Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

"Are you sure?" The exchange clerk asked symbolically, looking at Cain as if he were seeing a fool.

Cain nodded without responding.

Although Pokémon eggs are not common in the wild, they are not impossible to find either. So why do many people choose to ignore them rather than bring them in to exchange for points?

You must know that if a Pokémon is born and raised with its trainer from the beginning, the bond and trust between them become very strong. This makes Pokémon eggs, with the same quality as a hatched Pokémon, often more valuable.

However, since Pokémon eggs found in the wild cannot be assessed for their quality until the Pokémon hatches, people generally don't risk bringing them back.

The Pokémon League scientists have already developed portable instruments that can measure Pokémon quality. Although they are extremely expensive, rich and demanding trainers do not hesitate to use them.

However, to assess the quality of a Pokémon, you not only need to catch it, but you also must use costly materials, something most people can't afford.

As for instruments to assess Pokémon egg quality, technology hasn't advanced enough to make them portable yet. Moreover, they also require significant resources.

Unless it is known for sure that the egg's parents have good potential, usually, no one bothers to evaluate the quality of an egg.

Even if, against all odds, an egg has yellow-level quality, those who can afford these instruments wouldn't be interested in a yellow-quality Pokémon.

And green-quality eggs are even rarer.

That's why, when Cain said he wanted to exchange the Pokémon egg for points, the exchange clerk looked at him like a fool.

But Cain didn't want to give more explanations. Should he say that he could evaluate that the Pokémon inside the egg had green-level quality? That would likely alert even Instructor Viper at the base.

"Have you thought this through? Just assessing the quality of a Pokémon egg costs a hundred points. Even if the egg turns out to have basic quality, it will only be worth a hundred points. If you don't have enough points..." The clerk trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

If you don't have enough points, well, you'll have to pay with your life. In Team Rocket, there's no such thing as credit.

Cain nodded again, somewhat resigned. If he didn't evaluate it, the egg would only be worth one point, as if it had red-level quality.

Seeing Cain was determined, the exchange clerk said no more. Although he didn't know why the boy was so sure, if the Pokémon inside the egg didn't reach basic quality, unless Cain could pay the hundred points, he'd have to say goodbye to it forever.

Basic quality is one of the categories Team Rocket, and indeed the entire Pokémon world, uses to classify Pokémon quality. The categories are no quality, basic quality, medium quality, high quality, and superior quality. These categories correspond to red, orange, yellow, green, and higher qualities.

Cain placed the Weedle egg in the evaluation machine's compartment, closing the transparent lid. He took a test tube from the shelf and poured the liquid into the machine's inlet. This liquid, known as analysis fluid, is expensive to produce, making each evaluation costly.

After pressing the start button, the machine began humming to life.

"Ding!" The first light, representing no quality, lit up immediately. All Pokémon eggs activate this light since the minimum quality of any Pokémon is red.

In the blink of an eye, the second light turned on, indicating the Pokémon inside the egg had basic quality, equivalent to the orange quality detected by Cain's system.

"Not bad, at least it has basic quality, so you won't have to worry about covering the cost of the evaluation," the exchange clerk smiled.

Cain shrugged indifferently. After all, it was just orange quality. The evaluation didn't stop there.

With the basic quality light growing brighter, ten seconds passed, and the medium-quality light began to blink.

The exchange clerk began looking at Cain differently. Initially, he had taken him for a fool, but it turned out to be a medium-quality Pokémon egg.

When a Pokémon egg reaches medium quality, the minimum exchange is one thousand points. This meant the young man was about to obtain over a thousand points.

In the entire trial, this would represent a huge advantage. Aside from a few testers with existing connections, this boy could surpass everyone else with these resources.

The medium-quality light continued to intensify until it reached its full brightness after thirty seconds.

Then, the high-quality light began to shine faintly.

"Hi... High quality! It actually reached high quality!" The exchange clerk exclaimed loudly before covering his mouth with his hand, unable to hide the astonishment in his eyes.

After working for Team Rocket for so long, he knew the value of a high-quality Pokémon egg. We're talking about points in the tens of thousands. Even after all these years of work, he had never acquired that many points.

This was high quality, and on top of that, it was a Pokémon egg, which is even more valuable than a wild Pokémon of the same quality that has already grown. Once this egg enters the Team Rocket exchange system, higher-ranked members will seek it out desperately. Even Officers might show interest.

Cain frowned, annoyed by the clerk's exclamation. This was a trial, and if anyone found out he suddenly possessed so many points, everyone would be willing to join forces to eliminate him and split his points.

For those aiming to be at the top, Cain, with so many points, would become the biggest obstacle.

The exchange clerk realized his mistake as well. Luckily, it was nighttime, and no one else was in the Exchange Center, or he might have caused serious trouble for the young man.

When he looked back at Cain, there was only astonishment in his eyes, along with a trace of well-hidden greed.

Though it was well-concealed, Cain noticed it.

Knowing full well the value of more than ten thousand points, Cain perfectly understood the temptation. Although the clerk wasn't participating in the trial, as a Team Rocket member, he could still feel greed for those points.

When the evaluation machine finally stopped, the high-quality light reached its maximum brightness. Mid-high quality, almost the same level as Murkrow. On the screen, it read: Mid-high quality, Weedle.

Seeing the evaluation was complete, the clerk hesitated before saying, "Sorry, but I don't have the authority to exchange a high-quality Pokémon egg. Please wait a moment." He quickly left the counter, opened a hidden door, and went inside.

A few moments later, the hidden door opened again, and the clerk, who had entered before, came out with an extremely respectful attitude, bowing and holding the door open.

A figure wrapped in a black robe slowly emerged from the hidden door.

The mysterious figure walked with slow steps, like an elderly person, approaching the counter.

(End of Chapter)