Over at Ange's side.
After closing the shop at 10:00 p.m., Ange did not return home immediately. Instead, he had Meowstic take Espurr and Ralts back first, while he brought Drizzile and Haunter to a wholesale department market for an inspection.
Ange had previously mentioned that he had already thought of jobs for Delphox and Greninja. He was not just humoring them; he really had a plan. He intended to open two small shops for the Pokémon at Nebel Plateau—one selling various snacks and toys, and the other selling daily necessities for their lives.
The managers of these two shops would be Delphox and Greninja respectively.
Ange only came up with this idea after the doctor helped him remodel Robert 1. Robert 1 was upgraded to Robert 2. With the help of Metagross, it possessed intelligence and powerful calculation capabilities. Therefore, Ange could use it to pay wages to the Pokémon. Robert 2 could provide accurate feedback on how much salary a Pokémon earned each month and how much they spent daily.
Furthermore, Ange had already asked Lila to have the Royal scientists develop a campus card system similar to the one from his previous life, which was currently under development. This system was not difficult for the technology of the Pokémon world. With it, Ange could give each Pokémon a payroll card and distribute their monthly wages through Robert 2. This way, the Pokémon could use their cards to shop at the two small stores!
This was Ange's first time visiting a wholesale market in the Pokémon world. He held a small notebook, recording the prices of goods in various shops along the way. He wanted to compare them to select a fixed supplier for his two shops.
Drizzile and Haunter were also visiting a wholesale market for the first time. The two followed behind Ange, curiously eyeing the new things around them.
"Come one, come all! Perfect Magikarp here! I guarantee they will evolve into Gyarados if you buy them," a merchant shouted.
Hearing the shout, Drizzile could not help but crane its neck to look. It saw a fish tank taller than a person where bright red Magikarp were swimming. They looked very energetic, so much so that... they hardly looked like Magikarp at all.
At this moment, Haunter leaned toward the second disciple's ear and whispered, Haunt haunt~ Those aren't Magikarp.
It had seen Magikarp before.
Driz driz? Not Magikarp?
Drizzile was stunned. If they were not Magikarp, then what were they?
"Those are Basculin in disguise," Ange said to Drizzile with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Drizzile immediately spat toward the merchant secretly. Wicked, unscrupulous merchant!
Ange shook his head with a smile. He did not expose the merchant but continued walking forward with his two disciples.
"Take a look! Top-quality Evolution Stones! You won't regret this purchase!" another shout came.
Hearing this voice, Ange approached with interest. Several Pokémon at his home needed Evolution Stones to evolve. For instance, Skitty needed a Moon Stone to evolve into Delcatty, Capsakid required a Fire Stone for Scovillain, and Minccino needed a Shiny Stone for Cinccino. Additionally, if Oddish evolved into Gloom and did not want to become Vileplume, it would need a Sun Stone to evolve into Bellossom. Litwick would also need a Dusk Stone to evolve into Chandelure after becoming Lampent.
Inside this Evolution Stone shop, the owner immediately greeted them with enthusiasm.
"What kind of Evolution Stone are you looking for, handsome? I have everything here, and I guarantee top quality!" the owner asked.
"I'll take a look myself first," Ange replied.
The owner nodded immediately. "Of course, please, take your time."
Ange walked to the shelf and picked up a Fire Stone to examine it. The stone was pure and bright, appearing to be of high quality.
"Boss, how much for an Evolution Stone like this?" Ange asked.
"You have a good eye! For such a high-grade Fire Stone, it's only 60,000p in our shop!" the owner said with a chuckle.
Hearing this, Ange frowned instead. It was not too expensive; it was too cheap. He was not ignorant of the market. According to his knowledge, a stone of this purity could not be lower than 80,000p, and it might even reach 100,000p if someone was in urgent need. Selling it for only 60,000p was suspicious.
With this thought, Ange gripped the Evolution Stone and used his Aura Power. Everything has an aura, and stones are no exception. The feedback from Aura is the most honest feedback.
Sure enough, based on the aura reflected from the stone, Ange quickly discovered something was wrong. Normally, if the stone was healthy, the aura it transmitted should be complete. However, the aura from the one in Ange's hand was thin and fragmented, which was clearly abnormal.
Ange stared at the Fire Stone for a long time before finally putting it back.
"What's wrong? You don't want such a good Evolution Stone?" the owner asked.
"Are all the stones here the same price?" Ange inquired.
"Of course. The quality is similar, so the prices are all the same," the owner replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Ange's hand quickly brushed over each Evolution Stone. He found that the aura feedback from these stones was almost identical. They were all abnormal.
However, when he touched a Shiny Stone, Ange stopped because the aura from this stone was normal.
Seeing Ange touch that Shiny Stone, the owner's expression changed slightly. Then he heard Ange say, "I'll take this Shiny Stone!"
"Sure... thing," the owner replied with a stiff face. He cursed Ange in his heart.
He had only mixed a few genuine Evolution Stones into the shop. How did this kid have such good luck to pick one!
As it turned out, most of the Evolution Stones sold in this shop were indeed problematic. The owner had a relative who was a stone-cutter at an Evolution Stone mine. The two conspired to secretly transport fragments from the mine and used a special synthesis technology to combine the fragments with other materials into complete stones for sale.
Because the cost was low, their selling price was much lower than the market price. Even so, they made a fortune. It was not that these stones could not help Pokémon evolve; even fragments could trigger evolution if the quantity was sufficient.
The key problem was that this black-hearted owner had reduced the amount of Evolution Stone fragments and increased other components to save costs. Although the stones sold so far had successfully triggered evolutions, no one was certain if they would cause side effects for the Pokémon. Once side effects were discovered, it would be difficult for buyers to prove it was because of the stones from this shop.
The merchant's synthesis technology was very clever. To the naked eye, neither Ange nor other buyers could see anything wrong.
Ange paid for the Shiny Stone and left with his two disciples under the owner's forced smile.
Not long after leaving, Ange called the relevant authorities to report the shop. He specifically identified himself, and the person on the phone immediately stated they would take it seriously and send someone to inspect it thoroughly.
After Ange hung up, Drizzile asked curiously, Driz driz~ Master, was there something wrong with that shop?
Haunter also looked at Ange in confusion.
"I'm not sure, but it felt off," Ange replied, shaking his head. He told Drizzile and Haunter about his discovery.
Drizzile was immediately filled with righteous indignation. Driz driz~ There must be a problem. Master cannot be wrong. Unscrupulous merchant!
Haunt haunt~
Haunter also echoed its senior disciple with an angry look.
Ange smiled and patted its head. "We will know once the authorities test them. if there is a problem, they won't let him keep the shop open."
Drizzile and Haunter felt slightly appeased.
Haunt haunt~
At this time, Haunter suddenly asked Ange why he did not report the previous shop that used Basculin to pretend to be Magikarp.
"Because the nature of the act is different," Ange laughed.
Haunter was puzzled. Both were lies, so what was the difference?
Afterward, Ange continued to inspect various stalls in the wholesale market with his two disciples. After the inspection, Ange selected two shops as his suppliers. He then called his assistant, Jeremy, introduced the two shops to him, and gave him a list, telling him to deliver the items on the list to Nebel Plateau regularly.
After saying goodbye to Jeremy, Ange walked home with his two disciples.
When they passed the Pokémon Center, a thought struck Ange. He turned to Haunter and asked, "Haunter, do you want to evolve?"
Haunter was stunned. Haunt? Evolve?
"Yes, evolve into Gengar!" Ange nodded.
Haunter showed a look of surprise and joy. Haunt? Can I?
Most Pokémon followed their instincts when it came to evolution. If they could evolve, they certainly wanted to.
Ange nodded with a smile. "Of course. We happen to be passing the Pokémon Center. If you want to evolve, you can do it right now."
Haunt haunt~ I'm going to evolve! I'm going to evolve!
Hearing this, Haunter immediately flew around Ange's head in excitement. Its voice attracted the attention of pedestrians, causing Haunter to blush in embarrassment. Ange had long ago discovered that his third disciple was very shy. However, the pedestrians' gazes were kind, so Haunter soon returned to its normal expression.
"Alright, let's go!"
With that, Ange led his two disciples into the Pokémon Center.
When Nurse Joy saw Ange, she asked in surprise, "Why is Your Highness here today? Is there anything I can help with?"
Ange pointed at Haunter. "My Haunter wants to evolve. Is it convenient?"
Hearing this, Nurse Joy said happily, "What a coincidence! Right now, there is a trainer whose Spritzee also wants to evolve through a Link Trade!"
Spritzee evolving into Aromatisse required a Link Trade, just like Haunter evolving into Gengar, though Spritzee also needed to hold a Sachet. In truth, one could evolve by trading with an empty Poké Ball without another Pokémon, but since there happened to be two Pokémon needing trade-evolution, it was faster to do it together.
Nurse Joy called out, "Miss Aria, there is a trainer here who needs a trade-evolution. Do you want to do it together?"
"Coming!"
A girl with long pink hair ran over quickly with a Spritzee.
Nurse Joy introduced her to Ange with a smile. "This is Miss Aria, a trainer passing through our Azoth Royal Capital. It's her Spritzee that needs to evolve."
"Hello," Ange nodded to the girl named Aria.
Then Nurse Joy introduced Ange to Aria. "This is our Highness Ange of Azoth. You don't get to see him often! The Highness wants to evolve his Haunter!"
Aria let out an exclamation of surprise and then winked at Ange. "I'll be in your care then!"
"If everything is alright, let's begin," Nurse Joy said.
Ange and Aria both nodded. They each withdrew Haunter and Spritzee into their Poké Balls and, led by Nurse Joy, approached the Link Trade machine.
In fact, Haunter did not have a Poké Ball before coming to the Pokémon Center. The ball was something Ange had prepared temporarily after Haunter agreed to evolve.
Ange and Aria placed their Poké Balls on opposite ends of the machine, and the Link Trade began. After the trade was over, Ange and Aria swapped positions, because Ange now had the Spritzee and Aria had the Haunter.
Taking out the Poké Ball containing Haunter, Ange opened it. As soon as Haunter came out, its body began to emit a bright blue-white light. The situation was the same for Aria's side.
The evolution had begun.
Driz driz~
Seeing its junior sister evolving, Drizzile clapped its hands happily and continuously.
Within the light of evolution, Haunter's body grew larger. It gained not only hands but also feet, and its body became rounder and rounder. When the light dissipated, a brand-new Pokémon appeared before Ange and Drizzile. It was Haunter's evolved form, Gengar!
Geng geng~
After evolving, Gengar wiggled its body, curiously eyeing its new form.
Ange stepped forward to congratulate it. "Gengar, congratulations on your successful evolution!"
His third disciple was a bit different from a normal Gengar. Normal Gengar were dark purple, but his disciple's color leaned toward grey. It was a Shiny Pokémon.
Geng geng~
Hearing Ange's congratulations, Gengar happily lunged forward and pulled Ange into its arms, spinning him around in the air until he was dizzy.
"Alright, alright! Gengar, if you keep spinning, I won't be able to stand!" Ange said helplessly.
Geng~
Gengar giggled and put Ange down, its face turning red. It was shy again!
Driz driz~
The senior disciple, Drizzile, gave Gengar a thumbs-up and also offered its congratulations. Like Ange, it received a big hug from Gengar.
Ange looked at Gengar and said with a sigh of emotion, "I didn't expect you to reach your final form even earlier than your two seniors."