Silius's voice wasn't loud.
In fact, it sounded gentle—almost refined—without the domineering pressure one might expect from someone of his standing.
Yet not a single person present dared to speak out of turn.
They were all from the western alliances, from influential families. Naturally, they understood the Morgan family all too well.
Among the western world, a saying had circulated for years:
You might survive offending the Sky Eagle Alliance—but offend the three great families, and you'll be crushed in countless ways.
So when Silius spoke, silence was the only reasonable response.
At that moment, a student from Oxford Academy—Yago—slowly raised his hand.
Silius blinked lightly and smiled.
"This friend from Oxford Academy—what would you like to say?"
Granted permission, Yago straightened his posture.
"Respected Lord Morgan, I'm willing to pay ten million Sky Eagle credits to purchase a Pokémon."
"And that Pokémon is currently in the hands of one of the three students from Donghuang Academy—the young man named Ethan."
Ten million Sky Eagle credits.
Even in any major country, that sum was enough to buy an extremely rare Pokémon.
Yet Yago wanted to buy someone else's Pokémon outright.
A ripple of surprise spread through the crowd.
"Oh?" Silius sounded intrigued. "And what Pokémon would that be?"
"An alternate-color Gligar," Yago replied quickly.
"My companions and I were acting on Prince Leviell's orders to capture it."
"But that despicable Donghuang student interfered—not only stopping us, but even blasting the three of us away."
"If it weren't for sheer luck, Lord Morgan, we wouldn't even be standing here now."
His words were vivid, emotional—painting himself as the victim.
From his perspective, he truly believed it.
As for Gligar's suffering? That never mattered to him. To Yago, it was nothing more than a stepping stone to higher status.
The moment the words shiny Gligar left his mouth, several people inhaled sharply.
Murmurs rose.
But the anger wasn't directed at Yago being attacked.
It was outrage that a Donghuang Academy student dared to resist.
In their long-standing prejudice, Donghuang was weak, backward, and submissive.
For someone they viewed as "inferior" to fight back—
That was unacceptable.
Some even began shouting about punishment and suppression.
Through it all, Silius remained calm.
He smiled faintly.
"Ten million for a shiny Gligar… not a bad offer."
"The Morgan family will handle this matter."
Yago's face lit up instantly.
"Thank you, Lord Morgan!"
Beside him, Ellie and Dennison exchanged looks but said nothing.
They wanted that Gligar too—but unlike Yago, they couldn't afford such a price.
Soon, others began placing bids—offering to buy portions of the resources taken from Ethan and his group.
To them, the Donghuang students were already commodities.
Silius listened, calculated, and approved deals with detached precision.
Even academies like Frostwinter and Sandsea were placed on the plunder list.
The reason was simple.
Ethan had already cleanly harvested every opportunity the western academies could have obtained.
Twenty days had passed.
They had found nothing.
Desperation had turned them feral.
At that moment—
"Starraaa!"
A Staraptor descended from the sky and landed beside Silius, whispering into his ear.
Silius smiled.
"Everyone—the Donghuang Academy students have been located."
"Those whose bids I've approved… come with me."
"Let's inspect our 'goods.'"
Excitement erupted instantly.
Meanwhile — Eastern Coast of Sea Cliff Island
"Entei—Flamethrower!"
At Ethan's command, the small Entei instantly entered combat stance.
Despite its size, its flowing mane radiated unmistakable dominance.
Fire gathered in its mouth.
A roaring torrent of flames surged forward like a blazing dragon.
"Marill, counter with Water Burst!"
Qin Yingying cried out in shock.
Marill inhaled sharply, water energy exploding around its body.
Wrapped in rushing currents, it forced itself forward—pushing back against the flames.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Huge Power, huh… blue-tier opportunity indeed."
"But this alone won't overwhelm Entei."
"Gliscor—Quick Attack, then Cross Poison!"
Gliscor became a streak of blue lightning, diving from above.
Dark-purple energy formed a cross between its pincers as it lunged toward Marill.
Too fast.
Qin Yingying didn't even have time to react.
Just as Gliscor was about to strike—
"Gengar. Trick Room."
Ye Kui finally spoke.
Gengar's form emerged from the void.
Reality warped.
In an instant, Gliscor's blinding speed slowed to a crawl—like time itself had thickened.
"Trick Room…" Ethan murmured, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected Ye Kui's Gengar to master that move.
"Shadow Punch!"
Gengar's arm darkened, slamming forward.
Gliscor tried to raise its pincers to block—but within Trick Room, it was too slow.
At that critical moment—
"En-di!!"
A sharp cry rang out.
A powerful psychic shockwave burst from Entei's body.
BOOM!
Gengar was sent flying like a broken kite.
The Trick Room shattered.
Gliscor instantly regained full mobility.
"Enough, Gliscor," Ethan said calmly.
Gliscor halted and rose back into the air.
Marill, having pushed itself too hard against Entei's flames, finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Entei didn't pursue.
The match was over.
Qin Yingying exhaled and recalled Marill.
Ye Kui helped Gengar back up.
"We lost," Qin Yingying admitted frankly.
She stared at the small Entei in awe.
"Ethan… how did you do that?"
"That hit even knocked Gengar away!"
Ethan chuckled.
"Nothing special."
"Just Extrasensory."
Extrasensory wasn't about raw power—it was about mental strength.
And Entei's species possessed extraordinary spiritual force.
Coupled with its Inner Focus ability, even a higher-level Gengar couldn't withstand a direct psychic shock.
Understanding dawned on both girls.
Their gazes toward Entei filled with envy.
Powerful and adorable—how could anyone not want it?
"Graaa~"
Gliscor, however, looked frustrated.
If not for Entei, it would've been beaten cleanly.
It hated that feeling.
It immediately demanded special training.
Ethan laughed.
"Alright, I get it."
"Go find Hatterene."
"She knows Trick Room too."
"Experience it firsthand—feel the difference."
Gliscor nodded vigorously and flew back toward the camp.
As Ethan crouched to praise Entei, he continued chatting with Qin Yingying and Ye Kui about training philosophies.
Sharing insights, learning strengths, correcting weaknesses.
That was how trainers truly improved.
Just then, Ye Kui glanced at Marill, who still looked tired.
Qin Yingying was about to recall it—
"Let me," Ye Kui said softly.
A gentle green light bloomed from her palm.
Marill's fatigue vanished almost instantly.
"Ma-rill~!"
Qin Yingying froze.
"Ye Kui… what was that?"
Even Ethan looked surprised.
Ye Kui smiled faintly.
"Just a healing ability."
"My home is in the southwest province—dense forests."
"When I was little, I met a small green Pokémon."
"She said I had a kind heart… and gave me this power."
"I can only heal Pokémon. Nothing else."
Ethan understood instantly.
A forest guardian.
Celebi.
Qin Yingying was happy—but also deflated.
"So… I'm the only normal person here, huh…"
Before she could complain further—
A calm, fluent voice spoke from the distance.
"A legendary Entei…"
"A human with miraculous healing…"
"You three truly are more… valuable than I expected."
"Looks like this Sea Cliff Island trip—"
"Will be extremely profitable for me."
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