Black Market
"Black market???? When and where will this be?" I immediately asked in confusion.
"Ahh!!! It is opened once a month and this month will be in Celedon City. The exact location is under the game corner. You just need to show your Team Rocket ID or pay a huge amount at the counter and the grunt will show you the way. It will happen in three days, this black market is unpredictable and opens in random locations. The main thing to keep in mind is that many people will appear there, sometimes the league trainers also visit it," he said.
I was confused, "League trainers? Is the league not opposed to it?" I asked.
"They are but only on the surface. All the organisations including the League behave as if it doesn't exist because everyone gets their share. The black market is conducted by the nobles themselves, the higher-ups have no power to oppose as the families that run it are aristocrats that have huge power. Black Market is the only place where all organisations act in unity, it is beneficial to everyone so all turn a blind eye," he said giving me the ins and out.
"But what is the benefit? I mean you can just sell and buy the things you need in the marts right? Don't tell me they sell Pokemon too?" I asked in disbelief. At first, I thought it was normal to sell and buy pokemon but Miss Vanessa once said to me that selling pokemon is a big crime in the eyes of the League.
"Yes Sir, they sell pokemon which is the main reason why many turn blind eye to it." said the guy, I nodded and left the place in thinking.
Eggs must be sold by the daycares and pokemon must be sold by the breeder homes. That's the rule in this world, no matter who it is, you will be punished by the Breeders Association. League turning a blind eye to the black-market makes more sense now, Who can resist selling or buying a rare pokemon?
The Nobility of this world have a lot of good potential pokemon that they breed which they can't sell as they wish, you can only sell pokemon if you have the license for it, most nobility dont have the license to sell all species of pokemon as breeder houses are very strict with it.
The toughest profession in this world is being a breeder and the easiest would be a pokemon trainer. Even for a beginner breeder license, you need to go through several examinations. Why go through all that when you can just catch and sell pokemon? Nobility before were all educated and now they just rely on the glory of the past.
I thought breeder house and Nobility were the same but then found out that they were completely different. Breeder houses have a license to sell or breed any pokemon while the Nobles are strictly restricted to one or two species that their families are specialized in. A breeder house might be a part of nobility but not every breeder house belongs to nobility.
Breeders are the only ones who have the power to go against the nobility. They are always at odds with each other but they unite if any power rises to go against both of them. Breeding a species or specializing in a pokemon breed might take generations, Nobility considered breeding to be a low-class job unless if you were breeding a dragon or fairy types. By the time nobles realized the value of breeding common or uncommon pokemon, it was too late.
All the breeder houses who were considered to be low class rose to power as the profession of Trainer and Contests became popular, after a hundred long years breeder houses rose to stand on the same level as Nobles. If you are part of either of these communities then you would easily live a comfortable life.
Anyways, now I need to make arrangements for visiting Celedon city. Games from Earth show two or four buildings and tell you that's a city but in reality, they are huge cities similar to the size of Earth's cities.
I have to change my attire before I go, maybe I will put on some makeup and change the way I look. I can't wear the same mask or show my original appearance, I wish I had a Ditto.
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Three days later:
I booked a Pidgeot taxi, they are the official sky riders of Kanto. Planes are used only to travel from one region to another, for a city to city travel, there are three ways, one is by train, second is by boat and the last is Pidgeot taxi.
The final option is time-saving but costly, I have enough cash as a Captain so not a big worry for now. A Captains pay is decent but at the end of the day not enough to buy costly Tm's. They pay 20,000 poke dollars which is enough for a normal family to last three months.
I reached the area where all the Pidgeots are kept and made a call to the Rider. He promptly came and greeted me, he gave me some instructions as this was my first time to fly. Pidgeots were five to seven-foot-tall and looked exactly like in the anime, they look friendlier but as a trainer, I know that a Pidgeot is as ferocious as a Fearow.
I got on to the one-seater compartment which the Pidgeot carries with its claws just like in the anime twilight wings. The rider asked me if I was ready, I gave the affirmation and we took off, at first it was a bit nauseating but I got accustomed to it in a minute. This was just like travelling in an aeroplane except for the minor shakiness.
After around an hour, we passed the sea and entered Celedon which looked too lush and elegant. It just felt like the air around had more life to it, the rider slowly landed near the Celedon Taxi branch. I paid him the 2000 poke dollars and took a Tauros ride to the Game Corner.
I wouldn't have spent the money like that if not for the guarantee of Oak and the pokemon I am gonna sell. I planned to contact Oak after this gets over as I need to get money for registering as a trainer. It costs 20,000 dollars to get a basic trainer ID which is pretty high for a basic family.
They need to save a lot to get their kids the league ID, sometimes it is tough to be born in a lower-class family not to talk about being an orphan.
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I reached my destination after a two-hour Tauros ride which was very tiring. The city was huge and advanced, it looked bigger than Vermilion but what stands out here is the greenery. Vines crawling on the surface of buildings increase the charm and express what the city stands for.
I was in front of the Game Corner which looked exactly like a Casino. A lot of people went in and out, I had my makeup on which covered my scar and changed my skin tone. I also had a fake nose which looked weird but who cares?
I walked inside only to be bombarded by a huge sight, this is bigger than a huge ballroom, there were 30-40 slot machines and not a single one was empty. People were waiting for their turns by standing in a line behind the slot machines. I immediately gave up the thought of trying my luck, I moved to the counter and said the secret code,
"It's a great day to be here, once a month is a charm."
The guy at the counter took a deep look at me,
"Move north and turn left at the dead end. You will find a guy, show him the ID and he will take you to the market." Said the bald guy with a serious face.
I gave a nod and followed his directions, after a minute walk I found the guy and showed him the ID.
"This way Sir, please keep in mind that fighting and summoning pokemon is prohibited. Keep your pokemon inside your Pokeball, if you summon them out they will be confiscated forcefully." He said and took me to an underground basement.
I got confused as there was nothing except a small room, "Are you teleporting me to a different place? " I asked in realisation. He just nodded and summoned a Gothorita, the weird-looking humanoid pokemon immediately teleported me from the basement.
.
.
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Unknown place:
The moment I arrived at the Black Market, many people noticed me, they all ignored me the next second as if I was invisible.
I started walking around and inspecting the place, I dont even know where this place is but I was impressed by the Cleanliness and Grandeur of this location. I found a different variety of stalls that has their special selling items. I know for a fact that everything that's sold here is genuine because any fake items or a con man who sold them will be severely punished.
This whole place was just like a shopping mall, it was single floored but wide enough to fit six floors together.
Before I go on a shopping spree I need to sell my pokemon. I can either open a stall by giving 10% of my earnings to the owners of this place or sell it at an 85% price. People who are not familiar with the former prefer selling them at 85%, you need to be aware of how much your pokemon can sell as several aspects can change the price. For example rarity, potential, ability, characteristic and move pool.
The other option is to visit the auction house and try your luck there. Anything that's Green grade and above can be put up for auction, sometimes they get sold for below par and if you're lucky they sell for a bomb.
I planned to sell most of my pokemon at an 85% cost as I am not familiar with the prices, next time I will make a whole plan and put up a stall. For now, only the two mid-stage green grade pokemon and a peak stage one will be put up for the auction.
If there's anything that I consider myself lacking, then it should be bargaining. I am terrible at it, this is something I could never improve. I went to the selling area and put forth all the 17 pokemon, the owner weirdly looked at me and asked,
"Do you want to sell this many? If they are all low grades dont bother getting any money. Is that clear?"
I nodded at that and he went back to scan all the 17 pokemon. He took ten minutes to calculate everything and was surprised by numerous good potential Pokemon. For most people even a yellow grade is rare so I am not surprised by his reaction.
"Surprisingly, you have some good ones in there. I can't give any concessions but next time when you visit, show me this card and I will pay you a 10% extra but thats only applicable if you are selling it exclusively to me." He said for which I took the card he gave and did not promise him much.
"What's the price you are offering for all those? I have a price in my mind and if it doesn't match, I will find a different shop. This is not the first time for me so you better not con me." I said lying. I dont have any price in my mind.
"Hmm, How about 100,000 poke dollars for all the 17?" He said trying his minimum price.
I am not an idiot, thats the worst you can offer, I got 70k for five pokemon and you are offering 100k? Although there are no mid-grade green like before it is still on the lower end, so I just collected the pokeballs and walked out without answering him.
The stall guy called me back immediately,
"Don't go away like that, we can negotiate, right? How much are you expecting?" he asked to which I gave a high number.
"200k"
"Don't be kidding, you can get a blue grade pokemon for that amount. I can offer 120."
"180k," I said decreasing a bit.
"140k. You should know that no pokemon are above Low-grade green in there."
"Fine, 160k."
"150 and that's final, you can look for others if you expect more." He said giving me his final price.
"Deal, happy business," I said shaking his hand.
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Brawly POV:
Who would have thought that I would be in a black market in Kanto? One of these days I am gonna run away from home permanently.
My father, a gym leader in Hoenn is a very stubborn and old fashioned guy who only trains fighting type pokemon. Although we are not a noble family, we are a high-end breeder house that specializes in Fighting types.
Unlike my father, I believe that a balance in the team is a must to excel as a trainer. So, I suggested to him that I would get a different pokemon that can cover the weakness of my other two fighting types.
The moment I said that my father turned mad, he made sure that I was banned from buying any pokemon other than fighting types.
He used all his connections to make it happen, I tried catching other pokemon in the wild but only to be disappointed with their low potential. I was banned from all breeder houses and I tried hiring someone else to buy for me which also turned into a failure.
I am really mad at how my father dictates my life in the name of training so I ran away and came to Kanto. I thought it would be easy to live but the reality is harsh, that's when professor Oak gave me an offer and I accepted it as I had no other choice. I just need to support his ideals when I take over my family business.
It's not a big deal as his ideals were the same as mine, I am tired of higher class people monopolising and controlling everything. Oak also told me about other big guns who are with him in supporting his plan.
I was surprised when I heard about soon to be elite four Bruno supporting Oak. There were also rumours about Steven from Devon Corp but never thought it was true. I heard he just started his journey a month ago, if those big guns are supporting Oak's cause then there's nothing to lose for me. Oak gave me a lot of suggestions recently which helped me train my pokemon better, the main reason I am here is due to his insistence.
"If you want rare good potential pokemon without revealing your whereabouts then there is only one place, visit the Blackmarket and try your luck," is what he said. I was shocked at first as Black Market is illegal but he told me the whole back story which calmed me a bit.
That's the reason I am in front of this huge auction house hoping for a pokemon that can cover my team.
---------x Chapter End x---------
Note:
I just wanted to know if you guys prefer battling and training centric fanfic or something different. For example, the first two chapters of this arc have no pokemon or battles, would that bore you? or is it okay?