Chapter 142: Noibat
Strolling around, it didn't take long for Kenji to find the "Egg Gambling" area within the trade zone.
As everyone knew, the devices used to detect Pokémon aptitude in this world could only measure potential after hatching.
Therefore, before hatching, a Pokémon's potential could only be roughly estimated based on the potential of its parents.
"Egg Gambling," as the name suggested, involved selling unhatched Pokémon Eggs. The price depended mainly on the parents' potential.
The Egg Gambling area at the Crestview Pokémon Center had eggs priced at 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, and 200,000.
Whether you made a profit or a loss depended entirely on luck. If you bought a 1,000-dollar egg and hatched a C-Rank potential Pokémon, you made a huge profit.
But if you spent 1,000 dollars and got an E- Magikarp, that money was basically thrown into the water.
Of course, for others, Egg Gambling might be a game of luck. But for Kenji, who possessed the [Data Eye], it was a bargain-hunting spree.
Kenji had no interest in the first two price tiers, so he headed straight for the 100,000 and 200,000 sections.
People who came to gamble on eggs usually weren't well-off. Amounts like 100,000 or 200,000 were enough to buy a decent, guaranteed C-Rank Pokémon.
So, the stalls for these two price tiers were mostly empty.
The 100,000 and 200,000 eggs came from parents where at least one had A-Rank potential; the price difference was mainly due to rarity.
Kenji looked left and right. Most of the eggs had D or C-Rank potential. B-Rank potential was scarce.
As for A-Rank, Kenji hadn't seen a single one yet.
But Kenji was used to it. He had been visiting the Egg Gambling area whenever he was bored these past few days, and he hadn't found an A-Rank egg yet.
He didn't expect to definitely find an A-Rank Pokémon here; he was just trying his luck and killing time.
"Hm?"
Just as Kenji was prepared to leave empty-handed, an egg with purple patterns in an incubator caught his attention.
Noibat
Level: LV.0
Type: Flying/Dragon
Ability: Telepathy (Hidden Ability)
Potential: A
An A-Rank potential Noibat! And with its Hidden Ability, Telepathy!!
Facing this sudden pleasant surprise, Kenji controlled his expression and picked up the incubator.
Seeing this, the young lady managing the shop hurried over and led Kenji to the counter to pay.
Leaving the Egg Gambling area, Kenji put the Noibat egg into his storage backpack.
Kenji didn't plan to keep this Noibat for himself. Its potential was only A-Rank.
Among Kenji's Pokémon, apart from Beedrill (who had the [Level Up!] cheat) and Gyarados (whose starting potential was lower), every other Pokémon had started with at least A-Rank potential.
So this Noibat wasn't particularly attractive to Kenji.
However, although he didn't need it, Marcus was a Flying-type Gym Leader. This Noibat would make a perfect New Year's gift for him.
Back in the lounge, his Pokémon were playing.
Gyarados was challenging Beedrill. Arbok was terrorizing Vigoroth and Pupitar, the two restless troublemakers.
Ninetales sat on a stool holding Bellossom with both hands, using psychic power to fly Pokéblocks around in the air.
Elekid jumped around constantly, chasing and eating the flying Pokéblocks.
...
Two days before the Pokémon Contest began.
Kenji finally left Crestview City and headed for Lanling City. After arriving and resting for half a day, the Contest began as scheduled.
"Welcome to all our friends here at the venue and in the livestream watching this Lanling City Pokémon Contest! I'm your favorite commentator: Vivian!
"Next! Let's welcome our three judges for this Contest!!"
Above the Contest venue, Vivian rode a Unfezant, holding a microphone and greeting the audience enthusiastically from mid-air.
The Unfezant beneath her was male, dressed up quite handsomely with a gentleman's hat.
The three judges were the Chairman of the Lanling City Pokémon Contest Committee, the Director of the Lanling City Pokémon Fan Club, and a specially invited Top Coordinator.
After a speech by the Committee Chairman, the Contest officially began.
In the waiting area, Kenji wore the same outfit as in the auditions. The tag on his waist read "16."
He was the sixteenth to perform.
Out of 99 contestants, this was quite early in the lineup.
Crossing his arms, Kenji watched the performances on stage. He had to admit, purely in terms of visual spectacle, Contests were much better than battles.
But that couldn't be helped; each had its own specialization.
Soon, the performances before Kenji concluded. He stood up and walked toward the stage with Ninetales.
"What a wonderful performance! Next!! Let's welcome our next contestant, Kenji, with warm applause! From what we know, Kenji is a student from Metropolis Academy. Although this is his first time participating in a Pokémon Contest...
"He has already defeated multiple Provincial Gym Leaders!! And he took first place in the Metropolis Academy tournament!!!
"Let's look forward to seeing what kind of performance this young genius will bring us!!"
With Vivian's introduction, the audience craned their necks, looking toward the entrance, eager to see this genius from Metropolis Academy.
At the entrance, a white figure appeared.
It was Ninetales, walking ahead of Kenji.
The moment Ninetales appeared, the audience's attention shifted instantly. They stopped looking at Kenji and focused entirely on Ninetales.
Many in the audience seemed to know of Ninetales from the auditions. The moment she stepped out, screams erupted, and the click-click-click of cameras filled the air.
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