"Boss, I just bought a rock core from an Elite Four-tier Golem," Naoki explained when he noticed Reiji looking his way. "My Golem's ready to make its breakthrough, so I figured it was time."
"Sounds good."
Reiji left the decision to him and settled back onto the sofa, helping himself to some fruit from the coffee table. Gengar had already tasted it and confirmed there was nothing suspicious about it, so he could eat without worrying about being poisoned.
"Actually, Boss, I've noticed something interesting," Naoki continued. "I've been raising my second Golem using pretty much the same methods as my first, but the difference in growth is incredible."
His original Golem had been his starter Pokémon, and he'd spent years struggling to develop its strength. It hadn't been especially talented, and his financial situation had made proper training and nutrition difficult.
His current Golem had none of those disadvantages. It had excellent potential, received much better food, and benefited from everything Naoki had learned over the years.
He also had far fewer expenses these days. There was no gang to expand, no subordinates to support, and no need to keep buying expensive presents for Aya.
That last thought gave him pause.
I wonder if Aya would be upset if she knew I wasn't buying her presents anymore...
He was still imagining her reaction when someone knocked on the door.
"Go pay for your purchase," Reiji told him. "Something else has caught my eye."
Naoki went to answer the door while Reiji approached the window. The newest lot was a container of preserved cells taken from a deceased Ditto, and he immediately recognized their potential.
Apparently, he wasn't the only person who knew about raising Ditto through cellular fusion.
The process involved having a living Ditto absorb cells from other Ditto, gradually incorporating their genetic material to improve its potential and strength. The best results came from using cells with as little genetic overlap as possible, increasing the recipient's genetic diversity rather than simply duplicating what it already possessed.
These particular cells had come from an Elite Four-tier Ditto. Somehow, the auction house had managed to preserve their biological activity despite the original Pokémon's death.
For a Ditto attempting to break through to Elite Four tier, they could be extremely valuable.
The problem was that Reiji had no way of knowing how closely the deceased Ditto's genetic makeup resembled his own Pokémon's.
If there was too much overlap, the purchase might accomplish very little. If their genetic material was sufficiently different, however, the cells could provide exactly the breakthrough opportunity he'd been looking for.
And judging by the bidding, plenty of other buyers understood their value.
"Another five million!"
"Ten million more!"
"Five million!"
The price climbed rapidly, reaching fifty million before the bidding finally slowed.
Reiji watched the figure on the projection screen, weighing the risk. Fifty million was already a substantial amount to spend on something that might not work, especially when he had no way to examine the genetic compatibility beforehand.
After a little hesitation, he decided to take the chance.
"Another ten million."
His voice came through the speakers, drawing attention toward Box 22.
"Sixty million!" the host announced. "Our guest in Box 22 bids sixty million! Ladies and gentlemen, remember that these cells came from an Elite Four-tier Ditto. With a little luck, they could be all you need to develop an Elite Four-tier Ditto of your own!"
Reiji frowned at the sales pitch.
He'd deliberately made a large increase to discourage further competition, but the host was doing everything she could to convince someone to bid against him.
And unlike a living Elite Four-tier Pokémon, these cells came with considerable uncertainty. Paying much more than sixty million would be difficult to justify.
Unfortunately, someone else was still interested.
"Another five million."
"Sixty-five million! Do we have a higher offer?"
The host looked around the hall, hoping the competition would continue. The seconds dragged on, but nobody responded, and she eventually began her final countdown.
"Sixty-five million, going twice! Anyone else?"
"Another five million," Reiji called.
Seventy million.
That was his limit. If the other bidder raised the price again, he would let the cells go.
Reiji returned to the sofa with a scowl, irritated that he'd been forced to spend so much on a gamble. The room was becoming uncomfortably warm, and he could feel a little sweat gathering on his forehead.
Naoki had just finished paying for his Golem core and returned with the palm-sized stone clutched in his hand.
"Finally got it! Boss, take a look at this for me. It's supposed to be exactly what my Golem needs to reach Elite Four tier."
He held out the core, eager for Reiji to verify its authenticity.
Reiji touched the stone, bringing up his proficiency panel. The reading confirmed that it was genuine material left behind by an Elite Four-tier Golem.
"Looks good. It's the real thing."
Naoki was about to thank him when the host's voice rang through the hall.
"Seventy million, going three times! Sold! Congratulations to our guest in Box 22!"
Reiji was relieved that the other bidder had finally backed down, though he still considered seventy million a little excessive.
There was nothing to do about the price now. He'd won the cells, and all that remained was to inspect them and arrange payment.
A short while later, another knock came from the door.
Reiji opened it to find a waiter standing beside a trolley carrying a transparent container. Inside was a gelatinous mass of Ditto cells suspended in pale green liquid.
The container was warm to the touch, apparently designed to maintain a constant temperature.
Reiji examined the contents, hesitating when he noticed the liquid surrounding the cells.
"Sir, that's a special nutrient solution," the waiter explained. "It maintains the cells' activity and reduces the energy a Ditto needs to expend during the fusion process. It should make the procedure considerably easier."
"All right. I'll take it."
Reiji lifted the temperature-controlled container off the trolley while Naoki counted out the seventy million and paid the waiter.
Once the transaction was complete, Reiji brought the container farther into the room and signaled Gengar to store it.
Gengar opened its mouth and swallowed the entire thing.
Reiji had no intention of letting his Ditto absorb the cells while they were still aboard the Black Ship. The fusion process could leave it unconscious for an extended period, and he couldn't afford to lose such an important member of his team while the League was preparing to raid the auction.
Without Ditto, even maintaining his disguise could become a problem.
The fusion would have to wait until they were somewhere safe.
Fortunately, he'd managed to obtain a reading from the preserved cells during his inspection.
[Ditto (Deceased)]
Type: Normal
Gender: Genderless
Potential: 66.91%
Level: 62.15%
Ability: ...
The results matched the auction house's description. The deceased Ditto had genuinely reached Elite Four tier, and its readings showed signs of previous cellular fusion.
Reiji still had no idea how the Pokémon had died, but that was hardly relevant now. What mattered was whether his own Ditto could benefit from absorbing its cells.
With the purchase safely stored away, he returned his attention to the auction.
The next lot was already being presented, and this time, the host had something that immediately caught his interest.
A member of the auction staff raised a tray beneath the stage lights. Resting on it was a brilliant red crystal, easily the size of a human head, its polished surface reflecting the light in every direction.
"Our next lot is something quite special!" the host announced. "This magnificent crystal was recovered from the remains of an Elite Four-tier Starmie. It contains an extraordinary concentration of Psychic-type energy!"
The gemstone was enormous, with a vivid red color and remarkably clear structure. Even without its unusual properties, it would have made an impressive collector's piece.
But nobody attending an auction like this was interested in paying a fortune for an ordinary decoration.
A crystal containing the accumulated Psychic-type energy of an Elite Four-tier Pokémon was a different matter.
The host barely needed to explain its value. Psychic-type resources were highly sought after, and the buyers immediately recognized that a crystal of this quality could be used to strengthen their own Pokémon.
Bidding began almost at once.
The price climbed steadily as several buyers competed for the crystal. Reiji watched without participating, waiting to see how much interest the item would attract.
When the bids reached fifty million, he decided it was time.
"Another twenty million."
"Seventy million!" the host exclaimed. "Box 22 raises the price to seventy million! Do we have another bid?"
Reiji had no desire to waste time increasing the price in small increments. He'd already decided what the crystal was worth to him, and seventy million was close enough to that figure.
Even if he ended up paying five or ten million more than its usual market value, it wouldn't bother him much. He'd just made a considerable amount of money selling Swampert and Gyarados, and this was something he could put to good use.
The sudden increase discouraged the remaining bidders.
"Seventy million, going twice! Anyone?"
The host waited for a response, but none came.
"Seventy million, sold! Congratulations to our guest in Box 22!"
Reiji relaxed into the sofa, satisfied with his second major purchase of the evening.
The crystal was intended for his own Starmie.
He'd been planning to improve Starmie's strength for some time, particularly because he needed it to create a gravity field powerful enough for Elite Four-tier Pokémon to train in.
Starmie wasn't quite strong enough for that task yet.
Absorbing the Psychic-type energy stored inside the crystal of an Elite Four-tier Starmie could significantly improve its abilities, perhaps even providing the opportunity it needed to break through to Elite Four tier itself.
And once the crystal had served its purpose as a training resource, Reiji could always keep whatever remained as a decoration. Something that beautiful would look good in the villa.
He was still waiting for the crystal to be delivered when the host introduced the next item.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our next lot is something you don't see every day!"
The staff wheeled a covered object onto the stage. It wasn't particularly large, but the rounded shape beneath the black cloth made it difficult to guess what they were about to reveal.
The host smiled at the audience before pulling away the covering.
"Now, I won't keep you guessing. Our next lot is... a stone!"
The audience stared at the ordinary-looking rock sitting on the trolley.
A few confused voices rose from the seats below, followed by scattered complaints. Some buyers seemed convinced the organizers were playing a joke on them.
After everything they'd seen tonight, why would an auction offering Elite Four-tier Pokémon and rare materials suddenly try to sell them a rock?
"Now, now, give me a moment to explain," the host said, entirely untroubled by their reactions. "This isn't an ordinary stone. It contains a mysterious power known as Aura!"
That got their attention.
"I prefer to call it an Aura Stone."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Aura had become one of the most talked-about subjects in the Orange Archipelago, and public interest showed no signs of fading.
To most people, it was an extraordinary new power, perhaps even more mysterious than psychic abilities. Trainers and researchers alike had been searching for information about it, and for a while, it had seemed impossible to attend a gathering without someone bringing up Aura.
Yet very few people truly understood what it was or how it worked.
And now the auction house was claiming to have found a stone containing that very power.
"As I'm sure you've heard, Aura is a special form of energy that has only recently attracted widespread attention," the host continued. "This stone contains Aura, but we don't know exactly why."
She gestured toward the rock.
"We can't tell you what's inside, what caused the Aura to appear, or what might be discovered if someone breaks it open. That's something the winning bidder will have to find out for themselves."
The mystery was part of the attraction, and the auction house had decided to handle the sale accordingly.
"Because we have so little information about the stone, there won't be a starting price. You're free to bid whatever you think it's worth!"
That made the offer much more appealing to the curious buyers.
Spending a few million on an unusual stone was hardly unreasonable for people who had arrived with tens or hundreds of millions to spend. Even if it turned out to be worthless, the experience might be entertaining.
Reiji studied the stone through the window and chuckled.
"So we're gambling on what's inside. Interesting."
He couldn't sense Aura himself, which made the stone just as much a mystery to him as it was to everyone else.
Fortunately, he had a Pokémon that could help.
Reiji switched off the room's microphone and took out a Poké Ball.
"Come on out, Lucario."
Lucario appeared beside him, landing lightly on the floor. Its blue fur was clean and well maintained, and its healthy, athletic build reflected the care Reiji had put into its training.
Almost immediately, however, Lucario grew uncomfortable.
The auction hall was saturated with unpleasant emotions. Greed, hostility, malice, and barely restrained aggression surrounded the people gathered below, and Lucario could sense all of it through their Aura.
It disliked the place intensely.
Then its attention settled on the stone.
Amid all those unpleasant emotions, the stone's Aura felt remarkably pure.
"Lucario, take a closer look at that rock," Reiji instructed. "See if you can figure out what's inside."
Lucario extended its Aura toward the stage, carefully probing the stone from a distance.
The stone was already emitting a faint Aura of its own, but when Lucario's energy touched it, something unexpected happened.
Its base trembled slightly.
Then several tiny cracks appeared across the surface, almost as though the stone had reacted to Lucario's presence.
"Ruff! Ruff!"
It hurried back to Reiji, gesturing toward the stage and trying to explain what it had sensed. Although Reiji couldn't understand its cries, the urgency in its behavior told him this was no ordinary rock.
"There's something inside, isn't there?"
Lucario nodded emphatically.
Whatever was hidden within the stone, it had captured Lucario's interest, and the Pokémon clearly wanted Reiji to obtain it.
"Good. That's all I needed to know."
Reiji turned back toward the auction.
Bidding had started slowly, with most buyers reluctant to spend too much on an unknown object. Only a handful of people seemed seriously interested, and the price had barely reached three million.
As the minutes passed, a few more offers pushed it to five million.
The host called the price twice, but nobody seemed willing to go higher.
Reiji decided to make his move. "Another hundred thousand."
"Five million one hundred thousand!" the host announced. "Our distinguished guest in Box 22 has offered five million one hundred thousand!"
Her enthusiasm returned immediately.
"Well, it seems we have someone who recognizes a valuable opportunity! Does anyone else want to bid? Surely our guest in Box 22 isn't the only one who appreciates something this unusual!"
He'd deliberately kept his increase small to avoid drawing attention, but the host was trying to use his interest to convince the other buyers that the stone was worth more than they realized.
Apparently, she thought she could squeeze a little extra money out of him.
Reiji turned toward Gengar and gave a slight nod.
An oppressive chill swept down from Box 22, carrying the unmistakable pressure of an Elite Four-tier Pokémon. The atmosphere around the stage grew heavy as Gengar directed its presence toward the host.
Several guests shivered, suddenly aware that someone powerful had taken offense.
Then Reiji's cold, disguised voice came through the speakers.
"You'd better think carefully before you say anything else. Are you sure you can afford the consequences?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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