Pokemon: Bounty Hunter

The black market staff took Silas' savings card, inserted it into a verification device, and after confirming his balance, returned it to him.

Silas accepted it and stepped through the grand doors of the black market store.

The first thing that greeted him was a large hall with pristine white tiles. Several doors lined the back wall, each marked with symbols representing different Pokémon types.

As Silas entered, a female attendant dressed in a revealing outfit with a striking figure approached him.

"Hello, how may I assist you?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

Silas took a quick glance at her, feeling a brief flutter in his heart, but quickly suppressed it. After all, women would only slow down his Poké Ball-throwing speed.

From beneath his black cloak, his voice rang out. "Where are the Elekid and Torchic eggs? Take me there."

The attendant leaned forward slightly, deliberately emphasizing her assets before gesturing toward a corridor.

"The Torchic eggs are currently being examined by another customer. Would you like to look at the Elekid eggs first?"

Silas gave a small nod, indicating for her to lead the way.

She guided him toward a door marked with an electric symbol. Beyond it was a well-organized series of storage rooms, each labeled with different Pokémon egg types.

Upon reaching the Elekid egg storage room, she swiped her work card, unlocking the door. Inside, three large shelves were stocked with Elekid eggs. However, the further back he looked, the fewer eggs were displayed.

"The three shelves correspond to three different price tiers," the attendant explained.

Silas didn't interrupt, so she continued.

"For Elekid eggs, the price categories are 12 million, 15 million, and 18 million Pokédollars. These prices are determined by our Pokémon appraisers, who assess the potential of each egg. Higher quality eggs cost more."

She paused before continuing, "The evaluations are based on the strength of the egg's parent Pokémon, the condition of the egg, and other factors.

Of course, appraisals aren't foolproof. Some customers have bought high-priced eggs only to get an Elekid with standard potential, while others have picked cheaper ones that later evolved into Advance-level Electivire."

After explaining, she stepped back, allowing Silas to inspect the eggs at his own pace.

Trainers had all sorts of strange ways of choosing Pokémon eggs. Some picked based on patterns they liked, while others claimed to feel a special connection with an egg. Her job was to stand by silently unless necessary—interrupting a customer's decision-making process could lead to a complaint, which meant a pay cut.

Silas ignored her and secretly activated Zero, his ability to analyze Pokémon potential.

Looking at the first shelf, he saw that nearly all the eggs had only Advance-level potential, with just a few having Quasi-Elite potential.

"Not bad," he muttered, though it was clear that the first-tier eggs weren't worth his time.

Moving to the second shelf, he noticed an improvement. About half of the eggs here had Quasi-Elite potential, but still, none reached the level he desired.

Finally, he arrived at the third shelf. Only five eggs were displayed.

Silas felt his heart race. Among the five, one was merely Advance-level, three were Quasi-Elite, and one...

His eyes widened.

One egg had true Elite-level potential!

Suppressing his excitement, he gestured toward the attendant.

"Mark this egg down. Now take me to the Torchic eggs."

She used her scanner to register his selection before leading him toward another section of the store.

"The price for Torchic eggs is 22 million, 25 million, and 30 million, based on their potential," she explained.

As they entered, Silas immediately noted a significant difference—there were far more Torchic eggs than Elekid eggs. Torchic, being one of the official Starter Pokémon, was in much higher demand, making the market more competitive.

Silas wasted no time scanning the first and second shelves. As expected, there were no surprises—mostly Advance-level and Quasi-Elite potential eggs.

But then, he reached the third shelf.

Unlike the Elekid section, this one had twelve eggs displayed, over twice as many.

"Alright, time to test my luck."

Silas scanned the first few eggs.

Quasi-Elite. Quasi-Elite. Quasi-Elite. Elite. Quasi-Elite...

By the tenth egg, he had only found two with Elite-level potential. That alone was a solid find, but he was hoping for something even rarer.

Then, his gaze landed on the eleventh egg.

Silas froze.

His heart pounded. His fists clenched.

This egg's potential...

It was Champion-level!

He quickly scanned the twelfth egg—just Quasi-Elite. Worthless.

Without hesitation, he pointed at the eleventh egg.

"This one. Let's check out."

The attendant, sensing something different in his tone, tilted her head slightly but said nothing.

She radioed another staff member, who soon arrived with a specialized container for Pokémon eggs.

Silas didn't waste time. He handed over two anonymous savings cards, one with 10 million and another with 20 million Pokédollars.

The attendant verified them, her professional smile widening as she completed the transaction.

Once the eggs were safely stored in his spatial backpack, the deal was done.

The female attendant personally escorted Silas out of the store before returning to her post with a satisfied look. Completing this sale had earned her a solid 50,000 Pokédollars commission.

Meanwhile, Silas moved swiftly through the black market streets.

He took a few turns, ensuring no one was following him, before stopping in a quiet alleyway. There, he removed his black robe, stuffing it into his backpack.

Finally, after making sure he wasn't being tailed, he sprinted home.

SLAM!

As soon as he stepped inside and locked the door, Silas did the most logical thing he could think of.

He slapped himself across the face.

SMACK!

"Ow!"

Rubbing his cheek, he grinned. It hurt. It was real.

Carefully, he took out the Torchic egg he had just purchased and activated Zero to confirm once again.

It was true. This Torchic egg actually had Champion-level potential.

Not even Elite level—straight from Top Trainer tier to Champion!

Silas spun in place on the spot, did a mid-air 360-degree turn, and then launched into an Armstrong-style takeoff.

Like a crazed Husky, he ran wild around his living room for half an hour, muttering non-stop under his breath before finally managing to calm down.

He didn't know how the appraiser had messed up, but whoever they were, they were an absolute saint.

Silas sincerely wished them a long and prosperous life.

To put things in perspective—his luck was equivalent to suddenly having a lawyer show up at his door one day, informing him that he had inherited a billion-dollar fortune, tax-free and all in cash.

And the shock he felt? It was like a truck delivering that billion-dollar fortune straight to his doorstep.

(PS: Though, maybe one truck wouldn't be enough to hold it all…)

Silas's hands trembled.

What? There was still a possibility that Zero had made a mistake?

Get lost. Crawl as far away as possible.

If anyone dared tell him that right now, Silas would absolutely blow up on them.

He took a deep breath. Then exhaled.

Tried to calm down…

Yeah, like hell that was happening.

Silas released his Pidgeot and immediately began aggressively ruffling its feathers.

Pidgeot, thinking it was mealtime, happily emerged from its Poké Ball—only to find itself suddenly caught in a merciless feather-ruffling session.

Absolute despair.

Its trainer… had gone insane.

For nearly two years, Pidgeot had followed Silas, and never once had it suspected he was actually a lunatic.

Half an hour later, Silas was calmly brushing Pidgeot's feathers with a specialized comb, chuckling softly as he worked.

Pidgeot lay on the ground, resigned to its fate. At least the grooming felt nice… though the occasional eerie laugh from its trainer made it a little uncomfortable.

After finishing, Silas prepared a meal for Pidgeot and let it roam freely.

At last, he was truly starting to settle down.

Because this was just too insane.

Champion-level potential…

Do you understand what that meant?

It meant that as long as he provided the right resources, Silas could one day have a Champion-tier Blaziken.

With that, he could easily become an Elite Four member—and even challenge for the Champion title itself!

Sure, the required resources would cost at least ten figures, but at least he had a real chance now.

Silas felt like the world itself had chosen him.

First, he found a Top Elite-tier Pidgey egg.

Now, he had a Champion-tier Torchic egg.

He must be Luck Goddess's long-lost son.

Silas swore—if he ever met Jirachi, he'd treat it to the best food imaginable.

With a deep breath, he opened his laptop.

Who cared about lunch?

Now that Torchic had Champion-level potential, his previous training plan was completely outdated.

He needed to revamp everything.

For the next two hours, Silas obsessively fine-tuned the training regimen, referencing all his knowledge and Zero's data.

At 2 PM, his stomach finally protested.

Only then did he stop, transferring the new plan to his smartwatch before heading into the kitchen.

While preparing a combined lunch and afternoon snack, he reviewed the plan one last time to check for any gaps.