The appearance of Budew reignited hope for those who had not yet secured a suitable Pokémon.
"Five million!"
As soon as Mamoru Ishida announced the start of the auction, someone immediately called out an offer—the first one to speak was Janine from the second-floor private box.
Having failed to win the Nihilego egg and missed out on Sprinarak, Janine was already holding back a belly full of frustration.
Her dream was to surpass her father, Koga, but as the saying goes, "A clever housewife cannot cook without rice." No matter how skilled she was, surpassing her father would be nearly impossible without a strong Pokémon.
Six million!
Seven million!
Eight million!
...
Janine's aggressive bidding set the stage for battle. Initially, only the bidders in the main hall were competing, and the atmosphere nearly reached a boiling point.
"Eight million six hundred thousand!"
"Eight million nine hundred thousand!"
"Nine million!"
Janine's voice rang out repeatedly, determined to outbid anyone who challenged her.
In the private box—
Granny Agatha turned to Salem and asked, "Which family is that young girl from? She has quite the temper."
Salem replied, "She's the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City." As renowned Gym Leaders in the Kanto region, Salem and Janine naturally knew each other.
Since they both specialized in Poison-type Pokémon, they occasionally exchanged insights in private, so their relationship could even be considered quite good.
Upon hearing this, Granny Agatha understood. "Oh... she's that Koga boy's daughter, isn't she?"
Kuniyama nodded. "That's right."
"Her personality is quite different from her father's," Granny Agatha remarked with a meaningful smile.
Koga was a ninja, calm and composed—unlike Janine, who had trouble controlling her temper.
Though Janine had trained in ninjutsu under her father, she hadn't quite mastered it yet.
"She's still a bit young," Granny Agatha added.
Since they had already secured Spinarak, they had no energy left to compete for Budew. At this point, they could relax and enjoy watching the fierce competition unfold.
Most of the bidders in the main hall lacked high status or substantial wealth; some were bidding just for the thrill of it. As a result, there weren't many serious competitors against Janine.
However, as the price climbed, the powerhouses from the second and third floors began to join the fray—at this stage, few would willingly yield to Janine.
For example, May, who had refrained from competing for the Nihilego egg and Wurmple earlier, now summoned her courage and became bolder. Every time Janine placed a bid, May would top it, which only fueled Janine's growing frustration.
However, Janine neither recognized May nor could see her, so all she could do was bottle up her anger.
Once Budew's price exceeded one billion, top contenders like Wallace, Robert, and Lance also entered the battlefield. Without Steven's pressure this time, they felt much more at ease.
Meanwhile, Cynthia did not participate in the bidding this time—perhaps because she already owned a Roserade and had no intention of raising another Budew.
When the price reached 150 million, May gave up on the bidding, as Mr. Norman had only allocated her a limited budget.
Perhaps realizing that this was truly the last indigo potential Pokémon available, many people started digging deep into their pockets, including the brothers Wallace and Robert.
However, to their surprise, their final competitor was neither a Champion like Lance nor Elites like Drake and Sidney, but rather their junior, Gary.
By this point, Janine had already been forced to withdraw from the competition. As Granny Agatha had pointed out, she was too young and impatient, making her performance even less composed than Gary's.
Gary, as the most talented Trainer of the Oak family's current generation, now had the support of both his grandfather and great-uncle. With no financial powerhouses like Steven or senior figures like Granny Agatha to suppress him, he had no fear of competing with anyone.
During the earlier bid for the Spinarak, he might not have backed down if the final bidder hadn't been Granny Agatha.
Professor Oak was quite wealthy, and with his backing, Gary's confidence was well-founded. Soon, Robert and Wallace found themselves unable to keep up.
"175 million!"
When Gary shouted this price, the entire room fell silent.
Mamoru Ishida, his face flushed, called out, "175 million going once! 175 million going twice! Anyone else? Don't miss your chance—this is your last opportunity!"
In their private booth, Wallace kept sighing repeatedly. "Ah... ah... lost again!"
Robert said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do. Besides, you're a Water-type Trainer. It's not a big deal if you don't get a Grass-type and Poison-type Pokémon."
Wallace glared at his junior. "What do you know? That's an indigo potential Pokémon—we're not talking about some random roadside weed! Didn't you see even Lance, a Dragon-type Trainer, bidding? And then there's Sidney and Drake... they aren't Grass-type or Poison-type Trainers either!"
"Alright, alright!" Robert replied with a resigned expression. "It's just that you don't have as much money as them!"
"If I had known, I would have spent less earlier... or I could have sold those villas in Sootopolis City before coming! And the ones at home..." Wallace continued to lament.
"175 million going three times—sold! The Budew now belongs to the guest in Booth No. 5!"
With the final tap of Mamoru Ishida's gavel, he announced the conclusion of the auction's last Pokémon.
Signaling the staff to deliver the Poké Ball containing Budew, Mamoru Ishida beamed and said, "With that, our auction officially comes to an end. On behalf of Pearl Auction House and YoYo Day Care, I sincerely thank you all for attending..."
After Mamoru Ishida's passionate closing speech, guests from both the hall and the private booths began to leave one after another.
In Gary's booth, everyone congratulated him on winning his desired Pokémon. He was overjoyed—he truly liked Budew.
As the group exited the booth and descended from the third floor, Yashushi immediately spotted Izumo waiting at the stairway.
"There you are at last! I thought you were going to stay hidden up there forever!"
Izumo strode forward, his attendants attempting to hold him back but failing.
Yashushi ignored him as usual and attempted to walk past, but Izumo reached out to block his way.
Lain stepped forward and questioned, "What's your problem? Can't you go bother someone else instead of picking fights here?"
Just as Izumo was about to speak, another group of people descended from the third floor—Wallace and Robert.
Recognizing the current Hoenn Champion, Izumo didn't dare act recklessly in front of Wallace and Robert. With a harsh glare at Yashushi, he turned and fled.
"Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Robert!"
May and Dawn, the two Coordinator Trainers, excitedly called out upon seeing Wallace and Robert.
"What is everyone gathering here for?" Wallace asked with a smile.
"Let's find a place to talk, it's not convenient to chat here," Robert suggested.
"Yes! Yes!"
With that, the group left the Pearl Auction House together.
In a private room on the fourth floor, Mamoru Ishida, his face flushed with excitement, pushed the door open and walked in, saying to Yuga, "Gym Leader Shimizu, mission accomplished!"
Upon hearing this, Yuga expressed his gratitude, "Manager Ishida, you've worked hard. This wouldn't have been possible without your efforts."
Shaking his head, Ishida replied, "It's my honor. Besides, it's all thanks to you for choosing our Pearl Auction House."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two began summarizing the follow-up matters of the auction. Meanwhile, the auction house staff were busy sending off the guests—those who needed to make payments did so, and those verifying their purchases proceeded accordingly.
Regardless of whether they successfully won a Pokémon or not, all the guests left the auction with their hearts racing. The auction had been an intense experience for them.
The appearance of numerous high potential Pokémon continuously thrilled them and broadened their horizons.
In particular, the representatives of the Five Giants, who had never taken YoYo Day Care seriously before, now had a completely different perspective.
Although Shimizu Yuga was well-known in the Trainer world, running a business and being a strong Trainer were two entirely different things. However, today's auction made them realize that YoYo Day Care was not to be underestimated!
The sheer foundation and resources displayed at this auction demanded their full attention.
All the representatives of the Five Giants successfully won Pokémon at the auction, ranging from green to blue potential. They were immensely curious about how YoYo Day Care was able to cultivate such Pokémon.
Yuga stayed at the Pearl Auction House until late before returning home. Although the auction was over, there were still numerous follow-up matters to handle.
After arriving home, he enjoyed a carefully prepared dinner made by Audino and, following a refreshing wash, excitedly entered his room.
With the auction successfully concluded, Yuga believed his temporary additional task should be marked as completed.
Sure enough, upon opening the system interface, the temporary additional task was marked as "Completed," and the rewards had been credited.
There were two rewards in total. The first was the right to choose an Evolution Stone Vein of any attribute, which Yuga decided to claim the next day. What excited him more was the second reward—a clue leading to a large Electric-type Pokémon colony.
This reward was crucial for him to complete his main task. The main task offered rich rewards, and Yuga was determined to accomplish it.
Clicking "Claim" on the second reward, Yuga saw that a previously blank section of the system interface now displayed an image. It appeared to be... a map?
Yuga stared at the map for a long time and could only barely make out the triangular symbols likely representing "mountains" and the wavy symbols indicating "rivers." However, he was completely clueless about the actual location depicted on the map.
This was the consequence of not paying enough attention in geography class—he couldn't even read a map properly.
It seemed that studying properly was still very important! Yuga made a mental note to himself.
Since he couldn't decipher the map immediately, Yuga decided to look up some information the next day. If that didn't work, he would seek advice from others. He was determined to figure it out one way or another.
The system really could have made things simpler—if it's going to provide a clue, why not make it straightforward? At the very least, an automatic guiding feature would have been helpful!
So flashy!
Just like that, the night passed. Early the next morning, after claiming his other reward, Yuga went to the Ecopark.
The evolution stone Yuga ultimately chose was the Dusk Stone, as many Pokémon in his Ecopark could use it, such as Murkrow evolving into Honchkrow, Misdreavus evolving into Mismagius, and Lampent evolving into Chandelure.
With this newly acquired Dusk Stone ore vein, he wouldn't need to purchase evolution stones for these three types of Pokémon from outside anymore. Even though he was quite wealthy now, it's always good to save where possible.
Besides, having an in-house supply was much more convenient than buying externally!
The system placed the Dusk Stone ore vein in the Haunted House Sub-Ecopark. Yuga assigned the Ghost-type Pokémon the task of mining the stones before leaving.
After breakfast, Yuga was just about to visit his friends.
Although the auction had ended, Robert, Flint, and the others hadn't left yet. As the host, Yuga naturally had to take good care of them.
However, just as he was about to head out, Saika hurried over to inform him that Granny Agatha had come to visit him.
Yuga was quite surprised to hear this and quickly walked outside, only to see Granny Agatha leading Salem through his shop, making large purchases of energy cubes, incense, evolution stones, and more. She had bought quite a lot.
"Granny, long time no see! Salem, you too," Yuga greeted them with a big smile as he strode forward.
He knew Granny Agatha, but they weren't particularly close, so her visit truly surprised him.
Granny Agatha handed all the purchased items to Salem to carry, then smiled and said, "Yes, it has been a while. I heard that your products here are quite good, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to come and have a look."
At first, Yuga thought Granny Agatha might have some business with him, but it turned out that she simply made a lot of purchases and chatted idly before leaving with Salem when the time came.
After she left, Yuga didn't dwell on the matter. However, over the next few days, he was dumbfounded because waves of visitors kept coming to see him, nearly trampling the doorsteps of YoYo Day Care and Verdanturf Gym.
The auction had made it clear to everyone that Yuga was a person of great influence.
For a Trainer, what's the most important thing? Naturally, it's Pokémon!
Yuga had proven he could casually produce even blue potential Pokémon in bulk—wasn't that enough reason for people to try and win his favor?
They realized that maintaining a good relationship with Yuga would ensure they wouldn't have to worry about obtaining high potential Pokémon in the future—not just for themselves but for their descendants and juniors as well.
In short, after this auction, YoYo Day Care and Yuga's reputation were completely solidified.
With too many people coming to visit, Yuga eventually had to publicly announce that he had gone on a trip, finally putting an end to the influx of guests.
However, business at YoYo Day Care had skyrocketed. Customers were constantly coming and going, with sales revenue soaring several times higher than usual. Suzuki Koen and the others were thrilled.
Saika and Kyo, who worked under his aunt, were especially happy—after all, the better the business, the higher their wages. As orphans from the Forest Home Orphanage, having more money in their hands gave them a stronger sense of security.
While Yuga was struggling with the sudden popularity, Mamoru Ishida was riding high.
Thanks to the successful auction, the Verdanturf branch of Pearl Auction House had gained immense recognition, with a surge in auction commission requests pouring in.
For an auction house, reputation is everything. Once their name is well-known, business naturally comes flooding in.