Passing through the volcano in front of the grassland was the shortcut to reach the Battle Park established by Pryce. A large number of Magcargo lived in the volcanic area.
Although these Magcargo had a gentle Nature, he did not dare to act recklessly at all, because the existence of Magcargo played a role in stabilizing the Volcano. If he were to disrupt the ecological balance of the Volcano and trigger an eruption, he would be finished.
Because he was carrying a large amount of goods, he had to detour to the nearest city to conduct transactions. After all, many Pokémon were already injured, especially Drapion and Tentacruel. If they did not receive effective healing, they might die inside their Poké Balls.
Moreover, he now had to accumulate money. He did not know Antel's password, and that man surely had many enemies. Many of those who had been deceived probably wished to kill him. He could not bring unnecessary trouble upon himself over a mere ninety thousand pokédollars.
There were now only twenty-five thousand pokédollars left in his account. The ten thousand in cash given by Sheila had also been partially used. This amount of assets was nowhere near enough.
Tetsuya mounted Ditto and galloped toward the nearest city. Although it was a detour, the roads were wide and easy to travel, and all were uniformly planned by the League, so there was no particular danger. Before nightfall, Tetsuya had already arrived at the next city.
He was quite familiar with this city. It was Whitestone[1]¹, a city connected to the coastline of Olivine City. However, its economy was not very open and mainly focused on traditional sea salt manufacturing.
About twenty years later, a tunnel would be constructed here, directly connecting to New Bark Town where the Johto Region's leading Professor, Professor Elm, was located.
In his previous life, during that massive project, he had defeated many wild Pokémon and was considered to have rendered meritorious service to the League, which later gave him the qualification to apply to become a Gym Leader.
After arriving in the city, Tetsuya immediately went to the Pokémon acquisition market. Because his transaction volume this time was large, he naturally chose the acquisition center with the highest reputation. Although the price would be slightly lower, at his current age, going to acquisition centers with poor reputation meant confidentiality was extremely lacking, and they might even deliberately lower the price. He was too lazy to argue with them now. After all, so many Pokémon were worth quite a sum. If he were targeted by someone with ulterior motives, it would be troublesome…
His strength was insufficient at present, and he was too young, so he could only keep a low profile and act cautiously in all matters.
---◓---
After Tetsuya entered the acquisition center, a staff member was responsible for handling the transaction with him. All prices were transparent.
Weepinbell, Gloom, and Poliwhirl all required Evolution Stones to evolve, so their prices were slightly lower. After all, buyers would have to spend additional money to purchase Evolution Stones for such Pokémon.
The prices of Weepinbell and Gloom were the same, five thousand pokédollars each. Poliwhirl was slightly higher at six thousand each. In this way, the selling price of these twenty-four Pokémon was 128k pokédollars.
The purchase price of Tentacruel was not high either. After all, it was common in the Kanto and Johto regions, and its Evolution did not require any special conditions. It was priced at ten thousand each, bringing in twenty thousand for two.
Drapion belonged to a Sinnoh Pokémon, and the selling price was fifteen thousand.
The purchase price of Liepard was twelve thousand each.
Because Steel-type Pokémon were not common in the Johto Region, and the Evolutions of Steelix and Scizor had not yet been announced, the remaining Steel-type Pokémon were only Magnemite, Skarmory, and Forretress. Their characteristics were not very distinctive, which made Pawniard, a Steel-type Pokémon, sell very well. The purchase price was ten thousand each, and three were sold for thirty thousand.
Tetsuya's total income this time reached 217k pokédollars, all of which were transferred into his salary card. Adding the previous twenty-five thousand, the balance in his account now reached 242k pokédollars. Tetsuya withdrew the remaining two thousand. After all, not every place or occasion allowed card payments. Sometimes, in remote mountainous areas, only cash could be used, and there might not even be an ATM.
Such transaction markets were discreet and did not examine the identity of the other party. It was simply a straightforward transaction. Tetsuya checked that all the money had been credited and then left.
---◓---
Tetsuya came to the Pokémon Center in this city, first booked a room, then registered and handed Ditto, Piloswine, Swinub, and Golett over to Nurse Joy for a full recovery treatment package, which cost one thousand in total.
While waiting, Tetsuya went to the public telephone area of the Pokémon Center and dialed Mr. Shellby's number.
[Oh... it's Tetsuya. What made you think of calling me?] Mr. Shellby said when he saw Tetsuya on the video call.
"There's something. Is the raising of Spinarak going smoothly?" Tetsuya asked.
[Shehaha! Very well, very well~ The first-gen Spinarak has already been successfully breed, and the eggs are still in the process of hatching. I've already put out advertisements, and quite a few people have made reservations. According to my estimations, the next batch of Spinarak will allow me to break even.] Mr. Shellby smiled broadly.
"I will Transfer two Skorupi to you shortly," Tetsuya said.
[Hm? Skorupi? What do you want that for?]
"These two Skorupi are both female. I'll leave them to you to raise. After your third-gen Ariados is ready, breed it with the two Skorupi. I need the eggs produced from that breeding. And the Skorupi bred in this way must not be sold. As for the other Pokémon… you can breed them however you like. I won't interfere. There are quite a few Pokémon that can breed with Skorupi," Tetsuya said.
[Alright, alright, no problem! But since you're providing me with two female Skorupi, I'll pay you according to the market price.]
Mr. Shellby was indeed a truly good person. That was also why Tetsuya chose to cooperate with him. After all, he had been his lifesaver in his previous life, and Tetsuya knew his character very well.
"I don't need the money. After all, these two Skorupi are still young and require considerable funds to raise. And remember, the offspring produced from breeding the third-gen Ariados with Skorupi must not be sold. Let that offset the price of the two Skorupi," Tetsuya said.
[Agreed. A gentleman's friendship. Working with you is truly pleasant, shehaha.] Mr. Shellby said.
Tetsuya nodded and Transferred the two Skorupi to Mr. Shellby.
After finishing the call, Nurse Joy also brought out Tetsuya's four Pokémon. After receiving the recovery treatment, the four Pokémon all looked full of vigor.
At the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, he ordered his own dinner. He was at a crucial stage of growth and could not always eat compressed food!
Pokémon food was high-grade and far better than his own treatment. Fortunately, there was still plenty of their food in his backpack, so there was no need to replenish it for the time being.
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¹.Animated series-exclusive location.
[1] Animated series-exclusive location.