Chapter 37: Soaring Strength! A Distant Explosion!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have synthesized a 4-Star Beedrill!]
[Ding! Beedrill's level has increased from LV.23 to LV.28!]
[Beedrill's base stats have increased!]
[Ding! Beedrill's potential has increased!]
[Ding! Beedrill's potential has reached its maximum limit. Further increase is impossible!]
[Ding! As potential cannot be increased, Beedrill has received an additional compensatory boost to its base stats!]
As the cascade of system prompts echoed in Kenji's ears, the final notification made him freeze. He stared intently at his Beedrill, still shimmering with the residual light of the fusion, and quickly pulled up its status panel.
Beedrill (4-Star)
Gender: Male
Level: 28
Type: Bug / Poison
Base Stats: 675
Abilities: Swarm, Huge Power
Moves: Twineedle, Quick Attack, Agility, Swords Dance, Aerial Ace…
Held Item: Last Whisper
Potential: [ULTIMATE]
When Kenji saw the number in the Base Stats section, his eyes went wide, and he gasped.
He remembered clearly: at 3-Star, Beedrill's base stat total had been 515. The standard increase for a star-up was 60 points, which should have brought it to 575 at 4-Star.
But the panel clearly read 675.
Because its potential was already maxed out and couldn't be increased further, the system had compensated by granting it an extra 100 base stat points!
A base stat total of 675... that was leagues beyond pseudo-legendaries or even most lesser Legendaries.
And Beedrill could still Mega Evolve.
Mega Evolution added another 100 points, bringing its total to a staggering 775!
Considering Beedrill's extremely specialized stat distribution, focusing almost entirely on Attack and Speed, Kenji did a quick mental calculation. Its Mega Evolved stats would likely reach around 227 Speed and 235 Attack!
Hiss...
Kenji couldn't help but suck in a breath. That was monstrous. With nearly 230 base Speed, it would truly live up to the moniker "Yellow Flash."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Just then, the white light faded from Beedrill's body. Visually, it didn't look much different than its 3-Star form. But the moment it moved, the difference was astounding. It zipped through the air like a phantom, its speed almost double what it had been just moments before.
After Gyarados had evolved, Beedrill's position as Kenji's undisputed ace had started to feel a little shaky. Its victory over the rampaging Gyarados had been largely due to Gyarados's mindless state and Kenji's strategic commands. In a fair fight with both Pokémon under trainer control, the outcome would have been uncertain, given Gyarados's superior base stats and wider move pool at the time. Besides level and potential, Beedrill had held no other advantages.
But now, at 4-Star, Beedrill had undeniably reclaimed its throne. While its base stats were still slightly lower than Gyarados's (675 vs. 720), the gap was much smaller. And Beedrill still held the advantage in both level and, crucially, potential. The power difference between them would only continue to widen.
BOOOOM!—
Just as Kenji was mentally comparing his two powerhouses, a terrifying explosion roared in the distance. The sound was so loud that the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.
Kenji flinched, his heart lurching. After his last trip into the wilds, the sound of an explosion immediately set off alarm bells in his head. He instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing, indicating the blast had occurred very far away.
He let out a breath of relief, but his brow remained furrowed. For the sound to carry that far, the explosion must have been massive.
Curiosity tugged at him, but Kenji wasn't the type to recklessly seek out danger. Without hesitation, he checked his phone's map to get his bearings and started heading back toward the main road. It had taken him an hour and a half to get this deep into the forest; the return trip would likely take just as long. He wasn't overly worried, though. The explosion had sounded extremely distant; whatever was happening was unlikely to affect him here.
With Beedrill scouting ahead, Kenji began his trek back at a steady pace.
Thump-thump-thump...
Suddenly, Kenji stopped. He strained his ears. The distinct sound of someone running through the undergrowth was rapidly approaching. His intuition screamed at him; this wasn't a Pokémon. It was human.
He quickly signaled Beedrill and ducked behind the thick trunk of a large tree.
The sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves grew louder. A figure burst into view from the north, running frantically. Kenji peered cautiously around the edge of the tree.
He froze.
The figure was a man, thin and wearing a tattered white lab coat over his clothes. He wore black-framed glasses and was clutching a purple-spotted Pokémon egg protectively. He looked utterly exhausted and disheveled.
But what truly caught Kenji's attention was the logo emblazoned on the back of the lab coat.
A stylized red 'R'.
Team R!
Kenji's eyes widened. This man was clearly a researcher. Combined with the massive explosion he'd just heard... a theory quickly formed in his mind. Could there have been a secret Team R base nearby that the League just discovered and raided?
Even knowing the man was part of the nation's largest criminal organization, Kenji hesitated to intervene. He was about to wait for the researcher to pass so he could continue on his way when his gaze fell upon the egg the man was carrying. His system automatically scanned it, and the results made his jaw drop.
Ekans (Unhatched)
Level: 0
Ability: Multiscale
Potential: S-
Kenji stared, dumbfounded, rereading the ability line. Multiscale?
Whether it was the knowledge he'd learned in school this life or the game mechanics ingrained from his past life, Kenji was absolutely certain: Ekans had only two regular abilities, Intimidate and Shed Skin, and one Hidden Ability, Unnerve.
What in the Distortion World was Multiscale doing on an Ekans?!