Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Looking up at the cloudless sky, it seemed as if a thin layer of haze shrouded the entire Golden City.

"I left too late. I wonder if Daigo and Cynthia have left yet."

I took out my phone and opened the Frankenstein's monster app that Daigo had installed for me.

Xia Yan: Have you left?

Daigo, who loves stones: I'm already on the plane.

User 1886xxxx8: Hmm.

Daigo, who loves stones: What's wrong? Is something the matter?

Xia Yan: No, have a safe trip.

Daigo, who loves stones: Remember to come visit Hoenn.

User 1886xxxx8: Thank you.

Put your phone away.

"So, the first group to leave must have actually left. I should have gone with them..."

Xia Yan rubbed his hair with a hint of helplessness.

The alliance has definitely blocked information about the true situation in Golden City at this time.

"We need to know the specifics first."

I hailed a taxi.

He needs to gather some intelligence and information before he can decide what to do next.

Old Bill, the bar's owner, was an intelligence dealer, but his previous experience made it impossible for him to go near that bar again. He could only look for any news on the black market.

They skillfully navigated the black market tunnels.

Wearing a black robe and a mask, Xia Yan once again arrived at the black market.

The changes in the black market added to his already heavy heart.

There are fewer people, but more security personnel in the black market.

You can see two or more security squads on the streets at any time.

They went directly to the intelligence office.

The intelligence station, which usually has the lowest foot traffic, is now the place with the most people.

"Buying Golden City intelligence? One thousand Alliance Coins, just take it from the table."

As soon as he entered, a man sitting by the door smoking glanced at Xia Yan and said something.

You can see stacks of booklets on the table. Everyone who comes in simply throws a thousand Alliance Coins on the table, takes a booklet, and leaves.

'Those information brokers certainly know how to do business...'

He muttered a curse to himself, then placed a thousand Alliance Coins on the table and left with the booklet.

On my way out of the intelligence agency, I casually flipped through its contents.

'As expected, the League has sealed off the city. Has the number of wild Pokémon gathering around Goldenrod City reached this level? Some people have even spotted elite-level wild Pokémon, and it's not impossible that some are even at the rank of elite...'

It's no longer possible to force our way out.

Xia Yan might be able to hold his own against an elite-level wild Pokémon by cooperating with his Pokémon, but if he encounters a qualified-level Pokémon, especially one with a violent personality, he won't survive.

'So many wild elves, and not all of them are solitary; there are even more groups... Has there been a riot?'

The booklet also includes a map of Goldenrod City and its surrounding area, highlighting several locations and directions where elite-level Pokémon might exist.

With two Elite Four members and so many League Trainers in charge, safety in Goldenrod City shouldn't be a major concern. However, leaving will likely require the League to completely resolve this matter...

At least the city of Golden City is still safe, and Xia Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As the largest city and economic center in the Kanto region, Goldenrod City is one that the Alliance cannot afford to abandon.

If a truly uncontrollable situation arises, the alliance will likely send someone in.

“So… I’ll have to stay here for a while longer,” Xia Yan murmured.

Then, as if remembering something, he strode towards the elf food sales area.

really.

Many stores have had nearly half of their shelves emptied, which were once filled with a dazzling array of goods.

"They're all people who live on the edge, their sense of danger is really sharp..."

Xia Yan did not hesitate.

They spent 200,000 Alliance Coins to buy a large number of Beedrill and Advanced Energy Cubes for Casey to eat.

This amount should be enough to feed them for about a month.

With what's left over from before, we should be able to hold out until this matter is over.

The energy blocks in Pokémon are a bit tricky.

However, Xia Yan is also preparing to try making energy cubes himself.

I spent 300,000 Alliance Coins to buy a fairly basic set of Energy Cube crafting tools.

This includes multiple aspects such as the decomposition, separation, blending, and shaping of tree fruits and materials.

Then, I spent another 200,000 Alliance Coins to buy a whole bunch of different kinds of tree fruits and auxiliary materials.

You don't know until you buy it, and once you do, you realize that being a pet breeder is a really expensive profession.

The various tools and materials alone represent a significant expense.

There's no guarantee that the creation will be successful, but the combined energy block effect can meet the requirements.

But there's no way around it; if you don't want to lose at the starting line, Togepi's fairy attribute is an insurmountable obstacle.

Fortunately, items related to fairy attributes are not very valuable at the moment, and Xia Yan prepared quite a lot to prevent too many failures.

Suddenly, most of the assets that had been painstakingly saved up were depleted.

Before leaving.

Xia Yan went to the elf shop again.

What should have been the busiest street has now become the most deserted place.

"Sir, what kind of spirit do you need?"

With fewer customers, even the staff's attitude has improved considerably.

"Hu Hu." Xia Yan said directly.

The pot is such a wonderful creature, it's hard to describe in a few words.

It's weak, you could say.

However, there are actually many strategies that can transform this Pokémon. A single Power Trick swaps its physical attack and defense, followed by Shell Smash to buff itself, and it can completely transform into a fierce, fragile assassin.

Alternatively, a contrarian jar with Poison, Sleep, Power Sharing, Shell Break, and Gooey Web would be disgusting enough.

But let's say it's strong.

Actually, what this kind of elf is most famous for seems to be its ability to decompose tree fruits.

Unfortunately, Xia Yan has not encountered a single pot yet.

This time I'm going to try making my own energy cube, but I can only buy one to use as a tool for now.

An awkward expression flashed across the staff member's face. "These kinds of spirits, like Potpot, are not easy to find, so..."

"No?" Xia Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! But the price..."

Xia Yan almost swore after glancing at the booklet handed to him by the staff.

What does it mean that scarcity increases value?

That's it.

A Shuttle with the "Strong and Robust" trait that has just reached the "Experienced" level costs 300,000 Alliance Coins!

Just thinking that if someone had the strength of a senior-level expert, they might be able to play a role in the battle, Xia Yan gritted his teeth.

"I bought it!"

Chapter Sixty-One Selection

Today's Golden City can be summed up in one word.

Not quite.

Xia Yan currently only has Beedrill at the Senior level that is reasonably strong, while his Superior level Togepi can only serve as a support. Casey has only recently finished its growth stage and its strength is only at the Qualified level, so his combat strength is indeed somewhat worrying.

Buying a seasoned Shuckle, even if it's a Pokémon with a severely flawed personality bought from the black market, can still be a viable means of self-defense during this period.

Moreover, the pot's main function is in creating energy blocks.

that's it.

For the first time, Xia Yan spent a whopping one million Alliance Coins on this trip to the black market.

If it weren't for the 100,000 yen hiring fee from Daigo and the 200,000 yen thank-you fee from Cynthia, we wouldn't have been able to cover this expense.

When he turned around, he only had a little over 200,000 yuan left.

He only managed to maintain a profit of over 200,000 after selling all the Pokémon he caught last time.

'Raising Pokémon is too expensive. Luckily, Steven should be able to sell the Dark Stone for me soon, otherwise, given the current situation in Goldenrod City, I wouldn't even be able to go out and farm money...'

Xia Yan couldn't help but sigh.

This is only assuming he only bought some Pokémon food; he doesn't have the ability to buy any more Pokémon-specific skill books.

'No, we need to hurry up with the publication of the paper and try to get a few titles first. That way, the royalties for each paper published will be much higher.'

Xia Yan sighed to himself as he left the black market.