Alley Fight

Just buying Energy Cubes had cost 23,000 Poké Dollars.

It was clear how much it cost to raise Pokémon, especially to raise them well.

And this was not even the highest-quality, top-tier stuff. Compared with those who truly poured massive sums into raising Pokémon, Xia Yan's spending was just...

Pocket change.

After eating two special Berries and shedding its skin once, Weedle had not only grown larger, but its appetite had increased as well.

This was a good thing for both it and Xia Yan. A bigger appetite meant it could absorb more energy, accelerating its absorption of Bug-type and Poison-type energy. But for Xia Yan's wallet, it might not be such a good thing.

"Good thing I didn't try to catch a second Pokémon. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough resources left to raise it."

He sighed inwardly.

With his current abilities, putting everything into raising one Pokémon was the key. Having another Pokémon would give him a little more room for error, but it would inevitably take away resources that should have gone toward raising Weedle.

Weedle's potential was no worse than that of any other Pokémon now. If he raised it with all his strength, he would certainly receive the appropriate returns.

"There are still two things left to do, but before that..."

Leaving the North District of the Black Market, he entered a relatively quiet street in the East District.

He visited several shops dealing in Pokémon books, buying quite a few books and materials unavailable through ordinary channels.

When he left the last bookstore, Xia Yan suddenly turned into an alley in the East District.

Not long after he entered.

Another person hidden beneath a cloak followed him inside.

"Paras, where did he go?"

Zuo Shang, who had followed Xia Yan into the alley, looked at the fork ahead of him. For a moment, he did not know which way to go and could only ask his Pokémon.

"Paras~~" Paras slightly sensed the moisture in the air and the Effect Spore it had scattered, then pointed toward the alley on the left at the three-way intersection.

Zuo Shang hesitated slightly.

Xia Yan's sudden move forced him to consider whether he had been discovered.

But after hesitating for a moment, he still hurried after him.

Paras's spores were extremely subtle and difficult to detect. This trick had never failed him, and it was how he survived in Goldenrod City's Black Market.

He worked for shops, retrieving goods that had been sold, with any extra gains belonging to him.

There was a whole group of people like him in the Black Market, specializing in targeting customers.

His Paras would plant spores on those customers. If the spores were discovered, he would give up. If not, it meant the target was not strong.

As he walked, the alley ahead became a dead end.

Then Zuo Shang saw a tiny spore in the corner at the end of the alley, struggling to take root and sprout after touching the ground.

Oh no! His heart jolted.

He hurriedly shouted, "Paras!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

But the moment he opened his mouth, three Poison Stings with a purple glow shot out from an inconspicuous crack somewhere behind him.

They pierced straight through his cloak and sank into Zuo Shang's body.

"Paras!!" Paras cried out in alarm.

Turning around, it saw a larger Weedle slowly crawl out of the crack, its tiny eyes filled with coldness.

Zuo Shang crashed heavily to the ground, motionless.

Yet another voice came from the other end of the alley.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting again. Aim for his head."

It was Xia Yan. He stepped out from around the corner and stood in the shadows, rubbing a tiny spore between his fingers.

No wonder that curtain had looked unnaturally green.

"Wait! It's a misunderstanding!"

The moment Xia Yan finished speaking, Zuo Shang, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up with a terrified expression.

Why was he not following the usual script?

Shouldn't Xia Yan have come over to collect the spoils after seeing him motionless, only to be killed by Zuo Shang, who had been pretending to be dead?

Xia Yan's eyes shone especially brightly in the shadows. Ignoring the other man's words completely, he simply called again, "Weedle!"

"Wuu!"

Weedle understood. Three more Poison Stings shot out, this time aimed at Zuo Shang's head.

Xia Yan's meaning was obvious.

Since this Zuo Shang had been secretly following him and had left spores on him, he clearly meant him harm. There was no need to hold back against someone like that.

If Weedle had not noticed the spores on him, there was no need to think about what would have happened next.

Rather than wait for others to make a move, he might as well strike first.

"Damn it!"

Zuo Shang's eyes widened as he felt a stabbing pain in his back. It was from the Poison Stings.

At the same time, he was shocked. To prevent sneak attacks by Pokémon, he had always worn protective gear. With this method, he had already killed quite a few inexperienced "customers."

But that was clearly only a Weedle. Its Poison Stings actually showed signs of piercing through his protection. Their tips had already penetrated the gear and broken his skin.

The poison was spreading.

"Paras! Stun Spore!"

Paras, which had been lying on the ground, leaped up and blocked the Poison Stings. At the same time, the two mushrooms on its back trembled gently, spraying a large amount of glittering green powder that scattered through the narrow alley.

But Paras, struck by the Poison Stings, let out a scream and crashed heavily to the ground.

Weedle's Poison Stings were not so easy to endure, especially for a Bug-type and Grass-type Pokémon like Paras. It was completely countered by a Bug-type and Poison-type Pokémon like Weedle.

Whether Bug-type moves or Poison-type moves, both could deal double damage to it.

Seeing Paras fall, Weedle remained unmoved. It fired another round of Poison Stings from the horn on its head, shooting toward Zuo Shang's head at a particularly tricky angle.

There was no need to get tangled up with Paras. Taking out the Pokémon Trainer would end this more cleanly.

This time, Zuo Shang had no way out.

Splat—

Zuo Shang's eyes remained wide open. Three tiny holes appeared in his forehead, dark red blood slowly trickling down as purple veins spread from the wounds across his entire forehead.

Thud!

He fell to the ground again, but this time, he was truly dead.

Seeing its Pokémon Trainer die, Paras staggered to its feet, its gaze blank.

Zuo Shang had only treated Paras as a tool, and Paras naturally held no feelings for him. Its Pokémon Trainer had simply died, leaving it unsure of what to do.

Only after the Stun Spore had completely dispersed did Xia Yan approach Zuo Shang's corpse. He found a small amount of money on him, along with several empty Poké Balls and Paras's Poké Ball.

He recalled Paras, took Weedle with him, tugged down the hood over his head, and quickly disappeared into the alley.

He did not dwell much on what had just happened.

That was simply how places like the Black Market, where all sorts of people mixed together, worked. Displaying wealth could get one targeted.

That was why many people chose not to hide their identities. It was a display of strength. Some also kept their Pokémon outside, likewise to show off their strength.

But Xia Yan's Weedle was still somewhat recognizable. Keeping it out in the open risked exposing his identity.

He walked out of the alley.

After buying Energy Cubes and books, only one thing remained.

He headed toward the South District of the Black Market.

The South District was the Pokémon trading area. Compared with the book district in the East District, its liveliness was like heaven and earth.

A rushing stream of people came and went. Cages placed in front of every shop held all kinds of Pokémon. Most were relatively rare Pokémon used to attract customers, and quite a few even came from other regions.

For example, Mudkip, a Starter Pokémon from the Hoenn Region, or Glameow from the Sinnoh Region.

It could be said that as the Black Market of Goldenrod City, the largest city in the Kanto Region, as long as one had enough money, one could buy Pokémon from any region.

Even Pokémon from regions not yet fully under the Pokémon League's control were not impossible to purchase.

The prerequisite was money.

Walking through the crowd, Xia Yan could not help sighing inwardly.

"Money makes the world go round."

But Xia Yan also noticed something strange.

In the cages outside many shops, there were at least a few Electric-type Pokémon.

Even the vendors with stalls spread out on the ground had quite a few Electric-type Pokémon for sale.

They were all fairly common Electric-type Pokémon, but since when had Electric-type Pokémon become so abundant in Goldenrod City?

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