[First time defeating a Pokémon Rattata. Reward: +1 lottery draw]
[First time inviting a partner to join the team. Reward: +1 lottery draw]
Two notifications popped up, each stamped with a time—one for when Ash first commanded Pikachu to defeat a Rattata, and the other for when Misty agreed to join his team.
"First times… Looks like doing lots of things for the first time gives you lottery draws. I wonder what other 'firsts' get pulls. I'll ask others in the group when I have time." Ash muttered, then focused his will on the roulette wheel and started drawing.
This time, the wheel looked a little different—there was a new option for a two-draw combo.
Gotta hand it to this lottery—it was pretty smart. It even let you do back-to-back pulls.
Without thinking twice, Ash tapped the two-pull option. A second pointer appeared on the wheel, and both pointers began spinning like crazy.
"Stop."
The pointers slowed, then, after a few seconds, came to a halt.
One pointer landed in a very narrow segment—the A-rank zone.
The other stopped in a wider band—the C-rank zone.
Two pulls: one A and one C. Seeing those odds, Unlucky Ash would be bawling!
He'd done over a hundred pulls and hadn't even hit a single B-rank. Ash had only done three pulls in total and already had one S, one A, and one C.
Even Ash, as dense as he could be, could tell—his luck with this wheel was kind of busted.
[Congratulations! You drew an A-rank ability: Eye of Insight (A)]
[Congratulations! You drew a C-rank ability: Speed Cap Increase (C)]
Unlike the first time with Aura Power, this draw didn't include any extra explanations—just what he'd gotten. As for what they did or how to use them, Ash had no clue.
There were no glowing instruction prompts in his head like with Aura Power either. So how was he supposed to use this?
If you don't know, ask—that was one of Ash's better habits. He popped open the Chat Group and went straight to consult the big shots.
[Newbie Ash: Hey, I pulled Eye of Insight (A) and Speed Cap (C). Which versions of me do these belong to?]
[Unlucky Ash: Bro, seriously?! How many times did you pull?! You got another A-rank?! Did you blow a hundred pulls at once or something?!]
[Newbie Ash: No, just two.]
[Unlucky Ash: …] nskjfdjh!!
Other people hit an A with two pulls; I can't even get a C in a ten-pull. How is that fair? FAIR?! There's gotta be a fix! Who even made this busted Chat Group?! I'll end him!!
Unlucky Ash raged helplessly in his own world. If quitting the group were an option, he'd probably rage-quit and go sulk.
[Breeder Ash: Your luck is insane. Is this that special Newbie buff?]
[Aura Guardian Ash: You know, it kinda makes sense. The rest of us were old hands the moment we joined. The only true newcomer is the newly added 'me,' so all the Newbie luck is pooled onto this 'me,' huh.]
[Champion Ash: Sounds plausible. Practically speaking, though, anything below A-rank doesn't really help us much. That said—Newbie's got ridiculous luck! Even that C-rank is one of the most useful C-tier abilities.]
[Newbie Ash: So what exactly did I pull?]
[Breeder Ash: The A-rank one is my ability. As a top Breeder, I've trained eyes no one can match. With a single look, I can read every bit of a Pokémon's data—even the moves it has.]
[Breeder Ash: Since you only got an A-tier version, it probably isn't the full package. I don't know how strong the A-rank variant is, but at the very least, it should let you see a Pokémon's stat potential cap.]
[Newbie Ash: What's a stat potential cap?]
[Breeder Ash: Pokémon differ by strength tiers, but even within the same tier, their stats vary. Following the group's lottery grading, I divide stat grades from S down to E.]
[Breeder Ash: For example, say we have two Champion-tier Pikachu. One has an A-grade Speed stat, the other has S-grade Speed. The latter will be faster in raw speed—much faster!]
[Breeder Ash: Generally, a Pokémon's tier can be raised through training, care, and battle experience. Some get there faster, some slower. If you devote time and heart to your Pokémon, they'll eventually bloom for you, and in the end, they can all step onto the Champion tier.]
[Breeder Ash: But stats are different—their caps are usually fixed. Some Pokémon might reach Champion tier, yet within that tier their stat grade might top out at E. That's what people mean when they talk about a Pokémon's 'potential.']
Ash's head was spinning a bit, but he somehow understood what Breeder Ash meant.
Basically, most Pokémon share nearly the same ceiling when it comes to tier. If Champion is the apex, then, in theory, any Pokémon can stand at that level.
But within the same tier, each Pokémon's stat caps differ—their potential limits those caps.
Some Pokémon are born strong—say, naturally powerful physically. That Pokémon's Strength cap might be A, while an average one tops out at B or even C. They simply can't reach A.
According to Breeder Ash, within the same tier, a one-grade gap in stats already creates a pretty big difference.
[Breeder Ash: But nothing's absolute. Nature's full of wonders, and Pokémon themselves brim with potential. My Eye of Insight has seen it more than once: some Pokémon clearly have only C-grade potential, yet they force their stats up into B-grade.]
[Breeder Ash: And most of the time, the ones who break their caps have a Trainer who cares for them down to the smallest detail—treating them like family. That's the miracle forged by Trainer and Pokémon together!]
A Pokémon's potential may have limits, but a Pokémon itself embodies infinite possibility. Under the miraculous power of bonds, so-called 'caps' are nothing—Pokémon will shatter them for you!
That's why they say: there are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers!