The man looked with a grave expression at the young trainer and his 7 Pokémon.

When he noticed that Alex was coming too close, he said with a threatening tone, "Hey, what are you coming my way? If you get closer, I will consider it as an attack." ​​

Alex showed a friendly expression when he said, "I'm sorry if I scared you, that wasn't my intention. My Crobat just spotted another person, so I wanted to see who is so brave to enter into this forest. My name is Alex Stark. Nice to meet you."

The man looked indifferently at Alex as he said, "My name is Adam. Now that we've exchanged the greetings, you'd better leave me alone."

Alex gave a wry smile as he said, "I can understand why you are so careful. But our strength is pretty similar, so you don't need to be so fearful of me attacking you."

Although Alex has 2 Elite Pokémon and 3 Pokémon between 35-39, his strength is not really better than that of this man.

It is generally known that at higher levels the difference of strength between each level increases a lot. Just like how a Pokémon needs more and more exp points after each level in the game, the power level of a Pokémon works similarly in this world. Basically, the power growth with each level is not linear but rather exponential.

So the level difference matters a lot in this world. Especially after a Pokémon reaches the Elite rank.

Alex remembers a book that described this very well.

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The level difference under the Elite rank:

-> Rank 4: Almost impossible (16> LV difference)

[Ridiculously big difference. The power gap is so big that the higher-level Pokémon can hardly be harmed by the moves of lower-level Pokémon. And even status effects are almost useless. Even 50 Pokémon on LV 20 together can't defeat a LV 36 Pokémon if it has at least 1 inadequate AOE move.]

-> Rank 3: Very difficult (11-15 LV difference)

[Very large difference. The higher-level Pokémon takes hardly any damage from moves, and the status effects only partially work. Nevertheless, 10 Pokémon on LV 20 can't defeat a LV 35 Pokémon if it has at least 1 reasonably usable AOE move.]

-> Rank 2: Difficult (10-5 LV difference)

[Relatively large difference. The higher-level Pokémon takes a part of the expected damage and status effects works almost to their full effect. The difference is too small to get a big advantage in group battles.]

-> Rank 1: Feasible (1-4 LV difference)

[Hardly any difference. Only in Pokémon close to the Elite rank, like level 35 to level 39, there is a noticeable difference.]

---

The level difference in the Elite rank:

-> Rank 4: Almost impossible (11> LV difference) [same description as Non-Elite]

-> Rank 3: Very difficult (6-10 LV difference) [same description as Non-Elite]

-> Rank 2: Difficult (5-3 LV difference) [same description as Non-Elite]

-> Rank 1: Feasible (1-2 LV difference) [same description as Non-Elite]

---

Of course, it's a very rough description of the level difference rank between two Pokémon. The power gap between a LV 5 (Rank 2) Pokémon to a LV 6 (Rank 3) Pokémon is not as big as said in this description. The boundaries between the levels are not that clear-cut and are rather rough general lines.

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Adam showed a serious expression, "The fact that you are saying that due to the rational disadvantages and not because it is ethically wrong, shows that you are not a good-hearted person. Also, although we have really similar strengths, it does not mean that you can not create a problem for me. Especially since you have a Pokémon that can teleport."

Alex noticed that this person was smart. He liked his rational thinking and his analysis. Alex's first reaction was that it is not worth robbing him. And the reason he did not want to do it was not because of a moral point of view, but rather, it was too risky for him.

He gave a slight smile. "Although I will admit that I'm not a very good person, I'm not a crazy person who attacks every other trainer he meets. Rather, I usually give basic respect to every strong trainer passively."

Alex noticed that this trainer was on constant vigilance and tried not to convince him that he was a good person. Half-truths are better to use in such a scenario.

Adam showed a slightly sarcastic expression when he said, "Sure."

Alex and Adam just looked at each other calmly and neither said anything for a few seconds, which made the atmosphere very strange.

The Pokemon from both sides also look at each other with watchful eyes. Only Combusken and Pawniard showed no watchful eyes but looked curiously at the Pokemon on the other side.

Adam who ended the silence first said seriously "So what do you want?"

*******

[EN]: remember everyone, CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

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