Pokemon: I am a God-level Player

"Ding! You are using the [Ability Capsule] on Greninja. After using it, the second ability has a 50% chance to be [Torrent] and a 50% chance to be [Battle Bond]. Do you want to continue?"

"Use it!" Eddie commanded.

"Ding! Use successful, activating the second ability."

After this announcement, Greninja began emitting a white light. Unlike the dazzling radiance of evolution, this light gently enveloped Greninja's form.

"Ding! Second ability activation successful!"

The frustrating system didn't reveal which ability Greninja had gained, leaving Eddie momentarily anxious.

Now Eddie had no choice but to check his Pokémon's status himself.

But...

"After using this item, can it also change color?"

Indeed, as the faint light surrounding Greninja dissipated, its skin color transformed as well.

The original Greninja had been predominantly blue, but now it was entirely black.

"Isn't this the coloration of Ash-Greninja from the games? This black version looks incredibly cool. I didn't expect the potion would change its appearance too. I like it."

Setting aside the question of which ability had been granted, Eddie was quite pleased with just the color change.

Of course, turning black didn't necessarily mean Greninja had become significantly stronger. If the second ability was [Torrent], the improvement would be minimal. After all, the [Torrent] ability only activated during critical situations, and Eddie didn't encounter enough crises to make proper use of such an ability.

So with nervous anticipation, Eddie opened Greninja's status panel, hoping to see a satisfactory result.

Name: Greninja (Battle Bond)

Ability: [Protean] + [Battle Bond]

[Battle Bond]: During battle, you can activate this ability to trigger Battle Bond transformation. The transformation will remain until the battle concludes.

"Awesome! Success!" Eddie exclaimed joyfully.

Greninja had become both more visually impressive and more powerful.

This was the absolute best outcome!

"Now, when my main Pokémon can't overcome an opponent in battle, I can simply trigger the transformation and defeat them in minutes."

The thought of such a scenario filled Eddie with satisfaction. He felt immensely pleased, watching his power effectively double because of a challenging task.

Now, even if he became complacent for a few months, other players wouldn't be able to match his strength.

The higher the level, the more difficult it became to advance further.

Even for hardcore players, after reaching level 30, it was normal to gain just one level per week or even two weeks, despite fighting continuously and grinding day and night.

They didn't have the difficulty increase and experience bonus modifiers from the different game versions like Eddie did, nor could they consistently receive hidden tasks with rewards that significantly boosted their Pokémon's strength.

For Eddie currently, winning battles against higher-level opponents was relatively easy. He could even compete against Pokémon 10 levels above his own.

This advantage resulted from his Pokémon's held items, diverse movesets, and the dramatic power increases from mega evolution.

"Alright, let's examine my own status now and see what changes have occurred."

Eddie pulled up his trainer profile to check his current statistics:

Name: Morning Sun

Trainer Strength: Peak

Trainer Pokédex Entries: 130 Pokémon

Owned: 89

Pokédollars: 260,000

Badges Owned: 3

Location: Kanto Region

"Peak Trainer—makes sense. I have two level 40+ Pokémon, so it's reasonable that I've reached Peak Trainer status."

"Having attained the Peak level, I can easily overcome multiple high-level Trainers simultaneously, unless they possess strength comparable to mine—which is highly unlikely."

"Even other Pokédex owners would struggle to match my power when they were high-level Trainers. I can confidently face Peak-level challenges head-on."

"Though I've reached Peak level, I can still challenge Gym Leader-level Trainers. If my opponent shows even a slight carelessness, I could defeat them instantly."

Despite these confident assertions, Eddie wasn't particularly eager to face Gym Leaders at the moment.

Victory was possible, but such battles would be exhausting. Without using his Power of Viridian, success wasn't guaranteed.

If not for the difficult hidden mission and Ash's multiple assists during this recent encounter, Eddie might have been forced to reveal his secret abilities, even if he could still secure victory.

"I'm not quite strong enough yet. When I become a Elite trainer, with the support of my Viridian Forest power, then I can directly challenge Champion-level trainers. At that point, there'll be no need to hide my true capabilities."

"For now, it's better to maintain a low profile, using my abilities strategically against opponents to ensure my trump card remains concealed."

"That said, I don't need to be overly concerned about exposure anymore. When facing Gym Leaders, I can always retreat if victory seems unlikely. As long as I don't foolishly provoke Elite enemies, I should be fine."

Eddie reflected that at his current stage, unless he encountered another similarly challenging hidden mission, he was essentially worry-free.

Even when confronting Team Rocket, as long as their leader didn't personally intervene or deploy Elite Pokémon, Eddie could potentially dominate even in their headquarters.

"Actually, it's best not to provoke them unnecessarily. I'm not some justice crusader. Without specific missions or rewards, I'll rarely concern myself with Team Rocket's activities."

"Now, let's check the rankings. This should be interesting."

Eddie opened the leaderboards, curious not only about his own standing but also about other players' current status.

Pokémon Level Rankings:

1st Place: LV43 Lucario, Owner: Morning Sun

2nd Place: LV40 Charizard, Owner: Morning Sun

3rd Place: LV39 Greninja, Owner: Morning Sun

4th Place: LV39 Sceptile, Owner: Morning Sun

5th Place: LV35 Fearow, Owner: Name Hidden ...

29th Place: LV20 Onix, Owner: Name Hidden

30th Place: LV19 Oddish, Owner: Dream Girl

31st Place: LV19 Staryu, Owner: LevelBoss

Eddie chuckled as he noticed the two players who had been trying to surpass him on the Badge Rankings.

Today marked the fifth day since the game's launch. Before the rebirth, the first Intermediate Trainer—someone with a level 20 Pokémon—had appeared a week after the game's release.

These two players had obviously been motivated by Eddie's success. They had been grinding day and night to reach their current levels within just five days.

"These poor kids," Eddie thought. "As my adventures accelerate and I capture more high-level Pokémon, these hardcore players seem to fall further and further behind in the rankings."

"They're working tirelessly day and night, yet their rankings continue to drop. If I were in their position, I'd have been completely demoralized by now."