"You made them yourself? Yourself!!" Whitney exclaimed in surprise when she heard Cain's words, and then, realizing she had raised her voice too much, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
She leaned closer to Cain and cautiously asked, "You made these Pokéblocks yourself? Are you an Advanced Breeder?"
Her eyes shone with admiration.
Cain put his hand to his forehead, a bit worried, but still answered, "No, do you really think I could make advanced Pokéblocks at my age? I made the intermediate ones for Miltank myself; the ones for Slowpoke I bought elsewhere."
"Ohhh~~~" Whitney said with a long exclamation, but the admiration in her eyes didn't diminish one bit.
"You look about my age, yet you're already an Intermediate Breeder, while I still don't have the skills to inherit my family's gym... Ugh!" Whitney said, feeling a bit down.
"..."
Is an Intermediate Breeder on the same level as a Gym Leader?
However, considering Cain's age, if he were really an Intermediate Breeder, it would undoubtedly cause a stir. After all, the average age for registered Intermediate Breeders in the League is around twenty-five, while Cain is only fifteen.
Whitney didn't doubt what Cain said, because the process of making advanced Pokéblocks is too complex. At his age, Cain didn't seem like he could be an Advanced Breeder.
Cain didn't try to console Whitney because she quickly cheered herself up.
But then, her expression turned a bit hesitant, quite different from her usual carefree and cheerful attitude.
Seeing her expression, Cain couldn't help but ask, although he regretted it immediately: "What's wrong?"
"Cain, um... could I place a long-term order for Miltank Pokéblocks with you? Don't worry, I'll pay you a price you'll be happy with," Whitney said hesitantly.
Seeing how much her Miltank enjoyed the Pokéblocks, Whitney hadn't even given her the advanced Pokéblocks she'd specially prepared. Although advanced Pokéblocks have a better effect, it seemed that, in terms of flavor and certain special aspects, Cain's Pokéblocks were more suited to her Miltank.
Hearing Whitney's proposal, Cain was slightly surprised, then smiled and replied, "No problem. How many do you want? I may not be able to make that many right away; you might have to wait a bit."
Cain's affirmative response made Whitney smile widely. "Great! The time doesn't matter. The market price for intermediate Pokéblocks is usually between fifty and eighty Pokédollars. Yours are a bit special, designed specifically for Miltank, so... how about a hundred Pokédollars each?"
That price was quite high. Keep in mind that advanced Pokéblocks generally cost between four hundred and five hundred Pokédollars, but the production cost of advanced Pokéblocks is much higher than that of intermediates.
Whitney mentioned that the usual price for intermediate Pokéblocks was around fifty Pokédollars, and here they were talking about double that amount.
Since someone was willing to pay such a high price for the Pokéblocks he made, Cain had no objections to making a bit of money. Wouldn't he seize any opportunity?
As an esteemed member of the League, Whitney may be a bit naïve, but when it comes to trust, she's someone you can rely on. She promised Cain she wouldn't reveal to anyone that he could make Pokéblocks without his permission.
Cain, in turn, was cautious and didn't mention that he could make advanced Pokéblocks. If word got out, his true identity could be exposed.
Intermediate Breeders are relatively rare in the League, but not rare enough to attract the attention of high-ranking officials. However, if a fifteen-year-old could make advanced Pokéblocks, even if he wasn't an Advanced Breeder, it would cause quite a stir.
"So, how many do you need?" Now that they had agreed to keep it a secret, Cain asked directly.
Whitney thought for a moment, then started counting on her fingers: "One for Red, one for White, one for Pink, one for..."
As she counted, her fingers quickly added up, almost running out, but Cain, watching her, began to sweat.
Was she planning to order Pokéblocks for every Miltank on her farm?
In the end, Whitney lost count and decided to wave her hand, giving up: "Well, how about we order one hundred thousand pieces to start with?"
Her big, blinking eyes looked at Cain innocently, not giving much thought to the quantity or the fact that it was a transaction worth over a million Pokédollars.
"..."
Do you think being rich is impressive?
"Could you repeat that?" Cain, with a slightly stiff expression, asked.
"One hundred thousand pieces, is that okay?"
"No, the previous question."
"Um, I'm ordering intermediate Pokéblocks for Miltank?"
"Yes, but no."
"..."
"One hundred thousand pieces is too much; I don't have that much time." Cain wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, directly refusing.
Even though making intermediate Pokéblocks became easier with the right tools and assistance from the system, the quantity of one hundred thousand was still enormous and too time-consuming, which was something Cain had the least of at the moment.
"Hmm, is that so? Well, let's start with ten thousand pieces then." Whitney scratched her chin and, after thinking it over, said.
She truly didn't see anything unusual in the quantity she proposed, as when her family buys Pokéblocks, except for the advanced ones, they always buy them in units of one hundred thousand.
She was simply used to it, without considering that Cain was just one person and couldn't produce that many.
Ten thousand pieces at one hundred Pokédollars each came to a million Pokédollars. And considering that the cost of producing an intermediate Pokéblock is around ten Pokédollars, this was an extremely lucrative deal!
"Ten thousand pieces I can accept, but you'll have to wait a while, as I'm the only one making them, and I also need to buy more materials." For Cain, who was in dire need of money, this million Pokédollars would be a welcome relief.
"Perfect! No problem. When we get to Goldenrod City, you can stay at my house for a few days. I'll have someone help you gather the materials, and you can enjoy the city in the meantime. I'm not in a rush."
Whitney invited him directly to stay at her place so that he could help her make the Pokéblocks.
Cain thought it over a bit, then nodded, agreeing. Not only to earn money but also to give his recently captured Miltank the opportunity to meet more of its kind. Perhaps that would help improve its shy nature.
(End of chapter)