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After striding confidently away from Rondo and the others, Sato quickly exited the new dormitory building and headed toward the public market.
Now that Sato had ranked third and become a rookie, he not only received a generous reward but also gained access to most areas of the underground base of the Rocket Team in Pewter City. This meant he had all the necessary conditions to start producing PokeBlocks.
The reason Sato was going to the public market was to purchase the raw materials needed for making PokeBlocks: Berries.
Berries are familiar items in the Pokémon world, having appeared since the second generation of Pokémon games. By the third generation, the Berry system began to take shape, and it gradually matured in later games.
There are many types of Berries, but the ones most commonly known include: Oran Berries (which restore HP), Cheri Berries (which cure paralysis), Chesto Berries (which wake Pokémon from sleep), Pecha Berries (which cure poison), Rawst Berries (which cure burns), Iapapa Berries (which cure freezing), and Persim Berries (which cure confusion).
In addition to these well-known Berries with significant effects, there are numerous other types used in various fields by the people living in the Pokémon world.
One of the most widespread uses of Berries is in Pokémon food.
In the current real Pokémon world, Berries are extremely important items. In fact, all kinds of Pokémon food are made from various Berries, making them one of the crucial pillars supporting the trainer profession.
In a way, PokeBlocks are also a type of Pokémon food. However, they are quite rare in the market, mostly found in the Hoenn region, typically only of ordinary quality, and are relatively expensive (as PokeBlocks are handmade).
Compared to the price of PokeBlocks, regular Pokémon food made from mixed crops is much cheaper, so most trainers choose to feed their Pokémon ordinary food (which varies in quality).
Wearing his Rocket uniform, Sato's journey to the public market was now much faster, as he no longer had to frequently stop and navigate around obstacles. What used to take him over ten minutes now only took a few minutes.
After his last visit, Sato entered the public market this time with a different mindset. He blended in seamlessly, like a drop of water in the ocean, attracting little attention as he successfully adapted to the environment filled with a different kind of atmosphere.
This new rookie reward was like a timely rain for Sato. Although the six Great Balls from Team Rocket weren't very useful at the moment, the 1200 points he received as a basic reward were incredibly generous, quickly filling his previously empty wallet.
Currently, Sato had a substantial amount of points, which provided him the capital to pursue many plans he had previously imagined but could not realize due to financial constraints. Of course, his primary goal now was to quickly produce a large quantity of high-quality PokeBlocks to lay a solid foundation for his Zubat's upcoming training.
The stalls selling Berries in the public market were easy to find and plentiful, so Sato didn't rush to make a purchase; instead, he began comparing prices at several stalls. Although he had a decent amount of points, he still wanted to save his initial funds whenever possible.
After a few minutes of price comparison, Sato arrived at a Berry stall he considered to have the most reasonable prices. The stall owner was a female Team Rocket member.
From her appearance, the female vendor looked to be around 18 years old, and her body hadn't fully matured yet, as her figure, especially her chests, didn't catch Sato's attention at all.
As for her looks, she was passably attractive, but when Sato noticed her beautiful eyes, his opinion of her instantly rose several notches. She had rare purple eyes that sparkled with intelligence, placing her firmly in the ranks of upper tier beauties (it seemed like there were no unattractive girls in the Pokémon world).
The number of Berries at her stall was likely the highest among the other stalls, but the variety was much more limited. The most abundant Berry was the Oran Berry, which made up more than half of all the Berries at the stall. The remaining types were the Pecha Berry (which cures poison), the Chesto Berry (which wakes Pokémon from sleep), and the Cheri Berry (which cures paralysis).
In Sato's memory, the point exchange rates for Berries in the Rocket Team's system were quite low, with the Oran Berry being the cheapest at just 1 point each. The other six Berries that could cure different status conditions were also similarly priced at just 1.5 point each.
If he exchanged points, he could essentially get a whole basket of Berries for just 100 points. Besides the prices at the female vendor's stall were almost half of what they were in the exchange system. The Oran Berries were 0.5 points each and the other three berries were priced at 1 point each.
Moreover, there were discounts for bulk purchases: a 10% discount for buying 100 Berries, an 20% discount for 300 Berries, and up to a 40% discount for larger quantities.
This stall with seemingly rock-bottom prices naturally attracted many bargain-hunting customers. The business was thriving, drawing at least half the customer traffic compared to all the other Berry stalls combined.
Sato was genuinely pleased with the female vendor's incredibly reasonable prices. In his mind, Oran Berries were undoubtedly excellent Pokémon food, capable of restoring a Pokémon's health and stamina to a certain extent without any processing.
In Sato's plan, the main ingredient for the PokeBlocks he would create would be Oran Berries. By highly concentrating the Oran Berries, the resulting PokeBlocks would inherit their restorative effects, and due to the high concentration and quality, the restorative effect of the Oran Berry PokeBlocks would certainly be enhanced.
Without much hesitation, Sato decided to buy 210 Oran Berries, 30 Pecha Berries, 30 Chesto Berries, and 30 Cheri Berries. Because he was buying in bulk and purchased 300 berries, Sato also enjoyed a 20% discount, ultimately spending just 156 points for this entire batch of Berries.
After Sato completed the transaction with the female vendor, she quickly handed him her contact information on a business card, mentioning that she also offered delivery services as he was now her new customer.