Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Tetsuya naturally wouldn't let Nidoking and Nidoqueen, two Pokémon that could never be part of his team, come and go as they pleased, as they might even hurt him if they escaped.

The only saving grace is that these two are still worth some price on the black market.

However, Tetsuya felt that he had been going to the black market too often in the past two months and needed to slow down.

"Is it really more appropriate to use it for resource exchange with Pewter City Gym?" he pondered.

Unfortunately, the profits obtained through the black market trading sprite are of dubious origin. It's alright now, but if the frequency or volume increases, he might get into trouble.

This was something Xiaogang had revealed to him on several occasions, intentionally or unintentionally.

He naturally understood this principle as well. Although the black market seemed to be a no-man's-land, the alliance actually held it firmly in its own hands.

If you were selling Caterpie or something similar, it wouldn't be a problem, since there's no guarantee anyone would buy it. But someone like him, who frequently trades powerful Pokémon for large sums of money, will inevitably be targeted sooner or later.

The exchange of resources with gyms sounds nice, but it's actually similar to buying and selling Pokémon, except that it exploits a loophole, and the League tacitly approves of it.

Although he was nominally a Pokémon trainer, in reality he only knew roughly where the Pokémon went, which was completely different from his handling of Rhyperior.

Furthermore, the requirements for Pokémon or resources in exchange at gyms are much higher than those at the black market; they won't accept anything less than that.

However, there was a way to deal with this. Tetsuya looked at the dark cave in front of him and wondered what was inside.

Commanding the Ironhide Rhyperior to go in first to scout ahead, it swaggered in. This wasn't the first time it had been to this place; before, when the two Nidoking and Nidoqueen weren't strong, it could easily overpower both of them with just one Pokémon.

It can be said that they have stormed into the enemy's lair several times.

Tetsuya, without changing his expression, took out night vision goggles from his bag and put them on. As for the issue of asking Blaziken for light earlier, he said it was just a routine matter of asking Blaziken to say hello.

He's a man with a photographic memory; how could he possibly forget that he brought night vision goggles?

In reality, he did forget. A photographic memory doesn't mean remembering everything clearly in one's mind; it simply means recalling things with exceptional clarity. There's a big difference between the two.

Following the armored tyrannosaurus rex into the cave, a dazzling light greeted our eyes.

Zhe also took off his night vision goggles in annoyance. No, these two elves are poisonous, right? Oh yes, they are indeed poisonous.

No, what he wanted to complain about was that the two of them insisted on making the area outside their nest pitch black, so that nothing could be seen, but the nest inside was full of fluorescent grass and fluorescent stones.

The eyes behind the night vision goggles were almost blinded by the light.

He sighed, finding it truly difficult to comprehend the elves' thought process.

Tetsuya began searching using the light, while the three spirits spread out around him to keep watch.

Blaziken stayed close by as a bodyguard, while Rockruff and Tyranitar each occupied a cave entrance to prevent any Pokémon from entering.

However, as the leader of this area, Nidoking and his group must still have some influence; they're just prioritizing stability above all else.

Donning a gas mask and disposable gloves, Tetsuya began rummaging through every corner of the cave.

"Hmm, not bad, first income, hard rock," he nodded in satisfaction.

This is a favorite of most Rock-type Pokémon. It is a special type of rock formed naturally, which can effectively replenish energy and enhance strength.

For mantle rocks, this is also the most abundant type of rock in its diet.

After estimating, the rock in my hand is enough for two days' worth of mantle rock meals, which is not bad. After all, Nidoking and the others don't eat rocks. I guess they collected it to occasionally reward their subordinates.

I threw the stone into my inventory; thankfully, I had enough space.

Tetsuya continued searching. With such a large cave, even without the Moon Stone, he estimated that he could still make some money this time.

He searched inch by inch, as if he wanted to turn the entire cave upside down.

Aha, found it! It really is this thing.

Tetsuya was very satisfied. His knowledge was not acquired casually; it was a summary of human understanding of wild spirits and common sense.

He tore off a small piece of green, glowing moss from a patch of fluorescent grass, and a look of delight spread across his face. Sure enough, the strange arrangement of this cave was due to this thing.

Chapter 102 Clearing (Part 2)

This is light moss, which often grows in the deep sea and in caves. When it is discovered, the surrounding environment is usually covered with fluorescent grass and fluorescent stones, making it very conspicuous.

Its effect is that long-term use can increase a Pokémon's resistance to Water-type moves. Although the effect is limited, it is still very useful for Pokémon of Rock, Ground, and Fire types.

Most of the Brilliant Moss currently comes from natural production in the wild, and trainers generally choose to use it themselves rather than sell it.

Furthermore, it is currently known that only one institution under Oak's Laboratory is capable of artificial breeding. Therefore, the market price remains high.

Tetsuya swept around and collected a bag full of moss.

After briefly feeling the weight, I realized that this isn't how Mantle Rock increases Water resistance, so only Blaziken needs it for now. This amount is barely enough for two months, which saves a lot of League Coins.

However, long-term use of moss is not just for two or three months, but for years. Fortunately, the amount taken was not too large, otherwise it would have been another huge drain on money.

Tetsuya continued to tossing things into his backpack, stubbornly searching the places he had just looked for again.

"Clay? Shouldn't there be clay present in the same place normally?"

He was talking to himself.

What Tetsuya is looking for now is the clay of light, a byproduct of the light moss, or rather, the two should be mutually symbiotic.

Its purpose is to quickly improve the sprite's mastery of light walls and reflective walls.

Generally speaking, there is light clay near light moss, but if you are unlucky, there may not be.

Finally, in a small corner, Tetsuya found a small piece of light clay. Fortunately, his luck wasn't too bad.

His face lit up with joy. Although this piece of Light Clay was only half the size of his palm, the Oak Laboratory offered a very high price for it.

Because they are symbiotic, the amount of light clay also affects the yield of light moss to some extent, and artificial cultivation requires it.

He carefully placed the clay of light into a box, closed the lid, and put it in his backpack. He was extremely satisfied; these alone were worth millions, not to mention what he would get next.

A fiery glint flashed in his eyes as Tetsuya walked toward a clearing that was clearly where King and Queen Nido lived, where a few rocks formed a resting area.

Upon closer inspection, two moonstones lay perfectly at the side.

"I've won! I've won!" he cried silently in his heart.

The Moon Stone has a very wide range of applications. Currently, there are six known Pokémon that require it to evolve: the powerful Nidoking and Nidoqueen, the Psychic-type Mewtwo, and the adorable Clefairy, Jigglypuff, and Elegant Cat.

The first three are powerful Pokémon that are popular among trainers, while the latter three are the type favored by coordinators and ladies of leisure.

Since most Pokémon that evolve using evolution stones do not have level requirements, even though the energy of Moon Stones cannot be used for absorption and strengthening, their price remains stable at a very high level.

Picking up the Moonstone, Tetsuya began a simple test himself while summoning Zero to check its energy concentration.

The quality of 76 and 77 is average, so he wasn't disappointed. After all, it's impossible to encounter evolution stones of the same high quality as the Fire Stone every time.

Furthermore, when Nidoking and Nidoqueen evolved using the Moon Stones they obtained, they would definitely have subconsciously chosen the two stones with higher energy concentrations.

Those two guys actually obtained 5 Moon Stones back then, which would make them billionaires among humans.

Tetsuya said that the other two were lucky, but he was just luckier.

With a wide grin, he put the two moonstones into his backpack, then looked around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

Okay, no.

It's perfectly normal that there are no Nidoking or Nidoqueen offspring eggs in the nest.

According to the research findings of Oak's laboratory, Nidoqueen and Nidorina in their degenerate form sacrificed their reproductive abilities in exchange for offensive capabilities in order to protect their offspring, thus rendering them unable to lay eggs.

This means that if Nidoran wants to have offspring, she must do so while she is still Nidoran.

This is why you often see Nidoran and Nidoran cuddling together in the wild.

Fortunately, even after Nidoran evolves into Nidorino, its size isn't that big. If it were Nidoking, it would be quite an eyesore.

This is why Tetsuya was somewhat surprised when he saw Nidoking and Nidoqueen being happy last time.

Of course, that's their freedom, and he can't control it. However, Nido's body is covered with hard, thorn-like scales, and when she's excited, her hands stand up. Tetsuya, for one, finds this process hard to imagine.

They emerged from the cave with the three Pokémon. The gains this time were quite good, mainly due to the Moon Stone. With the Moon Stone, many problems could be solved.

............

Inside the Pewter Gym, Brock looked at Tetsuya with surprise, "Weren't you at the Pokémon Research School? Why are you back all of a sudden?"

"I only have classes in the morning or afternoon, the rest of the time is very free," Tetsuya replied casually.

"I made a pretty good trip to Mount Tsukimi this time." His joy was almost overflowing.

"Oh?" Xiao Gang raised an eyebrow slightly.

Tetsuya pulled out three Poké Balls from his waist, pointed to two of them and said, "These two are Nidoking and Nidoqueen, elite-level strength. Their potential was forcibly evolved with a Moon Stone too early, so it may be nearing its limit. Can you help me solve this?"

"This is just a Tyranitar. We'll test its potential later. If it's okay, it'll be my second team of Pokémon, staying with the gym."

He certainly couldn't say that he already knew about the potential of these three.

Xiao Gang nodded slightly, "Okay, these three are quite useful, but you can just tell the logistics department about this, you don't need to tell me."

He certainly understood what the so-called solution and storage meant, but there was no need to ask him, the young master, for such matters.

"Of course not." Tetsuya gave Kogoro a disdainful look. "Do you think my standards for a good harvest are that low?"

He pulled two moonstones out of his backpack. "This is the real prize of this haul."

"Moonstones, huh? But how come there are only two?" Xiao Gang's words were full of disdain for Tetsuya's luck.

Without slowing down, he quickly took the two Moon Stones from Tetsuya's hands.

Even for a large organization like the Pewter Gym, located next to Mt. Tsukimi, the Moon Stone is not something easily obtained.

After all, as a byproduct of a meteorite landing, its quantity is quite rare. You know, in the atmosphere, some small meteorites cannot escape Rayquaza's attack and are broken into fragments before they even hit the ground.

"What do you plan to do with these two moonstones?"

Xiao Gang asked Tetsuya.

Chapter 103 Cephalopod Fossil

"It's not certain yet." Zhe ignored the Moon Stone that Xiaogang had taken and walked to the side to pick up a glass of water and drink it.

Anyway, Xiao Gang wouldn't steal his things.

"Unsure?" Xiao Gang asked, puzzled. "Then why did you give it to me?"

"I'll leave it with you for now," Tetsuya said casually as he sat down.

Xiao Gang's head was filled with black lines. "I'm not your warehouse. What's the deal with you throwing things here every day?"

As he said this, he walked to the side, opened his small storage room, and threw in two moonstones.

Tetsuya glanced inside and saw that, apart from his Leaf Stone, it was filled with rare items.

Xiao Gang cautiously closed the small warehouse door, saying, "Don't try anything with me!"

Tetsuya shook his head without replying, and drank the water in his hand in one gulp: "Alright, I'm leaving. I've left the spirit on the table. As for the Ironclad Tyrannosaurus, I've already told them beforehand, so they have no objections. I'll leave the rest to you."

Before Xiaogang could react, Zhe walked out the door.

He was exasperated. As he picked up the three Poké Balls and walked toward the testing room, he muttered, "Why do I always feel like a babysitter when you're doing this?"

In other words, Zhe didn't hear it. If he had, he would definitely have complained. Judging from his appearance in the anime, he really is Ash's babysitter.

........

Tetsuya was on his way back to the Pokémon Research School.

Big Wood Research Institute.

A researcher dressed in white knocked on the door and said, "Dr. Yamanashi, there's a package for you."

"Anghui, alright, just put it on the table," Dr. Yamanashi replied without turning his head, looking at the data on the computer in front of him.

The researcher named Ang Hui glanced helplessly at the messy table, which was covered with cup noodles, lollipop sticks, and various dessert wrappers, making it look extremely cluttered.

He reluctantly cleared out a space, placed the package on it, and then left.

As for cleaning up, don't be ridiculous. His own office and his colleagues' offices are in the same state. When they're busy with research, they don't care about these things.

Anyway, someone will come to clean it regularly, so you don't need to worry about it yourself.

Dr. Yamanashi remained oblivious to the researcher's departure and continued working busily.

"Bah."

The door opened. "Senior, have your data come out yet?"