Lovy looked at the chat's reaction, further confirming the suspicion in his heart.
Because he was live-streaming with his phone and didn't have another device on hand, he couldn't search anything in advance.
But now, it was clear—the awareness of the "Technician" ability in the Pokémon world was basically zero!
No wonder this Meowth had been judged as having no ability at all.
Chances are, quite a few other Pokémon are in the same situation.
Some of their abilities are so subtle that no one has discovered them, leading to their potential being buried.
Lovy felt that the significance of his livestream had just grown again.
And that was—to give justice to these Pokémon unfairly labeled as "useless"!
Let people recognize their true value and help improve their treatment.
"I know you're all eager, but hang on for a sec."
Lovy was thinking about how to explain the value and manifestation of the "Technician" ability to his viewers.
"This ability was actually discovered by a friend of mine who's doing Pokémon research. It hasn't been officially announced yet, so it's totally normal that you can't find it online."
[This streamer's connections are no joke—first a rich friend, now a researcher, and even someone in the DreamMon Bureau...]
[Come on, is that "friend" really you?]
[Please, streamer, explain more! What exactly does this ability do? My Meowth is practically begging to speak human!]
"The effect of this ability, put simply, is that it boosts the power of low-power moves."
Even Lovy felt like that sentence was a bit awkward.
[Huh? Boosts the power of low-power moves?]
[So it increases the move's power?]
[Streamer, you sure you know what you're saying?]
"Cough... The move 'Scratch' has a power of 40 according to the latest international standard published by the Pokémon Move Research Association. You should know that, right? If not, just look it up online."
The Pokémon Move Research Association, which Lovy mentioned, was a branch of the broader Pokémon Research Association—an international academic organization.
They specialize in studying various Pokémon moves, especially the common ones.
Determining effects and assigning standard power values for trainers to reference is part of their professional work.
Non-professional trainers might've heard of the organization but rarely pay attention to the exact move powers.
[Wow, the streamer really knows his stuff! So many papers—I'm dizzy!]
[Yup, 'Scratch' is 40 power, but it still depends on the Pokémon's strength and move proficiency!]
[So... 'Technician' increases Scratch's power?]
"Someone in the chat got it right. The 'Technician' ability can increase the power of 'Scratch' from 40 to a maximum of 60. Think about it—if this Meowth is properly trained, just how powerful it could become!"
[Whoa?! That's basically OP early on!]
[Streamer, do you really have a researcher friend? You'd need tons of experiments to confirm that kind of thing!]
[Are you just making this up?]
[So what exactly counts as a 'low-power' move?]
"That I'm not too sure about. I only heard it briefly from my friend. But according to the Move Association's standards, a low-power move is one with 60 power or less."
[Damn! So for this Meowth, any move with 60 power could act like 90 power?]
[For real? That broken?]
[90 power is considered a high-power move! Those usually come with big drawbacks... but Meowth can treat a low-power move like it's high-power?]
[Wait... how is that balanced?]
"Calm down, everyone. Notice I said 'up to'. The effect of Technician is highly unstable—or rather, it needs training and growth to reach full potential. Based on my friend's research, without any cultivation, the ability might only boost move power by about 10%. So it's not as OP as you're imagining."
Seeing the chat getting overly excited, Lovy quickly clarified.
[Oh... so a 40 power move would only deal 44? That's not much...]
[Still impressive! Definitely a top-tier ability!]
[I'm willing to pay 500 for that Meowth—streamer, is it for sale?]
"No illegal Pokémon trading in this stream. Just a heads-up: private trades have nothing to do with me. Any more posts like that and you'll be banned!"
Seeing someone name a price openly, Lovy issued a reminder.
He then looked thoughtfully at the description panel for "Technician".
Ability: Technician
Pokémon with this ability are natural-born technicians. They can enhance the power of low-power (≤60) moves. Depending on how well the Pokémon has developed the ability, the power boost ranges from 10% to 50%.
Lovy was confident that he understood the ability correctly—though he wasn't sure if he'd explained it clearly.
In the Pokémon games, the Technician ability is described simply as "Boosts the power of weaker moves."
But in this real-world version, there's an extra limitation—"the power increase depends on the Pokémon's ability development."
Lovy felt that made sense in a more realistic world.
Otherwise, if an untrained Meowth could turn a 60-power move into a 90-power strike, that'd be way too overpowered.
Of course, many factors influence a move's final effectiveness.
[So streamer, this Meowth is actually amazing!]
The shopkeeper beamed. If what Lovy said was true, then he'd basically lucked into an elite Meowth that could be trained as a battle Pokémon.
"What about other stats, like individual values?"
That was what both the shopkeeper and many in the chat were asking. After learning about the ability, viewers were increasingly curious.
The stream's popularity was also climbing fast.
"Come here, I'll tell you..."
Lovy leaned close to the shopkeeper's ear and whispered.
After listening, the shopkeeper nodded, showing a mix of joy and disappointment on his face.
[Why the whisper, streamer?! Is there something we can't know? Even if it's bad news, we can help you brainstorm!]
[Probably afraid someone will target that Meowth.]
[Don't let the original owner find out—it might try to take it back!]
[Lame! You hype up the ability and then hide the stats?]
"That's all for this Meowth, everyone. I'm heading home now. Anyone want to join the next livestream call?"
Of course Lovy knew everything about that Meowth, but he didn't plan to share all the details.
After all, the shopkeeper had shown his face, and it wasn't hard to guess the shop's location—he didn't want anyone targeting the Meowth and causing trouble.
What the shopkeeper did with the Meowth from here on out was his personal matter.
He was lucky to have "picked up" such a Pokémon and even luckier that Lovy helped assess it.
Frankly speaking, if the shopkeeper had been heartless and thrown the Meowth away, none of this would have happened.
Or if he hadn't asked Lovy to appraise it, the Meowth with the Technician ability would've been written off as ability-less and forgotten.
"Fine wine fears no alley, and talented Pokémon need someone to discover them!"
With a smile, Lovy left the Dodo Courier Station and walked home.
Behind him followed a little Snorlax. Even with dim streetlights, it didn't feel lonely.
[I've heard of novels being dropped halfway through, but never a Pokémon appraisal being cut off mid-assessment!]
[Streamer, if Meowth is gone, just appraise another. Don't be so stingy!]
"Please understand, folks. I've got to protect people's privacy a bit. You wouldn't want someone to show a rare Pokémon on stream and then get kidnapped the next day, right?"
Seeing the complaints about not revealing the full appraisal, Lovy casually explained.
Some chat messages were still hyped—
[Streamer is like the talent scout of Pokémon. Hope you discover more hidden gems!] 👏👏👏
[Did you do that pun on purpose or not?]
[Every time I watch your stream, I learn something new. I bet you're the son of a top researcher!]
When Lovy saw that last comment, he nearly choked laughing.
Because the username of the person who posted it was literally: "A Top Researcher."
"You folks are just too much! One day, even Pancham will lose all its bamboo because of you guys!"
Though Lovy pointed at the camera with a "you guys are ridiculous" expression...
...he actually enjoyed the lively and humorous vibe of his stream.
Everyone in the chat was a character. Their words might not be nice, but they were always funny!
That kind of harmless banter made it all worth it—Lovy was happy to keep interacting.
"I'm home now. I'll pick someone from the chat to call in next!"
After several livestreams showcasing his appraisal skills, many people wanted to get connected.
One comment caught Lovy's eye:
[Hubby's Not Home]: "Streamer, I've been experiencing something super creepy lately. I'm alone at night and really scared. Please connect with me!"
patreon.com/FictionLove for advanced chapters
If you've read till this point I'd be happy about a review!