Outside the abandoned building, an eerie wind howled in circles, kicking up a few dead leaves.
Haunter’s spectral eye twitched as it stammered, “Well about that~ It’s not that your bro isn’t loyal, it’s mostly…
It’s mostly that the guy looked like a seriously tough bastard.
What if he keeps a Mightyena or Houndoom at home that hard-counters us?
With our sick, crippled, and elderly lineup, I’m afraid~~”
“Sick, crippled, and elderly!
Didn’t you just brag about being a hundred-year-old ghost?”
Duskull shivered violently: “Damn straight I am.
I’ve been dead for over a century now.
If that ain’t elderly, what is?”
“Yeah~ Yeah~ Look at me, a stiff breeze could blow my ass away.
I definitely count as sick and frail.”
The moment Shuppet finished its excuse, Haunter shoved its disembodied hands right in front of Lorze and spread them wide.
“As for me, look for yourself!
Both my hands got chopped cleanly off.
Do you really need me to pull out a fucking disability certificate to prove it?!”
“Alright, alright, enough with the bullshit.
I’m not going straight to his door for a deathmatch.
You guys don’t need to act like this.”
Lorze pulled out the business card and waved it.
“I’m a civilized guy; I use strategy.
This trip is merely to get a psychological consultation from this Mr.
Rhodes.”
“A psychological consultation?”
“To be exact, I’ll use the appointment as a front to keep him occupied, while you boys sneak in and gather some solid dirt for me.
If you can find evidence to nail his ass to the wall, perfect.
If not, digging up some decent intel works too.
Being invisible ghosts, this should be a walk in the park for you, right?”
“Kekeke~ Now that you mention it~~ That job does sound right up our alley!”
The real reason Lorze wanted Haunter’s help was because he hadn’t yet fought a Trainer in this world, and he felt somewhat uncertain about his odds.
After all, he was still just an apprentice Necromancer, and the necromancy spells he had mastered were extremely basic.
When it came to offensive magic like Bone Spear or Corpse Explosion, he didn’t know jack shit.
If a real fight broke out, he’d have to rely entirely on his Pokémon’s strength.
Lorze hashed out a quick plan with the ghosts, telling them to hide inside his shadow for now and wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Since Zorua was now a Ghost-type as well, it presumably had the same ability to dive into shadows.
Lorze told it to give it a shot.
However, the little fox whined and hesitated, refusing to step forward.
After Lorze asked what was wrong, he learned that it was terrified of losing control of its volatile energy and accidentally harming him.
Lorze chuckled softly, gave the little fox a pat on the head, and encouraged it:
“Don’t forget, I’m a literal magic user.
I won’t get hurt that easily.
Just let loose and do your thing with confidence!”
“Guurr~~”
Hearing this, Zorua perked up and made an attempt.
It actually managed to phase into a shadow on the spot, though the execution was a bit clunky.
But with Haunter and the other two veteran ghosts tossing out a few pointers from the sidelines, Zorua quickly got the hang of it and successfully sank into the shadow beneath Lorze’s boots.
Exiting the abandoned complex with the phantom squad in tow, Lorze didn’t head straight for the target.
Instead, he made a beeline for the Lilycove Department Store.
The Lilycove Department Store was no fucking joke.
Not only was it the largest shopping mall in Lilycove City, but it was the absolute biggest commercial hub in the entire Hoenn region.
As the saying goes, to do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools.
Translated into layman’s terms: you gotta eat a full meal before doing the heavy lifting.
Now that Zorua was a Ghost-type Pokémon, it naturally required Pokéblocks tailored specifically for its new typing.
Furthermore, since Haunter and the boys were doing him a solid out of the goodness of their non-existent hearts, Lorze figured he owed them at least a decent meal.
…
Lilycove Department Store,
Serving as the commercial epicenter of the Hoenn region, you could buy ninety-nine percent of all available goods in Hoenn right here.
In addition, if someone brought valuable items here to pawn or sell, they could get a very fair, market-rate price.
Lorze had just arrived in this world and hadn’t had a chance to earn a single dime, but he had conveniently smuggled in a few specialties from the magical world.
He figured he could pawn them off for some solid “startup capital.”
Right now, the middle-aged appraiser behind the counter was eyeing the gemstone Lorze had handed him with an utterly bizarre, bewildered stare.
“Mr.
Lorze, I have never seen a material quite like this gemstone in my life.
Please forgive my lack of expertise.
I need to call in a more authoritative expert for an appraisal.
I hope you don’t mind waiting a brief moment.”
“I don’t mind waiting, but please hurry it up.”
A short while later, an impeccably dressed elderly gentleman was brought in by the middle-aged appraiser.
He scrutinized the gemstone relentlessly, utilizing various portable appraisal instruments, before finally looking at Lorze with a highly complex expression:
“Mr.
Lorze, the texture of the gemstone in your hands is incredibly unique.
I have been in this business for over forty years, and I have never laid eyes on a material like this.
May I ask where it was excavated from?”
“Granite Cave in Dewford Town.
I guess I just got really fucking lucky!
But I have urgent business to attend to.
Could you two just throw out a quote?
If the price is right, I’ll sell it.
If not, I won’t waste any more of my time here.” Lorze’s tone was extremely resolute.
Beneath the soil of the Pokémon world lay countless bizarre and mystical stones.
Some harbored strange energies tied to specific elemental typings, while others had the power to force a Pokémon to evolve.
These stones were known as Elemental Gems and Evolution Stones, respectively.
They were all classified as supernatural items, and their market value heavily depended on their tier and quality.
Furthermore, there were certain rare stones or metals completely devoid of magical energy.
Yet, obsessed collectors would still bleed cash to hoard them, with their value entirely dictated by their sheer rarity.
The gemstone Lorze had slapped on the counter was actually brought over from his previous magical world when he transmigrated.
These stones possessed zero magical energy fluctuations.
Lorze only carried them on him because they glowed in the dark, acting as cheap flashlights.
Now, they were utterly useless to him.
However, a completely mundane, dime-a-dozen glowstone from his last world had instantaneously transformed into a one-of-a-kind, ultra-rare gem in the Pokémon universe—more than enough to make gemstone fanatics foam at the mouth.
Lorze immediately thought of Steven.
If he shoved this in his face, he could undoubtedly trade it for a mountain of top-tier loot.
Sadly, that rich pretty boy was always off the grid like a phantom dragon, so Lorze had no choice but to pawn one off at the Lilycove Department Store for emergency cash.
Fortunately, he still had quite a few of these stones stashed away, all with slightly different textures.
If he ever got the chance to corner Steven face-to-face, he would become a filthy rich billionaire overnight.
And even though he couldn’t sell it directly to Steven for now, the Lilycove Department Store straight-up offered him a massive 1.2 million Pokémon Dollars.
The Pokémon world had strict laws, and the Lilycove Department Store was a massive corporate titan worth god-knows how many billions.
Lorze wasn’t the least bit worried they’d try to screw him over for this pocket change.
The moment the money hit his hands, he began his spending spree.
He first dropped thirty grand on a spatial expansion backpack and a brand-new smartphone.
Then, he strolled over to the Pokémon Breeding Section and threw down two hundred grand in one go for a massive supply of premium-grade Pokéblocks.
Honestly, you didn’t have to feed Pokémon Pokéblocks.
Ordinary food could keep them alive just fine.
But if you fed them cheap garbage, you could forget about ever unlocking their true potential.
After tossing the Pokéblocks into his new spatial backpack, Lorze asked about the Elemental Gems.
Seeing how ruthlessly Lorze threw money around, the gorgeous salesgirl immediately realized she had hooked a mega-whale.
She happily began her sales pitch with intense enthusiasm:
“Our Elemental Gems are divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced tiers.
Beginner-tier gems cost ten thousand Pokémon Dollars a pop.
Intermediate-tier runs about a hundred thousand.
As for Advanced-tier, the bidding starts at a million minimum.
However, Advanced Elemental Gems are absurdly precious.
They’re practically priceless and rarely hit the open market; you’ll typically only see them at massive, high-end auctions.
Purchasing Intermediate gems also requires an advance reservation, and only VIP customers who have spent over two hundred thousand in our store even qualify to book one.
Only Beginner-tier gems can be purchased without restrictions.”
“I see.
It looks like if I really want to raise elite Pokémon, this pile of cash isn’t even close to fucking enough.”
Hearing the disgustingly inflated prices for Pokémon breeding resources, the joy Lorze had felt from his massive payday was instantly extinguished.
“To think that I just blew all that cash, and all it bought me was the basic privilege to purchase Intermediate gems.
It seems that no matter which world you cultivate in, raw resources are the absolute foundation.
I still need to find more ways to grind cash.”
Even as he thought this, he didn’t hesitate for a second when spending his money.
He mercilessly dropped half a million right then and there to buy twenty ‘Ghost Gems’ and ten ‘Normal Gems’.
As for the remaining two hundred grand, he used it to reserve two Intermediate-tier gems, planning to swing by and pick them up in a couple of days.
He had just acquired a fortune and instantly burned through most of it, but Lorze didn’t feel a single ounce of heartache.
These were cultivation resources; they were the absolute foundation he was buying to survive and dominate in this world.
Meanwhile, seeing that Lorze was loaded with cash and phenomenally handsome, the gorgeous salesgirl immediately got thirsty.
She slyly slipped him her contact info, heavily implying that she was completely down to fuck today and her schedule was wide open.
Honestly, Lorze had spent two and a half years surviving in pure terror in the magical world.
During that entire time, he never dared to even look at the female mages around him, so he was admittedly suffering from severe sexual frustration.
But sadly, he had urgent business to attend to.
He could only pass on this temporary fuck buddy for now.
After stepping out, he found a quiet spot to feed Zorua and the three ghosts a stash of Pokéblocks, then headed straight for the psychiatric clinic.