Luo Yuan clasped hands with the Silph Co. president.
This handshake marked Luo Yuan's official entry as a shareholder of the Silph Company behemoth.
It also meant the accumulated dividends from these shares were deposited into his account, instantly making him a billionaire.
"With you on board, I believe Silph Co. will have an even brighter future," the president said warmly.
However, he didn't immediately share his previous ideas for promoting Luo Yuan. He wanted to observe Luo Yuan a bit more before moving forward.
Luo Yuan just smiled. Flattering words were rarely worth much.
After all, even he didn't know what value a rookie trainer could bring to Silph Co.
"By the way, President, could I ask you a favor?"
"Oh? Go right ahead."
The president was curious—what could this new shareholder need?
"I plan to capture a rare Pokémon. But ordinary Poké Balls won't work. I'll need... a Master Ball."
Luo Yuan said the words "Master Ball" as if it were a casual request.
"A Master Ball? Certainly—you can purchase one on our internal platform."
Surprisingly, the president barely hesitated before agreeing, leaving Luo Yuan stunned.
Seeing Luo Yuan's expression, the president chuckled wryly.
"Master Balls aren't actually that rare. They seem scarce mainly due to their high manufacturing cost and the League's strict regulations."
"For one, the League limits their distribution because Master Balls bypass the bond between trainer and Pokémon, which doesn't align with the League's ideals of harmony between people and Pokémon."
"On the other hand, they're prohibitively expensive. Manufacturing a single Master Ball costs as much as a thousand Ultra Balls. And like regular Poké Balls, they're single-use."
"The price is so high that only a handful of trainers can afford one, and there's rarely a reason to use it on a common Pokémon."
With a sigh, the president continued, "Honestly, creating the Master Ball was one of Silph Co.'s biggest business missteps."
"Developing it drained a massive amount of company resources, and we still haven't recouped our costs. If not for Devon Corp. and the Kalos-based Poké Ball factories joining the race to develop their own models, Silph Co. might not have recovered."
"So that's how it is..."
The story was fascinating.
It made sense, though—its high cost and limited use combined with the League's restrictions turned the Master Ball into a money sink for a profit-driven company like Silph Co.
"Still, that's all in the past," the president said with a smile. "We currently have two Master Balls in storage, kept in our thirteenth-floor research department. My secretary will take you there."
"Honestly, you're doing Silph Co. a favor by taking one off our hands!"
"..."
Being thanked for this felt oddly unsatisfying.
But Luo Yuan couldn't complain—he needed the Master Ball for capturing Deoxys, so he let it slide.
After bidding farewell to the president, Luo Yuan followed the secretary up to the thirteenth floor.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Luo Yuan spotted a familiar figure.
"Professor Bill!"
He called out to the man in a lab coat, who was poring over a document.
Hearing his name, Bill looked up in surprise, noticing Luo Yuan and Sabrina behind the secretary.
"Luo Yuan! What are you doing here?"
Bill was visiting Silph Co. to discuss his research funding, so he hadn't expected to run into Luo Yuan.
"I own a few shares in Silph Co., so I needed to drop by."
"A few shares in Silph Co....?"
Bill was speechless.
Having worked with Silph Co. for a long time, he understood how the company operated.
For someone with just "a few shares," coming to headquarters in person was unnecessary.
It hadn't crossed his mind that Luo Yuan was actually a major shareholder.
Thinking back to when he'd considered rewarding Luo Yuan with money, Bill felt a pang of embarrassment. Thankfully, he hadn't gone through with it—it would've been mortifying.
"Are you here because of your paper, Professor Bill?"
"Luo Yuan, the paper is nearly finished. It'll be published soon, so keep an eye out!"
Bill beamed at the mention of his research.
"As for my visit to Silph Co.... I'm actually here to secure funding for my next project."
"What project?" Luo Yuan asked.
"It's about swapping the consciousness of humans and Pokémon."
"..."
Luo Yuan was starting to feel that Bill had a knack for getting drawn into bizarre research.
What practical use was there in swapping minds with a Pokémon...?
Maybe Giovanni would be interested? After all, Mewtwo was about to be completed...
Then again, even Giovanni probably wouldn't want to swap minds with Mewtwo.
"Well, if it makes you happy."
Whatever Bill chose to research was his own choice, and Luo Yuan didn't intend to interfere.
The royalties from his Pokémon Storage System patent were already enough to support Bill for several lifetimes.
After parting ways with Bill, Luo Yuan followed the secretary to a large vault.
The secretary spoke briefly with the two guards, then unlocked the vault with a combination of password, fingerprint, iris scan, voice recognition, and a blood-based DNA check.
The half-meter-thick alloy door slowly opened.
Inside, various rare and unique devices were neatly stored in rows.
"These are all products Silph Co. developed but couldn't mass-produce due to cost or other limitations. So, they're kept here until production becomes viable," the secretary explained.
"And the Master Ball... is over here!"
In the center of the vault, the secretary unlocked a glass case, took out a box, and opened it to reveal a purple-and-white ball with a bold letter "M" emblazoned on it.
Taking the Master Ball from the secretary, Luo Yuan noted its heavier-than-usual weight and slight coolness.
As he examined the ball, the secretary offered a gentle reminder.
"Mr. Luo Yuan, please use the Master Ball with care. While it's theoretically capable of capturing a legendary Pokémon, no one has yet succeeded in doing so."
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