Chapter 259: Talent
Seeing Arthur rush over just before the match, Ivy wore a playful, knowing smile.
"Well, well, Ace Trainer. Are you sending your Pokémon over to scout out the enemy?"
Beside her, the lively Bianca coordinated with her sister for a perfect combo attack.
"Oh? Does the ten-win Miracle Rookie really stoop to such tactics?"
"..."
Arthur was speechless.
He had every reason to believe that Ivy, with her gentle smile, was saying this on purpose. It's always the ones who seem as gentle as water on the surface whose teasing is the most impossible to counter.
Arthur ignored the topic and quickly grabbed Little Eevee by the scruff of his fated neck, lifting him back.
By now, a whole field of crystalline frost flowers had bloomed at Little Eevee's feet.
Ivy and Bianca both noticed the beautiful little scene on the ground, and a flash of wonder passed through Ivy's smiling eyes.
"I can't believe your Eevee has improved so quickly. The last time we met, his control over this move was nowhere near this precise."
Sculpting flowers from frozen air was no easy task. Many dedicated Ice-type Pokémon couldn't necessarily do it well.
It required an incredible degree of fine control over one's energy and skills. Pokémon with a more broad and powerful fighting style, like Abomasnow or Kyurem, were generally incapable of such delicate operations.
Even Ivy's own Vulpix, when using Icy Wind, couldn't necessarily shape such a lifelike ice lotus.
Yet Arthur's Little Eevee, a Normal-type Pokémon merely using Copycat to imitate an Ice-type move, was doing it better than a genuine Ice-type.
For a moment, even Arthur himself didn't know what to say.
He truly had no idea at first that this little guy was such a romantic.
When he first caught him, all he saw was how much he valued his family, taking great care of his mother and younger siblings.
Now it seemed he valued more than just family.
Seeing Arthur remain silent, Bianca pouted, looking almost jealous.
"You really are the Miracle Rookie. You already have three ace Pokémon that can stand on their own, and now this newly caught baby Eevee is so talented. How can one person have such good luck?"
Her sour tone made Arthur want to laugh.
But he held it in, maintaining his cool demeanor.
Strictly speaking, the three Pokémon he had used on stage so far weren't even his true aces.
Specter was still on the sidelines, recovering.
If Bianca knew about Specter's existence, she'd probably pounce on him and bite him.
"This Eevee was a gift from a good friend. I heard it's the descendant of a meritorious Pokémon, so perhaps it's just favored by fate," he said.
He selectively explained only the part about Little Eevee, leaving out the rest.
He wasn't lying. Little Eevee was indeed the descendant of a meritorious Pokémon. Who could deny that his ancestor had rendered great service in his time?
He just omitted the fact that this "descendant" was actually dozens of generations removed. From a purely genetic standpoint, the connection was already quite thin.
Ivy and Bianca didn't catch the hidden meaning in Arthur's words. They misunderstood and assumed Little Eevee was a direct blood descendant of some recent, decorated Eevee, and everything suddenly clicked.
"So that's how it is. No wonder this little guy is so talented. It must have cost you a lot to get him."
Meritorious Pokémon were mostly powerful. Especially those who survived to return home, settle down, and have offspring—they were at least at the Elite Four level. The probability of their descendants being talented was indeed higher.
However, acquiring the offspring of such Pokémon often required payment in the form of league merits or other significant costs.
Arthur gave a noncommittal, slight nod.
This way, it would probably be easier for them to accept.
It was certainly more palatable than telling them he had just gotten ridiculously lucky, randomly picking an Eevee that was dozens of generations removed from the Everhart family's line, and just so happened to choose this exceptionally talented romantic…
To be honest, even Arthur himself found it a bit incredible now.
He was indeed lucky—
Because in terms of pure talent, Little Eevee was likely better than any other Pokémon on his current team!
Greninja's talent was excellent at best, the kind that would make it the king of a small pond in the wild. Its current strength was mainly the result of relentless training and a bit of good fortune.
Little Lapras's talent was better than Greninja's, but not to a world-shocking degree.
After all, even her own revered grandmother had relied mainly on honesty and diligence, and wasn't known for her raw talent.
Mismagius's talent was on par with Greninja's; otherwise, it wouldn't have gone over a hundred years without self-teaching a single offensive move.
Her strength came from living a long time and, unlike other wild ghosts that would sleep in one spot for decades, she had followed Specter. The number of battles she had experienced over the years was likely more than other wild ghosts would see in several lifetimes.
When you looked at it that way, Little Eevee was truly a breath of fresh air on Arthur's current team!
Mastering Copycat in less than a day…
And using an imitated Ice-type move with more skill and precision than a genuine Ice-type.
This was not something an ordinary Eevee could do.
Thinking of this, Arthur couldn't help but give the little guy in his hand a little shake. Having been caught, Little Eevee was now hiding its face with its front paws again, too ashamed to be seen.
He then replied vaguely, "It did cost me a few favors to get him, but looking at it now, it was all worth it."
Getting the Eevee as a gift from the Everhart family did indeed use up some social capital, but it was mostly a side benefit of his trip to the Star Brilliance Alliance and not really worth mentioning.
But to Ivy and Bianca's ears, his words had a completely different meaning.
I see. In the traditional Kubfu Alliance, favors and connections are the most valuable currency! That certainly explains it.
Bianca pouted again.
"I want a meritorious Pokémon's baby too."
Arthur smiled and nodded, not daring to reply.
He felt like he had just set a bad example, giving them some unrealistic expectations about the offspring of decorated Pokémon.
In reality, genetics was a very mysterious thing. The descendants of meritorious Pokémon only had a slightly higher chance of being talented. When it came to any single individual, it was impossible to say for sure.
He hoped they wouldn't fall for this and go spend a fortune trying to acquire such a Pokémon. If they did, he would feel a bit guilty.
Fortunately, the more composed older sister, Ivy, spoke up to smooth things over.
"You have to be careful when catching a Pokémon. Otherwise, you're not just wasting your own resources, you're also being irresponsible to the Pokémon you catch!
Anyway, let's not talk about that for now. Hey, Ace Trainer, how about you let your Little Eevee stay with me for a bit? Don't worry, I won't lose your precious baby. I'm not using my Vulpix in this match anyway."
Ivy's opening words drastically improved Arthur's impression of her.
In today's professional circuit, where obtaining Pokémon was so easy and the general atmosphere so pragmatic, it was rare to find a player who was so conscientious about their Pokémon choices.
Plus, upon hearing that Vulpix would also be on the sidelines, Little Eevee's head immediately perked up, forgetting all about hiding its face.
Seeing this, Arthur felt the urge to grab him by the scruff of his fated neck again.
Can't you have a little more dignity?
In the end, Arthur could only sigh.
"Alright, then. I'll have to trouble you to take care of him."
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