Is Hoopa for sale?

"Ahh..."

Hearing Uchiha Sasuke's words, Fuji let go of the fire extinguisher, and Sasuke stood up, his face a little pale.

Oh, that's just the powder from the fire extinguisher—it's fine.

"Hoopa is really powerful... I lost," Sasuke admitted, trying hard to maintain his pride but speaking coldly.

"Do you want to wash your face? You look kind of funny right now," Fuji teased as he took out a mirror, letting Sasuke see his own reflection.

Sasuke peered into the mirror and saw his face was covered in white powder.

"I'll go wash my face," he muttered, the cool facade breaking as he hurried to find a faucet and rinse off.

After cleaning up, Sasuke returned to the shop, and Hoopa grinned at him. "How about it? Isn't Hoopa strong?"

"Yeah, you're strong," Sasuke admitted, reflecting on the earlier battle. He had to acknowledge that Hoopa had completely overwhelmed him. He had used the Uchiha clan's kunai-throwing technique and the Fireball Jutsu he had been practicing for so long, yet they were both easily countered by Hoopa.

And Hoopa didn't even seem to be trying. No, wait—it was trying, just in its own playful way. Those moves Hoopa used earlier, were they... space ninjutsu?

Sasuke, being a member of the Uchiha clan, wasn't like Naruto in terms of knowledge. He was well aware of the rarity and value of space-time techniques. The fact that this Pokémon named Hoopa could use space ninjutsu was mind-blowing.

Sasuke's eyes lit up with desire as he looked at Hoopa. If he could get his hands on a Hoopa, could he use it to defeat Itachi? Space ninjutsu would allow him to appear next to Itachi out of nowhere and take him down with a single strike, right?

Sasuke's mind began to drift into a fantasy of revenge.

"Store manager, is Hoopa for sale?" Sasuke asked, his voice filled with determination.

"I'm sorry, but Hoopa is my partner, not for sale," Fuji replied with a chuckle.

He knew exactly why Sasuke was interested in Hoopa's strength, but there was no way he would sell his partner.

"Are you sure? I can pay any amount you want," Sasuke pressed.

"I said, Hoopa is my partner. Who would sell their partner?" Fuji asked, his voice firm. "If someone is willing to sell their partner, are they truly partners?"

This question left Sasuke silent. In this world, the concepts of "bonds" and "partners" were deeply ingrained. Even if someone didn't understand other things, when it came to bonds and partners, they knew the importance.

"However, Sasuke, don't be discouraged. Besides Hoopa, there are plenty of other Pokémon with strength that rivals Hoopa's," Fuji added with a tempting tone. "It all depends on whether you're lucky enough to draw one."

Sasuke's eyes gleamed with hope. "There are Pokémon stronger than Hoopa?"

"Of course," Fuji nodded confidently.

While it was true that Hoopa, once fully liberated, would be one of the strongest, there were still plenty of Pokémon out there that could surpass Hoopa in its current form. Fuji wasn't exaggerating.

However, the key issue was that such Pokémon were rare and difficult to draw from the random selection.

"Alright, I want to buy a Pokémon. How do I do it?" Sasuke asked eagerly.

Fuji pulled out a Pokédex from behind the counter and handed it to Sasuke.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked curiously as he took the device.

"This is a Pokédex. As the name suggests, it contains records of all known types of Pokémon. Currently, all Pokémon are randomly drawn. You can't specifically choose one," Fuji explained.

"Random? What if I draw something useless?" Sasuke frowned, clearly not satisfied with the idea of not being able to pick his own Pokémon.

"Useless? No, no, no. There's no such thing as a useless Pokémon. While Pokémon do have varying levels of strength, there are no truly weak ones," Fuji said, shaking his head.

"Even a Pokémon that appears weak can grow into something powerful with proper training. With enough care, it can surpass those who are considered strong from the start."

Fuji's words rang true. Though certain Pokémon had reputations for being weak, there were always rare cases where exceptional trainers could turn them into formidable opponents. Pikachu, Pidgeot, even a Beedrill had all shown moments of incredible power, defying expectations.

Of course, those cases were rare, and most people still sought out the "stronger" Pokémon species. But Fuji's point stood—any Pokémon had potential.

"So, how do I start?" Sasuke asked, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. Would his luck be good enough to draw a powerful Pokémon?

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