Time flew by, and Eichi's life remained the same: attending classes, then going to the Training Room to train his Pokémon.
However, even though the Training Room had relatively comprehensive training equipment, Eichi still preferred to train in the forest. The training area was larger outdoors, and if they wanted to battle, there was no fear of damaging property.
For these reasons, Eichi now only visited the Training Room occasionally, spending most of his time training in the forest.
He purchased the training equipment from the school. Why would he do that? Tetsu told him that some students from previous years, like Eichi, didn't like training in the Training Room.
They had consulted with the school about selling them some training equipment, and after some discussion, the school agreed to the decision. However, only a portion of the equipment was available for purchase; some items had to be used exclusively in the Training Room.
Moreover, this equipment was not cheap; the prices were exorbitant. Still, to train properly, this money had to be spent. After all, this equipment could be used for a long time and could be utilized anywhere.
Speaking of training equipment, Eichi's compression backpack was becoming inadequate.
As his possessions grew, especially with the training equipment, the backpack was no longer sufficient. Therefore, Eichi had to go to the department store in Silver Town to buy a new, larger-capacity compression backpack.
The price of this compression backpack nearly made him vomit blood; it was too expensive, costing more than 500,000 Pokédollar. Consequently, he didn't buy it. He returned to the Academy and inquired at the logistics department. Fortunately, the logistics department also had compression backpacks. A backpack with the same large capacity as the one outside only cost 5,000 points.
He did a quick calculation. He received a 3,000 credit system point reward for winning first place in the Freshmen Tournament. He was also consistently in first place in the various small tests, accumulating 1,000 points. Additionally, the beginner pokéblocks he regularly sold to the logistics department, although it took several blocks to exchange for a single credit system point, Eichi sold them in large quantities. This added another 500-plus points. Coupled with the 500 points Professor Kant had rewarded him, he had just over 5,000 points in total. Eichi dared to say that he definitely had the most points among all the freshmen.
Why did Professor Kant reward him with points? The second time Eichi visited Professor Kant, the professor mentioned that Eichi would be rewarded with points for making significant progress or reaching a certain level within a specified timeframe.
The rewards would increase each time. The last reward was 500 points because Eichi created a Perfect quality Pokéblock. Given Professor Kant's status as a Senior Breeder, he had an endless supply of points he could distribute.
Naturally, besides training, he was also busy making Pokéblocks, so he now had to squeeze time into his schedule to go to the Pokéblock-making classroom.
However, the Pokéblock-making classroom often had classes in session, and Eichi still couldn't make Intermediate Pokéblocks in front of others. Therefore, Eichi adjusted his schedule to only go when the classroom was empty. He allocated the rest of the time to Saturday and Sunday. Since no classes were scheduled on those two days, Eichi could dedicate the time to practicing his Pokéblock-making skills.
However, making Pokéblocks every day meant Eichi's funds were draining rapidly, like running water, and they were about to hit rock bottom. Yesterday, he checked, and he only had 100,000 Pokédollar left in his account. He originally thought he could last a while longer, but the moment he bought the training equipment, his money instantly ran out.
It looks like I need to deal with the Never-Melt Ice, Eichi thought. I'll go ask Tetsu later to see if he needs it. Tetsu has Snorunt, and whether it evolves into Glalie or Froslass, it will be an Ice-type Pokémon. He should need the Never-Melt Ice. I'll ask him first. If he doesn't want it, I'll ask Professor Kant to help me sell it.
After class at noon, Eichi and Tetsu went to the cafeteria for lunch, as usual. They ordered their set meals, found an empty table, and began to eat. After a few bites, Eichi looked up and asked, "How's your Snorunt doing?"
Tetsu scooped up a mouthful of food. "It's really good. Snorunt is very aggressive; the thing it loves to do most every day is find other Pokémon to battle. Seeing how much it likes to fight, I took it out to train, and unexpectedly, it also took a liking to training. It doesn't slack off or complain about being tired. I have a feeling Snorunt will become the second strongest member of my team, after Ampharos." Tetsu was incredibly excited, his face beaming as he spoke.
Seeing his excitement, Eichi didn't interrupt. After a minute, when Tetsu calmed down, Eichi asked, "Tetsu, do you know about Never-Melt Ice?"
Tetsu chewed and swallowed his food before replying, "I know about it. Never-Melt Ice, right? When an Ice-type Pokémon holds it, it increases the power of Ice-type moves. Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"Do you remember when we went to the Pokémon Breeding Center last time, to the cave where you caught Snorunt?" Eichi asked.
"Of course I remember!" Tetsu replied.
"I helped you lure away the Glalie and Froslass, right?" Eichi continued. "Well, I was incredibly lucky and picked up a piece of Never-Melt Ice inside."
"You found Never-Melt Ice!" Tetsu exclaimed loudly.
The sound was so loud that it instantly drew the attention of everyone around them. Eichi looked around and shushed him quietly. "Lower your voice."
Tetsu nodded, looked around, and lowered his head to ask, "Did you really find Never-Melt Ice?"
"I had Professor Kant examine it, and it's confirmed to be Never-Melt Ice," Eichi said.
Tetsu asked with some uncertainty, "Are you telling me this because you want to sell it to me?"
"I wanted to ask if you wanted it," Eichi replied. "If you do, I'll sell it to you, as I've been quite short on money lately. If you don't want it, I'll ask Professor Kant to help me sell it to someone else."
"I want it, I want it!" Tetsu quickly said. "Where is the Never-Melt Ice?"
"Don't rush," Eichi said. "I'll show it to you after we finish eating."
Hearing this, Tetsu quickly shoveled down his food. Once he was done, he just stared at Eichi. Seeing him like this, Eichi lost his appetite for a leisurely meal. He quickly finished his own food and took Tetsu to his dormitory. Tetsu was unusually excited the entire way. As soon as they reached the dorm, he looked at Eichi with anticipation.
Eichi put down his backpack and took out the Never-Melt Ice. Tetsu took the Never-Melt Ice and began to examine it seriously, like an enthusiast seeing their beloved figure. After examining it for a while, Tetsu spoke to Eichi very seriously. "Eichi, name your price. I'm taking this Never-Melt Ice."
Eichi thought for a moment. "Let's go with the market price. 2 million Pokédollar is fine."
"No problem," Tetsu replied. "However, I don't have that much cash on me right now. Wait for me; I'll call my family and ask them to transfer the money to me first."