บท 118: Chapter 115

"Hey Bro! Give it up. This guy is not looking for buyers. He is looking for partners to compete with for tomorrow's event" said a young man who was standing to the side, looking enviously at the Balck Belt.

"What is event is that?" asked Alex, feeling interested.

"Well. Do you know how Pokemon like Machoke and Haunter evolve?" asked the young man.

"Yes. It's through trade evolution, right? If you don't want to trade, you can use the trade machines that stimulate the condition of a trade for the same purpose. My name is Alex by the way" said Alex.

"Nathaniel. Well, you are not completely wrong. But trade evolution is just the easiest way. It is not the only way. There was a way to evolve those Pokemon before that. And it is considered much more beneficial if those Pokemon evolve this way, as compared to trade evolution" said Nathaniel.

"You mean getting acknowledged by a large number of their species?" asked Alex.

"Exactly. Getting their strength acknowledged by a large number of other Pokemon of their species allows them to evolve. And this method of evolution is much more beneficial to the Pokemon than the trading process. While the exact reason is still unknown, this much is confirmed. But other than in the wild, there usually isn't any place where a large number of these particular species is gathered. Hence, people can't really use this method much regularly" said Nathaniel.

"And the solution is this event?" asked Alex.

"Yes. There are multiple such events held in many different places at different times of the year for different Pokemon. In these events, trainers with the selected Pokemon species will bring them all to compete. The absolute strongest of them will evolve. The ones who don't still get some battling experience. Plus, in larger cities like Viridian City, the sponsors will give some rewards too. In Viridian City, at the beginning of March every year, the Machamp Festivals take place" informed Nathaniel.

"The Machamp Festivals?" asked Alex.

"Yes. Even though it is so named, Machamp aren't allowed to participate. Only Machoke are" informed Nathaniel.

"This is why Balck Belts are so valuable at this time?" asked Alex with interest.

"Yeah. At other times, a Novice Black Belt would cost maybe 40,000 Poke. But it would shoot to double that during this time" said Nathaniel.

"Novice Black Belts? Are Machoke at the Novice stage also allowed to participate?" asked Alex.

"Well, there is nothing to prevent them from doing so. But they wouldn't stand a chance for sure. No, the Novice Balck Belts are for the Machop which participate" said Nathaniel.

"Machop are allowed to participate too?" questioned Alex

"They aren't the main event, and obviously they can't be acknowledged and evolve. But for Machoke to do so, acknowledgement from a large number of their species is necessary. The more the better, as more Machoke can evolve if there are more members of their species to acknowledge them. Hence, the organisers and sponsors of the event hold a preliminary round for Machop with generous prizes to attract trainers with Machop over" said Nathaniel.

"So people can partner up for this event?" asked Alex.

"Well, the organisers want as many evolutions to occur as possible. Hence, they hold multiple events for Machoke in the Machoke Festival. There is the 1v1, but that is the most fiercely competitive. But the other events are slightly less so, events like 2v2, Four Way Brawl, King of the Ring, and even some like Weightlifting contest and Bodybuilding contest" said Nathaniel.

"And all these winning all these lead to evolution?" asked Alex speechlessly.

"Why not? It's just acknowledgement. Not any particular aspect is required. All the events have been known to work in evolving Machoke" said Nathaniel.

"I assume there are differences," said Alex.

"Sure. The top 8 of 1v1 will definitely evolve, with half of the remaining top 16 also usually evolving. It is much fewer for other combat categories, with the top 3 to 5 evolving. As for the non combat events, usually 1 or 2 of the winners evolve, and that too is not always guaranteed" said Nathaniel.

"Wow. That sounds fun. Thanks for the information. My name is Alex Burns from Pallet Town by the way" said Alex.

"No problem. Nathaniel Armstong, from right here. My grandfather was the Champion of the 1v1 event some 20 years ago and is currently an organiser for the event. If you have a Machop or a Machoke, you should enter. Doesn't matter even if it's not close to evolution. The continuous fighting is great for them" said Nathaniel.

"I would have loved to accept your offer, but unfortunately I haven't got around to catching a Machop yet" said Alex regretfully.

"If you really want to, you can catch some Machop from the northwest you know. You can't really train it much considering that the competition is tomorrow, but if you really want a Machop you can get one there" said Nathaniel.

"There are wild Machop near Viridian City?" asked Alex in surprise.

"Of course. But they are not completely wild. My grandfather is the trainer of the leader of the colony, and he takes care of them. They were originally wild Machop that were brought by my grandpa to make up the numbers due to the lack of trainers with Machop visiting when the events first started. But in the last few years, due to expensive publicity and generous rewards by the sponsors, a lot of trainers with Machop come over, and hence the presence of the wild Machop is not that crucial. Hence, my grandfather allows trainers to catch Machop from the colony. For a reasonable fee of course. Many of the city's Machop and Mahcoke competing in the event were originally captured from that colony. So you don't have to worry about their potential " said Nathaniel.