The fossil Pokemon came one after another. Kabuto went first at a respectable eighty-five million to a quiet researcher from Johto.
Omanyte followed, snatched up by Professor Elm for one hundred twenty million after a short but intense back-and-forth.
Anorith drew more interest because of its unique Bug typing, eventually selling for one hundred forty million to a collector who specialized in ancient insects.
Each fossil brought a fresh wave of excitement. Then there was a repeat of each of the fossil Pokemons.
Mega evolution stones appeared between the fossils like sharp surprises. Many of the main researchers of the regions managed to snatch at least one fossil for their labs. Professor Oak stood out the most. The old man had quietly but relentlessly bid on every fossil species.
By the time the fifth one closed, he had secured one of each, Kabuto, Omanyte, Aerodactyl, Anorith, and Lileep. The total came to more than a billion Pokedollars.
Gladion watched Oak's booth number flash again and again. He thought to himself with genuine respect. 'Well, if I would expect anyone to be this rich outside of me or Steven, it would be him. Dude gets royalty from every single Pokedex sold across multiple regions. Dude was the former first Champion of Indigo. He runs breeding programs that supply half the starters in Kanto. He is one of the most respected researchers alive. And who knows what other businesses he quietly runs behind the scenes. He surely has some very deep pockets.'
Gladion allowed himself a small smile as he brought up the next item. He knew this one would ignite the room. He had saved it deliberately for the middle of the auction when energy was high but wallets still felt full.
"The next item is a Charizardite," Gladion announced.
The screen behind him showed a real photograph of a massive mega Charizard. Its scales had turned jet black. Blue flames burned along its wings. Its eyes glowed with fierce power. This was an actual photo of a mega evolved Pokemon. The rest of them were showed as sketches.
Gladion could almost hear the conversations happening behind the closed doors since the only one to have a known Pokemon with a mega evolution was Gladion and his Tyranitar.
"I am sure you are wondering whose Charizard that is," Gladion continued, pride clear in his voice. "Well, do you even have to ask? Of course it is my mom's, the Fire Witch of Kanto's Charizard. And she achieved mega evolution even before me and Colossus."
"The starting bid is one hundred million Pokedollars," Gladion said.
The number was high on purpose. Charizard was the original Kanto starter for many trainers. It was the most popular. Everyone knew its power. The bid screen exploded immediately. One hundred ten million. One hundred twenty. One hundred fifty.
Gladion watched the numbers climb with quiet amusement. To his surprise, Lance's booth entered the fray. Lance raised against booth nineteen, the Blackthorn elder.
The two went head-to-head. Lance pushed to two hundred million. The elder countered at two hundred twenty. Lance raised again. The elder matched. Gladion's eyebrow lifted slightly.
'Oh now this is interesting,' he thought. 'Lance having a bidding war against his own clan mate. Is this something to throw others off, or maybe there really is some internal strife in the Blackthorn Clan? Something to investigate later.'
Then a new player jumped in. Booth number forty-two. Gladion recognized it instantly.
'Ah, so Grandpa Blaine is finally getting into it as well. Let's hope that bastard does not manage to buy it.'
The three-way war pushed the price higher.
In the end, the Blackthorn elder refused to back down. The final bid landed at seven hundred fifty million Pokedollars.
"Sold to booth number nineteen for seven hundred fifty million Pokedollars," Gladion said.
The next item appeared on the screen. Kangaskhanite.
The bid started at fifty million. It jumped quickly to one hundred. Then booth number twenty-five, Giovanni, raised to one hundred fifty.
But someone immediately countered. Booth number fifty-one pushed to one hundred eighty.
Gladion's eyes narrowed slightly in satisfaction. Booth fifty-one belonged to Kai. His assistant had disguised himself with a Ditto transformation. To the cameras and the future broadcast audience, the bidder would appear as a nondescript middle-aged man from some hidden clan within the forests.
'Yeah, there is no way I am going to just give Giovanni and his Team Rocket a power-up in the form of mega evolution this easy,' Gladion thought.
Giovanni kept raising. Kai matched him every time. The price climbed fast for a Kangaskhanite. Most people did not really have a kangaskhan so not many were interested in it. In fact, Giovanni would have gotten it for a bargain if not Kai.
Gladion watched the numbers carefully. 'Well, I should signal Kai to stop now.'
The bid reached six hundred million. That was already a ridiculous amount for Kangaskhan.
Of course, Gladion could have let Kai win. He could have driven the price even higher and then made Giovanni backdown. But he rejected the idea almost immediately.
Giovanni could always find other mega stones. While Gladion was sure it would not be that easy to find a mega evolution stone lying around, most of them were either with Gladion or Steven, and people now knew what they looked like, no one would give them up cheaply.
But Giovanni had the resources and manpower to eventually get one if he hunted hard enough.
'So it is better to just make him overpay to me than let him get another stone for mostly free,' Gladion thought.
'Sometimes my genius even makes me feel jealous. I mean, look at me, making my enemy bleed money for something he could have eventually gotten for free. I should give myself a medal. Or at least a very expensive coffee later. No, wait, make that two coffees. I deserve it for being this brilliant. Honestly, if I were anyone else watching this, I would be taking notes on how to outsmart myself. But since I am me, I get to enjoy the show for free. Life is good.'
He gave a subtle hand signal toward the control booth where Kai waited. The raises from booth fifty-one stopped. Giovanni's next bid went unchallenged.
Gladion brought the gavel down with a clean, satisfying crack.
"Sold to booth number twenty-five for six hundred million Pokedollars."
-----Author Notes------
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