Tetsuya had been resting in the lobby for only a short while when five or six middle-aged men in suits came out one after another. "Are you the one who wants to purchase the sludge lake in the old industrial district?"
"That's right. Do I need to submit a bid?" Tetsuya deliberately asked.
"No, no! No need. Let's discuss the details in the office. As long as the price is reasonable, the few of us can make the decision to sell you that plot of land," Said one of the men, who appeared to be the highest-ranking official.
Tetsuya could also see how eager they were. His available funds were indeed limited, and he would never even have considered purchasing an ordinary plot of land. However, he had come fully prepared this time.
When they arrived at the office, several professional budget analysts and appraisers were already waiting for Tetsuya.
"Shall we have the land appraised first?" The head of the IPA asked cordially.
Tetsuya waved his hand and said, "That won't be necessary. I've already made my own assessment. Strictly speaking, this plot of land has absolutely no value. The sludge lake covers an area of approximately ten thousand square meters. At most, you could isolate the sludge lake, but that would leave it as a permanent wasteland with no value whatsoever.
However, if I purchase it, I'll have to spend another twenty million on remediation, and that's not something that can be accomplished overnight. No matter how you look at it, this is a very unfavorable deal for me…
But seeing how so many workers in Gringey City currently have no guarantee of receiving their wages, I'd also like to do my small part to help. So, three million Pokédollars for the sludge lake and its surrounding land. If you gentlemen agree, we can sign the contract right now. Otherwise, we'll simply have to forget about the deal."
"…Three million?"
The men discussed the matter among themselves. After all, the appraisers had estimated the land's value at around ten million Pokédollars, so Tetsuya's sudden offer of three million was difficult for them to accept.
However, what Tetsuya had said was also true. Moreover, Gringey City was currently beset by problems both internally and externally. Although three million was a small amount, it was still money, and at the very least, it could cover the unpaid wages of a group of workers…
---◓---
The men deliberated among themselves for more than an hour, repeatedly reporting the situation to their superiors. In the end, they had no choice but to accept Tetsuya's offer to purchase the land outright.
Although cleaning up the sludge lake would eventually bring some value to the surrounding area, every new administration had its own priorities. The current officials had only five years in office, so they would never see the sludge lake fully restored. It would bring absolutely no benefit to their political achievements, so why should they do all the work only for someone else to reap the rewards?
After signing the contract, Tetsuya immediately paid the full three million Pokédollars. Such a large sum had consumed most of his funds, leaving him with a balance of only four hundred thousand. Fortunately, he now had the support of the Stone Family, and a fixed salary would be deposited into his account every year. Of course, this salary had also been carefully calculated.
The Pokémon currently registered under Tetsuya's name were Ditto, Mamoswine, Golurk, Houndoom, Weezing, Miltank, Drapion, Ariados, Zangoose, and Slowbro, which was still at home. Including all of them, he had nine Pokémon in total.
The expenses for raising all his Pokémon, along with his own travel and living expenses, were all provided according to the same standards as Steven's. Tetsuya would receive an annual salary of 1.8 million Pokédollars to cover his living expenses and raise his Pokémon. This was an extraordinarily lavish amount.
The 1.8 million Pokédollars had just been deposited into his account today. Of course, he already had another use for this money. Around the sludge lake, he needed to construct a reinforced concrete foundation with high-strength, poison-resistant barriers. Naturally, the purpose was to prevent Grimer or Muk from leaving the lake.
There was absolutely no room to cut corners on this expense, which came to a full 1.5 million Pokédollars. If Pokémon did not exist in this world as substitutes for manual labor, such a "high-quality" construction project could never have been completed for a mere 1.5 million.
Labor costs were actually quite low. The main expense came from the materials, which were all of exceptionally high quality and expensive. Even the toughness of the reinforced concrete was incomparable to anything found on Earth!
---◓---
Throughout the construction period, Tetsuya never left the sludge lake. After all, there could not be the slightest compromise in the quality of this project.
The construction took a full half month. During that time, Weezing also absorbed all the poisonous gas surrounding the sludge lake, making the air considerably cleaner.
Every day, Tetsuya would pour poison into the sludge lake or scatter food that Muk liked to eat.
Would it actually succeed?
Tetsuya himself was uncertain. After all, he had already invested so much money that he could not help feeling somewhat distressed.
In his previous life, he had never succeeded with this method…
He had discovered this particular method of raising Grimer in an ancient tome at a library in the Alola region during his previous life.
There were two varieties of Grimer, "normal" Grimer and those found in the Alola region.
Normal Grimer were Poison-type, while Alolan Grimer were Poison/Dark-type. Although Pokémon research suggested that Alolan Grimer had undergone genetic chemical mutations and acquired their current appearance because their food source had changed to garbage, this explanation was not entirely convincing.
Clearly, that explanation could not fully account for the difference. Grimer in other regions also survived by eating garbage, so why had they not undergone the same genetic mutations? Therefore, the difference must also have something to do with Alola's unique ecological environment.
Although Alolan Grimer differed from ordinary Grimer, they had not become significantly more powerful as a result, since their toxicity was roughly the same.
However, according to the tome, there was another kind of Grimer that was considerably more powerful. It carried more than a hundred different poisons within its body, and the very source of its life had become the chemical reactions between those same poisons. This was something ordinary Grimer could never compare to, with so many toxins contained within its body.
It could release those poisons at will, and as long as the chemical reactions¹[1] between them continued, it would never fall. It was practically invincible, especially with so many toxins within its body.
What Pokémon would dare approach it? It could poison an opponent with hardly any effort. If it could also contain Salazzle's corrosive poison, even Steel-type Pokémon would not dare approach it carelessly.
What Tetsuya was attempting now was precisely the method of raising Grimer recorded in that tome. However, there were no specific records of whether anyone had ever succeeded since ancient times.
He was merely giving it a try, uncertain whether he could succeed himself. Even if he did succeed, it would take at least ten years, perhaps even longer…
All he could do was give it his best effort and leave the rest to fate.
•.
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¹. Go check Muk's biology on bulbapedia.
[1] Go check Muk's biology on bulbapedia.