[Headline News: The Sea Priestess has raised the reward for the third time in search of the lost Sea Spirit in the Whirl Islands of the Johto Region.]
Upon seeing the words "Sea Spirit," Tetsuya suddenly remembered the sphere stored in his backpack. It was the one he and Catherine had obtained aboard the pirate ship, the treasure of the Sea Priestess.
Tetsuya only knew that it was a treasure for Water-type Pokémon. Simply by shining its light upon a Water-type, it would calm the Pokémon and enhance its power. If a Water-type Pokémon actually carried it, the increase in the power of its moves was unimaginable.
Could it be that during yesterday's battle with Lorelei, Lapras had been affected by the Sea Spirit?
Tetsuya was now almost certain of it. It seemed he would have to keep this treasure under careful protection. Since the Sea Priestess had repeatedly increased the reward to recover the Sea Spirit, its value was obvious. Now that he knew its energy could have such an enormous effect on Water-type Pokémon, even though they were still some distance away, he had no choice but to take precautions.
If the Sea Priestess truly managed to use Water-type Pokémon to trace the Sea Spirit's whereabouts, his life would become very difficult.
Besides… now that such a valuable treasure had fallen into his hands, there was no reason for him to return it.
At the Department Store in Saffron City, Tetsuya purchased a fingerprint-locked case capable of sealing energy, spending a full 20,000 Pokédollars.
In this world, everything revolved around energy. Many Pokémon moves used energy as their means of attack, Pokémon types were classified according to how different Pokémon controlled and utilized various forms of energy.
Even the study behind Poké Balls relied on converting Pokémon into energy and storing them within a separate space. Therefore, the principle behind manufacturing a box capable of sealing energy was essentially the same.
After returning to the dormitory at the Pokémon Center, Tetsuya placed the Sea Spirit into the fingerprint lockbox. Unless he was in an absolutely safe environment, he would not open the box lightly.
As for how he intended to use the Sea Spirit, he had no plans for the time being. However, the Sea Priestess held great influence. The entire Whirl Islands fell within their sphere of influence. They had once been an independent tribe before later becoming affiliated with the Johto League.
Every three years, they also hosted the Whirl Cup tournament, attracting countless enthusiasts of Water-type Pokémon.
---◓---
By evening, Nurse Joy handed all eight Poké Balls back to him. Tetsuya placed Kenny's four Poké Balls into his backpack. Tonight, he could make a trip to the Pokémon trading market. It would bring in another tidy profit.
At the Pokémon Center, Tetsuya fed his Pokémon some Pokéfood. After letting them exercise for a while to help digest their meal, he headed toward the Pokémon market.
The "trading" market was different from the Black Market. The Black Market dealt in trafficking, whereas trading centers bought Pokémon from the local region and then sold them in other regions. That made those Pokémon appear rarer and naturally allowed them to be sold at much higher prices.
Tetsuya found a trading center with a good reputation. He handed Kenny's four Pokémon over to the owner. After examining the Pokémon, the owner immediately returned Cacturne's Poké Ball to Tetsuya and said:
"We only purchase Pokémon from the Kanto and Johto regions. Your Pokémon is from Hoenn."
Since that was the trading center owner's policy, Tetsuya had no choice but to put Cacturne's Poké Ball away. It seemed he would have to find another way to deal with it.
After the appraisal, Venusaur and Meganium, as the representative Pokémon of Kanto and Johto respectively, and both in their final Evolution stage, were each valued at around 70k Pokédollars. After Tetsuya argued his case, he managed to raise the price to 80k each.
Jumpluff, however, was far too common and was valued at only 10,000 Pokédollars. Altogether, the three Pokémon sold for 170k Pokédollars, which was transferred directly to his card.
Tetsuya simply withdrew the remaining odd amount from his account, leaving himself with more than 40k Pokédollars in cash for daily expenses, while keeping an even 2,7M Pokédollars on his card.
Now only Cacturne remained. As the first Pokémon Kenny had lost during their battle, Tetsuya still had no clear understanding of its true combat capacities. If the opportunity arose, he would have to thoroughly test it himself.
Of course, it had once belonged to someone else, and he had killed its former Trainer. Trying to make Cacturne his own Pokémon was almost impossible.
---◓---
Early the next morning, Tetsuya headed alone toward the Saffron Gym. Just as he reached the entrance and was about to go inside, he suddenly heard someone call out.
"Hey! Are you here to challenge the Saffron Gym!?"
Tetsuya turned around and saw an ojisan in his forties wearing a cowboy hat.
"…I am. Is there a problem?"
Tetsuya replied. This man was Sabrina's father, also a psychic user. He had once been the Gym Leader of Saffron Gym, but by now he had most likely left the Gym because of his daughter's autism.
"Kid, you'd better go back. You're no match for Sabrina."
Sabrina's father waved his hand as he spoke.
"We haven't even battled yet. How do you know I'm not Sabrina's opponent?"
Tetsuya completely ignored Sabrina's father's advice.
"Sabrina, my dau… uhg, she can use, eh, psychic abilities… If you lose to her, she'll turn you into a doll! She'll only change you back after she gets tired of, mmm… playing, with you."
Sabrina's father spoke earnestly.
Tetsuya: "…"
"Hmm!?"
"You can use psychic powers too, can't you?"
"…psychic powers too, can't you?"
"…can't you?"
That voice echoed beside Sabrina's father's ears, transmitted through psychic waves. Only someone capable of using psychic powers could send such a message, and only another psychic user could hear it. Sabrina's father immediately became alert.
'Nani…?'
"Who's there!?"
Sabrina's father also used psychic power to transmit his voice, although his expression remained as calm as if nothing had happened.
"Right in front of you."
At that moment, Tetsuya smiled at Sabrina's father.
"You… It was you!?"
Sabrina's father finally spoke aloud.
"You are a psychic user too…? You've already learned how to transmit your voice!!!?"
"I've only just begun to use it. I'm actually here to seek guidance from Sabrina," Tetsuya said.
Sabrina's father let out a long sigh.
"Ok… She's become completely obsessed with training her psychic powers. I hope you can save her… After all, she's only living in her own utopian world of illusion."
Tetsuya smiled faintly. The person destined to save Sabrina had not even begun traveling yet. He had only come to test his own psychic powers and to learn how to use them. At present, the only thing he knew was how to use a form of "Confusion" to control objects, the most basic application.
As for someone like Sabrina, setting aside how powerful her psychic abilities were, she could at least use Teleport and even use her psychic powers to strengthen Psychic-type Pokémon. Those were all fields he had yet to explore.