The Pokémon Center was Adrian’s first destination.
Becoming a Grunt had changed the information displayed on his Rocket ID, but it hadn’t changed Croagunk’s need for treatment.
Three days in the wilderness and two difficult battles had left injuries that rest and basic medicine could only partially address.
The Rocket Center occupied an entire section of the underground base.
Unlike the public Pokémon Center in Cerulean, there were no smiling nurses behind brightly colored counters or trainers relaxing beside vending machines.
Everything here was functional.
White walls, numbered treatment rooms, recovery machines, and Rocket medical personnel moving from patient to patient.
Adrian handed Croagunk’s Poké Ball across the counter.
“Trial participant?”
“Yes.”
The medic scanned his ID.
“Any serious injuries?”
“Nothing I noticed.
Two major battles.
Squirtle and Nidorina.
Mostly physical damage and some Water-type attacks.”
The medic entered the information.
“Leave the ball.”
“How long?”
“Two hours.”
Adrian nodded.
“Full examination?”
“Included for returning recruits.”
That was one benefit Team Rocket considered worth providing.
Adrian left Croagunk behind and walked toward the cafeteria.
He had barely slept during the final day of the trial, and the exhaustion he’d been ignoring was beginning to catch up with him.
Mason was already there.
A tray large enough for two people sat in front of him.
Adrian looked at it.
Mason noticed.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to.”
Adrian sat opposite him.
“How’s Machop?”
“Center says three hours.
Mostly bruising.”
“Who did you fight?”
Mason began counting on his fingers.
“Sandshrew, Ekans, a guy with a Mankey, another guy with a Paras, two wild Spearow…”
“Never mind.”
Mason grinned.
“Worked.”
“Your Machop is in a medical machine.”
“Still worked.”
Adrian couldn’t argue with the three codes.
Selena arrived several minutes later carrying coffee.
“Magnemite’s staying overnight.”
Mason stopped eating.
“That bad?”
“Electrical system instability.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What happened?”
“Ground-type.”
That explained enough.
Magnemite’s typing provided excellent resistances, but Ground attacks were a serious weakness.
“Permanent?”
“No.” Selena sat down.
“They said it’ll recover.”
Mason nodded and returned to eating.
For a while, nobody discussed the trial.
There wasn’t much reason to.
They had passed.
The next stage mattered more.
Adrian finished eating and opened his Rocket ID.
The new market interface had been tempting him since the assembly hall.
He finally selected it.
The difference from the recruit market was immediate.
Before, Adrian had access to basic supplies.
Pokémon food, medicine, training equipment, common TMs, a few inexpensive held items.
Now entire categories had appeared.
He opened Pokémon Resources.
The list seemed endless.
Type-enhancing supplements.
Evolution stones.
Specialized medicines.
Rare berries.
Training manuals.
Move-training equipment.
Breeding materials.
Pokémon eggs.
Some prices were listed in ordinary money.
Most of the desirable items required TRP.
Adrian opened the evolution section.
A Fire Stone cost more TRP than he wanted to spend.
Water and Thunder Stones weren’t much better.
Moon Stones were worse.
Then there were resources Adrian barely recognized from the games.
Mineral compounds for Rock-types, conductive alloys for Electric-types, specialized poisons used to strengthen resistance training.
None were remotely necessary for Croagunk right now.
That didn’t make Adrian want them any less.
“Found something?” Selena asked.
“Found several ways to become poor.”
“Same.”
Mason turned his ID around.
“Look at this.”
Adrian read the listing.
Fighting-Type Move Tutor.
Low Kick
Mason already had Low Kick.
Adrian looked at him.
“You already know that move.”
“Machop does.”
“Then why are you showing me?”
“Wrong one.” Mason scrolled.
Move Tutor.
Bullet Punch
Adrian’s expression changed.
That was useful.
Priority.
Steel typing.
Excellent coverage.
“Price?”
Mason showed him.
650 TRP
His enthusiasm faded.
“Exactly.”
Adrian checked his own balance.
987 TRP
He could afford something in that range.
He wouldn’t.
Not yet.
Spending nearly two-thirds of his accumulated TRP after gaining access to the expanded market would be foolish.
He didn’t even know what everything cost yet.
Selena seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
“I’m not buying anything for a week.” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Mason stared at her.
“A week?”
“Until I know what I actually need.”
“You need stronger attacks.”
“Magnemite needs to recover.”
Mason looked at Adrian for support.
Adrian shook his head.
“She’s right.”
“Both of you are boring.”
“Both of us have more TRP than you.”
Mason went quiet.
Selena smiled into her coffee.
Adrian spent the next hour exploring the base.
Not physically.
Through his Rocket ID.
The Grunt market contained far more than Pokémon resources.
One section offered information.
Wild Pokémon migration reports, locations of uncommon species, trainer activity, police patrol schedules, League inspection notices.
Information had prices.
That made sense.
Another section allowed Grunts to purchase access to black-market auctions.
Adrian opened it.
Three upcoming auctions appeared.
The first was in Celadon.
The second in Saffron.
The third…
Cerulean Underground Auction Date: 12 Days Entry Fee: 100 TRP
Adrian selected it.
The preliminary catalog was incomplete.
Several lots were already listed.
Pokémon eggs.
Evolution items.
TMs.
Rare berries.
Held items.
And Pokémon.
Adrian scrolled.
Lot 18.
Scyther
Potential wasn’t listed.
Lot 24.
Staryu
Again, no potential.
Lot 31.
Rhyhorn
No grade.
That caught Adrian’s attention.
Why wouldn’t potential be listed?
He opened the auction rules.
All Pokémon received a health examination before sale.
Potential testing was available to buyers for an additional fee after purchase.
Adrian stared at the screen.
That was different from licensed businesses.
Risk.
The auction sold Pokémon based on species, rarity, moves when known, and visible condition, but buyers didn’t necessarily know exactly how talented an individual was beforehand.
His system did.
Adrian closed the listing.
Not now.
He had less than a thousand TRP.
But later?
Auctions could become valuable.
The same applied in reverse.
If he ever needed to acquire a rare species, Scan could prevent him from spending a fortune on an untalented individual.
Another advantage.
One he needed to exploit carefully.
Croagunk was released two hours later.
The Poison-type emerged from its Poké Ball looking better.
Adrian scanned.
Pokémon Scan
Species: Croagunk ♂ Level: 17.
Rank: Mid Beginner Potential: Blue Ability: Anticipation Moves: Poison Sting · Mud-Slap · Astonish · Taunt · Pursuit · Feint Attack · Swagger · Fake Out (Egg Move) · Cross Chop (Egg Move) Status: Healthy Evaluation: Extraordinary Individual
Good.
The medic handed Adrian a report.
“No fractures.
No significant internal damage.
Some muscle strain.
We treated everything.”
“When can he train?”
“Light training tomorrow.
Full intensity in two days.”
Croagunk protested.
The medic looked down.
“Three days if you keep complaining.”
Croagunk stopped.
Adrian stared at the medic.
“That usually work?”
“More often than you’d think.”
Adrian recalled Croagunk.
They weren’t training today regardless.
He had something else to investigate.
Missions.
The Grunt Mission Hall was separated from the recruit section.
That alone showed the difference in scale.
The recruit board had mostly offered errands, basic captures, warehouse work, and low-risk wild Pokémon removal.
The Grunt board looked like an actual criminal organization’s job network.
Adrian stopped before the first terminal.
B-Rank Authorization
Most of the available assignments remained within his current clearance.
He opened the list.
Collection Retrieve six medicinal mushrooms from Mt.
Moon.
Reward: 45 TRP
Courier Transport sealed package between Cerulean contacts.
Reward: 35 TRP
Capture Requested Species: Ekans Condition: Healthy Reward: 55 TRP + Capture Expenses
Then the assignments became more serious.
Surveillance Observe suspected League informant.
No contact.
No engagement.
Reward: 90 TRP
Another.
Recovery Retrieve stolen Rocket property from independent smugglers.
Expected Pokémon Strength: Beginner.
Reward: 140 TRP
Adrian paused.
That was more like it.
Then he noticed the next category.
Team Assignments
Those permitted multiple Rocket members.
He opened one.
Pokémon Capture Operation Location: Mt.
Moon Target: Clefairy colony Personnel Required: 4–6 Expected Opposition: Wild Pokémon / Possible Trainer Interference Reward: 110 TRP Base + Performance Bonus
Adrian kept scrolling.
Black-Market Security Location: Cerulean City Personnel Required: 3 Duration: 6 Hours Reward: 80 TRP
Then:
Smuggling Escort Route: Cerulean → Saffron Contact Point Personnel Required: 5 Expected Opposition: Wild Pokémon / Law Enforcement Possible Reward: 175 TRP
Adrian stopped.
That was more dangerous.
Law enforcement possible.
Not worth it.
Not yet.
The temptation to chase high TRP rewards needed to be controlled.
Croagunk was strong for a new Grunt.
That didn’t make Adrian untouchable.
The Squirtle and Nidorina battles had demonstrated that clearly.
He needed another Pokémon eventually.
Not.
Croagunk still had plenty of room to grow, and dividing training time too early could slow both Pokémon.
But Adrian wasn’t going to wait until Croagunk reached Advanced before adding a second partner either.
The question was species.
He had several possibilities in mind.
Nothing decided.
That was one decision the Scan System couldn’t make for him.
Adrian returned to his room that evening.
His old recruit room was temporary.
Tomorrow he would move into the permanent Grunt dormitory.
The difference wasn’t enormous.
A slightly larger room.
More storage.
A private desk.
Access to a shared preparation kitchen.
That last part mattered more than everything else.
Pokéblocks.
Adrian opened his Berry container.
Almost empty.
The trial had consumed more than expected.
Normal money would solve that.
Which brought him back to his other plan.
Selling Pokémon.
He had sold Bellsprout.
Then Poliwag.
Both Yellow potential.
Enough time had passed that another capture wouldn’t look suspicious.
But Adrian wasn’t going hunting tomorrow.
Croagunk needed recovery.
Instead, Adrian opened Cerulean’s public Pokémon market listings.
He wanted information.
What species sold well?
Which abilities mattered?
What sexes commanded higher prices for breeders?
What moves increased value?
Potential was only one part of price.
A Yellow Magikarp wasn’t worth the same as a Yellow Abra.
Species mattered enormously.
Rarity mattered.
Evolution mattered.
Breeding demand mattered.
Adrian began taking notes.
Poliwag had sold for sixty-two thousand.
Bellsprout for forty-one.
An average Yellow Abra could sell for several times either amount.
That made Abra tempting.
It also made selling one more noticeable.
He needed balance.
Common enough to explain.
Valuable enough to justify the effort.
He wrote several species down.
Oddish Meowth Psyduck Poliwag Sandshrew Nidoran
Then he stopped.
Nidoran.
Both evolutionary lines were useful.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen were respected battlers with broad movepools.
A talented Nidoran would sell well without being absurdly rare.
Adrian underlined it.
Not necessarily tomorrow.
But soon.
Croagunk climbed onto the bed.
Adrian looked over.
“You realize that’s mine.”
Croagunk lay down.
“You’re getting your own.”
Croagunk closed its eyes.
Adrian sighed and returned to the market.
Another listing caught his attention.
Berry Blender.
Professional Grade Price: 180,000 Pokédollars
Adrian looked toward his cheap household blender.
It had served him well.
But he’d already encountered its limits.
Batch size.
Consistency.
Speed control.
A professional model would improve all three.
One hundred eighty thousand wasn’t impossible anymore.
Not if Adrian sold Pokémon.
He closed the listing.
That gave him a short-term goal.
Not a TM.
Not a rare held item.
Not another Pokémon.
Equipment.
If he could improve the quality and consistency of Croagunk’s food now, the benefit would continue for months.
And when Adrian eventually caught his second Pokémon, the same equipment would feed both.
Investment before consumption.
He liked that.
Adrian wrote at the top of a new page.
Goal: 180,000 Professional Berry Blender
Croagunk opened one eye.
Adrian looked at him.
“You’re expensive.”
Croagunk closed its eye again.
“You’re not even denying it.”
Silence.
Adrian smiled.
Tomorrow they would recover.
Then train.
Then begin taking Grunt missions.
Somewhere between those assignments, Adrian would return to the wilderness and find another Pokémon worth selling.
Not Blue.
Not Green.
Nothing that revealed what he could really do.
Just enough Yellow potential to look fortunate.
And enough money to turn that fortune into something permanent.
For the first time since joining Team Rocket, Adrian wasn’t merely trying to survive the next trial.
There wasn’t another one waiting at the end of the month.
Now he could build.
And Adrian intended to build carefully.