Because the development of power depends, to a certain extent, on higher levels of combat strength—such as champions.
More importantly, there is a unique method to cultivate a certain type of high-quality Pokémon, passed down through generations. Civilian trainers simply don't have the resources for this.
Even if they were lucky enough to train a few pseudo-legendary Pokémon, breaking past the Elite Four level would be an insurmountable challenge. They would hit a wall, unable to progress further.
This is reality. If you're fortunate enough to encounter a high-quality Pokémon, your strength might improve, but it won't be enough to change your destiny.
The only way that could happen is if you and your descendants kept encountering top-tier Pokémon—dozens of them—over multiple generations. Only then could your family truly rise in power.
Tetsuya didn't react to Brock's words. He simply nodded, said his goodbyes, and headed back to the Pokémon Center.
Brock watched Tetsuya disappear under the streetlights, standing still for a moment before turning and leaving.
"There's a threshold… no wonder I felt something was off when I bought those Pokémon eggs on the black market."
Tetsuya frowned as he walked.
"Even though Elite-tier eggs are rare compared to the number of trainers out there, it's not like the League only produces a single-digit number of Elite trainers each year.
If potential is just a stepping stone, then training is the real key to making a Pokémon powerful.
Because I have No. 0, I can fully unleash Combusken's championship potential.
But an ordinary trainer? They'd probably hit the Elite Four level at best and find it impossible to move forward.
So why did Brock tell me all this? This wasn't in the information I was given.
Does he want me to focus on becoming a master breeder? No, that doesn't make sense. Then why would he give me a Pokémon egg with King-level potential?"
Tetsuya couldn't figure it out on his way back.
He was already surprised by how well he was treated at Pewter Gym, and Brock's attitude today only added to his confusion.
But in the end, everyone has their own motives. That's just how the world works, right?
Hadn't he only revealed what he wanted Pewter Gym to see? Even if they suspected he was hiding something, they had no way of knowing the full picture.
Who would have thought he had No. 0? Unless he told them, they could only chalk it up to luck and talent.
Whatever Pewter Gym was planning didn't matter. His survival depended on No. 0.
As long as he used No. 0 to grow stronger, none of these problems would be issues.
Back in his room, Tetsuya drafted a training plan for Geodude and sent it to Brock.
Afterward, he started reviewing for the breeder certification exam.
According to Brock, the Pokémon Breeder Center near Cerise City would hold this year's breeder assessments in four months.
Pewter Gym had secured him a spot in the Level 6 breeder's cross-rank exam. If he passed, he could skip several levels at once.
Of course, Tetsuya had no reason to refuse. This was a rare opportunity, one he wouldn't have been able to obtain on his own. Otherwise, he would have had to climb the ranks one step at a time.
Every year of delay meant years wasted.
For him, the difficulty of this exam was nothing.
After studying for two hours, he finally fell asleep around midnight.
When he woke up the next morning, Tetsuya found that Brock had already deposited the payment for the training plan into his account.
Five million Pokédollars.
All he could think was—rich people are generous. And please, send more of them his way.
After freshening up, Tetsuya headed to Viridian Forest for his usual training session with Pidgeot.
"I want to challenge your Combusken!"
A voice called out behind him, startling both Tetsuya and his resting Combusken.
Cursing himself for letting his guard down, he turned to see who was reckless enough to approach another trainer so casually in the wild.
A white T-shirt, yellow shorts, and a limited-edition cap—he looked just like one of those generic Youngsters from the games.
Tetsuya gave him a strange look. "You want to challenge my Combusken?"
"Of course! Who else would I be talking to?" The Youngster puffed up his chest, eyes burning with determination.
Still sitting on the ground, Tetsuya leaned back lazily. "Battles between trainers require a wager, kid. What do you have?"
It wasn't like he was much older, but this guy was clearly a newbie.
If this had happened back in the deeper parts of Viridian Forest, anyone approaching him so recklessly would have already been dealt with.
After all, in the wild, it's not just wild Pokémon you have to watch out for.
People are the most dangerous creatures.
This Youngster was probably just a fresh-faced trainer, so Tetsuya decided to let him suffer a little—just enough to teach him a lesson.
Tetsuya didn't take him seriously at all.
Normal citizens could only receive their first Pokémon at sixteen, after completing their studies. Only prodigies like him could graduate early.
His strength was already far ahead of his peers.
The Youngster hesitated for a moment before blurting out, "Who says I don't have anything? I'll bet this!"
He pulled a stone from his pocket.
A broken fossil.
Tetsuya glanced at it and was about to refuse, but then hesitated.
He had a fossil collection plan, after all.
"Alright, you can battle my Combusken."
"If I win, you owe me three days' worth of Pokéblocks."
The first sentence was for Combusken. The second was directed at the Youngster.
"Blaze!"
Combusken nodded and stepped forward.
The Youngster, now excited that his challenge had been accepted, pulled out his Pokéball.
"Go, Geodude!"
He smirked. "Your Combusken might be a higher level, but Fire attacks barely scratch Geodude! And Combusken doesn't have many Fighting moves early on!"
He was confident.
"Geodude, use Sand Attack on his glasses!"
Tetsuya sighed. "Freestyle."
This was just another rookie Geodude, like the ones he had steamrolled at Mt. Moon. No strategy was needed.
And Combusken knew exactly what to do.
Combusken easily dodged the sand with its speed.
Then, without using a single move, it closed the distance and pummeled Geodude into unconsciousness using raw physical strength alone.
The Youngster shouted, "Hold on, Geodude! Use Rollout to escape!"
But Combusken didn't give it a chance. Even without a single Fire or Fighting move, Geodude was knocked out in moments.
The Youngster gaped. "Geodude… lost?"
"Leave the fossil and head back to the Pokémon Center," Tetsuya said flatly. "That's where you belong."
He didn't care how crushed the kid was. This was a lesson he needed to learn.
What a great man I am, Tetsuya thought with a sigh.
The Youngster, looking dejected, returned Geodude to its Poké Ball, walked up to Tetsuya, placed the broken fossil down, and ran off without a word.
"Don't take unnecessary risks in the forest. It's not a game," Tetsuya called after him, though he wasn't sure if the boy heard him.
Every year, many rookie trainers enter Viridian Forest and never make it out.
At the start of their journey, every trainer believes their Pokémon is the strongest, completely unaware of the dangers lurking around them. They charge ahead blindly—just like that kid.
"Alright, Combusken, let's get back to training."
Tetsuya didn't dwell on the encounter. It was just a minor interruption. This area was already quite remote, and it wasn't often that anyone wandered here.
He instructed Pidgeot to stay alert while training in the air, but he didn't take any extra precautions. What had happened just now was an exception. Normally, he remained vigilant on his own.
While Combusken and Pidgeot trained hard, Tetsuya busied himself nearby.
After preparing nutrient potions for both Pokémon, he immersed himself in study and review.
Nothing in this world comes without effort. Tetsuya's abilities and strength weren't just a result of No. 0's assistance—they came from years of relentless studying.
If he hadn't put in the work, No. 0 wouldn't have been able to provide him with such valuable information.
Once training was finished, instead of resting as usual, Tetsuya made his way to Pewter Gym.
He needed to gather materials for raising his third Pokémon partner.
Why Pewter Gym? Because he could get a 50% discount on supplies there.
That meant saving millions of Pokédollars—an opportunity he couldn't afford to pass up.
Once everything was prepared, he returned to his room.
Checking the time, it had been fourteen hours since the egg had started incubating. If all went well, the little one should hatch in about fifteen hours.
Tetsuya set up the incubator on his desk and resumed his studies.
Hours passed in a blur until, finally, a soft white glow emanated from the egg.
Tetsuya calmly closed his laptop. As an experienced trainer who had witnessed many Pokémon hatch, this scene was familiar to him.
He quickly organized his supplies, ensuring everything the newborn would need was ready.
Then, crouching in front of the incubator, he patiently waited for the new addition to his team.
"Roggenrola."
A strange, crisp yet deep sound filled the room, and a small smile formed on Tetsuya's lips.
"Welcome, Roggenrola."
"Roggenrola!" The cone-shaped stone on the Pokémon's head twitched, and the same deep sound echoed from its core.
Pokémon like Roggenrola were quite different from others.
Its entire body was a deep navy-blue, its feet composed of faceted stones, and a brown, conical rock protruding from its head—research suggested that this was actually its sensory organ.
A pale yellow hexagonal opening sat at the center of its body. Contrary to what most would assume, this wasn't a mouth or an eye. It was its ear.
The black core inside the opening was its true center—its energy core.
Roggenrola didn't eat in a conventional way; it absorbed energy through this core.
Tetsuya placed the special nutrients he had prepared in front of it. Hearing the sound, Roggenrola carefully shifted its body, moving toward the source and beginning to absorb the energy it needed.
This was another unique trait of Roggenrola. It relied entirely on sound to navigate. As a newborn, it would instinctively move toward noise, but if the sound stopped, it would stand still in confusion.
One important thing to remember—never put your hand near its core. Doing so could trigger an aggressive response.
Once Roggenrola had finished absorbing its nutrients, Tetsuya took out a Luxury Ball.
"Roggenrola, come inside the Poké Ball and rest."
"Roggenrola." The newborn Pokémon, comforted by the familiar voice, willingly complied.
A flash of red light, and it disappeared into the Poké Ball to recover.
This was the third Pokémon Tetsuya had chosen from Pewter Gym's breeding facility.
Originally, he hadn't considered Roggenrola, as its evolution, Boldore, was typically limited to just one stage.
However, after studying some new information provided by Pewter Gym, he learned that Boldore could evolve into Gigalith via trade—a newly introduced communication evolution method.
Communication evolution involved placing a Pokémon in a Poké Ball and transferring it through a special Pokémon trade device. Under the influence of unknown forces, Boldore would evolve into Gigalith mid-transfer.
Many Pokémon evolved this way—some even required items to trigger the process.
After reading about Gigalith, Tetsuya chose Roggenrola as his third Pokémon.
Gigalith's offensive and defensive capabilities were on par with his original tank candidate, Aggron.
Compared to Aggron, which specialized in defense, Gigalith maintained a balanced mix of both offense and defense—making it a well-rounded choice.
Their speed wasn't too different, either. Gigalith was more agile in close combat, while Aggron was faster in straight-line sprints.
The only downside was that Gigalith couldn't Mega Evolve. But since Mega Evolution was reserved for Combusken anyway, that wasn't an issue.
Plus, the Roggenrola line had a unique advantage—it was highly sensitive to sound, making it an excellent early-warning system in the wild.
On top of that, this Roggenrola had King-tier potential, making it an extremely valuable investment.
Originally, Tetsuya had considered training an Onix and evolving it into a Steelix using a Metal Coat via trade.
But with Roggenrola available, it was the clear choice. Otherwise, he would have had to spend a fortune acquiring a Metal Coat, which was both rare and expensive.
While Roggenrola's care and training costs weren't exactly cheap, its materials were at least readily available.
Thanks to Pewter Gym's well-stocked reserves of Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, nearly every species—except for fossil Pokémon and rare pseudo-legendaries like Garchomp—was readily available.
"With this, my team's foundation is complete."
Tetsuya muttered to himself.
By the time Roggenrola evolved into Boldore, Combusken would likely have reached its peak as well. Paired with Pidgeot, his lineup was well-equipped for survival in the wild and ready to handle most situations.
Now, all that was needed was time and training.
Calculating his schedule, Tetsuya realized he could stay in Pewter City for another month.
In the next fifty days, he planned to make full use of Pewter Gym's training grounds, complete missions to earn money, and stock up on supplies. His goal was to depart only after reaching his ideal level of preparation.
As for Celadon City and Cinnabar Island, he would stop by briefly, obtain their badges, and move on.
A shame, really, Tetsuya sighed.
He had wanted to take some time to explore the Celadon Department Store, soak in the Cinnabar hot springs, and maybe even relax a little.
But it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.
Plans never keep up with change.
And Tetsuya never expected just how quickly that saying would come true.