The morning walk through the city to the P.E.X. building fortunately woke me up a bit and helped soothe my frayed nerves, at least partially. It still burned me up that that bastard Bran hadn't let me have the room... but what could you do.
To my great relief, the P.E.X. building was completely empty. Not a soul in sight, so I was served immediately without any waiting. First, I placed Mankey's Poké Ball on the counter. I didn't expect much money for him; I knew very well that this species was quite common in the wild. Since they usually moved in larger packs, they posed a significant danger to careless travelers, but their high encounter rate significantly lowered their market value. Well-trained evolved forms were, of course, exceptionally strong... but the overall price of wild specimens was rapidly dragged down by their unpredictable, explosive, and aggressive nature.
Even during the initial scan of the Poké Ball, a red warning flashed on the digital screen, highlighting high training difficulty and potential risk to others. For a second, I wondered if the system was just trying to scare me into selling him far below value. In the end, though, I was very pleasantly surprised. The system valued this particular hothead at a decent 1,350 Pokédollars, which was about five hundred more than I had expected in my most optimistic estimate. I didn't have to think twice and clicked accept on the touch panel immediately.
Next up was Exeggcute—that unexpected gift Houndoom had sniffed out and brought me. Here, of course, I expected a much higher sum. Psychic Pokémon were definitely more expensive and valued on the market. I would have liked a Psychic companion on my team myself... but given how Wartortle and Houndoom were drooling over it out of hunger, it wouldn't have been the best idea. And honestly, out of that entire type, I was only really interested in Alakazam or Espeon. Gardevoir would also be a decent and powerful choice, but I had serious concerns about her emotional disposition. This species had a deep-seated pacifism in its nature. Rough hunting, bloody battles, and uncompromising killing in the wild would be immense suffering for her, unless I got extremely lucky with a more aggressive specimen. Simply put, I much preferred Psychic Pokémon from the Kanto region.
When the final price tag of a staggering 5,500 Pokédollars popped up on the display, I clicked accept immediately. I didn't want to risk their automated system changing its mind or recalculating something...
I really need to find a nice way to reward Houndoom, I thought with a wide, satisfied grin.
"Thank you, the money will be credited to your account within a few minutes," the employee behind the counter announced with a tone of professional, perfectly practiced boredom. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Could you please quickly look up the current ballpark prices for Espeon and Abra?"
The clerk behind the counter immediately straightened up a bit, a wide smile spreading across his face. He had clearly caught the scent of a fat sale and his commission percentage. To cool him down right away and not keep him in suspense unnecessarily, I quickly added, "Just out of curiosity. I don't plan on buying either of them at the moment."
The smile vanished from his face instantly, and his shoulders slumped in disappointment. However, after a few quick taps on the keyboard, Espeon's profile appeared on the monitor anyway. According to the system, there were currently only two specimens available in the entire region. The cheapest of them cost a staggering 120,000 Pokédollars. But my attention was caught far more by a huge, glowing warning triangle right next to the photo than the astronomical sum itself. I knew, of course, that Psychic Pokémon were dangerous in general, but for their sale to be accompanied by such extreme precautions?
"Can I ask why they have such a prominent warning next to them?" I pointed at the screen.
"Hmm, one second, let me check the details," the clerk replied, clicking deeper into the internal records. Meanwhile, he continued in a lowered voice, "Psychic Pokémon are extremely dangerous on their own, and their final evolutions doubly so... Ah, here we go. According to official studies by Professor Oak and Professor Bill, Eevee only evolves into Espeon when it develops an exceptionally strong, almost empathetic bond with its trainer. And since we only have these two for sale in the system... there is an almost hundred-percent chance their original trainer met a tragic end. A Psychic Pokémon that has suddenly lost the human they were mentally anchored to is a walking time bomb. The thought of a complete stranger buying it now and trying to train it... I also see here that the League strictly requires a minimum of eight badges for purchase. So... shall we move on to Abra instead?"
"Yes, please," I nodded without hesitation.
Quite a few more Abras popped up on the screen. The selection was diverse, and the prices ranged from 22,000 to 35,000 Pokédollars depending on age, size, and auric energy. Thanks to Scyther, I currently had plenty of money in my account to get one without any trouble, but I didn't want to rush. I had five Pokémon on my team right now that I had to train conscientiously every day. It might not have seemed like it at first glance, but during these last few days when Aron did basically nothing but sleep, I still had my hands full with their training. Even though they all listened to me to the letter and did exactly what I ordered, constantly supervising them, thinking deeply about the structure of their training, preparing their food, and handling their individual needs... it was simply quite a lot for one person.
"Thank you very much for the information," I said politely to the employee, and with a firm step, I headed out of the building.
Right in front of the P.E.X. building, I pulled my Pokédex from my pocket and speed-dialed Professor Oak's direct number. As the Pokédex started ringing, I set off toward the bustling city center.
"Hello, Patrik!" Oak's energetic voice came from the device. "You won't believe it, but I was just thinking about you intensely a moment ago."
"Really?" I asked skeptically. But then I just shook my head in amusement and got straight to the point without further ado: "Espeon, or Alakazam?"
"Alakazam, without a shadow of a doubt!" the professor declared immediately and with absolute certainty.
"Are you saying that objectively, Professor? Or is your own Alakazam psychically forcing you to say it right now?"
"Hehe," Oak laughed into the Pokédex's microphone and immediately shifted into his classic lecturing tone, "Objectively speaking, Espeon is much friendlier. Its raw psychic power is admittedly a bit lower at first, but with hard, uncompromising training, it can climb to extremely high values that are almost comparable to Alakazam. However, in terms of thinking speed, strategic planning, and overall intelligence, Alakazam simply has no rival in this world. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is higher in Espeon—it is absolutely and boundlessly devoted to its trainer. Alakazam functions more as a cool, equal partner."
"Hmm, I feel like Espeon would probably be better for me in the long run," I remarked thoughtfully. "But with Eevee, it would be a total gamble with evolution... And buying an already evolved Espeon, like I just saw in the P.E.X. database, would be exceptionally dangerous given the death of its original trainer."
"Alakazam is, without any reservation, the best Psychic Pokémon in the world. I highly recommend it, Patrik," Oak insisted.
Through the digital transmission, I could hear the professor's amused grin so clearly that I could picture it vividly.
"Your Alakazam is definitely biased in this debate," I replied with a smirk.
"Well, that is true," the professor admitted, but then lowered his voice as if listening to something inside his head. "But he is telling me right now that, character-wise, you are a quite acceptable person. Except, according to him, you have clear signs of stupidity, and therefore urgently need to bring at least some real intelligence into your life... He suggests that, if you're interested, he can personally deliver one of his direct offspring to you."
"Wow, that's really nice of him," I declared, stopping dead in my tracks out of surprise. My brain whirred for a second before reality hit me. "Wait a minute. Did he really put it that relatively nicely, or did you diplomatically sugarcoat the telepathic translation for my sake?"
The only response I got was Oak's genuine, loud laughter. At that moment, I was a hundred percent sure that Alakazam had labeled me an intellectually deficient, single-celled worm in his head... even though the offer of an offspring was real.
"The offer still stands, Patrik. The Abra would, of course, be free. And since my Alakazam is exceptionally active these days... it is not the slightest problem to arrange for you to have her via transfer in Cerulean by tomorrow morning," the professor suggested with a smile.
"Thank you, Professor, I really appreciate it. I'll think about it," I replied cooperatively. "Not that it isn't an amazing offer, but right now I'm asking more out of theory. I have more than enough Pokémon to train at the moment, and I'd hate to jump into something so demanding without preparation."
I was already standing right in front of the massive glass doors of the Poké Mart, so I quickly added into the device, "Thanks for the offer, Alakazam. Signing off for now."
I hung up. That arrogant psychic genius might have basically insulted me, but... objectively speaking, compared to his brain capacity, I really was just some primitive worm in terms of intelligence. With a deep sigh and slight amusement, I pushed open the door and stepped into the Poké Mart.
As soon as I walked past the shelves, a smiling young man appeared beside me. Before he could even spit out his rehearsed offer of how he could help me, I straight up rattled off my list:
"Two standard Poké Balls, two Irons, and two Calciums, please. Thank you."
For a brief moment, he froze completely. He blinked in surprise, but within a fraction of a second, he snapped out of it professionally: "Right away, sir!"
With a broad smile, he immediately spun around and walked briskly toward a securely locked glass display case. Meanwhile, I slowly made my way straight to the main counter. I didn't even bother asking about any trainer discounts; there was no point. The clerk quickly and smilingly laid the expensive vitamins and Poké Balls on the counter and rang up everything I wanted.
The final total on the cash register's digital screen was a flat 8,200 Pokédollars. With a sigh, I tapped my Pokédex against the terminal. I was basically in the red for the day because of this purchase, but that was just the harsh life of a professional trainer. A powerful team didn't come cheap.
After paying and offering a brief word of thanks, I tucked the items into my backpack and headed straight for the Pokémon Center near the hotel. My stomach was starting to growl, and lunchtime was slowly approaching. A glance at my Pokédex showed exactly 11:40 AM. Right below the time, fresh bank notifications of account activity were lit up on the display, but I didn't even want to open those...
As I walked down the street, I fought a brief internal battle... but curiosity won in the end, and I opened the bank account anyway. I quickly ran my eyes over it. After today's successful sale of Mankey and Exeggcute, subtracting the purchase of expensive vitamins and Poké Balls, and also taking into account our alcoholic bender yesterday along with renting the hotel room, the display showed a grand total of 93,650 Pokédollars.
A decent nest egg. However, I still needed to buy high-quality feed for Aron, some special grooming products for Houndoom's coat, and, of course, a proper reward for how he had made me money. And if I ran into something interesting in the shops, I might pick up a little something for the others too... The main thing was not to get carried away and waste cash on some total bullshit I wouldn't actually need in reality.
I arrived at the Pokémon Center just after twelve. At that moment, I felt so brutally hungry I could have eaten a whole Tauros in one sitting. With a quick, brief nod toward Nurse Joy, I headed straight for the cafeteria.
Fortunately, since the kitchen here ran 24/7, I had never once found the cafeteria overcrowded. Thus, I easily found a table with enough space for myself and nearly my entire team. Naturally, I kept Aron in his Poké Ball.
The dining hall was only half full. A little way from me sat a rowdy group of trainers with their Pokémon. From a glance, they seemed to be roughly on my level, though visually they didn't look like much. While I loaded up on food—starting, of course, with large portions for my team, even though my hunger made me want to devour even Houndoom's raw, unseasoned, and unsalted meat—I had plenty of time to size up the rest of the room.
In practice, only two people caught my interest. First was a trainer sitting in the absolute back corner of the room. He had a small table to himself, and directly behind him stood a massive Charizard like a living, warning wall. The Fire-type Pokémon had its eyes tightly shut but remained on absolute high alert—its heavy tail whipped through the air from side to side with a rhythmic, quiet whoosh. An incredibly arrogant, almost haughty smirk was plastered across its face. His trainer looked genuinely tough. He was a lean, muscular guy with long hair and a thick beard. Exactly the kind of man who could look after himself in the wild without hesitation. He chewed his food calmly, having chosen the corner table entirely on purpose—so no one could surprise or ambush him from behind.
That dragon-like Pokémon is acting like we're all somehow lesser just because we're eating prepared food in safety instead of hunting it ourselves, I thought in amusement, looking at the Charizard. With its predatory appearance, it resembled a true mythical dragon much more than real Dragon-types did.
Suddenly, I felt an intense, unbroken gaze from somewhere to the side. However, I didn't fully notice who was watching me so intently until I finally sat down at the table with my plate. But when I turned my eyes in that direction, I only saw the hastily lowered face of a young female trainer. She wore a simple black baseball cap on her head and had a Bulbasaur by her leg. I was used to women checking me out—objectively speaking, I was a relatively attractive guy, and few missed my nearly two-meter stature—but here... something didn't fit. She was either extremely shy, or she was watching me for a completely different reason. And my gut told me it was definitely the latter. I couldn't see her face properly because of the cap, but right after that, another detail caught my eye. The girl was missing part of her left arm—from the elbow down.
But it wasn't my tragedy, nor was it my problem. I shrugged and finally dug into my massive portion of hot food with gusto.
As I cut and savored a classic, juicy steak—this time Pidgey meat, with mounds of rice and a fresh vegetable garnish—I kept my ears peeled, catching snippets of conversation from the next table. The louder group of trainers was currently talking excitedly about public battlefield fields right behind the North Pokémon Center. They were open to anyone, completely free, and judging by their thrilled tone and plans, the place was really popping these days.
In that split second, my schedule for today became crystal clear. No lounging around.
"We'll go buy food for Aron first, and then we'll move over to those fields right after. We're all going to fight," I announced in a low voice to my team at the table.
Machoke beside me nodded in agreement, although he was fully occupied stuffing his face, shoveling his portion down with his bare hands.
"Wartortle, War!" my Water-type declared fiercely and with determination. Houndoom reacted to his outburst only by contentedly and nonchalantly wagging his long tail—swiping Wartortle right across the head as if by complete accident.
"War... war!" Wartortle growled at him, offended and threatening, but Houndoom ignored him with utter indifference and continued tearing at his meat.
"Haunt!" Haunter chimed in supportively from my shadow.
It was high time for some proper, intense sparring. My official badge match against Misty was still a week away, and since my team had already safely mastered all the necessary basics—both physical and the fundamentals of auric manipulation—we could afford to jump into the action and gain some controlled experience right on the battlefield.
Author's note:
Well, everything we made from the sales at P.E.X., we immediately splashed on vitamins... being a professional trainer is one expensive grind!
What do you guys say to Alakazam's offer? Even though the spoon-wielder is a total bastard, the offer itself was actually pretty sweet. Getting the offspring of a champion-level Pokémon would be awesome.
I'm leaving this one up to you, dear readers—do we accept the free Abra, or do we pass? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
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