Pokémon: The Path of Ascension

"Look ahead, what's that?"

"Yeah, it's so dark. What is that?"

"Is it a Pokémon?"

…

After some time, while Toshi was still thinking about how to make money, the people around him suddenly became chaotic.

"What's happening?" Toshi wondered, looking around.

Following the direction others were pointing, Toshi noticed a dark, cloud-like mass blocking the train's path.

"It's Zubat!"

"No, there are Murkrow too!"

"I also see Taillow and Swellow!"

Hearing the shouts around him, Toshi frowned: What's going on? Why are there so many Flying-type Pokémon blocking the road?

The importance of roads is well understood by people both in his previous world and in this one.

The Pokémon League spends a substantial amount of money every year to maintain and repair roads between locations, and it's no joke.

Whenever high-strength Pokémon or groups of Pokémon appear near roads, the League promptly dispatches personnel to handle it. So, it's no exaggeration to say that public roads are the safest place for any trainer in the wild.

Toshi muttered to himself, "So many wild Pokémon appearing, how could there be no warning signs? And how did I just happen to encounter this?"

…

"Look, the train seems to be slowing down!"

"The staff on the train must have noticed what's ahead."

As the people around were chatting anxiously, a broadcast announcement finally brought them a bit of calm.

"Dear passengers, I am Nakano, the train conductor. We regret to inform you that a large number of wild Pokémon have appeared ahead, so we must temporarily stop the train. Once our staff has driven them away, the train will resume."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"Yeah, my time is very valuable! Hurry up with it, or I'll file a complaint!"

…

Of course, the passengers' complaints couldn't be heard by the conductor through the speakers, so they were essentially venting their frustrations to no effect.

The announcement continued: "To avoid wasting everyone's time, we are now looking to temporarily hire trainers on board this train to assist us in resolving this situation quickly. In return, we will offer satisfactory compensation. Interested trainers, please gather at the door of the first train car once the train has stopped. We also ask that other passengers remain in their seats under the guidance of staff. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Did you hear that? There's compensation. Are you interested?"

"Judging by the scale, it seems like at least a medium-sized incident. It's a pity it's not a league-issued task, so we can't earn task points."

"I'm not participating. What if my Pokémon gets hurt? There's no Pokémon Center here…" 

…

In the world of Pokémon, although the League had many personnel, they still could not effectively handle the increasing number of incidents. As a last resort, the League assigned many tasks to a wide array of Trainers, allowing them to handle the situations, while the League only needed to provide corresponding money and points as compensation.

Of course, this move was quickly imitated by numerous other groups, who also began to release tasks to Trainers. However, many unpleasant incidents followed, bringing the attention of significant figures in the League.

Thus, to facilitate unified management, the League established a Task Posting Hall between various cities.

The rule was that regardless of whether groups, companies, families, or individuals wanted to release tasks, they had to come here to do so.

Accordingly, all tasks were divided into two categories: League tasks and other tasks. The only difference between the two was that the League provided money as compensation while also giving Trainers a certain amount of points.

Trainers could use these points to exchange for various things they wanted in the League, whether it was Technical Machines, Pokémon tools, or even some high-quality Pokémon.

Of course, the difficulty of tasks varied, and so did the points offered.

The League classified all tasks according to Trainer strength, dividing them into eight levels: Novice, Basic, Intermediate, High Level, Elite, Near Champion, Champion, and Ultimate Champion.

Novice tasks typically only had single-digit points, while Basic tasks generally had around ten points, and would not exceed fifty points at most.

Points could not be traded because they were an important criterion the League used to evaluate how much contribution a Trainer had made to the League.

When a person accumulates ten thousand points, they would automatically become a direct Trainer of the League, and their offspring would have the qualification to receive starter Pokémon from professors in various regions, commonly referred to as the Three Starters.

Of course, from birth, they would still need to provide one hundred thousand yen to the League every year as a basic requirement.

Ten years later, when their child turns ten, they can receive the Three Starters.

In other words, even without considering the League's direct affiliation, obtaining the Three Starters would require a total expenditure of one million yen!

Is it really worth spending so much money?

Yes, it is worth it.

Because each of the Three Starters has a minimum quality of Good Quality, and with some luck, it is also possible to get an Excellent Quality Pokémon.

The importance of quality in this Pokémon world is self-evident.

If a Pokémon's quality is only average, it means that the Pokémon can reach a maximum strength of only Elite Level in its lifetime. However, if the quality is Good Quality, it could potentially reach the Near Champion level, and Excellent Quality Pokémon could aim for Champion level.

Spending one million yen to reliably obtain a Pokémon that could potentially become a Near Champion is certainly worth it, isn't it?

Quality signifies future potential. Therefore, it is the most important criterion for every Trainer when selecting a Pokémon.

Returning to the tasks, the League is not entirely unsympathetic; it mandates that all tasks be submitted to the Task Hall.

Just like the situation Toshi is currently facing, the League also allows for the issuance of temporary tasks, as long as a report is filed back at the League Hall afterward.

Similarly, tasks are divided into individual and group tasks.

Individual tasks are the type mentioned above.

Group tasks, on the other hand, are much simpler, divided into four categories: Small, Medium, Large, and Super-large.

Group tasks allow Trainers of every level to participate, as they may encounter various strengths of Pokémon.

…

As the crowd debated whether or not to participate, Toshi was also weighing the pros and cons in his mind…