Noticing the displeasure creeping into Suguru’s voice, Aoi Kanemori lightly bit her lower lip.
“Sir, could you please wait a moment?
I’d like to run another aptitude test on this Carbink.”
One look at Suguru’s bearing was enough to tell that he came from an extraordinary background.
With his knowledge and experience, why would someone like him willingly pay twice the asking price for a sickly Carbink?
More importantly, he had examined over twenty other Carbink and rejected every single one.
Yet the moment he saw this unwell Carbink, he decided to buy it without hesitation.
Aoi might have been young, but she was not foolish.
There had to be something about this Carbink that she had failed to notice.
The most likely explanation was that it possessed some unusual quality, which was why Suguru had offered twice the price.
Suguru’s expression cooled slightly.
Seeing that, Aoi hurriedly added,
“If the test shows that its aptitude has not changed from the grade registered in our records, I’ll sell it to you at the original price.”
She suspected that the Carbink’s aptitude had somehow risen to the Quasi-Elite grade without anyone noticing.
Although she had no idea how Suguru could possibly determine a Pokémon’s aptitude merely by looking at it, sudden improvements in aptitude were not unheard of.
That was why many breeding companies regularly retested the Pokémon they intended to sell.
The purpose was to prevent a Pokémon from improving without their knowledge and then being sold at a price based on its previous aptitude.
Toto Pokémon Nursery followed the same practice.
Large breeding companies generally conducted aptitude tests once a month.
A small family-run business like Toto Nursery could only afford to do so once every three months.
Aptitude-testing equipment was expensive, and the consumable materials required for every examination were not cheap either.
Suguru nodded without expression.
In Aoi’s opinion, Suguru was undoubtedly the most handsome and refined young man she had ever met.
However—
Compared to the possibility of earning a great deal of money, his charm suddenly became slightly less irresistible.
Once she obtained his permission, Aoi immediately took Carbink to the testing room.
The results came back shortly afterward.
When she saw that Carbink’s aptitude had not changed, disappointment filled her face.
Her guess had been wrong.
Had its aptitude truly risen to the Quasi-Elite grade, its value would have increased by at least tenfold.
After all, Pokémon with true Elite-grade aptitude were largely monopolized by ancient families and major organizations.
For most ordinary Trainers, the Quasi-Elite grade was the highest level they could realistically obtain.
Their market prices had therefore remained extremely high.
A Riolu with Quasi-Elite aptitude, for example, could sell for as much as an ordinary Pokémon possessing genuine Elite-grade aptitude.
Aoi returned to the front of the store with Carbink’s Poké Ball.
“Sir, as we agreed, I’ll sell this Carbink to you for the original price of one hundred thousand yen.”
She still could not understand why Suguru wanted it so badly.
But she had already made a promise, and she no longer had any reason to refuse him.
“Good.”
Suguru nodded.
Just as he took out his phone to complete the payment, an urgent voice suddenly came from behind him.
“Please wait!”
“Could you sell that Carbink to me instead?
I’m willing to pay twice the price!”
Suguru’s eyelid twitched.
Damn it.
Why did every simple matter have to become such a hassle?
He turned and stared coldly at the man who had suddenly barged into the transaction.
The newcomer was Ren Hayashi.
Ren came from an ordinary family, but ever since childhood, he had possessed a mysterious ability.
Whenever he encountered certain Pokémon, he would experience an inexplicable feeling that they were anything but ordinary.
After becoming a Trainer, that intuition grew far clearer.
At first, Ren had followed that feeling and purchased an extremely ordinary-looking Weedle.
He had paid only twenty thousand yen for it.
Three months later, after Weedle evolved into Beedrill, Ren discovered that it possessed the rare potential of a King Beedrill.
He sold it for three million yen.
From then onward, Ren relied upon his strange intuition to find Pokémon whose aptitude had quietly improved, overlooked treasures coated in dust, and unusual items possessing hidden effects.
His ability was different from elemental gifts such as the Steel Heart.
It could not increase a Pokémon’s growth or improve his compatibility with a particular type.
However, in terms of practical value, it was no less useful than those abilities.
Ren purchased valuable things at low prices and sold them at enormous profits, gradually accumulating a considerable fortune.
And with money, he could purchase the rare resources needed to strengthen his own Pokémon.
At present, Ren was already a well-known figure at Ankei University.
His strength had also been officially recognized as Gym-tier by the Pokémon League.
That day, as usual, he had visited one Pokémon nursery after another, hoping to discover Pokémon whose aptitude had secretly improved while their sellers remained unaware.
Unfortunately, he had searched through numerous stores without finding anything.
That was only natural.
No one could expect to discover an overlooked treasure every single day.
Then he entered Toto Pokémon Nursery.
The moment Ren stepped through the door, he sensed an unusual aura coming from the sickly Carbink.
He was intimately familiar with that feeling.
Whenever he encountered a Pokémon with hidden potential, his intuition responded in the same way.
This time, however, the sensation was far stronger than anything he had experienced before.
That Carbink undoubtedly concealed an extraordinary potential that had yet to be discovered.
Thus, when Ren saw Suguru preparing to purchase it, he immediately spoke up, desperate to claim the Pokémon for himself.
Suguru frowned deeply.
“I offered twice the price earlier, and you said nothing.”
His icy gaze settled upon Ren.
“Now that I’m about to pay, you suddenly jump out and interfere?”
Ren hurriedly explained,
“I’m sorry, sir.
He looked at the weakened Pokémon with unconcealed desire.
“It gives me an extremely unusual feeling.
I’m willing to pay four times its original price.”
Aoi stood behind the counter, completely bewildered.
She had never expected this sickly Carbink to attract two customers who were willing to compete over it.
She looked at Suguru.
Then at Ren.
For a moment, she had no idea what she should do.
Although she was a merchant and naturally loved money, she still possessed basic integrity.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Aoi shook her head at Ren.
“I already promised to sell this Carbink to the first customer at its original price.”
She still had no idea what made the Carbink so special that two people were fighting over it.
At this point, Aoi could not help regretting her decision to sell it at all.
“I’ll pay ten times the price.”
Ren’s gaze sharpened.
He had caught the brief trace of regret in Aoi’s eyes.
However, he misunderstood its meaning.
He assumed that his previous offer had simply been too low to make her abandon her so-called integrity.
Thus, he immediately raised the price to ten times the original amount.
Ren smiled confidently.
There.
Surely you’ll agree now.
Bang—!
Before his triumphant expression could fully form, an enormous force struck him in the stomach.
Suguru’s foot buried itself in his abdomen.
Ren’s body lifted completely off the ground.
A heartbeat later, he flew backward through the open entrance and crashed onto the pavement outside Toto Pokémon Nursery.
“Guh—!”
The terrible pain in his abdomen left him unable to stand.
He curled up on the ground, coughing blood as his face rapidly turned pale.
“Give it to him!”
Aoi hurriedly grabbed Carbink’s Poké Ball and held it out toward Suguru with trembling hands.
His expression was cold, and the fury in his eyes made her blood run cold.
Her instincts warned her that if she refused him now, he might kick her too.
She was only a defenseless young woman.
If she received the same blow as Ren, she might genuinely lose her life.
Aoi glanced at the man groaning outside and shuddered.
Suguru calmly took the Poké Ball from her hand.
Without sparing Ren another glance, he stepped over the man’s body just as the latter was about to lose consciousness.
Then, with Carbink finally in his possession, Suguru walked out of Toto Pokémon Nursery.