A purple-tier opportunity?
Hearing the system prompt, Ethan was momentarily taken aback.
The next instant, several lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Purple-Tier Opportunity]
[Target: Leon Farr (李封)]
[Event: On July 8, Pokémon Calendar Year 221, at Jade Family Breeding Park, successfully adopts an Elite Four–potential Mudkip]
Leon Farr?
Ethan had no idea who that was.
But the description of the event itself still caught his attention.
Elite Four–potential Mudkip…
That was no small matter.
In most cases, Pokémon born with Elite Four–level potential were extremely rare.
Among the powerful Pokémon of the Donghuang Alliance today, almost all had reached their heights through postnatal training and refinement.
Natural-born Elite Four potential was scarce.
Of course, compared to Ethan's Divine-potential Metagross, this wasn't exactly shocking.
But Ethan had the Opportunity Critical Strike System.
Any opportunity he obtained could trigger a critical multiplier.
According to the system, opportunities were divided into six standard tiers:
White
Green
Blue
Purple
Red
Gold
These were the opportunities one could encounter in the real world.
As for Nine-Color opportunities—those were exclusive results produced only after system critical strikes.
Ethan didn't know what multiplier this purple opportunity might trigger.
But at the very least, if he successfully intercepted it, there was a chance it could jump to red, gold, or even nine-color.
Even if it didn't upgrade—
An Elite Four–potential Mudkip was already more than worth cultivating.
Up until the Champion tier, Ethan wouldn't have to worry about this Pokémon hitting a bottleneck.
With that thought, Ethan made his decision immediately.
Intercept it.
"All candidates have arrived."
"Since that's the case, everyone may now enter the adoption hall and choose the Pokémon you're interested in."
Seeing Ethan and Iris Jade arrive, the staff member in charge spoke up.
"However, let me remind everyone of one thing."
"You are not allowed to forcibly take a Pokémon against its will."
"Doing so would violate Article 37 of the Alliance Pokémon Protection Act—coercing a Pokémon."
"If that happens, not only will you lose your qualification to adopt a Pokémon, you'll also be subject to an Alliance investigation and penalties."
The Donghuang Alliance placed great importance on Pokémon protection.
Many forbidden actions were explicitly written into law.
Neither Ethan nor Iris had any objections to this.
After all, forcing a Pokémon that didn't want to follow you would never lead to a good outcome.
Still, one thing worried Ethan slightly.
Would the Mudkip mentioned in the purple opportunity actually be willing to go with him?
Because they were members of the Jade family, Ethan and Iris were allowed to enter the adoption hall first.
The hall itself wasn't very large—roughly a hundred square meters.
But there were quite a few Pokémon inside.
A rough glance showed more than thirty in total.
The selection was varied: Vulpix, Alolan Vulpix, Abra, Machop, Rockruff, Sandile, and more.
Compared to Iris—who carefully observed each Pokémon, comparing traits to find the best fit—
Ethan was far more straightforward.
His gaze swept quickly across the entire hall.
In the end, it locked onto a small figure by the pool.
A Mudkip, repeatedly firing Water Gun at a lotus leaf floating on the water.
"There's only one Mudkip in the entire hall."
"Looks like this little guy is the one."
Ethan immediately confirmed his target and walked over.
"Mu~kip~"
"Mu~kip~ Mu~kip~!"
At the edge of the pool, Mudkip continued to gather Water-type energy, firing Water Gun again and again at the lotus leaf.
Even though it was already panting heavily from exhaustion, it showed no intention of stopping.
It was obvious—
This little guy was extremely stubborn about improving its strength.
Mudkip trained hard.
But its accuracy was lacking.
From a distance of five to six meters, only about three out of ten shots actually hit the target.
Even so, for a Pokémon at Mudkip's current level, that was already quite impressive.
But Mudkip clearly wasn't satisfied.
Even at the brink of exhaustion, it continued training—
As if it wouldn't stop until it achieved perfect accuracy.
"Stop for a moment, Mudkip."
"Training like this won't help."
"You're just wasting stamina."
Just as Mudkip was about to fire again, a voice interrupted it.
Turning around, it saw Ethan standing behind it.
"Mu~kip!"
"Mu~kip mu~kip!!"
Mudkip was tired—but now it was fired up.
Its loud protests clearly showed its dissatisfaction.
What do you mean wasting stamina?!
I, Mudkip, strongly disagree!
Seeing Mudkip's defiant attitude—yet noticing it hadn't ignored him—Ethan knew he had a chance.
He slowly crouched down beside the Pokémon.
"Mudkip, you want to hit the lotus leaf every single time, right?"
"Mu~kip!"
Mudkip nodded firmly.
"Then let me teach you something."
"Instead of releasing Water Gun immediately, try compressing the energy inside your body for a moment."
"Then fire."
Mudkip tilted its head, confused.
Still, it followed Ethan's instructions.
Water-type energy gathered in its mouth.
After about one or two seconds—
"Now, Mudkip."
At Ethan's signal, Water Gun burst forth.
Splash!
The stream struck the lotus leaf dead-on.
It even sent up a splash larger than any before.
"Mu—kip?!"
Mudkip froze.
It clearly hadn't expected the shot to be that accurate—or that powerful.
"Well?"
"Told you so, didn't I?"
"If you don't believe me, we can try again."
Ethan chuckled.
Mudkip tried again.
Success.
Tried again.
Another success.
Again.
Still a hit.
Finally, Mudkip looked up at Ethan, eyes wide.
At that moment, the arrogance from before was gone—replaced entirely by admiration.
This human… is amazing.
Under his guidance, I can really hit every time!
The principle was actually very simple.
Mudkip was still very young, and its control over internal energy was unstable.
In plain terms—it lacked experience.
Ethan had merely taught it basic energy control.
The concept wasn't profound.
But to a young Mudkip…
Ethan looked like an absolute master.
Seeing the admiration in Mudkip's eyes, Ethan knew the final piece was in place.
"So?"
"My guidance wasn't bad, right?"
Mudkip nodded enthusiastically.
"Then would you be willing to come with me?"
"I can help you grow stronger."
"Even help you become one of the strongest Pokémon in the world."
Ethan began laying out the vision.
Mudkip didn't immediately become fanatic.
It was a rational Pokémon.
It didn't fully believe this young human could make it the strongest in the world.
Seeing Mudkip's calm reaction, Ethan smiled slightly.
He knew the timing was perfect.
He took out Metagross's Poké Ball and held it in front of Mudkip.
"The one inside is called Metagross."
"It's my partner."
"Come on—Metagross, say hello."
Ethan didn't release the Poké Ball.
But in the next instant—
A terrifying psychic pressure, mixed with the aura of an Elite Four–peak powerhouse, surged outward.
Mudkip froze on the spot.
(⊙_⊙)
It had never imagined that such a young human could possess a Pokémon this overwhelmingly powerful.
In the face of absolute strength, even Mudkip's rational calm crumbled.
At last, it extended its small hand and placed it on Ethan's palm.
"Mu~kip!"
It chose to follow this young—yet terrifyingly powerful—Trainer.
[Ding! Congratulations, host!]
[Purple-Tier Opportunity: Elite Four–Potential Mudkip — Intercepted Successfully]
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