"As for me… I want to see if there are any suitable Pokémon eggs or young Pokémon for sale."
With a calm expression, Icarus placed the Sandshrew's Poké Ball into his backpack and answered Airi.
"Eh?! Brother Icarus, you're going to raise a third Pokémon?!"
Airi looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah. You have to understand—going from mid-tier to high-tier takes a long time. Victreebel and Pidgeotto are already on the right track, so they don't need much extra attention right now."
"And didn't you notice? Even with you and Stone, our team still lacks a true main attacker."
Hearing the explanation, Airi nodded in realization.
"Ohh… I see! Then what kind of Pokémon do you want, Brother Icarus?"
"I haven't decided yet," Icarus said with a helpless smile. "I'll wait and see what's available at the auction."
The truth was simple—he didn't have enough money.
Starter Pokémon? Too expensive.
Other options? Too many choices.
But one thing was clear:
He needed a strong offensive core.
"Airi" didn't press further. Instead, she patted her pocket confidently.
"Brother Icarus, if you don't have enough money, tell me! I have plenty!"
"I only want to buy a Pokédex anyway. Around 300,000 PokéDollars should be enough for a first-generation one!"
"Hahaha… alright. If I need it, I won't hold back."
Icarus laughed.
He knew she had money—selling her house plus recent earnings wasn't a small amount.
And she had only spent a portion on Poliwhirl's growth.
For now, she wasn't planning a second Pokémon either.
So borrowing later wouldn't be an issue.
After finishing their tasks, the two continued escorting the caravan.
Time passed quickly.
By afternoon, they finally exited the cave and arrived at—
Pewter City.
After entering the city, the caravan supervisor handed over the mission certificates, and everyone went their separate ways.
"Let's go, Airi. Pokémon Center first. We'll explore after turning in the mission."
"Okay~!"
Even though she was clearly excited, Airi followed obediently.
After submitting the mission, Icarus split the rewards fairly.
Despite being the leader, he stuck to their rule of distribution based on contribution.
Each of them received:
20,000 PokéDollars
4 contribution points
"Alright, now we can explore," Icarus said.
"The auction starts tomorrow. We still need to find lodging, gather information, and sell extra materials."
"Let's go!!"
Airi was instantly energized.
They soon arrived at the busiest street—
Pokémon Street.
Shops lined both sides, filled with Pokémon-related goods.
Almost everyone passing by was a trainer.
But unlike their hometown, the difference here was obvious.
Most trainers used:
Rock-types
Ground-types
Fighting-types
Geodude and its evolutions were everywhere.
You could also frequently spot Machop.
And then—
Airi froze.
"Eh?! That one is so cute! And it's blue… why is it Ground-type?!"
She pointed at a small elephant Pokémon—Phanpy.
"Don't overthink it," Icarus said, slightly amused.
"This is Pewter City. Most local trainers specialize in Rock and Ground types."
He pointed ahead.
A massive stone building stood tall—
"That's the Pewter Gym," Airi said immediately.
"The Dark Gray Gym."
"Yeah."
Icarus nodded.
"I asked around earlier. Pewter City is controlled by the Rock Gym."
"The ruling family here… is the Brock family."
He paused slightly.
"And they're completely different from the Arai family back in our town."
"What's the difference?" Airi asked curiously.
"The difference is… scale and history."
"Pewter City has existed since the founding of the League."
"And the Brock family?"
"They're a thousand-year-old lineage."
"Even at their weakest, they still had Gym-level trainers."
"And the current Gym Leader… is said to be close to breaking into Elite-level."
"The Arai family, on the other hand…"
"They only became a Gym family a little over ten years ago."
"No matter the strength or accumulated resources—there's no comparison."
Airi was stunned.
A thousand-year family…
That was on a completely different level.
"Hahaha! Young man, you seem to admire Pewter City quite a bit!"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted them.
A middle-aged man handing out flyers walked over.
"Here—take these! Auction entry tickets!"
"You must come tomorrow. There will be plenty of good stuff!"
"Oh—thank you, uncle!"
"Thank you!"
The two quickly accepted the tickets.
They had actually been planning to buy them—
and ended up getting them for free.
Walking away, Icarus glanced at the ticket.
Auction.
Pokédex.
Rare Pokémon.
This trip…
was about to get interesting.