"Alright, this is close enough. If we move any nearer, it'll probably notice us."
The three stopped immediately. Just now, Arbok's tail had twitched twice. They didn't dare gamble on being undetected.
"Powder strategy first, then we go head-on. Follow my commands!"
"Spri spri~"
Bellsprout signaled that Paralysis Powder was ready.
"Pidgey!"
With a strong flap of its wings, Pidgey carried the powder into the bushes.
"Rustle—rustle—"
Unfortunately, before long, a large purple snake burst out of the shrubs.
"Arboook!"
It glared fiercely, demanding to know who had tried to ambush it.
"No choice—Pidgey, rush out! Use Gust to suppress it!"
"Pidgey!"
Pidgey shot forward, flapping hard.
"Whoosh—whoosh!"
A strong wind stirred up dust and debris, temporarily blocking Arbok's vision.
"Great chance! Bellsprout, Vine Whip!"
"Spri!"
Bellsprout lashed out its vines toward Arbok.
"Arbok—!"
But Arbok twisted its body smoothly, evading the strike with ease. It stared at Icarus and Bellsprout with a mocking expression.
"Damn… I forgot snakes don't rely on vision alone," Icarus muttered. Heat detection and sensing vibrations made dust useless.
Arbok opened its mouth and sprayed a large stream of green liquid at Bellsprout.
"Dodge! Pidgey, Quick Attack and break through!"
Since Arbok wanted to fight one against two, they would overwhelm it.
"Spri!"
Bellsprout leapt aside, barely avoiding the corrosive liquid.
"Zzzzz—"
The grass where the liquid landed sizzled and melted.
"Acid… It's definitely at the Normal level. That completes the task requirement."
Only Normal-level Pokémon could properly master Acid.
Back on the field, Pidgey flashed forward with Quick Attack. Its sharp beak pierced Arbok's body.
"Arbok!"
Arbok cried out. It had underestimated Pidgey's damage.
"Now!"
In pain, Arbok whipped its head around and fired Poison Sting at close range.
"Pidgey!"
Caught off guard, Pidgey was struck multiple times.
Before Arbok could pursue, a poisoned throwing knife flew in and struck its body.
"Pidgey, pull up now!"
"You're not fighting two—you're fighting three!"
"Pidgey!"
Pidgey hurried into the air. Several tiny punctures on its body oozed purple-tinged blood, but the bleeding soon turned normal red.
"Good… looks like it wasn't poisoned. Training with Bellsprout must've strengthened its resistance."
"Bellsprout, Vine Whip—now!"
"Spri!"
This time, Arbok, injured and distracted, failed to dodge.
"Crack!"
The vine lashed against its head.
Before Arbok could recover, it felt its body tighten painfully.
Bellsprout hadn't withdrawn its vines—it followed up with Wrap, tightening around Arbok's body.
"Arboook!"
Arbok tried to twist free, but the more it struggled, the deeper the thorny vines dug in, causing piercing pain.
"Not so easy to break free," Icarus sneered.
"Pidgey, Quick Attack again—aim for the head!"
"Pidgey!"
With a flash, Pidgey struck Arbok's head directly.
"Arbo…"
Already drained by Wrap and struck twice on the head, Arbok finally collapsed, losing its ability to fight.
"Bellsprout, Sleep Powder."
After a brief hesitation, Icarus decided to attempt capture.
"Spri spri~"
A cloud of powder covered Arbok's head. Soon, it fell into a deep sleep.
"Go—Poké Ball!"
"Click!"
The red light absorbed Arbok.
Shake—
Crack!
The Poké Ball split open.
"Tch. Again."
Icarus threw a second Poké Ball.
"Crack!"
It broke out again.
"Don't force me to harvest your snake gall…"
He gritted his teeth and threw a third one.
Shake… shake…
Click!
Capture successful.
"Good thing I bought extra Poké Balls."
He glanced at the remaining ten in his backpack. After buying them, he only had about 1,000 Poké Dollars left, aside from a little over 30,000 he had previously earned.
Still far from enough for Pidgey's Energy Crystals.
"But making money in the inner circle really is faster. That's at least 20,000 Poké Dollars."
Even an average-quality Arbok sold well.
A Freshman-level Pokémon might sell for around 50,000 Poké Dollars, and at an 80% buyback rate, that meant 40,000 income.
But since this Arbok was already Normal-level in the wild, its value dropped significantly—roughly halved after discount, earning about 20,000 Poké Dollars.
Wild Pokémon promoted too early often wasted or overdraw potential during their early growth.
Additionally, a stronger, self-willed Pokémon was harder for the Pokémon House to tame, further lowering its price.
Of course, this pricing only applied up to high Normal-level Pokémon. Elite-level Pokémon followed an entirely different valuation system—and most would appear at auctions instead.
Icarus weighed the Poké Ball in his hand.
The inner circle truly was where real money was made.
---------------Author---------------
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