefer to live in the city center, at least they won't have such troubles and dangers.

But Tetsuya didn't care. After all, he was a trainer, and dealing with these problems was a piece of cake for him.

Back home, I first let Pidgey out, poured some of the bird Pokémon's favorite food into its special bowl, added some of Tetsuya's own secret recipe, and finally placed a bowl of Miltank milk next to it.

Seeing that Pidgey had started eating, Tetsuya went into the bathroom to take a shower.

.......

After taking a shower, Tetsuya dried his hair and walked out of the bathroom. His shirtless body was covered with scars from the years.

Tetsuya's eight-pack abs and powerful biceps demonstrate his excellent physical condition.

I saw that Pidgey had finished eating and was roaming freely in the back garden.

Tetsuya plopped down on the sofa, silently chanting, "Zero, open Pidgey's control panel."

As his thoughts shifted, data and reports rapidly entered his mind, and a blue panel visible only to him appeared in Tetsuya's field of vision.

Pidgey

Category: Bird Pokémon

Attribute: Normal/Flying

Height: 1.3m (average is 1.1m)

Weight: 36kg (average weight 30kg)

Characteristic: Sharp Eyesight (Thanks to sharp eyesight, accuracy is not reduced.)

Hidden Ability: Robust Chest (Immune to Defense reduction effects; Pokémon with this ability are also stronger than their kind)

Skills: Tackle, Cry, Peck, Sand Rush, Wind Rush, Quick Attack, Blow Away, Feather Dance, Agility, Tornado (Inherited)

Level: 33 (Elite)

Potential: King

Training plan: It is recommended to conduct targeted strengthening training for this Pokémon's wings (after weight training, perform massage to relax the wings; specific techniques are as follows:.....);

It is recommended to enhance reaction speed (supplemented with nerve agents, formula as follows: 20g of shimmering grass.......);

It is recommended to strengthen bones (supplemented with a bone-strengthening diet, the recipe is as follows: 10g of caracalla bone, 20g of a large milk jug...).

........

Looking at the data provided by Zero, Tetsuya's eyes lit up. Pidgeotto's level had increased by one level compared to yesterday. Although level does not completely represent strength, it can accurately reflect the Pokémon's current state.

Zhe didn't know what the level of the next level, the Quasi-Elite One, would be displayed on the panel. He only knew that below level 5 was a novice, 5-15 was a beginner, 15-30 was normal, and above level 30, his Pidgey became an elite.

Judging from this arithmetic sequence, a near-King level is at least level 45, and there's a high probability that level 50 will be a watershed.

Zhe didn't know at what level Pidgeotto would evolve, but based on his experience and knowledge, he figured his Pidgeotto would evolve into Pidgeot after three or four more levels.

With a thought, Tetsuya closed the panel and began eating the dinner he had brought back.

Zero was a byproduct of Tetsuya's transmigration to this world. Although Tetsuya didn't know exactly what happened, it was probably related to the intelligent computer chip implanted in his brain in his previous life. It was possible that the chip and his soul merged into one during the time travel.

Tetsuya had no idea that he had transmigrated with a chip.

When he was 11 years old, a voice suddenly rang in his mind that said, "Powered up, start up." He subconsciously called out the name of his previous life's smart chip, Zero, and the panel appeared.

Tetsuya discovered that as long as he observed a Pokémon in his field of vision, the panel would automatically display the aforementioned information, including the training plan, which was based on his own knowledge integration.

Therefore, Zero can only determine the approximate level and potential of wild Pokémon and Pokémon eggs, but cannot provide further solutions, because Tetsuya does not have any further understanding.

Unless it becomes your own Pokémon, is carefully nurtured, and has complete data, Zero can only provide more specific plans and information on skill mastery.

This was enough to make Tetsuya overjoyed at the time.

The Pokémon world is based on the creatures Pokémon and features a variety of professions, such as researchers, breeders, and trainers. There are also various subcategories, which we won't go into here. Among them, being a high-level trainer is a profession that everyone aspires to.

Zero can undoubtedly help him become an excellent trainer and breeder.

As long as he learns enough knowledge, even if he doesn't know how to operate it, Zero can give the most reasonable advice.

The level display allows him to clearly understand the progress of his Pokémon's strength, the potential allows him to choose outstanding Pokémon, and the training plan is the basis for him to become stronger.

Unfortunately, all of this requires money.

Tetsuya gave a wry smile.

Although Tetsuya has earned a lot of money in the four years he has lived outside, unfortunately, it is only a drop in the ocean compared to raising Pokémon.

Tetsuya looked towards the Pidgey outside the door.

When Tetsuya first discovered he had a cheat ability, he thought he was the center of the world and all he could think about was starting as a near-god.

But he quickly calmed down. Let alone pseudo-legendary Pokémon, he wouldn't even get a turn with the starter Pokémon from the League's direct lineage, and he probably couldn't even get a slightly inferior Pokémon egg.

After all, in this world, the strong are respected, and a Pokémon with outstanding talent has a high chance of becoming an excellent trainer.

The reason why pseudo-gods are so sought after is because each pseudo-god's offspring, after being nurtured and evolving to its final form, can at least reach the level of a pseudo-elite king. Most of them will eventually become elite kings, and a few with exceptional talent will even have the opportunity to challenge for the champion's throne.

This has resulted in powerful quasi-god cubs being controlled by the ruling class of this world. Even if quasi-god eggs appear on the black market, their prices are beyond Tetsuya's current comprehension.

As for the starter Pokémon, these are the Pokémon that each region gives to its own direct descendants along with their Pokédex. The basic requirements are that they pay 50 yen every year for ten consecutive years, have a clear family background, and have their families be high-ranking members of the League. This is simply unrealistic for Tetsuya.

Chapter 4 Memories

The starter Pokémon are mainly of the Water, Fire, and Grass types, and the varieties vary from region to region. In the Kanto region, they are Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. All three of these Pokémon have three evolution stages and have extremely high potential.

In addition, the League has specialists who can assess a trainer's potential. The starter Pokémon that end up in the hands of a novice trainer are all of excellent potential and gentle nature. With proper training, they can easily reach the level of a near-Elite Four member.

On the black market, the starter Pokémon aren't as expensive as pseudo-legendary Pokémon eggs, since not every starter Pokémon has outstanding talents. However, even so, a single starter Pokémon egg is still worth over 2000 million League Coins.

This price is simply astonishing.

Keep in mind that as of yesterday, including the money spent, Tetsuya had only earned a little over 450 million League Coins in the past four years.

I only spent 80 Alliance Coins to buy this villa, and most of the remaining money was invested in breeding Pidgey.

Even so, Tetsuya's Pidgey, which he has been training for over a year, has only recently reached the elite level, although this is partly due to Tetsuya's lack of funds to lay the foundation for Pidgey, which has been slow.

Tetsuya was lost in his memories.

Tetsuya's first Pokémon wasn't the Pidgey that he has now, but a Rattata.

After all, Tetsuya, who had just entered society, only had a scholarship from the League—1 League Coins.

Although it's enough for him to live on for a while and find a job through his own abilities, to become a trainer, frankly speaking, this amount of money is practically nothing.

Even the cheapest Pokémon egg on the black market, even if it's a Caterpie, costs a hefty 50,000 League Coins. And most of the Caterpies that hatch from it can't evolve, so their combat power is practically zero.

Wild Caterpie that you catch can be put into a Poké Ball for just 1 League Coins, but those Caterpie don't even have a chance to evolve, so they can't evolve at all.

If it could evolve into Metapod, it wouldn't be this cheap. After all, given the growth cycle of Bug-type Pokémon, it would have evolved long ago if it could.

Tetsuya was unwilling to give up. In this world, only by becoming a trainer could he have a slight chance to change his fate, not to mention that he had a cheat code.

So Tetsuya risked his life and entered the Viridian Forest alone, wanting to take a gamble.

As long as he finds a Pokémon egg, regardless of its aptitude, Tetsuya is confident he can overcome the initial difficulties.

Fortunately, after experiencing the tragic events of being chased by Weedle and driven away by Caterpie's webs, Tetsuya actually found an egg left behind by Rattata, although its aptitude was only average and it could not evolve into Rattata.

After returning to Tokiwa City and hatching Rattata, Tetsuya, although unable to raise Rattata according to Zero's plan, did his best to take care of it.

Once Rada had passed its infancy, Zhe registered as a bounty hunter and began his money-making journey. Naming himself Mercenary was also a way for him to leave behind a memory of his previous life.

Although the income was meager and the journey was tough, Tetsuya and Rattata gradually saved up some money during their two years of adventure.

However, fate is unpredictable. During one of their adventures, Tetsuya and Rattata encountered a flock of scorching sparrows.

In that battle, although Tetsuya survived, Rattata, who was only level 18, still couldn't escape the clutches of the large group of Spearow.

Zhe is also very sad.

But a spirit cannot be resurrected after it dies, unless Ho-Oh is found, which is impossible.

So Tetsuya had no choice but to go to the black market, intending to rely on his knowledge and Zero's abilities to select a high-potential Pokémon and start training it anew.

The black market, as the name suggests, is a market operating in the shadows, not openly recognized by the Alliance.

After all, the League's regulations explicitly prohibit the trading of Pokémon, including Pokémon eggs.

However, as long as the profits are large enough, many people are willing to take the risks, and thus the black market came into being.

Gradually, the black market proliferated and grew in size, becoming an unwritten dark zone. Although the Alliance did not support it, it tacitly allowed its existence, because only in this way could the people at the very bottom have a glimmer of hope.

Tetsuya walked through the black market, concealing his figure with a black robe, and everyone around him wore the same attire.

Walking up to a stall selling eggs of common Pokémon like Caterpie, Weedle, and Pidgey, Tetsuya looked at the stall owner, who was wearing the same black robe, and asked, "How much are Pidgey Pokémon eggs?"

The stall owner wasn't surprised to hear Tetsuya's slightly immature voice, since there were so many people like that. He said calmly, "The black market price is 25."

Tetsuya wasn't surprised, nor did he feel that the stall owner was trying to rip him off.

As he said, the price of ordinary Pokémon eggs is uniform throughout the black market, and he was just confirming the price again.

Pidgey isn't strong, and its gentle nature makes it unsuitable for intense battles, but it has evolved as many times as the starter Pokémon. Its final evolution, Pidgeot, is not only handsome but also incredibly powerful.

If most Pidgeys weren't of poor quality, evolving into Pidgeotto would be extremely rare, and ultimately evolving into Pidgeot would be even rarer, and the price of a Pidgey egg would be much higher than this.

Tetsuya casually picked up a Pokémon egg, put it in his bag, and handed the stall owner a pre-prepared anonymous debit card, thus completing the transaction.

Tetsuya turned and left.

The stall owner didn't think much of it and, after confirming that the money in the card was correct, continued to wait for the next customer.

Although he could tell that Tetsuya seemed casual, he had actually carefully examined all of Tetsuya's Pidgey eggs before making his selection, he didn't think that the eggs produced by a Pidgeotto-led group could be any good Pokémon.

Moreover, there is no instrument in the world that can determine the aptitude of a Pokémon in an egg. The most skilled aptitude appraisers can only make simple judgments about the aptitude of a baby Pokémon by observing its development, fur, and bloodline.