The system's world announcement echoed six times, shocking all the players in Pokémon Generations.
This was the first world announcement of Pokémon Generations, and it happened less than a day after the server launched. Naturally, it grabbed everyone's attention.
The in-game forum discussion area became incredibly lively.
"This Morning Sun boss is amazing. It's only been a short time since the server launched, and his Pokémon is already level 10."
"That's not right. I'm also grinding hard. I've defeated nearly 50 wild Pokémon, and mine are only level 7. How did he reach level 10 so quickly? Did he go to the level 5-10 area to grind?"
"Impossible. I'm in the level 5-10 area, and even when battling higher-level Pokémon, you only get slightly more experience points. Plus, you often have to return to the Pokémon Center to recover. It's actually faster to level up in a lower-level area!"
"Let me tell you, I'm a rich player. I spent money on a and trained in the level 5-10 area. Even then, after defeating nearly 20 Pokémon, my Pokémon just barely reached level 7."
"No way. Based on what you're saying, leveling up is tough. Then how did this Morning Sun boss do it?"
"Who knows? Maybe he's just a real master."
·····
"Oh my Arceus, this is a bit over-the-top and noisy," Eddie muttered as the world announcement notifications flooded his Pokédex.
The Pokédex, not just a tool for recording Pokémon data but also a communicator, had been pinging non-stop. Every player receives a Pokédex bound to their account, essentially functioning like a phone. Players could use it for calls between each other or with in-game NPCs.
Eddie's Pokédex showed 999+ private messages and countless friend requests. He silently deleted all the messages with a single tap and declined all the friend requests.
"Pokedollars and Great Balls are nothing special. Even though they're pricey, you can still buy them at the store. The real treasures are the Technical Machine and the Silver Crown!"
Technical Machine [Flamethrower]: Teaches a compatible Pokémon a skill instantly.
Silver Crown: Boosts a Pokémon's potential with a certain probability.
"Haha, never mind the Technical Machine, but I actually got a Silver Crown? This is incredible! I remember the rewards from the world announcements in my previous life didn't include this item."
Even Eddie couldn't hide his excitement. In his previous life, Silver Crowns, which were only obtainable in the late stages of the game, were now in his hands right at the beginning.
"Is this because of version differences? Whatever—it's a good thing regardless. Charmander, come here! I've got a treasure for you."
Eddie's grin turned mischievous.
Charmander tilted its head at Eddie's odd smile, letting out a curious cry of "Char?" before obediently stepping forward.
"First, let's try this Technical Machine."
Eddie handed the Technical Machine [Flamethrower] to Charmander.
"Ding! Charmander is compatible with [Flamethrower]. Do you want to use it?"
"Use it!"
The Technical Machine transformed into a ball of fiery energy, enveloping Charmander. The process imprinted the move into Charmander's memory.
"Ding! Charmander has learned [Flamethrower]!"
"You can teach it instantly if it's compatible. This is amazing! Unfortunately, it's supposed to be single-use…"
Before Eddie could finish his sentence, the fiery energy that had surrounded Charmander condensed back into a Technical Machine.
Eddie picked it up and checked the description. It still read "can be used."
"Wait, what? Isn't this supposed to be single-use? Why can I still use it?"
"Could this be another version-specific feature? Maybe other players get one use, but I get unlimited uses?"
Eddie's grin widened. "This is great. I'll save it for the other Pokémon later."
"Now, for the main event!"
Eddie picked up the Silver Crown, its intricate details matching his memory perfectly, and placed it on Charmander's head.
"Ding! Based on Charmander's current potential, the breakthrough probability with the Silver Crown is 35%. Do you want to use it?"
"Use it!"
The Silver Crown calculates the breakthrough chance based on the Pokémon's potential—the higher the potential, the lower the chance. Charmander, a Pokémon with quasi-elite potential, faced a modest probability. Only Pokémon with Elite, Champion, or Master potential could surpass it.
So, the Silver Crown only had a 35% chance of boosting Charmander's potential, which was expected.
Still, Eddie decided to use it. It would just be a useless decoration otherwise, and selling it? Only a fool would consider that.
"Ding! Charmander's potential has successfully been boosted! It now has Elite potential!"
"Ding! World announcement! Congratulations to the Kanto Region player 'Morning Sun' for being the first to obtain an Elite potential Pokémon. The Pokémon Potential Leaderboard is now live! Let us recognize player 'Morning Sun' as a pioneer of the game!"
"Ding! World announcement! Congratulations to player 'Morning Sun' for receiving the following system rewards: Pokedollars ×10,000, Great Ball ×50, Technical Machine [Ice Beam], Rare Candy ×5, Charizardite (XY universal), and Key Stone!"
"Ding..."
·····
"Well, I guess I won't need to search for evolution stones or Key Stones later," Eddie muttered. "Let's check out the rankings."
He navigated to the game's leaderboard, starting with the Pokémon Level Leaderboard.
Pokémon Level Leaderboard:
LV10: Charmander | Owner: Morning Sun
LV7: Staryu | Owner: Dream Girl
LV7: Oddish | Owner: Level Boss
LV7: Vulpix | Owner: Legend Slayer
LV6: Plusle | Owner: [Name hidden]
·····
The remaining positions were filled with level 6 Pokémon. Pokémon below level 5 didn't qualify for the list.
Eddie dismissed it with a glance. "What's the point of looking at a group of level 6 scrubs?" he scoffed.
"Wait, [Name hidden]? Oh, I forgot you can hide your name. But I think players who trigger global announcements can't hide their names, right? Eh, doesn't matter."
Eddie brushed off the thought. "Knowing someone's ID is useless. No one knows me, and they can't find me."
He then checked the Pokémon Potential Leaderboard.
Pokémon Potential Leaderboard:
Charmander: Elite potential | Owner: Morning Sun
Plusle: Ouasi-Elite potential | Owner: [Name hidden]
Staryu: Peak potential | Owner: Dream Girl
Vulpix: Peak potential | Owner: Legend Slayer
Oddish: Peak potential | Owner: Level Boss
Machop: Peak potential | Owner: "I Just Want to Rush Through"
·····
"The leaderboard only lists Pokémon with Peak potential or higher," Eddie noted.
"Heh, there are so few Pokémon with Peak potential. I'm dominating this leaderboard; it's not even worth capturing the rest."
"This Alpha version is definitely different from others. I might encounter Pokémon with even higher potential later. I'll catch them when I see them."
"I wonder if the three starters will show up. Well, even if they don't, it doesn't matter. I'll just level up steadily."
Unbeknownst to Eddie, as he and Charmander continued their journey and leveled up, the game's forum discussion area erupted into chaos.