Chapter 8: The Stone of Thunder

Larvesta has always been an immensely popular Pokémon, especially its final evolution, Gardevoir, which has captivated countless Pokémon enthusiasts and secured the top spot as the most beloved Pokémon partner.

Xia Yu himself also had a fondness for Gardevoir, though his liking was moderate—genuine, not obsessively fanatical.

"Hey, young man, this Larvesta has excellent potential, beautiful and powerful. I’ll sell it to you cheap, just three hundred thousand," the vendor called out.

Hearing the price, Xia Yu couldn't help but scoff inwardly. Were they really trying to treat him like a fool? Charging such a high price in the black market was audacious.

"You’re trying to fleece me. Sorry, I don’t have that kind of money," Xia Yu declined the offer outright.

"Two hundred ninety-eight thousand, I’ll knock off two thousand for you," the vendor bargained.

"Even if you cut it to two hundred ninety-eight thousand, I still won’t buy," Xia Yu retorted and turned away from the stall.

"Poor loser, wasting all my time," the vendor muttered after him.

...

Xia Yu wandered through the black market. As night fell, the crowd thickened and more stalls appeared. During this time, Xia Yu spotted many Pokémon of decent quality, but the best he saw were only at the Overlord tier—none reached the Gym Leader level or higher.

This left Xia Yu somewhat disappointed. After inquiring, he learned that an auction was scheduled for tonight, and all the high-quality Pokémon had already been taken by the market’s management for the auction.

With no other choice, Xia Yu leisurely browsed some item stalls, hoping to stumble upon a treasure.

“Hmm?”

Passing by one stall, Xia Yu’s eye caught an unassuming stone—black as coal. But the system’s alert made him stop in his tracks, his gaze scanning the items on the table.

He casually picked up a Dive Ball and asked, “How much for this?”

“Thirty thousand for the Dive Ball.”

“That expensive?” Xia Yu was startled. Official stores sold Dive Balls for only twenty-one thousand each; why was the black market pricier?

“You’re new here, aren’t you? This is an unregistered Dive Ball,” the vendor explained. “All Poké Balls have serial numbers. Once you catch a Pokémon, the data syncs online or at a Pokémon Center, updating the Trainer Association records. Only illegal Poké Balls like this one leave no trace. No one will know what’s inside unless you say so. They have many uses, and thirty thousand is actually cheap for these.”

“Forget it, still too pricey,” Xia Yu waved his hand. It was just a Poké Ball—not worth that much. “What about your other stuff? Just tell me the prices.”

“These are heirlooms passed down from my great-grandfather,” the vendor said cautiously, unwilling to quote prices for fear Xia Yu might snag a bargain. “If you want something, bring it over and I’ll give you a price.”

Xia Yu sighed inwardly—these vendors were as sly as foxes, not easy to deal with.

“I’m just looking around,” Xia Yu said, picking up a strangely shaped stone and asking, “How much for this one?”

“That stone’s special—an heirloom from my great-grandfather’s time. See the white stripes? Looks like the character for ‘cloud.’ It’s a carved stone. Outside, it’d fetch at least tens of thousands. Today, I’ll give it to you cheap: ten thousand,” the vendor babbled. Sellers in this line of work were known for tall tales, claiming everything was an ancient treasure.

“Too expensive. What about this one?” Xia Yu picked up a black stone next to it, feigning casual interest.

The vendor frowned, noticing Xia Yu only asked prices without intent to buy. He grumbled internally: “Brother, if you’re serious, I’ll give you a serious price. I found this stone on Thunder Mountain. You know Thunder Mountain, right? The battlefield of Zapdos and Raikou. It produces many rare Thunder Stones. This one looks plain, but maybe inside is a top-grade Thunder Stone. At least fifty thousand.”

Xia Yu’s heart skipped a beat. This vendor knew his stuff. The black stone was exactly as described, containing an S-rank Thunder Stone—though it was embedded within the stone, invisible without the system’s detection.

Yet the more Xia Yu wanted it, the more indifferent he acted. He gently set the stone down and teased, “I get it now. Everything you sell is a treasure, each worth tens of thousands. I really want to buy something, so just give me a fair price—none of these tall tales.”

“What do you want?” the vendor asked.

“Any unregistered regular Poké Balls, but no Dive Balls,” Xia Yu replied.

“There’s some, eleven thousand each.” The vendor rummaged through his stall and tossed a red-and-white Poké Ball to Xia Yu.

“That expensive?” Xia Yu frowned. Normal Poké Balls were five thousand one hundred each; this was double the price.

“That’s the market price here—fair and honest trade,” the vendor said.

“Alright, I’ll take one,” Xia Yu said, accepting the ball. Then his gaze returned to the S-rank Thunder Stone. He asked casually, “Can you lower the price on this stone?”

“Fifty thousand is already the lowest I can go,” the vendor said without hesitation. He launched into a sales pitch: “Think about it—if you manage to get the S-rank Thunder Stone out, it’s worth tens of millions. There’s none on the market now. From fifty thousand to tens of millions, you’d make a fortune. Young man, ever heard of going all in? Win, and you get the beauties at the club; lose, you go work the docks.”

Xia Yu rolled his eyes inwardly. Those who could sell goods in the underground market sure had silver tongues. “If you could really get an S-rank Thunder Stone, would you even sell it? I’m serious—give me a fair price. Five thousand, take it or leave it.”

“Brother, is that a Dragon Slayer sword? Minimum forty-eight thousand,” the vendor countered.

“No way. I’ll offer six thousand at most. There are so many stones on Thunder Mountain; you can pick any and sell it for tens of thousands. This can’t be special.”

“Little brother, you might eat carelessly, but don’t speak recklessly. This stone’s not like others. Experts have checked—it likely contains a Thunder Stone. If you’re serious, I can drop it to forty-five thousand.”

...

After a long round of bargaining, Xia Yu’s mouth was dry from talking. They finally settled at thirty-eight thousand. Xia Yu felt he could have pushed for less, but their haggling had drawn a crowd. Not wanting to drag it out, he agreed to the deal.

Both parties were pleased: the vendor believed he’d struck gold, while Xia Yu happily obtained a top-tier Thunder Stone.

As Xia Yu’s figure disappeared into the night, the vendor pulled another pitch-black stone from his bag, placing it where the sold one had been, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Fool. Still hoping for a Thunder Stone. I’ve got plenty of stones like this.”