Dinner was much livelier tonight, as his siblings discussed what was going on. Apparently, some teens left for Viridian City today. Some had gone in groups of two, solo, or in threes for their trip to Viridian.
They talked about it in excitement, but things suddenly died down. When they realized it wasn't them, they weren't so happy anymore.
Later that night, Roy sneakily left the house and ran to the Black Market under the cover of night.
"This place is livelier than it was the last time I visited; there are so many Aura signatures." Roy could see that these people all wore black cloaks and masks.
"Sign in!"
[Congratulations, you've received: V.I.P Virtual Black Market QR Code!]
Roy only looked for a second before quickly leaving the Black Market territory. He snuck back into his house, locked the door, and went back into his room.
Roy smiled, sat cross-legged on his bed, before checking his rewards. He first checked the description of this QR Code and its benefits.
This enabled Roy to organize and manage his own auctions and establish his own store, which offers a 5% cash bonus on each sale. By participating in public auctions himself, he receives a 15% discount on every purchase he wins from those auctions.
"This is Incredible!" Roy didn't waste time; his head was spinning at the sight of these benefits.
After scanning the QR Code, many new panels were available to Roy.
Roy checked the help tab to understand how the auction and store worked. Apparently, you needed to unload the Items, Pokémon, Berries, and more at the store. The only way to do this was through Pokézone. The Pokézone was like the Global Trade Center of this World.
"I have to register a Pokézone account first and link my Black Market account. This can be done anonymously, and then I can place items, Pokémon, or whatever up for sale or trade. Selling Pokémon was illegal; I wouldn't do that; I'll only buy for now."
It was only illegal to sell Pokémon in Kanto and Johto. This wasn't the case for other regions out there.
Roy knew what he could do now and had a bold thought. His identity was anonymous and protected, so he wouldn't have to worry about being caught.
He smiled, lay down on his bed, and went to sleep.
The next day, Roy actually got up early to do what he needed to do. At this time, Lucian and Luna were already in the kitchen.
Roy brushed his teeth and didn't even eat breakfast before leaving the house. His sister wanted to say something, but Roy moved too fast.
In minutes, Roy raced through the streets that were still somewhat empty. Even so, a large number of teens had already left Pallet Town.
Roy signed up and created an account with Pokézone, which was thankfully free. A woman wearing a tailored suit, black stockings, and sporting long brown hair with blue eyes led him to a private room.
"Here's your room. Enjoy your stay and time." Roy thanked the woman before going into the room.
Inside was a machine where things could be traded. Roy saw USB slots where people could link their laptops, slots where one could link their phones, and even special slots to link different Pokédexes to the machine.
Roy took a seat in front of the machine and inserted his Pokédex. Afterward, he used the machine itself to link it to his Pokézone account before going to his Black Market App.
"I have to do it due to my situation. I can auction a Master Ball for money, along with some trades for it."
Roy knew Silph Co had just created a Master Ball a year ago, but it required a lot of resources and time to create just one of these Balls.
"The Auction will start tomorrow at 3:00 PM." Roy loaded the Master Ball after creating the Auction.
Roy requested a few things that needed to be offered to him to even participate in the auction.
1.) Starting bid is ₽200 million for the Master Ball.
2.) Charmander / Male / Aptitude: Magenta to Gold / Good Health <- Must Have
3.) Squirtle / Male / Aptitude: Magenta to Gold / Good Health <- Must Have
4.) Clefairy / Female / Aptitude: Magenta to Gold / Good Health <- Must Have
5.) Dratini or Dratini Egg / Male / Aptitude: Magenta to Gold / Good Health <- Must Have
"Hmm, I hope this isn't too much, but even so, I don't care." This Ball could guarantee a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon catch. It was a supremely rare and powerful item that could not be bought.
The Master Ball had already been placed on the platform and warped away. It sat in an extradimensional space, governed by a Super A.I.
Once Roy's needs were met through the auction, it would grant him what he wanted. It wouldn't allow trade without his demands being met.
"I should probably add something else to the auction before the 'special' item. I'll add a Rare Candy and a Water Stone."
Water Stones and Rare Candies were rare in this world and didn't even appear on the Black Market. They weren't super rare, but they fetch a pretty penny. These types of Items usually appear on the Public Black Market Auction.
Rare Candy Starting Bid: ₽50,000
Water Stone Starting Bid: ₽50,000
"Hahaha!" After confirming everything, Roy got up with resounding laughter and left the room. He ensured the auction was set to Global instead of Regional.
However, this very event would set off a storm.
_____
Elsewhere
"An Auction will be underway tomorrow at 3 AM?" A woman sat up in her bed as she scrolled on her laptop.
"Hmm, what are the items?" She quickly inspected the Auction and saw three items, and almost lost it when she saw the last one.
"Oh, great Arceus! This can't be real!" Her expression turned pale with shock as she jumped out of her bed. She immediately clicked the description of the item: the Master Ball!
"I-It's the real deal! How could something this valuable appear on the Market?" The A.I would tell someone if the items were fake or not; this clearly wasn't a fake. The A.I had scanned a Master Ball before when it was invented, and knew real from fake.
This woman wasn't a V.I.P on the Black Market, but she was rich!
"Quickly, gather these Pokémon with these Aptitudes as fast as you can!" She quickly handed the man a list; he checked it and showed surprise before leaving.
"Damn it! The requirements are too steep! Who could gather such Pokémon in such a short time, and their aptitudes are extremely high!" Thinking about it, this woman was quite furious and helpless.
Many people from different regions were scrolling the Black Market App. Everyone who had access to the app would receive a notification if someone set up an Auction.
This was because Public Auctions rarely appeared, but auctions created by VIP members were even rarer.
______
[Public Chatroom #12]
______
Silph Co.
"T-this can't be happening! We just developed a Master Ball a year back, and only provided major corporations with the means to produce it. We even had solid contracts of disclosure clauses to ensure the means of creation aren't leaked!"
The donut-haired cut man's glasses gleamed under the light as he adjusted them. His face growing darker, this was clearly a violation of their contract!
"No way, they wouldn't leak how to create the Master Ball. The resources it would take to assemble a Master Ball aren't small. Not just that; it required a careful and precise method to succeed."
This was the president of Silph Co. He wore a sharp black suit and had a head full of white hair and a thick mustache.
"What do you want us to do, President?" Another scientist nearby asked from the side.
"Investigate. We already have Team Rocket trying to scheme and snatch the two Master Balls we have. The guards are doubled around Silph Co., so things should be good for now."
"Investigate? This is the Black Market app; we can't investigate it. At most, we can contact this Mysterio guy and demand answers."
Another scientist shook his head. "The Black Market was locked, and no one's identity could be leaked there."
"... ..."
"Damn! Reach out to those other corporations. I want answers, damn it! Something!" The Silph Co. President slammed his fist on the office desk in anger.
"Yes, yes, right!" The scientist quickly left the room to contact other corporations. However, one of the scientist's eyes glinted as he left; clearly, something was off about this guy.
______
Roy was heading back home, not knowing what uproar he had caused. He was sure to find out later, but he wasn't worried about that now.
Once Roy appeared through the door of his home, he was greeted by his sister, Luna.
"Roy, we received a letter from the town's Mayor. This letter is for all four of us, as it has all of our names on it. The mail lady gave it to us personally, afraid we wouldn't get it in time because we don't get much mail."
"Oh, really? Why would he send us any mail?" Roy couldn't help but ask with confusion.
"I don't know; we haven't opened it yet because we were waiting for you to return." Luna shrugged.
"Alright, let's open it after I eat breakfast." Roy was curious; this Mayor was a good guy, so it wouldn't be anything bad.
It didn't take Roy long to finish his breakfast before the dishes were put away. Everyone gathered in the living room and sat side by side before Luna opened the letter.
[]
Kalaran Bright
Address: XXXXX
Location: Pallet Town, Kanto Region]
Email: Greatprotector@Pokémail.com]
Number: 290-212-XXXX]
Date: XX-XX-XXXX
Dear Mr./Ms. Winters,
My name is Kalaran, the Mayor of Pallet. I am inviting you tomorrow, on the 12th of XXXX, for a special but quick event. The chosen people by the name of Roy, Troy, Luna, and Lucian have been invited to choose a free starter Pokémon at the Mayor's Mansion.
Four other people besides the four mentioned have been chosen among the youngsters to choose from ten different Pokémon. These Pokémon have been randomly picked by the Mayor himself.
Please arrive tomorrow at 1:00 PM to receive your gift for your journey. Make sure to bring the letter as an entry ticket.
Sincerely, Mayor Kalaran Bright
[]
"What?" Lucian stood up, shocked, before his expression turned to joy.
"He's actually going to give out Pokemon?! This is amazing, amazing!" Luna also jumped up in excitement.
"This is good, really good!" Troy smiled; this was a relief to see and hear.
Roy was pleasantly surprised but also happy about this revelation. He only wondered what type of Pokémon the Mayor would let them choose from.
'I will still give those Pokémon to them from the auction. They can now start with two Pokémon instead of one.'
The spirits of everyone were lifted all at once. Roy was quite happy to see this energy from his siblings.
'There are still many youngsters in town, but he only chose eight among them?' Roy sighed. The mayor had a good relationship with his father, so they were naturally chosen.
Connections really did matter if you wanted to get ahead of most people in life. Roy was certain that if Professor Oak was in town, he wouldn't even be able to choose a Pokémon from there.
"I wonder if he has a Clefairy up for grabs. I want it so bad!" Luna daydreamed at the thought of it.
"That Pokémon is too rare; he will likely not have it." Lucian didn't want to burst her bubble, but he didn't want her to have false hope either.
"Yeah." Luna sighed, but she wasn't discouraged. If she had to search every corner of Mt. Moon, she had to acquire one!
"At least we get a decent starter; this is the main thing. We should be grateful for that, thank the mayor, and be on our journey. We should prepare some things before leaving, so I think we should leave a day or two later, after we get comfortable with our new Pokémon."
Troy was smiling the whole time, but didn't forget the gratitude that came with these Pokémon.
Roy headed to his room while they kept discussing and speculating on the various possibilities. They observed that their friends hadn't departed for their travels yet and wanted to inform them so they could set out together.
"There are some things I need to give them before they leave in about two days." They also needed to open a bank account.
"Alright, let's prepare."