When the merchant recommended berries, Shiro happened to be thinking the same thing.
Berries were considered a more advanced kind of resource for Pokémon training, and none of them came cheap. The least expensive ones could cost tens of thousands, while the rare types could easily go into the hundreds of thousands or even more. But the benefits they brought to a Pokémon's growth were undeniable.
At the moment, the Pokémon under Shiro's care included Corvisquire, Haunter, Growlithe, Trapinch, Rhyperior, Dreepy, and Drakloak.
Aside from Rhyperior, who served more as a utility Pokémon and didn't need them, the others could all use one or two. Especially Corvisquire, who had been raised almost entirely with money and effort.
After hearing Shiro's request, the cloaked man gave a slight nod.
Ten minutes later, the transaction was complete.
Shiro spent five million Pokédollars from his monthly allowance and bought eleven berries. Three were for Corvisquire's Flying and Steel types. Two for Haunter's Ghost and Poison types. Two for Growlithe's Fire type. Two for Trapinch's Ground and Dragon types. And one each for Dreepy and Drakloak.
With the purchase done, Shiro stood up, packed his things, and opened the alloy door to leave the room.
Clang!
The door shut behind him, leaving only the cloaked merchant inside.
Moments later, a faint misty pink glow began to rise from the man's body. Psychic energy pooled and gathered upward, merging silently into the ceiling.
Had a Psychic-type Pokémon or a psychic human been watching from outside the building, they would've seen something bizarre. Hundreds of psychic waves were surging out from the middle floors of the building, intertwining and merging together, all seemingly branching out from a single source.
One of the psychic streams followed the building's specially constructed energy channel, heading straight to the top floor.
Rose's voice rang out at once. "What's the matter?"
The cloaked man, still seated in the quiet room, gave a full report on the transaction involving Shiro, and asked, "How should we handle these Pokémon?"
"Hmm..." Rose paused for a second, then replied, "The Stow-on-Side Gym already doesn't have much control over the town. And lately, they've even been selling off property for the Gym Challenge. Here's what we'll do. Return those Pokémon to Eldon, untouched, and talk it over with him. From now on, Stow-on-Side's management will fall directly under the League's authority."
"Understood, Chairman Rose."
After the conversation ended, all the psychic energy stretching outward from the room was instantly withdrawn.
...
Meanwhile, in the hallway on the fifteenth floor—
"Not bad," Shiro murmured, quite pleased after calculating his resources.
Once he got back, he planned to run everyone through intense training to absorb the new materials as quickly as possible. If all went well, in about half a month, he could return to the black market for another round of purchases.
But first, he needed to start working with his new Trapinch.
With that in mind, Shiro quickened his pace and took the elevator down to the ninth floor. After scanning his card to open a private training room, he stepped inside and released Corvisquire, Haunter, Growlithe, and the two Dragon-types.
"Today, we'll be welcoming a new teammate," Shiro announced as he took out Trapinch's Poké Ball.
He wasn't sure what kind of personality this one had, whether it would be easy to train, or how well it accepted humans.
After all, the B5 unit had just wiped out its entire family in the Sword and Shield ruins cave. If this Trapinch was still stubborn or resentful, Shiro would have no choice but to throw it back onto the market and buy a different promising Pokémon to raise from scratch.
"Coor..."
"Haaaun~"
The moment they saw the Poké Ball in Shiro's hand, Corvisquire and Haunter both tensed up.
Corvisquire wasn't sure how strong the newcomer was. If it turned out to be another powerhouse like Rhyperior or Drakloak, the pressure on it to improve would only grow heavier.
As for Haunter, it just didn't want its rank in the team to drop any lower. It was already being chased by a dog from behind. If another big shot showed up, it might end up second-to-last or even at the bottom.
While two Pokémon were both quietly concerned, Growlithe bounced forward with excitement, tail wagging furiously. It stood up on its hind legs and barked, urging Shiro to hurry up. It was eager to meet their new teammate.
Haunter's ghostly stare immediately shifted to the little pup.
"Haun, haun!" (Do you even know what you're so excited for?!)
But Growlithe didn't seem to hear a thing and kept barking cheerfully.
Haunter felt utterly hopeless over this little guy's complete lack of awareness. It floated over with a fake smile, gently scooped up Growlithe in front of Shiro, then turned around to start lecturing it.
"Haun, haunter..." (Listen, kid, you need to have a sense of competition and danger…)
"Growl!"
Growlithe tilted its head in confusion. It had no clue what the Ghost-type was going on about. When it saw Haunter's big shadowy face, it just grinned and gave it a big sloppy lick.
"Haaaun..."
Haunter instantly set the silly dog down, wiped the drool off its face with a claw, and sighed helplessly.
"Draaa! Draak~"
Just then, Drakloak called to get Shiro's attention, pulling his focus away from Haunter and Growlithe and back to the matter at hand.
"Oh, right. I still haven't let it out." Shiro gave a dry cough, then gently tossed the Poké Ball. "Come on out, Trapinch."
A flash of red light burst forth. In the center of the group, a round-headed Trapinch appeared.
It had a reddish-brown body and its oval-shaped head looked several times larger than the rest of it. Its short limbs were barely visible, and its white belly looked like it was wearing a baby's diaper.
"Haaaun!" (Isn't this just a baby?!)
Haunter immediately floated over, leaned right into Trapinch's face, and burst out laughing while holding its belly.
Still dazed, Trapinch looked around at the group of unfamiliar and powerful Pokémon surrounding it. It finally locked onto a target. With its big mouth wide open, it chomped down directly on Haunter's head.
"Haa! Haaaun!"
The sound had barely started when Drakloak floated over, looking worried. It was ready to use a move to rescue Haunter from those massive jaws.
"Hisss~"
But Haunter only grimaced for a second before laughing again. The side of its body caught in Trapinch's bite dissolved into black mist and slipped away.
Trapinch hadn't used any energy or moves. It had just instinctively bitten the thing closest to it.
Unfortunately for it, that kind of regular bite had no effect on Haunter at all. Its Ghost typing made it completely immune to normal attacks. On top of that, its Levitate ability meant Ground-type moves wouldn't work either.
Unless Trapinch used a Dark-type move at close range, Haunter was basically it's perfect counter.
Trapinch slowly opened and closed its jaws, clearly confused by what just happened.
It had spent its whole life sleeping underground. The moment it woke up, it got thrown into a small dark room, and now, suddenly, was surrounded by a bunch of strange giants.
Trapinch stood there, completely at a loss.
**
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