Gladion raised his hand, "Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to the final item of this inaugural Vortex Auction."
The screen behind him transitioned to a single, glowing stone. Salamencite.
Gladion let the silence hang for a heartbeat before speaking again. "The starting bid for this Salamencite is two hundred million Pokedollars."
The first raise came almost instantly. Booth sixteen, the Blackthorn elder, pushed to two hundred twenty million. Lance's booth, number nine, countered at two hundred forty.
Gladion kept his face neutral, but inside he noted the pattern. The two were already at each other's throats.
The bidding moved quickly after that. Two hundred sixty from the Blackthorns. Two hundred eighty from Lance. Three hundred from booth nineteen again.
Gladion watched the numbers climb and thought carefully. 'Lance probably is going to win the bid. He has a lot of money even if the Blackthorn Clan is not supporting him. But then again the Blackthorn Clan is a very old clan with various businesses and deep funds. They would give him a tough competition.'
The raises came in bursts, each side refusing to yield. If it were only the two of them, he suspected they might eventually reach some sort of quiet alliance.
Family tensions existed everywhere but there was no doubt in his mind that for Blackthorns blood still mattered to them. A shared victory could smooth things over later.
But it was not only the two of them. A four-way tussle had formed almost immediately.
Drake entered the fray at three hundred sixty million. The former Hoenn Champion raised the bid.
Drake had spent decades in the military before becoming Champion, then transitioned to Elite Four. His resources were vast. If anyone could match the Blackthorns in raw financial power, it was him. He bid like a man who had waited years for this moment.
Three hundred eighty. Four hundred. Four hundred twenty. The numbers kept rising.
Then the surprise guest joined.
Booth fifty-seven, the Draconid women, raised to four hundred fifty million. Gladion's eyes flicked toward that number. He had not been certain they would even show up, let alone bid this aggressively.
'I was not even sure that they were existent and not just legend,' Gladion thought. 'But after some inquiries it was not hard to find out about them. Thankfully, it seems that they do not have mega evolution stones. I had my doubts.'
'The bigger girl is the lorekeeper of them, who is essentially their prophet. And the little girl, I am pretty sure is Zinnia. The future lorekeeper of the clan as well as someone who had managed to mega evolve and fight alongside Rayquaza. Since Latios and Latias can mega evolve in this world, there is a high possibility that even Rayquaza can, just like in the games.'
Four groups, each convinced they had the rightful claim to the stone bid fiercely. Each willing to empty their vaults to prove it.
A Salamencite in a normal market might go for two hundred to three hundred million once people would come to know how many stones of each Pokemon he has. But right now, with only one stone on offer and four determined bidders, the price had become much much higher.
Gladion kept calling the bids, 'This is going to hurt someone badly financially. Whoever wins is going to feel the pinch for years.'
Gladion waited a full ten seconds. No new raise came.
"Three billion one hundred million going once," he said. "Going twice…"
No movement.
"Sold to booth number nine for three billion one hundred million Pokedollars."
Gladion allowed himself a small nod. Lance had won. But the price was staggering.
'Dude just blew up his entire money and savings for a mega evolution stone that would cost about three hundred million Pokedollars down the line when people figure out the number of stones I ordered Steven have,' Gladion thought.
He felt a small pang of sympathy.
'I almost feel bad about Lance. He is a good dude who does not have to be overpaid like this. But oh well, this is business after all. I am pretty sure Steven would be pretty sad that he was not the one to sell mega evolution first after seeing how much I am selling each stone for.'
Gladion stepped forward and raised both hands.
"And with that final purchase, thank you everyone for attending the auction. Every three months there will be another auction here, so do not forget to join us then."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "This has been an historic night. You have witnessed the first public sale of revived fossils and mega evolution stones. Vortex Auction House will continue to bring the rarest, the strongest, and the most extraordinary items to those who value them most. We will see you again in three months."
Gladion bowed once and walked off the stage. The lights dimmed behind him.
As he stepped into the private corridor behind the stage, his Pokedex buzzed softly. Two messages waited him. One from the Blackthorn Clan representatives. One from the Draconid women. Both requested a private meeting.
Gladion read the short notes and let a slow smirk spread across his face.
"Oh, so they want to see me?" he murmured to himself. "It seems both are unhappy that they did not manage to get what they want and might be here to negotiate with me to see if I had more Salamencites."
He slipped the Pokedex back into his coat pocket and started walking toward the meeting room.
'Let us see if they would be able to give me anything equal to the price at which Lance bought the Salamencite.'
-----Author Notes------
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