Communication between a Pokémon and its Trainer is a vital link. Although Pokémon possess intelligence far exceeding that of ordinary animals and harbor deep emotions, and though they can understand most of a Trainer's directions and commands, they cannot simply be treated as humans.
Among Pokémon, there are many species with very low intelligence, barely capable of grasping even the simplest instructions. Humans, for their part, cannot understand the language of Pokémon at all; they can only build a sense of mutual understanding through days and years of companionship.
An excellent Trainer is usually one who truly understands the heart of their Pokémon!
Lulu's mastery of Telepathy was nothing short of a cheat code for Hisoka. It allowed him to engage in direct mental communication with any new Pokémon he encountered. In a short amount of time, he could establish a level of rapport with a newly caught Pokémon that others might take years or even decades to build.
Hisoka composed his features into his most amiable expression. He stared at the Feebas blowing bubbles in the tank and said softly, "Don't ask if you can. Just tell me if you want to!"
Feebas was currently drowning in self-loathing. Hisoka had to give it his support and help it find its confidence.
Feebas looked at the frozen image on the video screen and nodded its head with effort. "I want to. I want to become like my mom."
"Mom?"
The word gave Hisoka pause. Milotic was undoubtedly the evolved form of Feebas, but that didn't mean a Feebas was necessarily born from a Milotic.
According to the data he had retrieved from the main computer of the Sootopolis Gym, Milotic found it extremely difficult to conceive. In any world, the more powerful a lifeform was, the harder it was for them to reproduce. Conversely, weaker lifeforms possessed an unimaginable advantage in terms of numbers.
That was why powerful Pokémon with the title of Pseudo-legendary were so few they were almost unheard of, and some Legendary Pokémon had existed as solitary beings for hundreds or thousands of years. By contrast, every forest was teeming with Caterpie and Weedle...
Milotic and Feebas were lifeforms on completely different levels. One could say that ninety-nine percent of the Feebas in this world were born from other Feebas. Only a very rare set of circumstances led to a Milotic becoming pregnant and giving birth to a Feebas. This was the one percent.
"Do you remember things from when you were little?" Hisoka asked curiously.
Hearing this, Feebas swung its tail and turned its head away, seemingly recalling a painful past. After a long while, it replied, "I... I remember a little. Mom didn't seem to like me."
Hisoka pointed at the Milotic on the screen. "Does your mom look exactly like her?"
"Mm!"
A wave of joy and excitement surfaced on Hisoka's face. Fortune had truly favored himthis Feebas was the offspring of a Milotic, not another Feebas.
What did that represent? It meant its natural potential from birth far exceeded others of its kind. As long as this Feebas gained the confidence to evolve and had the help of a Prism Scale, its evolution into Milotic was essentially guaranteed.
This was a secret documented in the Sootopolis Gym's classified files, a conclusion reached through countless attempts over the gym's century-long history.
Hisoka lifted Feebas out of the tank. He stared directly into its eyes and projected his voice into its mind: "As long as you want it, as long as you are willing to work for it, I can guarantee you will be even more beautiful than your mother."
Feebas gave an uncomfortable wiggle of its tail and asked innocently, "Is that true?"
"It's true. You can become a Milotic, and that will only be your starting point!" To build the Feebas's confidence as quickly as possible, Hisoka didn't care about being realistic anymore. He let the grand promises fly; after all, no one could say what the future held.
Having learned that it was born from a Milotic, Hisoka's confidence reached its peak. Now, the most important task was to make moneyspecifically, to earn three to five million in a short period. He was certain that once a Prism Scale appeared on trading or auction sites, the Sootopolis Gym would never let it go.
Compared to the wealthy and powerful Sootopolis Gym, Hisoka's financial resources weren't even comparable to a tiny shrimp. He couldn't compete with them in a real-world auction, but online, he could use certain small tricks. He would make them feel the sting, but not so much that they would seek revenge.
He didn't wait for his one-day rental to end; Hisoka had already packed his bags and was ready to depart. He needed to head to Vermilion City first to take the Ace Trainer certification exam. Only then could he apply for the Silver Hunter license.
A-rank missions paid significantly more than B-rank ones. If he wanted to earn enough money quickly, he had to upgrade his Hunter qualifications.
Higher rewards often meant higher danger, but to get Feebas to evolve into Milotic as soon as possible, Hisoka didn't care. Risk and profit coexisted, and besides, he had confidence in his ability to protect himself and his Pokémon.
He wasn't the type to recklessly push his limitsif he couldn't finish a task, he would simply run. While it might affect his credit rating, money wasn't worth throwing his life away for.
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