This sludge lake could be considered the ideal place to raise this kind of Grimer.
By continuously introducing all kinds of poisons into the lake, some Grimer and Muk would eventually die when they could no longer withstand the concentration of toxins. As their bodies decomposed, they would release even more toxins, making the sludge lake increasingly poisonous.
The more Muk died, the more toxic the sludge lake would become!
Combined with the various toxins he deliberately introduced, the Grimer that could endure until the very end would be the strongest.
The different poison's toxins in the sludge lake would attach themselves to the Grimer, becoming part of their bodies and eventually causing chemical mutations, or perhaps a new variant or even a new Evolution!
Normal Muk would transform into Alolan Muk, an Alolan form that had evolved outside Alola's ecological environment. With more than a hundred different poisons contained within its body, it could be said to have undergone a "new" Evolution, becoming a true king of poison.
Tetsuya still had 700k Pokédollars in cash. Gritting his teeth, he spent six hundred thousand on three Salazzle from the Black Market.
'To think that all this would still be necessary in a new life…'
He sealed their mouths shut and threw them into the sludge lake, where they were slowly corroded to death. In this way, the lake also became infused with one of the most unusual poisons in the world, Salazzle's corrosive poison.
However, this poison was also deadly to Poison-type Pokémon. It was not something ordinary Poison-type could adapt to.
Once the corrosive poison began to spread, nearly half of the Grimer and Muk in the sludge lake died within two or three days. For the remaining Grimer and Muk, this was yet another massive culling.
Tetsuya did not leave Gringey City until the entire barrier construction project around the lake had been completed and he had paid the remaining costs. He now had only ~100k Pokédollars left, and he would not receive any further financial support from Devon Corporation for another year.
He had originally intended to introduce even more poisons into the sludge lake, but unfortunately, his funds were running low…
It seemed he would need to resort to some unconventional methods to increase his income!
Learning the Imite Family's disguise art for Ditto had already become an urgent priority.
---◓---
Having settled all his affairs in Gringey City, Tetsuya set off toward the forest where the Imite Family lived. The forest lay between Sunnytown and Stone Town.
The bridge spanning the river at Sunnytown had now opened, providing direct access to Stone Town. This meant he could travel directly to Stone Town by vehicle and enter the forest from there, saving himself a considerable distance.
By the time he arrived in Stone Town, it was already late. Upon entering the town, he found it brightly illuminated.
Originally, Stone Town had been a very underdeveloped settlement deep in the mountains, but the area contained vast mineral deposits of Evolution Stones.
These deposits had transformed it into a town that had become wealthy almost overnight. Its economy had developed rapidly as a result, turning it into the largest Evolution Stone marketplace in the Kanto region!
Now, the town was also promoting various cultural activities, establishing its reputation throughout the world.
Only after entering the town did Tetsuya learn that today was Stone Town's Evolution Festival. Any Pokémon Trainer attending the festivities had a chance to receive an Evolution Stone suitable for their Pokémon!
Evolution Stones were expensive items to begin with, so naturally, many Trainers came from far and wide, further stimulating the town's economic development.
Tetsuya headed toward the main venue, though not simply to join the festivities. Pokémon that had evolved using Evolution Stones fetched considerable prices on the market. If he sold them directly to Team Rocket, he could earn himself a substantial sum of money.
He now had only 100k Pokédollars left. A little spending would be enough to exhaust his funds, and then he would truly find himself in a situation where even a single Pokédollar could bring a hero to his knees.
Sure enough, there were many Trainers at the main venue with all kinds of Pokémon that had evolved using Evolution Stones, including Ninetales, Arcanine, Poliwrath, Vileplume, Nidoking, and others.
They were even holding friendly battles against one another!
The town had a comprehensive surveillance system, making it extremely difficult to make a move. However, Stone Town was surrounded by mountains on three sides and had only one exit. As long as he found a suitable spot and waited for his victims, he would eventually encounter a group of two or three Trainers who would be easy targets.
He would just have to see whether anyone dared leave town tonight…
Tetsuya left town early and pitched his tent on the outskirts, where the town met the forest. This was the only road leading into the forest, and anyone wishing to leave Stone Town would have to pass through here.
"Ariados, if anyone passes through here later, use Spider Web to trap them." With that, Ariados climbed onto a tree branch and began watching the entire road.
---◓---
Even after all the lights in distant Stone Town had gone out, not a single person had passed by.
Tetsuya returned to his tent alone.
Since he had only intended to give it a try, he was not particularly disappointed. However, just as he entered the tent and lay down, he heard footsteps approaching from the distance.
It was a group of exactly ten Trainers, all panting heavily.
"Let's take a break. We're almost in the forest, so we should be safe now!"
"We only ran away in the middle of the night for peace of mind. There's really nothing to be afraid of."
"It's still better to leave as soon as possible! We used Psychic and Ghost-types to manipulate things behind the scenes and secure all ten of the available slots for ourselves. If the organizers find out about our connections… we'll be in serious trouble!"
"That's right! Let's hurry up and get going."
Tetsuya heard every word clearly from inside his tent. It seemed these people had been planning this for a long time, using deceptive measures to obtain Evolution Stones and evolve their Pokémon. Now, feeling guilty, they wanted to leave the town overnight.
In reality, their Pokémon had already evolved, so even if they were discovered, the organizers could not do much to them. At most, they would issue a public announcement that would damage their reputations.
Their guilty consciences, however, had presented Tetsuya with an opportunity…
The moment they entered Ariados's attack range, ten strands of Spider Web shot out in succession, binding all ten Trainers and suspending them separately from the trees.
"W-Who is it? Who's there!?" the ten shouted in panic.
"Have… h-Have we been found out already…?"
"Shut up!"
"…"
The deathly silence all around them, combined with the boundless darkness, only intensified their fear. Everyone was now too frightened to speak, and they could do nothing but tremble.
"Hypnosis."
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Tetsuya had Gengar use Hypnosis. Before long, the ten Trainers's consciousnesses gradually faded until they were all fast asleep.
With that, everything was foolproof. Tetsuya emerged from his tent and collected everyone's Poké Balls.
Their original Pokémon were indeed of little value, but each Trainer had one Pokémon that had just evolved using an Evolution Stone.
After taking the Poké Balls, Tetsuya quickly packed his belongings and used Golurk Airlines to head deep into the mountains. By the following day, those ten fellows would have become laughingstocks.
Such incidents were actually nothing unusual in the Pokémon world. Traveling through the wild was essentially beyond the reach of the law. Even if the police wanted to intervene, there were simply too many incidents for them to handle, and they often had no way to investigate them.
As a result, Pokémon Trainers could only strive to become stronger, since being able to protect themselves in the wilderness was what mattered most.