Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

"Absolutely." The man with the mustache patted his thin chest, making a "bang" sound.

He then carefully took out two sealed metal boxes from the cabinet. Once opened, a rich, subtle fragrance immediately filled the entire shop.

The unicorns hidden under Xia Yan's cloak caught a whiff of this scent and became restless.

The energy cubes in the box were crystal clear, full, and perfectly formed, without any visible impurities. Each one was almost identical, indicating that the craftsmanship was extremely fine and the person who made these two sets of energy cubes was highly skilled.

"Hehe, these two high-grade energy cubes are both made by Master Suzuki, the master breeder of Golden City. They are highly sought-after quality in the entire Golden City. You're just lucky that you came a little late..." the mustachioed man boasted.

Xia Yan interrupted him: "Price."

You can't believe a single word these black market dealers say. Just because they claim something is from a master doesn't mean it really is.

The quality of the energy cube is good, with a purity much higher than that of the intermediate energy cube, but it's not necessarily the top quality among the advanced energy cubes.

Xia Yan's reading of books during this period wasn't all for nothing.

"The price... 150 Alliance Coins each." The man with the mustache put away his smile, emphasizing his "sincereness."

"Too expensive." Xia Yan shook his head.

"Where is it expensive!" The mustache-wearing man's beard was practically flying off as he glared.

"This is a perfect combination of Bug and Poison type energy. If you take it for a long time, it can at least improve your Pokémon's mastery of Bug and Poison type energy by one level. It is said that many Pokémon have even learned new moves after taking it."

This one, while leaning more towards the Poison type, has a more pronounced effect. Consuming it regularly can significantly increase the toxicity of Poison-type Pokémon. It's made from very precious berries and various other materials.

This price is not expensive at all!

This time, he argued his case logically.

“The price of a regular high-grade energy cube on the market is usually around 120. Although yours is of good quality, it’s too expensive,” Xia Yan said confidently.

"This is Master Suzuki..."

"Master Suzuki, a registered senior breeder in the Alliance and vice president of the Goldenrod City Breeders Guild, specializes in the purification and crystallization of tree fruit energy. Energy cubes made by him will have unique patterns on the surface from the crystallization process, and spiral-shaped markings inside. But these two of yours are from mechanical refinement..."

The recipe for crafting advanced energy blocks is almost unique to each breeder.

Furthermore, each breeder has a different production method, which will result in some subtle differences in the energy blocks produced.

Master Suzuki happens to be a very iconic figure among them, and a celebrity among the breeders in Golden City. Among the many books that Xia Yan had bought before, there were books written by him, which analyzed and dissected his special techniques and methods, explaining their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, Xia Yan was very clear about them.

Looking at the dazed-looking man with the mustache, Xia Yan said with a hint of mockery, "Do you want me to give more examples?"

The man with the mustache opened his mouth, then smiled somewhat awkwardly, "I didn't expect to run into someone who knows what's what."

Xia Yan remained unmoved and said calmly, "High-grade energy cubes that balance insect and poison types are 130 each, give me 150. Mid-grade fluorescent energy cubes are 35 each, give me 100."

The replacement of energy blocks should ideally be done gradually; sudden changes may cause discomfort to the sprites.

"I......"

"If they can do it, I'll take it; if not, I'll find another company."

Xia Yan was too lazy to listen to anything else he had to say, and directly stated his ideal price.

When doing business with them, you can't be too weak, otherwise you'll easily be taken advantage of again and again.

Ten minutes later.

Xia Yan left the shop satisfied, leaving the man with the mustache sitting there somewhat dazed.

I haven't been this humiliated in a long time.

Although he made a profit, why does he feel so unwilling to accept it?

"Let's see who knows so much about energy cubes." He muttered to himself, not knowing who he was talking to, and no one responded.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Street Fighting

I spent 23,000 Alliance Coins just to buy Power Cubes.

It is evident how much money is required to raise Pokémon, especially to raise them to a high standard.

This isn't even the highest quality or the absolute best. Compared to those who truly invest huge sums of money in training Pokémon, Xia Yan's is just...

Sprinkle some water.

The unicorn beetle ate two special tree fruits, molted once, and not only did its size increase, but its appetite also increased.

This is a good thing for it and Xia Yan. The increased appetite means that it can absorb more energy, which can accelerate its absorption of Bug and Poison energy. However, it may not be a good thing for Xia Yan's wallet.

"It's a good thing I didn't try to capture a second Pokémon, otherwise I wouldn't have had the extra resources to train it."

He sighed inwardly.

With his current abilities, the key is to focus on training one Pokémon. While having more Pokémon would give him more leeway, it would definitely take away some of the resources that should have been used to train Weedle.

Weedle's talent is no weaker than other Pokémon. If we nurture it with all our might, we will surely reap the corresponding rewards.

"There are two more things, but before that..."

Leaving the northern part of the black market, we entered the relatively quiet streets of the eastern part.

I went to several stores selling books about Pokémon and bought a lot of books and materials that are not normally available on the market.

As he left the last bookstore, Xia Yan suddenly turned and entered a small alley in the East District.

And not long after he entered.

Another person, hidden under a cloak, followed them inside.

"Paras, where is he?"

Following Xia Yan into the alley, Zuo Shang looked at the fork in the road in front of him and didn't know which way to go, so he could only ask his spirit.

"Pila hiss~~" Paras on the ground slightly sensed the humidity in the air and the spores it was spreading, and pointed to an alley on the left side of the three-way intersection.

Zuo Shang hesitated slightly.

Xia Yan's sudden action made him wonder if he had been discovered.

But after hesitating for a moment, he quickly followed.

Paras's spores are very tiny and not easy to find. This trick has worked for him time and time again and is also his way of surviving in the Golden City black market.

He works for the shop, collects the sold goods, and keeps any surplus profits.

There is a group of people like him in the black market who specifically target those customers.

His Paras will plant spores in these guests; if the spores are discovered, he abandons the relationship; if they are not discovered, it means the guest is not strong...

As I walked, the alley in front of me turned into a dead end.

Meanwhile, Zuo Shang saw a small spore in the corner at the end of the alley, which was trying hard to sprout roots after touching the ground.

"Oh no!" A sudden chill ran down my spine.

He immediately called out, "Paras!"

Whoosh whoosh—

But before he could even speak, three poison needles with a purple glow shot out from an inconspicuous gap in the alley behind him.

He went straight through the cloak and disappeared into Zuo Shang's body.

"Hiss!!" Paras exclaimed in surprise.

Turning my head, I saw a large unicorn beetle slowly crawling out of the crevice, its small eyes revealing a coldness.

Sasami fell heavily to the ground and remained motionless.

But then, from the other end of the alley, the sound came again.

"Unicorn, use your poison stinger again, aim for his head."

It was Xia Yan. He stepped out from around the corner and stood in the shadows, rubbing a tiny spore in his hand.

The green of that curtain was rather unusual.

"Wait! It's a misunderstanding!"

No sooner had Xia Yan finished speaking than Zuo Shang, who was lying on the ground, jumped up, looking terrified.

Why not play by the rules?

Seeing that he had stopped moving, shouldn't you have come up to collect the spoils, only to be killed by him after he pretended to be dead?

Xia Yan, whose eyes shone brightly in the shadows, ignored the other's words and shouted again, "Unicorn Bug!"

"Waaah!"

The unicorn understood, and fired three more poisonous needles, this time aiming at Zuo Shang's head.

Xia Yan's meaning was quite clear.

Since this Zuo Shang was following me suspiciously and left spores on me, he must have ill intentions. There was no need to hold back against such a person.

If the unicorn hadn't noticed the spores on his body, it's easy to guess what would have happened next without even thinking.

Instead of waiting for others to make a move, it's better to strike first.

Damn it!

Sasuke stared wide-eyed, feeling the stinging pain on his back—it was a poisoned needle.

At the same time, he was shocked. He knew that he always wore protective gear to prevent being ambushed by elves, and he had already killed many inexperienced "guests" with this trick.

But it was clearly just a unicorn beetle, yet its venomous stinger seemed poised to pierce through the protective barrier; the tip had already broken through the barrier and pierced his skin.

The toxin is spreading.

"Paras! Paralyzing powder!"

Paras, who was lying on the ground, leaped up and blocked the poison needle. At the same time, the two mushrooms on his back trembled slightly and sprayed out a large amount of crystal clear green fine powder, which scattered in the small alley.

But Paras, who had been hit by the poison needle, let out a scream and fell heavily to the ground.

Weedle's poison sting is not easy to withstand, especially for Bug and Grass-type Pokémon like Paras, which are completely countered by Weedle.

Both Bug-type and Poison-type moves can deal double damage to it.

Seeing Paras fall to the ground, the unicorn remained unmoved and shot another poisonous needle from the sharp horn on its head, aiming at Zogami's head at a very tricky angle.