June 15, 2024
Dante, Pikachu, and Azumarill were in front of the computer in his room, watching in anticipation as the auction timer for the Diancite slowly counted down. When the timer finally reached the end, Dante had to pinch his thighs to prevent himself from shouting in excitement.
THREE. BILLION. ALLIANCE. CREDITS.
That was how much the highest bid on the Diancite was. With this much money, Dante can buy almost all the items he needs in this world!
On the side, Pikachu was already clamoring to buy the latest smartphone for himself. Azumarill knew that the stone was obtained by both Dante and Pikachu in an earlier exploration, therefore, he just remained standing on the side, watching the two with envious eyes.
"Alright alright, there's no need to look so sad, Azumarill. After we get the money, we'll set aside some of them to treat as exploration funds while we can use the rest to buy what all of us want."
"Azuuu!" (Thank you! Then, can I have a computer too?)
During this half a month of being together, Azumarill often watched Dante playing computer games while talking and laughing with his friends. After he expressed his curiosity about it, Dante downloaded a game exclusively for Pokemon in which they can play hide-and-seek with each other.
Azumarill loved playing that game. From Dante's understanding, he made many new friends there. Whenever Dante wasn't using the computer, he would turn it on by himself and play.
"Sure, I'll also try to buy a controller for you so you don't have to struggle using the keyboard."
After that, Dante stared at his phone, waiting for a message from the bank regarding the transfer of money. A message did come just shortly after, but the sender was not who he was expecting.
Greetings Mr. Dante!
Thank you for your patronage! Your Mega Evolution Stone was successfully auctioned. After processing the sales tax and commission, you will receive a total of 2,699,025,164 Billion Alliance Credits. The money has been transferred to your bank account and is expected to arrive within the day.
The buyer of the Mega Evolution Stone has also expressed interest in meeting with you. He has allowed our auction house to inform you of his identity in the hopes of gaining your trust. His name is Neuvillette de Fontaine, the current Champion of France. He relayed that he wanted to ask some questions regarding the circumstances on how the stone was found. He also stated that he is willing to pay 100 million credits or even more depending on the information you will provide.
If you want to refuse his offer, please rest assured. The auction house duly upholds its contract and assures you that no information will come from us that will compromise your identity.
Sincerely,
Kyle Dizon
Head manager of the Manila Auction House
After reading the message, Dante was surprised. In all honesty, he was already prepared for his identity to be known by the higher-ups of the Alliance after auctioning the item. Who knew that even a Champion had to ask for his opinion first before they can divulge his identity.
'The Alliance is much more powerful than I thought. But then again, there are so many countries around the world each with their own Champion. If they can easily access all the information of the Alliance by virtue of their position, it would probably cause some trouble.'
Dante thought about the proposal sent by this Champion for less than a second before refusing it outright. What a joke! He obtained the stone from another world, how could he possibly explain the circumstances of how he obtained it?
The additional 100 million isn't worth the risk, especially when he already obtained more than enough money for possibly the rest of his life. He quickly replied to the auction house stating his refusal.
After that, he played Valomon with Shinobu and his friends first while he instructed Pikachu, who took his phone, to inform him if a message came. Pikachu nodded while sitting on the bed with Azumarill, the phone in between them.
Meanwhile, inside the auction house where Dante sold the Mega Stone, Neuvillette was watching his two daughters marvel at the Mega Stone they recently bought. Although the Auction House provides fast and safe delivery, he still came in person to receive the item to prevent any accident.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Neuvillette. The seller of the Mega Stone has expressed refusal regarding your request for a meeting."
"I see…thank you for your time. Come, Furina, Focalors, we'll take our leave."
After they walked out of the auction house, Furina couldn't help but ask the question she had been holding back after she heard that the seller refused to meet.
"Dad, do you think the seller is connected to what happened 10 years ago?
"...there's not enough conclusive evidence for me to reach a verdict."
"It must be them! They're the only ones that can possibly obtain this Mega Stone!"
"Furina, calm down. We'll talk about this topic after we get home."
Seeing her Dad's stern eyes, Furina could only nod in reluctance as the three got inside the car.
—
"ACE!"
"Damn! That was a sick combo, you two!"
"How come you suddenly became so good at this after getting a girlfriend, Dan? Don't tell me you were holding back on us while playing?!"
"Hahaha, it's the power of love. With Shinobu by my side, I can exert 200, nay 500% of my power!"
"Ew. That's so cringe."
"You're just jealous."
Dante laughed as he bickered with his friends online. After he introduced Shinobu to them as his lover, all of them were definitely surprised. It has only been a month and a half since they graduated, and suddenly one of their friends got a girlfriend!
This is especially true after they saw Shinobu's appearance during her stream. In their friend group, Dante was relatively the more silent type. When they saw him getting a foreign beauty as his girlfriend, they shed tears of envy.
As Dante was joking with his friends, he suddenly felt a pull on his shorts. Looking down, he saw Pikachu signaling to him. The message about the money being loaded into the bank account finally arrived!
"Hey Shinobu, you wanna go on a date after this game? My treat!"
"Sure! Did something good happen?"
"Hehehe, I'll tell you later, you'll definitely be surprised."
"Get a room, you two! Don't flaunt your love in front of us single people!"
After they beat the opposing team once more, Dante and Shinobu said goodbye as they left the game party.
It was already 5 PM. After quickly tidying himself up, he took Azumarill back inside the Pokeball. In case of possible 'emergencies', Dante also packed some extra clothes before going out.
"Bye, ma! You don't have to prepare dinner for me, I'll probably eat outside tonight."
"Alright, good luck on your date with Shinobu! And remember, use condoms when you do the deed!"
Dante blushed and hurriedly walked out of the house. They haven't even done the deed yet! Though he did have some plans regarding that tonight…
He quickly arrived in the park near Shinobu's condominium where she used to jog every morning. Under the lamppost, he already saw her waving her hands at him. He walked over and gave her a hug. After that, the two of them walked hand-in-hand toward the mall.
"So? Can you now tell me what happened?"
"Well, long story short, I'm rich now. I sold something up for auction and got more than a hundred million credits!"
"Huh!? Are you pulling my leg?"
Shinobu stopped and stared closely at Dante, her brows furrowed.
"Hahaha, no, it's very true. I found it while training with Pikachu in Intra Forest before we knew each other. After the Rookie Competition, I registered it for auction online and only got the money just now."
"First Shiny Azumarill, and now a hundred million credits worth of item. Honestly, I don't know whether Intra forest has so many hidden treasures, or if you're just lucky, Dan."
"Well, considering I got you as my girlfriend, it's probably the latter."
"Oh, you and your sweet mouth~"
Shinobu smiled as she leaned her head on Dante's shoulder. Pikachu, already used to the lovey-dovey interaction between the two, just silently moved to Dante's other shoulder.
After entering the mall, the first store they headed into was the Trainer Shop. There, Dante finally bought the Light Ball, Leftovers, Eviolite, Safety Goggles, and the Space Bag that he needed.
To be honest, he was tempted to buy other things such as the Choice Band, Choice Specs, Assault Vest, etc. However, Dante felt that this was enough for now. Shinobu on the side was already surprised at how much he bought.
"A-are you sure you need all this, Dan? All of that costs more than 50 million."
"Yeah, it's all worth it to make my Pokemon stronger."
Shinobu gave him a dubious look. It's alright if he's just talking about the Pokemon's held items, but the Space Bag which cost 15 million can only be used for convenient travel inside the Pokeportals. And even then, Space Bags worth 100,000 credits are more than enough to do the job.
After paying for the items at the counter, Dante took off Pikachu's Special Band from the Item Menu. Then, he took the Light Ball from the shopping bag and gave it to him.
"Here bud, the thing I promised to give you a month ago."
"Pikachu!" (Is this the item you said that can double my strength? It feels…it feels strangely familiar.)
When Pikachu took the Light Ball in his arms, it began to constantly flash. Slowly, the ball began to shrink into his body.
"How is it bud? Do-"
Dante wasn't able to finish as a Pikachu suddenly released a strong burst of energy, pushing both him and Shinobu away.
Pikachu's body suddenly surged with electricity. His body began to float in the air, with a ball of lightning surrounding him that was constantly flickering.
Dante looked at what was happening to his partner with worry and confusion. This situation wasn't mentioned in the research about the Light Ball at all!
Luckily, after the Light Ball was fully absorbed into his body, the energy around Pikachu calmed down and he floated back to the ground. Dante hurriedly came over and only after confirming with Pikachu that he was fine did he breathe a sigh of relief.
At some point, the guards and their Pokemon had already surrounded this place. Sweat stained their foreheads as they seriously looked at the now normal-looking Pikachu. Many passers-by also surrounded the place due to curiosity.
One of the guards, most likely their superior, came forward to inquire what happened with a serious expression. Fortunately, after Dante showed his Trainer ID along with an explanation of what happened, he was only fined 5,000 credits for disturbing public security.
—
On the ground floor, Furina and Focalors, who were in disguise, were just shopping for clothes when they suddenly noticed the commotion upstairs.
"I-is there a battle happening?"
"Based on the fluctuations, it must be caused by a very powerful Pokemon. I'm not sure what's going on, stay close to me, sis. Also, be ready to contact Father if something goes wrong."
Furina nodded and timidly stood behind her sister. After a while, the commotion subsided and the mall announced that it was just a Pokemon throwing a tantrum towards its Trainer. Hearing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whew! What, it's just nothing! I thought someone was attacking the mall!"
"Hmm, was it really just a Pokemon having a tantrum?"
"Yeah, It must be that! Seriously, how irresponsible must one be to let their untrained Pokemon outside!"
"Alright, alright, it's over now. Let's buy more clothes and forget about it."
Focalors held Furina's hand as she led her towards a famous brand store. Looking back at the place where the energy fluctuation came from, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.