Powerful Pidgeot and Dilemma

The most obvious change was that its level had risen by two directly. It had probably absorbed the energy left behind in its body from its previous training.

Next was the change in size. Good care and outstanding potential had made Pidgeot far larger than the average of its kind. Its broad chest made its entire body look exceptionally sturdy, and its weight had increased dramatically as well.

Now, standing on the ground, Pidgeot was slightly taller than Tetsuya. Not to mention that once it spread its wings, it could completely envelop Tetsuya within them, looking enormously imposing.

Finally, Pidgeot had mastered four new moves: Roost, Air Slash, Double Team, and U-turn.

It could be said that every one of these moves was crucial to improving Pidgeot's strength. Roost could restore HP while removing its Flying type, allowing it to reduce the super-effective damage from Electric-type attacks when necessary.

Air Slash used its wings to launch blades of air. Not only was it a mid-to-long-range attack, but it was also quite powerful, making up for Pidgeot's lack of offensive power and limited attack range.

Double Team was an excellent move for confusing opponents and dodging attacks, while U-turn was even more so. Combined with all kinds of moves and training, Pidgeot's massive body would be able to fight with unbelievable agility and flexibility, leaving its enemies overwhelmed.

Tetsuya made a rough estimate. Even though Pidgeot's level had only risen by two, it could probably take on four or five of its pre-evolution Pidgeotto with ease.

Tetsuya suppressed his excitement. After all, Pidgeot had just evolved and still needed a thorough checkup at the Pokemon Center.

Although he had Zero's data, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Tetsuya hurriedly recalled Pidgeot into its Poke Ball and broke into a jog toward the Pokemon Center.

"Hello, Tamaki Trainer. Your Pokemon has finished its examination. Everything is normal, and its development is especially good. Congratulations on finally evolving into a Pidgeot."

Joy congratulated Tetsuya with a sweet smile. After confirming his identity, she handed him Pidgeot's Poke Ball.

Tetsuya smiled back at Joy. "Thank you, Miss Joy. Thank you for your hard work."

Joy smiled and nodded, indicating that he need not be so polite. Tetsuya then turned and left.

Joy watched Tetsuya depart, then glanced at his identification information and casually made a simple mark.

After all, according to the Joy Family's records, once a Pokemon like Pidgey evolved into its Final Form, Pidgeot, it possessed the potential to break through to Quasi-Elite Four.

That meant that even if Tetsuya lacked talent, he could at least become a veteran Elite Trainer in the future by relying solely on Pidgeot.

If he got luckier and Pidgeot's potential was even greater, then his future would be even more promising.

Moreover, Tetsuya was still very young and had been born an orphan, yet he had raised a Pidgey into a Pidgeot in just over a year.

That showed that he was not only lucky, but also a genius Trainer.

Furthermore, Joy had discovered during the examination that Pidgeot had been taken care of extremely well. That indicated Tetsuya had talent as a Breeder too, and Joy greatly appreciated the way he treated his Pokemon.

Even though he was a commoner born an orphan, taking all those factors into account, Tetsuya had a good chance of becoming Quasi-Elite Four or even challenging the Champions.

Someone with Champion potential was naturally worth recording for future investment, even if the odds were not high.

Joy had merely completed a family task in passing. She soon turned around and busied herself again.

Tetsuya had no idea that Joy had already marked him down as a Trainer with potential. At the moment, he was still calculating this mission's gains.

"My luck has really been good lately. I made another huge sum from this mission." Tetsuya sighed.

After submitting the mission, he did not receive the rewards immediately. He still had to wait around two hours for them to arrive.

For missions like this cleanup task, the Hunter Center would not only recover the specified leader Pokemon, but also send someone to investigate the site. That round trip took time.

There had been loopholes like this in the beginning. Some people would casually catch a few required Pokemon and hand them in as leader Pokemon, only for it to later be discovered that they had not cleaned up anything at all. Ever since then, specialized personnel had been needed for confirmation.

But Tetsuya had completed the cleanup, so he was not worried in the slightest. He simply waited for the transfer notification.

First, however, Tetsuya had to make a trip to the Black Market to sell the Butterfree he had just caught that knew Confusion. That was the biggest profit from this trip.

Dressed in the same style of black robe, Tetsuya entered the Black Market and rented a temporary stall from the Black Market management office for one hour, at the cost of 1,000 Alliance Coins.

Tetsuya was not exactly poor, but his heart still ached a little. It was really expensive.

Nor was it Worth Being Surprised that even a Black Market had a management office. Transactions that could not be conducted In the Open needed order even more, and they were highly profitable. Many families did not even have the capability to run one.

Hurrying to the stall, Tetsuya took out the Poke Ball containing Butterfree and placed it on the table. On the complimentary wooden board beside it, he wrote: "Butterfree, Elite Level, knows Confusion. One-hour auction, highest bidder wins. Starting price: 1.2 million."

Short and clear.

Although Tetsuya had never actually sold anything himself, he had often come to browse the Black Market over the years whenever he had free time. He understood the basics.

An Elite Level Butterfree that knew Confusion was not commonly seen even in the Black Market. An auction was the best way to maximize profit.

Tetsuya sat calmly behind his stall, waiting for wealthy customers to arrive.

Very soon, Tetsuya's stall caught people's attention.

One black-robed person after another skillfully left their bids in front of the stall.

1.22 million, 1.25 million, 1.3 million, 1.32 million.

Just half an hour later, the price had surged to 1.6 million.

Another half hour passed, and Tetsuya left the Black Market management office with a broad smile after returning his stall. He headed back home.

"Oh yeah!"

The moment he got home, Tetsuya could no longer suppress his excitement and began cheering.

2.2 million. That was the final price.

Tetsuya had originally expected to sell it for around 2 million, perhaps 1.9 million, but he had never expected it to fetch the high price of 2.2 million.

Tetsuya sat on the sofa, looked at his balance, and laughed aloud.

At that moment, the 70,000 Alliance Coins from the cleanup mission arrived as well. Tetsuya did not feel the slightest stir in his heart. Small money.

Tetsuya was starting to get a little carried away. Those glaring numbers were far more tangible than a Fire Stone.

But he quickly calmed down. After all, even with that money added to his previous savings, he only had a little over 4 million.

That was not even enough to buy one-fifth of a Charmander Egg.

Tetsuya restrained himself and began making calculations.

Originally, Tetsuya had not planned to raise a second Pokemon yet. But after receiving this windfall and with Pidgeot having evolved, he could move his plans forward.

This way, even if he used the money from selling the Fire Stone to exchange for a Pokemon Egg, he would still have enough savings and strength to raise his next Pokemon, forming a Virtuous Cycle.

The problem now was what kind of Pokemon he should choose as his second Pokemon.

After preparing dinner for himself and Pidgeot, Tetsuya slowly went upstairs and began thinking.

What kind should he choose?

PS: Starting next week, there will be two regular updates totaling 4,000 words on weekdays, and two updates totaling 6,000 words on weekends.

The update time will also be pushed back to around 10:15 p.m.

Also: I will not strictly follow breeding and Egg Groups for inherited moves here. After all, the real world and the games are still different. (laugh)

And I have not introduced the concept of TMs either.

Simply put, moves can be gradually learned as a Pokemon's level rises, or by finding a Pokemon that knows a certain move to guide it for A Period Of Time, allowing it to master that move—provided it has the talent and can possibly learn it.

As long as it is reasonable, that is enough. I hope players of the games will not dwell on why Pidgey can inherit Twister.

After all, sometimes reality itself is unreasonable.