Chapter 46: Truth Seeker Orbs

"You like them, that I am sure of, and you know it too, but what is stopping you really is how can you date them both...right?"

"N-No."

"Get better at lying." Nurse Joy scoffed at him before she continued. "But I can understand your trouble. I have been through this before; trust me, it is your job as the man to decide it. You have to be decisive, or you might end up losing them both."

"Did you lose someone as well? In a similar situation?"

"..." Nurse Joy blinked before changing the topic. "One woman, two women, three women? Who cares? Some even keep the bloodline pure."

"Keep the bloodline pure?"

"You are still so innocent." Nurse Joy sighed. "What I am trying to say is it's you who decides what kind of a relationship you want. If you like them both, go for both. Maybe a few more in future...idk." Nurse Joy spoke with a small smile while stressing her next words. "Make that choice and live with it. Right or wrong, let time decide it. And talk to the girls as well...you need communication in a good relationship. And make sure you don't run away from the choice you make."

"Thank you!" Aeron gave a polite nod to Nurse Joy. "Talking to you has helped me a lot."

"Don't worry about it, kid." Nurse Joy waved her hand as if she had done this a lot. "Now I am back to work; let me know if you need more pep talk."

"I will."

"Aeron Duskborn, right?" She asked, and Aeron's Pokedex rang up the next moment. "That's me; add me on Pokegram...Holy! You have so many followers?"

"It just happened over the last few days." Aeron sighed as he looked at his growing Pokegram following and added Nurse Joy as her friend. "Hmm?" He frowned as he saw the name. "Grace Joy? Is that your real name?"

"What? Did you think my first name was Nurse?"

"Yes?" Aeron replied with a serious face, and when he saw Grace's face twitch he let out a small chuckle. "I was messing around."

Grace looked at Aeron before she waved her hand. "Now, shoo! I need to work."

"I won't keep you from it then." He thanked her once again before leaving. "Good night!"

Grace watched as Aeron walked out of the Pokémon Centre with steady steps. "He needs to stop smiling..." She sighed while putting a hand over her chest. She returned back to work, but in the end, she could not keep her curiosity in control. 'Aeron Duskborn, Right?' The pink-haired nurse immediately searched for him in her database, trying to learn more about him.

'Duskborn...Hmm? His father is...I see. Does he know?'

Grace looked at Aeron, who was walking further away until she could no longer see his back.

'Maybe I should not look into something so personal.'

-0-

'I decide what kind of relationship I want.'

Aeron thought to himself as he walked toward the Pokemart. After his hour-long conversation with Nurse Joy, his head was a lot more clearer than before.

'One can't see their own nose.' Even though he could identify his emotions and feelings, it was hard for him to come to a decision. But talking to someone else had really opened his mind. 'Let's buy some supplies and see if I can get something useful.'

Pokemart, just like Pokémon Centre, was open 24hrs a day. But there were just a handful of trainers visiting the Pokemart during the night. Aeron, however, preferred being alone for the moment. It was for the same reason he hadn't called out his Pokémon yet.

"Welcome to the Pokemart; how can I help you?"

"I am looking for held items." Aeron looked at the blonde-haired middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a Pokemart worker. "Preferably for Psychic-type Pokémon."

"Please follow me." The middle-aged man led Aeron to the seventh floor of Pokemart, where all the held items were sold.

Held Items ranged from metallic ores to rare stones, l=blocks of ice or charcoal. When held by Pokémon, these items could have different effects depending on their nature. Some increased attacks, while some boosted Type-Damage. The spoons used by most Alakazam were also held items that increased the power of their Psychic-type [Moves].

"Can I ask what Pokémon will be using this Held Item?" The middle-aged man asked, but he immediately clarified since he didn't want to sound like he was fishing for Aeron's personal information. "Knowing the Pokémon would help narrow down the choices."

"Alakazam." Aeron did not mind and gave the name of his future Pokémon. "I am looking for something heavy that can be used to practice Psychic Energy rather than be used in battle."

"Ah! So something like that?" The middle-aged man thought for a moment and then led Aeron to the eighth floor instead of the seventh. "There are no Held Items per se that can achieve such a result, but if it is for training, maybe those stones can be helpful."

"Stones?"

"As you know, different kinds of stones are found in nature. Some contain pure energy that is used to evolve Pokémon, just like a Fire Stone is used to evolve Eevee into a Flareon. Similarly, we recently acquired a set of very heavy stones; no human has been able to lift them yet, and even some Pokémon find it challenging. However, these stones seem to react to Psychic-type Energy in a weird way...I am unsure if they will be exactly what you are looking for, but they came to my mind when you said about items used for training."

"You have my interest," Aeron said with a smile, looking forward to seeing these weird stones the man spoke about. "What is your name, by the way?"

"Edmonds. I am the manager of this Pokemart."

"Ah! It's nice to meet you, Mr Edmonds. I did not realize someone of your status would be helping me."

"It's all business." Edmonds waved his hand nonchalantly. He was the type who loved to work along with his employees rather than sit in the office doing nothing.

*Ding*

"We are here."

The elevator door opened to the eighth floor, leaving Aeron surprised by the contents. Stones. The whole floor was filled with different types of stones that he could have never imagined existed.

"This way, please." Edmonds led him through different isles, and Aeron made sure to look around, trying to see different types of stones.

Some were perfect spheres while others held no shape; some had elemental energy while others had no trace of it; some were colourful while others were bland.

"Most of these are collector's items."

"People collect stones?"

"You would be surprised," Edmonds said with a smile before adding. "The ones I was talking about earlier were brought to us by a Collector who traded them for a set of particular stones he was looking for."

Aeron just nodded and kept looking around until they stood before the wall with twelve stones floating in a circular formation. As soon as his eyes landed on these stones, his eyes changed to purplish-blue and a draconic slit was formed in them. Thankfully, he was wearing his glasses, so the manager could not see the sudden change.

'These stones are special.' He immediately concluded. These stones were reacting to the Psychic Energy within his body and quite strongly at that. But it wasn't just him; even Abra, who was in his Pokeball, had become a little restless. "Can I ask what they are called or who brought these to you?"

While he was shocked at the sudden turn of events, Aeron showed nothing as the ever-so-soft smile never left his face.

"To protect the privacy of our customers we never give out any personal information." He pointed at the twelve pitch-black stones that seemed to absorb all light within them akin to a black hole. "These have never been seen before, so they don't have a name yet...maybe you can give them one after buying?" Edmonds chuckled as he said the last words.

"How much?"

"₽150,000."

"That is very expensive for something that has never been seen before. For all we know, they can be worthless, and before you say anything about using them for training Psychic Pokémon, no other Pokémon has used them before. The effects might just be worthless." Aeron looked Edmonds in the eye, and although he really wanted to acquire these stones, he didn't want to sound desperate.

"Well..."

"₽10,000."

"That's too low." Edmonds shook his head at the ridiculous price. "Even if these stones are worthless, many collectors would want them. The best I can do for you is ₽120,000. Please do understand that we need to make a profit, or we won't sell these to you."

Aeron thought for a moment before countering. "₽50,000. Even though people collect stones, how many would have Psychic Pokémon able to keep these stones afloat?" He looked toward the side where a Hypno was using its Psychic Energy to keep the stones in the air for display, and he was sure as soon as he left, the Hypno would let the stones down. They were too heavy for even a Pokémon as strong as it.

"But ₽50,000 is..."

"Let's settle this at ₽60,000?" Aeron raised his hand toward Edmonds. "Deal?"

The manager thought momentarily and then sighed. "Deal."

The duo shook their hands, and Edmonds nodded to Hypno, who placed the twelve stones within an empty space bag before handing them to Aeron. The Psychic-type let out a breath of sigh as it had exhausted almost all of its Psychic Energy to keep these stones afloat for just a few minutes.

"How about you name them?" Edmonds asked. "The one who found them refused to since he could care less about these usele...*Ahem* weird stones. He only wanted to exchange these for the ones he wanted. By giving them a name, if they are ever found again, we would know what to call them."

Aeron thought for a moment before a name appeared somewhere in the back of his head.

"Truth Seeker Orbs."

-0-

After acquiring the Truth Seeker Orbs, Aeron looked around the Pokemart to restock their travelling supplies. Since the manager was showing him around, he was able to buy two TMs and two Luxury Balls. He already had six Luxury Balls of which four had been used. Every Pokémon of his had a Luxury Ball, and he planned to do the same for the rest of his Pokémon.

After that, he bought a few [Fire Stones], and although they were not the highest quality like the one from [PKC] reward, Aeron had a use for them. If his 'experiment' was right, he could cut the amount of time needed to evolve his two Fire types.

"Please visit again," Edmonds said with a smile as Aeron walked out of the Pokemart after spending almost ₽100,000.

"I will, and please let me know if you get more TMs. I will be willing to buy them over your online website."

"I will."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Aeron walked back toward the Pokémon Centre.

"Come out!" He called out his four Pokémon to walk alongside him. Abra, however, settled on Aeron's head.

"Axew!"

"Woof!"

"Lar..."

They excitedly looked at Aeron but then stopped when they saw his eyes peering down at them. They immediately looked away, trying to whistle awkwardly.

"You guys have become quite stubborn."