Miles stared at the stray comment in his live chat. It stood out like a sore thumb—cold, calculated, and dripping with the pseudo-intellectualism of someone who thought they understood the "harsh reality" of the world.
A flicker of uncontrollable annoyance flashed through his eyes. He didn't snap back immediately. Instead, he slowly straightened his posture.
The air around him seemed to chill by a few degrees as his presence shifted. Even Munchlax, who had been happily humming to itself after its meal, sensed the change in its trainer's mood. It went quiet, leaning obediently against Miles's leg.
"Harsh reality? Cost-effectiveness?"
Miles let out a cold laugh, his expression a mix of mockery and stern gravity. He tapped his finger against the transparent, temperature-controlled nursery box.
Tap....Tap...
The crisp sound seemed to echo in the hearts of every viewer watching the screen.
"If we were discussing a business investment, I'd be the first to agree with you on cost-effectiveness," Miles stated plainly. "But everyone, I need you to open your eyes and look closely. Lying in this box is a living, breathing being with blood, flesh, and emotions!"
His voice was low but resonant, his deep eyes staring directly into the camera lens as if piercing through the screen to meet the souls of the thousands of viewers on the other side.
"A buyer this Meowth has never even met discarded it like a broken toy at a courier station simply because it didn't manifest the [Pickup] ability—because it didn't bring him immediate, tangible profit. And yet, some of you are here prattling on about the 'rationality' of utility-first thinking?"
Miles's tone sharpened, becoming absolute. "Let me make one thing clear. In my eyes—and in the eyes of every trainer who truly loves Pokémon—a Pokémon's value is never defined solely by IVs, base stats, or whether its ability can generate cold, hard cash!"
He reached down, gently rubbing Munchlax's furry head.
"Look at my Munchlax. Before I took it in, it spent every day scavenging for food in trash heaps. In the eyes of many 'utilitarian trainers,' it was a waste of space—a bottomless pit that did nothing but eat. A pure liability."
His gaze softened, his voice thick with sincerity. "But look at it now. When that Tauros went on a rampage, it didn't hesitate. It threw its own body on the line to shield me from a fatal blow. To me, it isn't a tool for battle or a machine for making money. It's my family! It is the most irreplaceable treasure I have in this world!"
"Munch...?"
Hearing the words "Munchlax" and "family," the Pokémon's long ears perked up. While its simple mind couldn't grasp the deeper nuances of the word "treasure," it could sense the overwhelming waves of affection and kindness radiating from its master.
It shuffled forward two steps, wrapping its bandaged, sturdy arms around Miles's leg and pressing its large head firmly against him. It didn't want to interrupt his work; it just wanted to be closer to the man who gave it a second life.
Inside the nursery box, the Meowth—which had been trembling with wary fear—miraculously looked up. Its bright eyes locked onto Miles, the suspicion and anxiety in its pupils dissolving visibly. As a feline Pokémon known for high intelligence and spiritual sensitivity, it could read kindness better than any human.
Miles's words acted like a heavy bell tolling, triggering a massive wave of emotional resonance in the chat.
[Viewer "Manager Ruby": Well said! Pokémon are partners first and comrades second. If everything is measured by profit, what's the difference between humans and cold machines? Your perspective is truly refreshing.]
[Viewer "Forest Fawn": Waaaah, I'm actually crying. The way Munchlax is hugging his leg is too much. Does anyone calling that Meowth 'trash' even have a conscience?]
[Viewer "Midnight Sober": I'm ashamed. For a second there, I actually thought the buyer had a point. The Master woke me up. There are no trash Pokémon, only irresponsible owners!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": The law sets the floor for behavior, but morality and love set the ceiling for civilization. Support the streamer! Abandonment like this should be condemned by the whole internet!]
The courier station owner standing nearby felt his eyes grow damp. He sighed deeply, his previous greed replaced by a look of profound respect.
"Young man... no, Master. Your words are right, and they warm the heart. But for us common folk, we still have to face the reality of daily expenses."
The owner rubbed his calloused hands together, looking a bit embarrassed. "Like I said, I wanted to give it to my niece. As an elder, if I have a choice, I'd prefer to give her something beautiful with a good ability that can protect her when it counts. You said it wasn't a 'trash' Meowth... does that mean it actually has an ability?"
"Yes, you're right. Everyone has their own needs; that's perfectly understandable."
Miles dropped his stern facade, returning to a professional and calm demeanor. He focused his gaze back on the Meowth, which was now looking at him expectantly.
"To the owner and everyone in the chat: I was angry earlier, so I didn't finish my assessment."
Miles took a deep breath, a mysterious curve forming at the corner of his mouth. "This Meowth indeed does not have the [Pickup] ability. It will likely never learn it, and it won't be able to provide a steady stream of wealth for its trainer."
"However, it is absolutely not some 'ability-less' defect!"
Miles's voice rang out clearly in the night air. He turned sharply to the camera, dropping a bombshell that shattered everyone's preconceptions one word at a time:
"On the contrary, it was born with an extremely rare, top-tier hidden ability meant purely for combat—one that is borderline terrifying at low levels."
"It has the ability: [Technician]!"
As those words left his mouth, the chat—which had been drowning in sentimentality—went dead silent for several seconds. Then, a flood of question marks and confused emojis erupted like a dam breaking.
[Viewer "Midnight Sober": ??? Technician? What the hell is that? I've played with Pokémon for over a decade and memorized the Pokédex—I've never heard of that!]
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": Breaking news! Master Miles has 'invented' another new ability! LOL]
[Viewer "Keyboard Holmes": Master, are you sure? I just searched three federal Pokémon databases simultaneously. There's no such entry! Meowths only have Pickup and Unnerve!]
Miles didn't panic, this was exactly as he expected. In the game world he came from, [Technician] was a god-tier ability for Pokémon with low-power priority moves. But in this reality, since most people lacked his System, many hidden abilities with niche trigger conditions hadn't been officially named by the academic world yet.
This Meowth was labeled "Ability-less" simply because its previous owner lacked the vision to trigger its combat potential!
"I know you're anxious, but stay calm and listen," Miles said, clearing his throat and pulling out his tried-and-true "fictional friend" tactic. "You won't find [Technician] online yet. That's because it's a brand-new discovery confirmed in a secret experiment by a close friend of mine who works at the International Deep-Level Gene Research Institute. The paper is currently under peer review and hasn't been made public."
This bit of serious-sounding nonsense, delivered with Miles's confident face, immediately floored the audience.
"As for the effect," Miles continued, his expression becoming hyper-professional, "let me translate it into the simplest terms: it drastically boosts the lethality of moves that are usually considered 'weak' or 'filler'!"
"Most of you understand Pokémon. You know that the International Move Research Association sets standard power values for every move. For example, Meowth's most basic move, [Scratch], has an international standard power of 40. In normal circumstances, a 40-power move is like a tickle to a bulky Pokémon. That's why trainers make their Pokémon forget these low-level moves as they grow."
Miles's eyes narrowed with an intense, pressured gaze. "BUT! If a Pokémon has the [Technician] ability, common sense is flipped on its head! This ability acts like a genetic amplifier. It specifically targets moves with a power of 60 or less."
"According to my friend's data, a Pokémon with this ability can boost the destructive power of these low-level moves by 10% up to a staggering 50%!"
Miles slammed his hands on the table, throwing out a shocking piece of math. "That means once this Meowth is trained for battle, a seemingly harmless [Scratch] or a priority move like [Feint]—with a base power of only 40—can explode with a terrifying power of 60!"
"Using low-stamina, lightning-fast basic moves with the damage output of high-tier moves... Do I really need to explain to any experienced trainer what that means?!"
Boom!
Miles's textbook-style numerical analysis hit the chat like a nuclear warhead. Anyone with even a basic understanding of Pokémon battling felt their scalp go numb.
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": Holy crap! Fast, low-cost moves doing high-tier damage? Isn't that an absolute stomp in early-game battles?!]
[Viewer "Keyboard Holmes": This is insane! If this is true, the entire tactical system of the battling world is going to have an earthquake! It's like this Meowth has a permanent, unremovable physical attack hack!]
[Viewer "Midnight Sober": It's ridiculous! If it learns a move that is exactly 60 power, a 50% boost makes it a 90-power ultimate move! That's broken!]
The courier station owner stood there, his mind a total blank. He stared wide-eyed at the harmless-looking Meowth licking its paws in the box. He felt like he was dreaming.
Had a gold mine just fallen from the sky?
A "trash" cat discarded like garbage was actually a hidden gem that could stir up a storm in the professional circuit?
"Ma... Master," the owner stammered, his voice trembling along with his excitement. "You... you aren't pulling my leg, right? Is it really that powerful?"
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