Alex slowly walked down the streets of the black market with the latest addition of a Pokéball on his Pokébelt.

He tried to lower the price a bit, but in the end, he gave in when he realized that the seller didn't want to lower the value. So, he naturally paid 40,000 Pokédollars and made a complete loss, according to most people who saw it. ​​

Ordinarily, an unpopular Ghost-type Pokémon like Shuppet wouldn't be sold for more than 10,000 Pokédollars, so one would say that the seller screwed over Alex.

But for Alex, who bought a Gold Pokémon for that price, it was only a matter of how much benefit he can take off. Sure, he wants to save more money, but there is no reason to risk the Pokémon. Only greedy people would do something like negotiating heavily with such a stubborn seller.

...

Inside a hotel room in Slateport City, Alex and his other Pokémon were sitting in a circle.

All Pokémon looked at Alex's hand holding Shuppet's Pokéball.

Alex looked briefly at Gardevoir before opening up Shuppet's Pokéball.

Shuppet appeared with curious eyes when it came out of the Pokéball.

Alex smiled as he said, "Hello, Shuppet. I'm sure you're very confused, but no need to worry. I assure you that you will be treated well, and you will find a family among us."

Shuppet stared at Alex while he was speaking and started flying in the direction of Alex as soon as he finished his words.

Alex saw how his other Pokémon got nervous. He only showed a relaxed smile and started to look at Shuppet.

Shuppet made a cute grin and said, "Hug~."

Alex showed a surprised expression and then had a warm smile. Then without hesitation, he gave a bear hug to this cute Pokémon.

"A Ghost-type Pokémon that likes hugs? Hahaha!! And I caught some people talking about how all Ghost-type Pokémon are evil," thought Alex with a smile.

He was not afraid that the Shuppet was secretly stealing his life energy because he and Gardevoir can perceive it with their psychic powers. That was one of the reasons why Alex was ready to add a Ghost-type Pokémon to his team.

Shuppet looked happy and started going to all the other Pokémon, asking for a hug. Because he had no arms, the other Pokémon had to embrace to make it possible.

All Pokémon, even Crobat and Scizor, hugged this cute one when he asked them as he was accepted by everyone almost immediately.

Then he started playing with Vulpix, who asked him first. Both Pokémon began playing with a ball the next minute.

Alex, who had read many books in this world, knew well what skills Ghost-type Pokémon have and why they are considered one of the most powerful types of Pokémon.

First of all, every Ghost-type Pokémon has the ability to transform itself into a shadow and assimilate itself into its trainer's shadow.

The shadow can still be hit by moves of a Pokémon but is still extremely useful for surprise attacks or for protecting a trainer. Especially in the dark, this ability can make them invisible.

Ghost-type Pokémon can also go through solid material that is not too thick. For example, it cannot go through the earth because it is too thick. a wall or a door is the optimal target for this ability.

Ghost-type Pokémon can also eat the life energy of other Pokémon or people and rely entirely on them to fill their hunger just like Pokémon Barries. Although both are possible, some Ghost-type Pokémon species like the taste so much that they exclusively feed on the life energy.

In particular, cruel species like Chandelure only eat life energy and other Ghost-type Pokémon. This species especially likes to 'play' with its food before eating them.

Because of such Ghost-type Pokémon species, Ghost-type Pokémon, in general, are rather hated by the common public.

Banette or Mismagius belong to the 'friendly' Ghost-type Pokémon category, which shows this problem well. But even these friendly Pokémon are usually not as friendly as this particular Shuppet.

Alex started going to the Team Rocket shop page for Team Rocket Captains+, like every day, and felt fortunate when he saw the home page.

It seems that an Elite team has killed and captured valuable Pokémon that they want to sell for money.

Alex ignored the living Pokémon and immediately looked at the corpses of the Pokémon. He also ignored all corpses with rank lower than S and Elite and began to look through them with a hasten speed.

His attention was immediately caught by several items.

An Elite S-rank Lickitung corpse for 500,000.

An Elite S-rank Snorlax corpse for 900,000.

An Elite S-rank Alolan Raticate corpse for 800,000.

An Elite S-rank Weezing corpse for 600,000.

An Elite S-rank Golbat corpse for 800,000.

An Elite S-rank Durant corpse for 500,000.

An Elite S-rank Durant corpse for 500,000.

A Champion S-rank Infernape corpse for 7,000,000.

There were actually more corpses on sale, but these were the best and most useful for Alex.

Especially the Champion S-rank Infernape corpse was very rare and worth the price.

Alex quickly paid 11,600,000 Pokédollars and ordered all of these items.

He only had 2,525,000 Pokédollars left after this 1 purchase, but it was worth it for Alex.

After 30 minutes, the items were transferred via the TRH device, and Alex went to the kitchen with Crobat.

Alex understands that he had a few sensitive and innocent Pokémon, so of course, he does not want to split up the corpses in front of all the Pokémon.

Especially Alex didn't want to frighten Combusken, who had never eaten any other Pokémon.

It is another rush to see someone knock out a heart from a corpse to eat it afterward or eat it yourself.

Fortunately, Crobat, Scizor, Eevee, and Ditto shouldn't have a problem with that.

30 minutes later, Alex gave each of these 5 Pokémon their heart and body parts, with the most energy.

Scizor ate the two Durant corpses.

Crobat consumed the Weezing and Golbat's corpse.

Ditto swallowed the Lickitung and Snorlax's corpse.

Eevee got to eat the Alolan Raticate corpse.

And lastly, Combusken ate the Infernape corpse. (Combusken reacted better than Alex had thought.)

Alex saw how all the Pokémon had digested the food and began looking at their information with a tense face.

----------------------------------------------

Pokémon: Crobat

LV: 43

Type: Poison/Flying

Ability: Inner Focus

Gender: Male

Potential: Deep Gold

Moves:

- Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack, Confuse Ray, Swift, Haze, Leech Life, Mean Look, Venoshock

- (Innate Talent) Shadow Ball [E], (Innate Talent) Fly [E], (Innate Talent) Cross Poison [E]

- (TM) Protect, (TM) Toxic [E], (TM) Sludge Bomb, (TM) Facade, (TM) Taunt, (TM) Roost, (TM) Substitute

-------------------------------------------------

Pokémon: Scizor

LV: 43

Type: Bug/Steel

Ability: Technician

Gender: Male

Potential: Deep Gold

Moves:

- Leer, Quick Attack, Focus Energy, Double Team, Feint, Fury Cutter, Wing Attack, Agility, Slash, Razor Wind, Iron Defense, X-Scissor

- (Innate Talent) Roost [E], (Innate Talent) Metal Claw [E], (Innate Talent) Brick Break [E]

- (TM) Protect, (TM) Toxic, (TM) Thief, (TM) Facade, (TM) Giga Impact, (TM) U-turn, (TM) Sandstorm, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Swords Dance [E]

-------------------------------------------------

Pokémon: Ditto

LV: 40

Type: Normal

Ability: Imposter (Hidden Ability)

Gender: Genderless

Potential: Shallow Gold

Move: (Innate Talent) Transform [E]

--------------------------------------------

Pokémon: Combusken

LV: 35

Type: Fire/Fighting

Ability: Speed Boost (Hidden Ability)

Gender: Female

Potential: Deep Gold

Moves:

- Growl, Scratch, Ember, Sand Attack, Peck, Double Kick, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, Bulk Up

- (Innate Talent) Attract [E], (Innate Talent) Sunny Day [E] , (Innate Talent) Overheat [E]

- (TM) Protect, (TM) Flamethrower, (TM) Rock Slide, (TM) Will-O-Wisp [E], (TM) Poison Jab

---------------------------------------------

Pokémon: Eevee

LV: 38

Type: Normal

Ability: Adaptability

Gender: Female

Potential: Gold

Moves:

- Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Double Kick, Sand Attack, Bite, Swift, Take Down, Double-Edge, Helping Hand, Charm, Baton Pass

- (Innate Talent) Rest [E], (Innate Talent) Sleep Talk [E], (Innate Talent) Work Up [E]

- (TM) Toxic, (TM) Shadow Ball, (TM) Facade, (TM) Protect, (TM) Attract

---------------------------------

All Pokémon except Eevee managed to improve their potential.

Alex could explain this development relatively confidently.

Crobat, Scizor, and Ditto had already eaten good items with their old rank, so it was easier for them to promote their rank. (For example, Crobat had feathers of a Champion Level Staraptor on the S-Rank)

And Combusken's Item was by far the best, so it's not surprising for her to improve the potential. Especially since it was only the second item she had ever eaten in her life.

But Alex knew that Eevee doesn't need much anymore, so he took the Everstone from Combusken and gave it to Eevee.

It seemed to make sense for Alex as it is easier to push up the Diamond rank with an evolution left than without it.

Although it is harmful to give Everstone to a Pokémon for too long, it wouldn't be a problem until Eevee reaches the Deep Gold rank.

...

Alex started doing his meditation exercise and then, after 2 hours, went to bed. He had to wake up early tomorrow to get to the ship.

----------------

If you want to see the next chapters (40+ chapters) earlier or just want to support me

https://www.--patreon.com/alex02373