[Magneton]

Type: Electric/Steel

Gender: None

Potential: 42%

Level: 35.17%

Ability: Sturdy / 17.19%

Known Moves: …

The Magneton’s panel was unremarkable. Its potential sat at just 42%, and the moves it had were nothing special — not even a single egg move.

Reiji couldn’t figure out why the vendor had slapped such a high price tag on it.

Though puzzled, he didn’t ask. Instead, he put the Poké Ball back and glanced at a yellow-patterned Pokémon Egg on the same stall. Judging by the color, it was probably an Electric-type. The asking price? 2,000,000 Pokédollars.

Upon seeing that egg, something clicked in his mind. Silently, he stood up and walked away from the stall to check others.

People bustled all around him, each keeping a careful distance from one another, constantly on guard.

Most wore all black — black masks, black clothes — clearly intent on concealing their identities.

Some trainers even had their Pokémon out, likely to show off their power.

A few, though, made no attempt to hide their faces. These were clearly the more violent types — reckless, fierce-eyed thugs who acted with zero concern for consequences.

Reiji even spotted a few familiar faces from wanted posters he’d seen at the Pokémon Center.

No one, not even other masked traders, wanted to get involved with those types — Reiji included.

Sure, he was technically a wanted man too… but nobody knew it. He had proper ID, a clean record. He passed as a law-abiding citizen.

He wandered among the crowd for a while, checking multiple Electric-type stalls. The result was the same every time — prices higher than even the most expensive Electric-type breeding center.

No matter the potential, the street vendors all listed their Pokémon at maximum markup. If any deals were made at all, it was only after fierce bargaining.

“Hey, your price is ridiculous. Even if it’s an advanced-stage Pokémon that could rival a Gym Leader’s, you can’t seriously expect to sell it for that much. You trying to do business or not?”

“Yeah, ten million? Who’s gonna pay that? If your Pokémon’s that good, why not just sell it to a breeder for stud fees? You’d get way more.”

“Please. Those breeders are worse than loan sharks. He’s probably already tried them — otherwise he wouldn’t be here.”

Reiji was passing by a crowd gathered around another stall when he overheard this back-and-forth. Curious, he stopped to take a look.

A veteran-level Electabuzz was for sale — and the vendor was asking ten million Pokédollars.

Reiji nearly laughed aloud. Good grief. If that Electabuzz could go for ten million, then what about his Pokémon — two veteran-levels and three near-Elite?

Would that net him fifty million?

Of course not. That ten million price tag was pure fantasy. No one was going to actually buy it.

Unless it were a baby Elekid with elite potential, rare egg moves, and strong inherited genetics from Elite-level parents — like the prized mascots kept by high-end breeding centers — then maybe it could fetch ten million.

But this Electabuzz had already grown past its juvenile and adolescent stages. It had trainer markings, too — which meant it would be difficult to sync with a new trainer.

If the trainer was too weak, they wouldn’t be able to control it. If too strong, they wouldn’t bother with it at all. This kind of full-grown, low-flexibility Pokémon had no value for serious training.

It would only ever serve as a temporary fighter. And who in their right mind would spend ten million for a ticking time bomb — one with higher odds of betrayal than usefulness?

The best route for such a Pokémon? Sell it to a breeder for breeding stock. That might still earn a good price.

“…Keep an eye on him. He’s too attached to sell. We’ll help him ‘sell’ it later.”

“…To the breeders, easy six or seven mil, minimum. The guy’s just greedy, wants more.”

“…Be careful. Anyone with a Pokémon like that is no pushover — probably a veteran trainer at least.”

“…Watch him closely. I’ll go gather more people. We each walk away with a million or two — we’re set for a long time.”

Just as Reiji was about to leave, he suddenly overheard several masked men loudly scheming — not even trying to lower their voices. They were planning to rob the guy.

And it wasn’t just one or two of them — multiple separate groups were having the same conversation, all within earshot.

So this was the black market. Don’t show off your wealth here… or you’ll get hunted.

Reiji glanced at the stall owner. His face behind the mask was dark and grim — clearly, he’d heard the whispers too.

Taking the hint, Reiji quickly backed away from the masked crowd — especially the stall owner, who was clearly in deep trouble.

Sure, the black market had rules against private fights… but whether those rules held up depended entirely on whether the loot was worth the risk.

Compared to that Electabuzz, the Magneton and Egg from earlier were peanuts.

That vendor asking 4,000,000 for a Magneton? Clearly not serious about making a sale.

Even the most ruthless breeders wouldn’t pay that for a baby Magnemite, let alone a full-grown one. That guy was dreaming.

Once he’d distanced himself from the soon-to-erupt chaos, Reiji returned to his price scouting. He’d already seen the high end with Electric-types. Later, he’d swing by the Electric-type breeding center, throw out a 10 million offer — maybe more — then slowly negotiate.

His Golbat and Gyarados would go for less — especially Gyarados.

Magikarp evolutions were rare, but Gyarados were still pretty common. Worse yet, they were notoriously aggressive and known to attack trainers, which made them unpopular.

In fact, Gyarados was on the official blacklist of Pokémon banned from being brought into the black market — or into city streets, for that matter. Unless it was for battle, it had to stay inside a Poké Ball.

So both Golbat and Gyarados would fetch lower prices than the Electric-types.

He even spotted an injured Mankey on one stall. That little thing might still fetch one or two million — even though it was wounded and had clearly never been treated. Its potential was probably already damaged, which breeders would use to justify slashing the price.

After surveying the Pokémon prices, Reiji also asked around about backpacks.

Second-hand storage backpacks were going for around 10,000 Pokédollars — price fluctuations were minimal.

As for Electric-type items like Magnet, some stalls were asking over 4 million.

Reiji figured 3 million would be a more reasonable selling price — stall markup was just way too high to use as a true reference.

Clearly, both sides in the black market knew their stuff. Sellers always wanted top dollar, buyers wanted deep discounts — neither side ever got exactly what they wanted.

You could try to wait out a deal… or tail a vendor and rob them.

But Reiji didn’t have the time to play stakeout. And he definitely didn’t want to get robbed himself.

(End of Chapter)

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