"Boss, thanks for all your help today."
"You're welcome, feel free to come back anytime," Alex replied, smiling as he helped the two girls carry the energy cubes to their car.
"Sure, see you later!" Hannah sat in the passenger seat, hugged Charmander, and made a heart gesture toward Alex, waving goodbye with a cheerful smile.
"Goodbye, boss," Lily also waved as they prepared to leave.
"Goodbye, drive safely," Alex smiled and waved as they drove away.
"Two lovely girls," Alex mused as he watched them leave. Lighting a cigarette, he began to calculate his day's earnings.
Four Pokémon were sold today, along with three Pokédex and energy cubes, totaling nearly a million. However, compared to the upgrade requirement of 100 million, it was just a drop in the bucket.
"This is tough. It seems like I'll need to raise prices, or maybe get lucky with a rare Pokémon like Dratini," Alex thought, frowning slightly.
But raising the price of ordinary Pokémon would also increase the entry barrier for customers. Given the low system level, he had already reduced prices to sell Pokémon quickly.
The system ensured the quality and talent of the Pokémon, so the discounts he mentioned to Lily and Ethan were genuine, not a marketing ploy.
Still, it wasn't enough.
Unless someone managed to draw a rare Pokémon like Dratini, Larvitar, or Bagon.
As for Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, Alex had asked the system, but the current prize pool offered to customers didn't include them. Of course, they weren't entirely absent, but the odds were incredibly low, much lower than for pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Currently, the only Mythical Pokémon available was Phione, which was born from Manaphy and Ditto's egg. Its base stats were only 480, not even comparable to Charizard.
And although Phione is born from Manaphy's egg, it cannot evolve into Manaphy.
Whether Phione qualifies as a true Mythical Pokémon is debatable, as compared to other Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, Phione is really just... cute.
"Forget it, I'll post a video later. Who knows when I'll realize my dream of a Pokémon-filled world," Alex mused, snubbing out his cigarette and heading back to the shop to upload the 'exciting' battle video between Hannah and Ethan to the internet.
There was no point overthinking it; hard work was the way forward. Alex believed that day would come!
When the system is upgraded to a higher level, Pokémon will appear in every corner of the world, bringing the Pokémon world to life!
Well, that day might be far off, but it's worth striving for~
He hoped to make wild Pokémon appear in the city soon, which would also kickstart the city's Pokémon competition project!
...
By evening, Hannah and Lily were having dinner at the mansion.
Charmander, Squirtle, and Trapinch were happily munching on their energy cubes.
"Yeah, I'm staying at Lily's tonight, not going back. Oh, Mom, what are you talking about? My best friend won't mind, hang up now."
"And yes, I'll go to school the day after tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be there."
Hannah rolled her eyes after ending the call with her mother, took a couple of bites of food, and smiled at Charmander and Trapinch.
So adorable~
"I couldn't find any records of Squirtle or the others before," Lily said, closing her browser. She had come across all sorts of strange things, like a tiger escaping from the zoo in the western suburbs, but no trace of Pokémon.
"It's normal not to find anything. If they existed before, they'd be all over the internet," Hannah replied, nonchalantly.
"But where did the boss get these Pokémon? And Hannah, did you notice something?" Lily asked, blinking.
"Notice what?" Hannah asked, momentarily confused.
"The Pokédex numbers," Lily said, picking up her Pokémon Pokédex and showing it to Hannah.
"My Squirtle is number 007 in the Pokédex, and your Charmander is 004."
"I also recorded Ethan's Vulpix, and its number is 037."
"And the manager's Diancie is number 719."
Lily flipped through her Pokémon Pokédex, explaining to Hannah with a slight glimmer in her eyes.
"Huh? And then what?" Hannah was still puzzled.
"..." Lily's expression froze.
"Are you an idiot? Don't you see the obvious numbering sequence?"
After a brief silence, Lily scolded Hannah, exasperated.
"And if you look through the Pokédex directory, even though we haven't recorded any information about them, the numbers haven't changed. I checked, and the last number is 905!"
"That means there are 905 Pokémon in total?"
Hannah finally understood and quickly opened her Pokémon Pokédex, scrolling to the bottom of the directory.
When she saw the entry '#905 ?????', Hannah was stunned.
Oh my God! There are 905 Pokémon in total?
"So you know why I was trying to find Squirtle's records online?"
"There are so many Pokémon, and they have unique attributes. If they had appeared before, there would be clues."
"They are..."
Lily looked at Squirtle, who was happily munching on its energy cubes, thinking it probably wasn't a creature from Earth!
And maybe Hannah's joke about the shop owner being an alien wasn't far off.
Although it was just a guess, Lily felt confident in her theory.
Otherwise, how could 905 magical creatures with distinct species go unnoticed?
"Even if what you said is true, Lily, it doesn't really matter, right? The universe is vast, and it's normal for other beings to exist. As long as they don't harm us, it's fine," Hannah mused, resting her chin on her hand.
"And according to the manager, the Poké Ball can capture Pokémon, which shows that Pokémon are indeed alternative pets, right?"
Hannah took out her reduced Premier Ball, looking thoughtful.
After all, with all the knowledge and items related to Pokémon, it was clear there was more to the story.
But as long as it wasn't dangerous, it didn't matter, right?
"I'm just analyzing the origins of Pokémon and the boss. I didn't say they were bad guys or invaders," Lily said, rolling her eyes.
Yes, as far as her current experience went, Squirtle was adorable, and the owner was kind and considerate.
If Alex were there, he would feel the power of the system. Despite being nearly confirmed as an alien, and Pokémon not being native to Earth, these girls actually thought he was harmless and safe? Was this the so-called power of the system?!!
It made Pokémon more acceptable!
"Hee hee~ Anyway, I have a hunch that in the future, Pokémon and Pokémon competitions will take the world by storm!"
"Lily, maybe I can take Charmander and become a world champion!"
Hannah's smile was radiant, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she imagined standing in a stadium with her grown-up Charmander, defeating rivals to win the championship.
"It's not even dark yet," Lily said, raising an eyebrow at Hannah with a hint of disdain.
Can this girl really dream? Does she really think she could win a championship? A novice who couldn't even beat a Vulpix.
Even if Pokémon competitions do become popular worldwide, it will be Miss Lily and her little Squirtle who claim the championship!
Please drop some power stone to motivate meeeeeeeee 🙂 § Review of my story good &Bad review can beee aproved....😉