Poisoning Was the Key

He arrived at a specialty store for Poison-type Pokémon.

Don't get the wrong idea—Xia Yan wasn't here to buy Pokémon.

With the money he had left, it was impossible for him to buy an outstanding Poison-type Pokémon, not to mention the vast resources needed to raise one afterward.

At the entrance, a dark blue Pokémon resembling a poison dart frog stood blankly in a cage. It had yellow eyes, expandable orange sacs on its cheeks, broad, flat teeth, and white stripes around its chest.

It was hard to tell whether it had been trained into a stupor or whether that was simply its natural disposition.

It was Croagunk, a Poison-type and Fighting-type Pokémon from the Sinnoh Region!

The fact that this shop could acquire Pokémon from the Sinnoh Region showed that it had considerable backing.

His gaze lingered on it for a moment.

Croagunk was a good Pokémon, and its evolved form, Toxicroak, was even more outstanding. The combination of Poison-type and Fighting-type gave it a substantial advantage in matchups, while it could also learn quite a few Dark-type moves, granting it broader offensive coverage.

If raised properly, it would make a fine defensive pivot and ambusher.

What a pity.

He couldn't afford it.

Silently recalling what he knew about Croagunk and Toxicroak, he stepped into the shop.

The clerk at the Pokémon store was far less welcoming. Sitting in a chair, he merely glanced at Xia Yan without any intention of standing up and asked flatly, "What Pokémon do you want?"

Xia Yan looked around at the various cages in the store. "I'd like to buy several Poison-type Pokémon venom sacs."

"Hm?" The seated clerk froze.

He had seen plenty of people come to buy Pokémon, but there were truly few who came to a Poison-type Pokémon shop to buy venom sacs.

However, when hunters captured wild Pokémon, they would inevitably kill some by accident. To maximize their profits, they usually collected the body parts of those Pokémon and sold them to different buyers.

Among them, Poison-type Pokémon venom sacs were relatively valuable.

"The more potent the venom, the better," Xia Yan added.

"You know quite a bit about this."

As he spoke, the clerk took out an iron box containing rows of glass bottles.

The bottles held venom sacs taken from various Pokémon.

Each bottle also had a label with a brief description.

For example, it listed what Pokémon the venom sac came from, along with that Pokémon's strength level. The venom sacs were priced accordingly.

Naturally, buying venom sacs directly was unquestionably much cheaper than purchasing Poison-type Pokémon themselves.

"They're all here. Take a look yourself." The clerk waved a hand.

He clearly did not care much about such a small transaction.

Xia Yan did not mind. He picked up the bottles and examined them one by one.

The potency of the venom was easy to identify. It could be judged from how much toxin leaked from the venom sac and spread through the bottle. In other words, the depth of the bottle's color gave a rough indication of its toxicity.

In the end,

Xia Yan selected three bottles. Their labels read:

Beedrill, Veteran;

Arbok, Elite;

Ariados, Veteran;

Based on various factors, the Pokémon League divided Pokémon strength levels into Beginner, Qualified, Outstanding, Veteran, and Elite.

Xia Yan's Weedle had barely reached Outstanding strength. Veteran and Elite Pokémon were far stronger than Weedle, and the venom in their venom sacs would naturally be much more potent as well.

These were all materials Xia Yan needed to enhance Weedle's own toxicity.

The book Lance had recommended did not describe it explicitly, but it did subtly mention many methods by which Poison-type Pokémon could devour one another to strengthen their venom, giving him plenty of inspiration.

The clerk glanced at the bottles Xia Yan had selected and smiled. "You know your stuff."

Then he added, "The Veteran-level Beedrill and Ariados venom sacs are five thousand each, and the Elite-level Arbok venom sac is five thousand. Ten thousand Poké Dollars total."

Ten thousand.

That expensive?

Although Xia Yan had been mentally prepared, he was still somewhat startled upon hearing the price.

But when he thought about it, it made sense.

If they were living Veteran-level Beedrill or Ariados, or an Elite-level Arbok, any one of them would cost far more than ten thousand Poké Dollars.

This was already the cheapest way to obtain what he wanted most.

And judging from the clerk's demeanor, there was clearly no room for bargaining. Any Pokémon they sold would be expensive, and ten thousand Poké Dollars was just a minor sale to them.

"Card."

After paying, Xia Yan put away the three glass bottles, left the shop, and departed Goldenrod City's Black Market.

Overall, this trip to the Black Market had gone fairly smoothly.

He had bought Advanced Energy Cubes, the books he needed, and some fine Pokémon venom sacs. Though he had dealt with a Black Market thug who had followed him, he had gained that man's Paras in return, which was not bad.

He was in no hurry to sell Paras. First, it could expose his identity. Second, he felt that this Paras still had some use.

Its ability to release Effect Spore soundlessly had nearly gone unnoticed even by Weedle. That would be a useful ability in the wild.

It was just that after this trip, his wallet was feeling a little strained.

He had worked so hard to earn thirty-five thousand Poké Dollars, only to spend thirty-three thousand in one go. It was time to go back to tightening his belt.

Still, he should not have to worry about Weedle's food for a while.

He hailed a taxi back to the club.

He greeted Anna at the front desk.

"Anna, I have something to do today. If anyone comes looking for me, please tell them I won't be available for sparring today," Xia Yan said politely.

"Okay." Anna gave him a somewhat strange look.

For a training and money-making fanatic like him, taking a break was quite unusual.

But she did not think too much about it. Xia Yan was already an intermediate sparring partner, and his earnings were no longer comparable to those of a Beginner sparring partner. Perhaps he really did have something important to handle.

He returned to his room with Weedle.

He and Weedle sat cross-legged on the floor. Before them were four glass bottles. Three had been bought at the Black Market today, while the other contained an Ekans venom sac he had obtained from Spearow's nest in Densewood Forest last time.

Although Ekans were said to be nonvenomous, that only meant they lacked venom-injecting fangs. It did not mean there was no venom within their bodies. Otherwise, as Poison-type Pokémon, where would the toxins for all their Poison-type moves come from?

However, compared with the other four venom sacs, this Ekans venom sac was undoubtedly the least toxic.

"This should be enough to meet the requirements. Weedle, are you ready?" Xia Yan looked at it solemnly.

Weedle swallowed softly. It was impossible to tell whether it was salivating or affected by Xia Yan's seriousness.

"Wuu!"

It nodded firmly.

Xia Yan took out a book.

It was the very book Lance had recommended to him before, A Curious Look at Venomous Pokémon Transformations.

"Although this book doesn't explain the precise process, anyone unfamiliar with this method would only take it as an entertaining book about Poison-type Pokémon. But if you know something about it, you can still notice the subtle hints hidden between the lines.

The key is poisoning!"

Weedle listened obediently. It did not know what the book said, but it knew that whatever Xia Yan did was for its own good.

After confirming the information he had gathered from the book once more, Xia Yan took out an Advanced Energy Cube he had just bought.

"Before we truly begin, make sure you're in your best condition."

Weedle's eyes lit up. It had long been thinking about this Advanced Energy Cube. The scent it gave off made its mouth water uncontrollably.

Xia Yan watched Weedle slowly eat the Advanced Energy Cube. Even after finishing it, Weedle smacked its lips with lingering satisfaction.

"Now then. Eat this Ekans venom sac!"

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