Just like Reiji had said earlier—he had just made a massive profit. If he started haggling over small purchases now, that slippery little manager might start getting suspicious. He'd only just managed to bluff the man; better not cause unnecessary trouble.

He began calculating how many Pokéblocks would be appropriate. He had six Water-type Pokémon and two Bug-types.

Water-types consumed Pokéblocks three times faster than Bug-types, so he needed three times as many for them.

After a bit of mental math, Reiji gave the order to the salesgirl: "Five hundred boxes each of premium and fine Water Pokéblocks. And three hundred boxes of premium Green Pokéblocks."

"Yes, sir! You, go fetch the stock," the salesgirl barked at her underlings. With a purchase that size, her commission was going to be fat. She also whispered to the group to bring out the best quality stock.

None of the cheap stuff they usually tried to pass off—this was a Gold Card customer. If he got upset over inferior goods, they'd be the ones taking the fall. She wasn't about to risk that.

Reiji didn't pay attention to her little maneuver. Instead, he turned his gaze to the MooMoo Milk and asked, "Four hundred bottles of MooMoo Milk. Sixty bottles of standard milk."

"Yes, sir! You, go grab the milk," the salesgirl again sent her helpers running. Then she turned back to Reiji, smiling sweetly. "MooMoo Milk is six hundred per bottle. Regular milk is two hundred."

Reiji nodded faintly. As expected, cheaper than the department store. Might as well stock up while he was at it.

Then he thought of the specialty Pokémon snacks used by poachers. He pulled one out of his bag and asked, "Do you have exclusive snacks for Water-types? Like this?"

"Yes, sir," she replied immediately, pointing to a shelf. "Each bag weighs ten pounds. 1000 per bag. What type would you like, and how many?"

Reiji thought for a moment. "Fifty bags of Bug-type. Two hundred of Water-type."

"Yes, sir." By now, the salesgirl was numb. She simply nodded and kept issuing orders. Facing a whale of a customer like this, she had to go all in and sell as much as possible.

Reiji wanted to fully enjoy the experience of spending like a rich man. Sure, forty-one million was a lot, but only in the context of minor stuff like this.

The moment it came to Pokémon, items, or evolution stones, he'd be back to reality fast.

"Do you have food for Rock-types?" he asked. The only one left was the dopey Rhyhorn. He wasn't sure if this place had minerals for sale.

"Yes, sir. We carry mineral-rich ores. The price is 14000 Pokédollars per ton. We recommend thirty tons—it fills a ten-cubic-meter bag, and you get a free ten-cubic-meter storage backpack with it."

"Alright. Give me the thirty tons." Reiji bought the whole batch and mentally calculated how long it'd last. If Rhyhorn ate one to two hundred pounds a day, this would last him a year.

"In addition to ores, we also carry food items designed for Rock-types. Would you like to take a look?" the salesgirl offered, seizing the chance to upsell.

"What kind of food?" Reiji asked curiously. He wasn't sure what else Rock-types could eat aside from rocks.

She pointed toward a shelf lined with multicolored rice-ball-like items that looked more like fancy dirt.

"These are Ore Lures. They're made from Hardened Ore blended with various minerals and powdered Smooth Rock. They're beneficial for Rock-types that know Sandstorm or similar moves. They help Pokémon better learn and improve Rock-type techniques. 5000 Pokédollars apiece."

Reiji picked one up to check the info.

Ore Lure: A blend of Hardened Ore and various minerals. Contains a small amount of Smooth Rock powder. Highly attractive to Grass- and Rock-type Pokémon.

"I'll take two hundred," he said. He knew Smooth Rock was a held item that extended the duration of Sandstorm. Here it was processed into food—he wasn't sure if Rhyhorn would like it, but it was worth a try.

"Yes, sir. Already being fetched," the salesgirl confirmed. "Would you like to see some gems that boost Rock-type energy?"

She held out a velvet box with a brown gem that gleamed like a polished jewel.

"What's this?" Reiji was immediately intrigued. It looked just like something he'd seen on the island—just with a different typing.

"This is a Rock Gem. It contains rich Rock-type energy. Would you like one?"

"The price?" he asked while inspecting it. The description popped up.

Rock Gem: A small gem filled with potent Rock-type energy. Extremely attractive to Rock-type Pokémon. (Purity: 65.81%)

"300.000 Pokédollars each," she replied.

"Do you have Water Gems?" Reiji thought of Krabby. The little guy was about ready to evolve, and a Water gem might be useful.

As for Rhyhorn, he might as well eat one of these gems—no other Pokémon could handle that.

"Yes, sir. How many of each would you like?"

"Three each of Water, Rock."

With food taken care of, it was time to move on to held items.

"Show me Water-type items."

"Would you like to see Water Stones or Mystic Water?" she asked.

"Any high-grade Water Stones?" Reiji asked again, hoping he'd have better luck here than at the regular shop.

"Apologies, sir. We don't carry high-grade Water Stones."

"Even here?" Reiji was surprised. So whoever had snatched them up must've cleaned out even the black market.

He was disappointed, but he let it go. "Do you have Mystic Water suitable for Elite-level?"

"Only Elite-level Mystic Water, I'm afraid. Would you still like to see it?"

"Yes, show me." Reiji actually only needed an Elite-tier one, but had asked for higher grade just to maintain appearances. Turns out even this place didn't have the top-tier stuff.

The salesgirl opened a blue box and revealed a Mystic Water that sparkled more brilliantly than the one he saw at the regular store.

Mystic Water: Boosts the power of Water-type moves when held. (Power Increase: 20%, Grade: 51.92%)

"This one costs seven million," she said carefully. She wasn't allowed to bargain at that price level.

"What about the standard and fine-grade ones?" Reiji asked.

"Standard Mystic Water is just a few hundred thousand. It doesn't boost baby Pokémon much. Fine-grade is two million."

"Alright. Let your manager know—I'll take this Elite one for six million."

"Yes, sir." She could only smile bitterly. Gold Card customers couldn't be denied. She began wrapping it up.

"Oh, and five Heal Balls, five Dive Balls, one Net Ball," Reiji added, thinking it was time to give his Pokémon some new homes.

"Yes, sir," she nodded, signaling her assistants to retrieve the requested Poké Balls. Then she turned back. "Would you like to look at any other items?"

"Do you have any Pokémon training manuals without severe side effects?"

"Yes, sir. There are three main types of training manuals on the market. First are beginner-level ones. Second are the ones with significant side effects."

"Third are those that require special secret medicine to learn specific techniques. These are almost never found on the market. If they do show up, they're instantly snapped up. If you want to study advanced training or battle tactics, I recommend finding a club in the city or a skilled mentor…"

"Take me to see the Pokémon lineup. Got any starters?" Reiji cut in, already understanding the deal.

Advanced training knowledge was still heavily monopolized.

The League only publicly shared beginner training methods to break up traditional knowledge monopolies held by powerful families. That had led to the rise of clubs, Gym Leaders, and battle culture.

But that was the limit. As he'd said before, the average Trainer could only hope to reach pseudo-Elite rank.

The things being monopolized weren't just knowledge—rare Pokémon, valuable resources, and more were all hoarded.

And the ones doing the hoarding were likely Elite-four and Champion-level Trainers—not just a few, but an entire class.

Was there knowledge on how to raise Pokémon to Elite four-level? Of course. But the League wasn't making it public. There had to be a reason.

Most likely, the resistance was immense.

But those were high-level power struggles—League elites vs. local factions. What did any of that have to do with a nobody like him?

He wasn't ready to be part of that game.

Frankly, he didn't even want to.

He had enough to worry about just keeping himself alive.

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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