Sinbad barely had time to process the mental link settling into place before another notification slid into his awareness, sharp and intrusive like a pop-up ad in the back of his skull.
He doesn't know how to feel about a system that he'd never interacted with or what the a system would do in a Pokémon world.
[Hidden Quest Completed: Starter Pokémon]
Objective: Capture a Pokémon (1/1)
Reward: Rare Item B-Rank [Ice Steel]
[B-Rank: Ice Steel]
A rare mineral found in the deep polar regions, containing condensed elemental energy. When absorbed by Steel- or Ice-type Pokémon, it accelerates physical growth and improves control over Steel- and Ice-type energy. Moderately increases Defense and Special Defense over time.
Sinbad skimmed the description twice.
Cultivation items like this only existed because Pokémon had merged with Earth. The combined energy output of Pokémon ecosystems and awakened human aura had saturated the environment with natural energy over the decades. The planet hadn't just changed politically or technologically. It had changed biologically.
Entirely new plant species, animal variants, and mineral formations had begun appearing across the world as a result.
Evolution stones were the easiest example to understand.
They existed in the real world just like in the games, but their behavior was completely different. In the games, any Water Stone would evolve Eevee into Vaporeon with guaranteed results and identical outcomes.
A high-grade S-Rank Water Stone contained massive quantities of refined water energy. It could not only trigger evolution reliably, but also permanently enhance elemental control, expand internal energy reserves, strengthen bodily foundations, and improve long-term growth potential.
A C-Rank Water Stone barely carried enough energy to trigger evolution and provided little to no secondary benefits.
A D-Rank Water Stone often failed entirely if the Pokémon's qualification level or compatibility was insufficient, with failure rates hovering around ninety-eight percent.
Rank mattered.
A lot.
Items like Ice Steel worked differently. Instead of triggering evolution directly, the mineral could be consumed and gradually absorbed into the Pokémon's body over time, reinforcing internal energy pathways and strengthening elemental compatibility as the material dissolved.
Taking the Ice Steel into his palm, Sinbad felt an immediate cold bite against his skin. Only the thin layer of Aura flowing through his hand prevented instant frostbite. As a member of the royal family, he had been taught how to wield Aura from a young age, even if he never took the training especially seriously.
Aura was a form of spiritual energy described as the essence of every living thing. Sinbad personally interpreted it as internal energy, ki, qi, or whatever name different cultures liked to use for it. At a basic level, Aura reinforced the body, improving durability, stamina, and resistance to environmental stress. It was especially useful for martial artists and combat trainers.
In practical terms, Aura functioned like a toned-down version of what you'd see in cultivation novels or shōnen power systems. It extended lifespan, slowed aging, strengthened muscles and bones, and protected internal organs from damage. Someone who mastered Aura could easily look forty while being over a hundred years old. At higher levels, Aura could be projected defensively, used to resist intimidation effects, dampen special attacks, and even exert pressure outward.
Advanced users could emit killing intent strong enough to make weak enemies faint or panic. Reading emotional intent from humans or Pokémon was considered entry-level sensing, though nowhere near as precise as true psychic telepathy. Everyone technically had Aura, but very few people could actively use it, and even fewer ever mastered it.
Sinbad flexed his fingers slightly and let the Aura settle before turning back toward the aquarium built into the center of the living room.
The treehouse hideout came equipped with multiple habitat rooms designed to house Pokémon safely. He released Lurish into the water tank, and the small Pokémon immediately began swimming slow exploratory loops around the space. Without hesitation, Sinbad dropped the Ice Steel into the tank.
Water and Steel were among the best defensive typings in existence. The combination resisted an absurd number of attack types, including Ice, Water, Fairy, Dragon, Rock, Flying, and several others, while remaining neutral to Fire. Offensively it wasn't spectacular, but Water STAB still pressured Fire and Ground types that would normally threaten Steel-based Pokémon. The only real drawback was that it couldn't hard-check Fire and Ground the way pure Water types could, but that was a minor issue compared to the overall defensive value.
The Lurish line eventually lost its Steel typing after evolution, but according to the data card that wouldn't happen for a long time. Natural evolution among wild populations was rare due to slow growth cycles. That meant he had time to strengthen her Steel-type affinity and defensive foundation before the Ice transition occurred, especially since his Lurish leaned toward special attack builds rather than physical dominance.
The Lurish swam over and swallowed the Ice Steel without hesitation.
A faint pulse of energy rippled through her body as the mineral began dissolving internally. Her posture visibly relaxed, and a warm emotional feedback brushed across Sinbad's awareness through the bond link. Curiosity shifted toward approval.
She wanted more.
Sinbad smiled faintly at the sensation but quickly refocused on the practical side of things. His new Pokémon possessed a total of five moves. Tackle was standard. Bubble Beam surprised him slightly since he expected Bubble as a starter move.
Aura Sphere and Iron Head were excellent moves long-term, but both required proper control training to avoid collateral damage or self-injury at her current size. Dragon Dance was powerful but largely incompatible with the way he planned to raise her. His goal was a tanky, fast special attacker, not a physical sweeper. If she'd rolled Huge Power instead of Mega Launcher, that would've been a different story entirely.
Still, move access was never wasted. Options mattered.
While Lurish explored the tank, Sinbad went online to order marine Pokémon ingredients and specialized nutrient supplements. Being part of the Caribbean Alliance, marine biology cultivation was on par with Japan and China thanks to heavy ocean research investment. Supply chains were reliable, but quality cost money.
Which brought him back to the real problem.
Money.
Being low in the royal succession meant he didn't have much disposable income. The Haitian royal structure was also quietly sexist when it came to non-trainer women, which limited his mother's political and financial influence despite being part of the main bloodline. Most of her status amounted to ceremonial visibility rather than actual leverage.
Raising Pokémon was expensive. There was no way around that.
Lazy as he was, Sinbad still ranked near the top of his classes. Reincarnation, plus whatever strange neural enhancement came bundled with it, made academics trivial. It was the only reason the faculty hadn't expelled him already for sleeping through half his lectures.
He was about to enter his senior year of high school. In this world, reaching Elite-level trainer status marked functional adulthood and eligibility for admission into prestigious colleges and academies.
Now that he'd started raising a Pokémon, his expenses had jumped overnight.
Sinbad knew he'd need to start earning money independently. He couldn't lean on his parents forever, especially not with a pseudo-legendary appetite swimming in his living room.
Sinbad had considered a lot of money-making approaches.
The first was investment.
The Caribbean Alliance had a growing industrial base tied directly to Pokémon integration, even if its overall economic power still lagged behind the major blocs. There were dozens of mid-tier companies worth buying into early if you had patience and capital.
A few stood out immediately.
Forgeheart Atelier (Haiti) specialized in Pokémon-grade alloy forging and adaptive armor plating for trainers and combat Pokémon. Their research focused on hybrid metals that could absorb elemental energy without destabilizing, especially for Steel, Rock, and Ground types.
Sirocco Dynamics (Barbados) worked on atmospheric and pressure-control tech for aerial and deep-sea Pokémon transport. Their newest prototype carrier harness was designed to stabilize pressure shifts for abyssal species without inducing shock damage.
Marisol Weaveworks (Dominican Republic) handled performance fabrics and elemental-resistant clothing for trainers operating in extreme environments, fire zones, ice fields, toxic swamps, and high-altitude regions.
Triton Arms Cooperative (Puerto Rico) produced modular Pokémon-compatible weapons and containment tools, specializing in capture suppression nets, elemental dampening restraints, and portable training arenas.
Siphonix Systems (Jamaica) focused on compact energy storage, elemental siphoning batteries, and field generators designed to stabilize volatile Pokémon abilities during transport and battle training.
All of them were solid long-term plays.
The problem was time.
The Caribbean Alliance economy wasn't exactly booming, and most of these products were optimized for local markets rather than global export. Returns would be slow, margins tight, and liquidity limited. Good for steady wealth building, terrible for someone who suddenly needed to fund a pseudo-legendary food budget.
The second approach was starting a business himself.
That was far more appealing.
He could leverage the system, the weird god interference, or whatever force had decided to shove Pokémon into reality. His Lurish alone was proof that abnormal assets could appear if you were positioned correctly. If he could stabilize production, discovery, or controlled distribution of something rare, the upside would scale fast.
Pseudo-legendaries were always in demand.
And always in short supply.
If he could create a controlled pipeline, even a small one, it would generate absurd leverage financially and politically. Licensing fees, breeding contracts, trainer sponsorships, research partnerships, export rights. The value stacked quickly.
The risks stacked even faster.
Anything involving rare Pokémon attracted attention from governments, guilds, criminal syndicates, and regulators who all believed they deserved first claim. One mistake and the project would be confiscated, regulated into uselessness, or quietly absorbed by someone with more guns than lawyers.
Still.
Compared to slow investment growth, business creation offered speed, scalability, and control.
Which meant Sinbad was already leaning toward it, even if he didn't like admitting that meant more work.
Sinbad leaned back into the couch and started breaking the problem down properly.
If he was going to start a business, it had to meet a few requirements.
First, it needed low initial visibility. Anything flashy would draw government attention, and that was the last thing he wanted with a pseudo-legendary swimming in his living room.
Second, it had to scale. If it only made pocket change, it wouldn't justify the risk or the time investment.
Third, it had to leverage something he actually had access to: knowledge from his past life, access to cultivation mechanics, and eventually a very dangerous Pokémon.
That narrowed the field fast.
The most obvious option was Pokémon breeding.
Not mass breeding. That was illegal in half the Alliance and heavily regulated in the rest. But controlled boutique breeding, selective pairing, and genetic line stabilization were allowed under research licenses and private contracts. Rare bloodlines fetched absurd premiums, especially if you could guarantee temperament stability and predictable growth traits.
The problem was timeline.
Lurish wouldn't even reach breeding maturity for years. He'd need capital long before that to keep feeding and training it. Breeding was a long game, not a survival plan.
Second option: cultivation material refinement and resale.
Raw materials like Ice Steel, elemental crystals, monster cores, and energy-infused flora were everywhere, but most people sold them unprocessed at terrible margins. If he could develop refining methods, purification techniques, or controlled absorption protocols, he could multiply value without needing massive scale.
This fit his strengths. Knowledge. Process optimization. Risk control.
The downside was sourcing. He'd need steady access to raw materials, which meant either suppliers or dangerous acquisition work.
Third option: specialty training services.
Most trainers sucked at structured growth planning. They trained reactively, burned money inefficiently, and plateaued early. If he could build optimized training regimens based on stat modeling, ability synergy, and resource efficiency, he could sell consulting packages to mid-tier trainers and academies.
Low startup cost. Mostly brainpower. Minimal physical risk.
But limited scalability unless he automated it or built a brand.
Fourth option: technology and tools.
Designing niche gear for Pokémon cultivation, Aura efficiency, containment optimization, or micro-environment training modules could be extremely profitable. The Caribbean Alliance lacked domestic high-end manufacturers and imported most advanced equipment at brutal prices.
The downside was capital and manufacturing complexity.
Sinbad exhaled slowly and stared at the ceiling.
Breeding was too slow.
Hardware was too expensive.
Consulting was safe but capped.
Refining had risk but strong upside.
Which left him with a hybrid path.
Start with consulting and optimization services to generate fast, low-risk income and contacts. Use that cash flow to bootstrap into small-scale cultivation material refinement, where margins were much higher. Long-term, once he had infrastructure and political insulation, breeding and rare asset management could come online.
It wasn't glamorous.
It was survivable.
His gaze drifted toward the aquarium where Lurish was lazily circling, occasionally bumping into the glass like a curious torpedo.
"And you," Sinbad muttered, "are my retirement plan whether you like it or not."
The Lurish flicked her fins in what might have been agreement.
Or hunger.
Probably hunger.