Chapter 81: Give me your Growlithe

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Sato understood a lot about Sun Stones, being a Pokémon enthusiast. He had some ideas on how to obtain one. The most straightforward method was to win the Bug Catching Contest held at the National Park north of Goldenrod City; Ash had acquired his Sun Stone from there.

Another option was to take a chance in the Ilex Forest. According to Sato's memory, Sun Stones could often be found there. In a special episode, Gold's Sunflora had "accidentally" stumbled upon a Sun Stone in that very forest.

Unfortunately, Sato was currently in the Kanto region, far from Johto, making it unrealistic to pursue either of these methods for obtaining a Sun Stone.

Considering his current circumstances, Sato realized that obtaining a Sun Stone would depend on luck. He also recognized a significant issue: even if he happened to find a seller with a Sun Stone, he didn't have enough money to afford such a precious item.

In fact, it wasn't just the Sun Stone he needed. He also had Nidoran and Growlithe, both of which required evolution stones for their final evolutions, so he would eventually need a Moon Stone and a Fire Stone as well.

Sato wasn't too worried about those two evolution stones. The Moon Stone could be found at Mount Moon, while the Fire Stone was located at Evolution Mountain in Kanto (which had been mentioned in the anime with the Eevee brothers, rumored to be rich in evolution stones).

'The priority now is to find a way to earn some money. Wild Beedrill honey is a good choice. I sold three honeycombs, but I still have seventeen and a half left, which is about 52 liters. Based on the previous prices, I should be able to make around 3.12 million PokeDollars,' he thought as he ordered a simple dinner worth 200 PokeDollars, eating while contemplating.

However, the more Sato thought about it, the more bitter he felt. He realized that aside from selling wild Beedrill honey, he had no other sources of income.

While 3.12 million PokeDollars seemed like a lot, it was hardly sufficient for Sato, who now had four Pokémon. On the journey to Hoenn, not only were there necessary transportation costs, but the daily expenses for feeding his Pokémon and the healing costs after battles far exceeded that amount.

In the end, after considering all his options, Sato decided to focus on selling PokeBlocks. Since they fetched good prices within Team Rocket, it was evident that they were popular among Trainers and would likely sell well in the market, providing a solid solution to his current financial difficulties.

'I hope there's a Contest Hall in Viridian City. That's the only place where I might find a Berry Mixer for making PokeBlocks. If not, that would be a problem. If only I had one of those machines, I would take the risk to get one if an opportunity arose,' Sato thought to himself.

In reality, after a week of survival in the wild, Sato had almost completely used up the over 800 PokeBlocks he had originally brought with him.

The rapid growth of Zubat and Gloom's abilities could largely be attributed to the energy provided by the consumed PokeBlocks. They had been a powerful catalyst that helped Sato's team establish a foothold in the dangerous wilds.

Now, with his supply of PokeBlocks nearly depleted, Sato needed to replenish them quickly to maintain the high efficiency of his Pokémon's daily training. Even if it weren't for financial reasons, he had to restock his PokeBlocks as soon as possible.

After spending 32 minutes, Sato finished the simple dinner entirely and left the Pokémon Center with Growlithe, who had curled up and fallen asleep at his feet, unwilling to return to his PokéBall.

As Sato left the Pokémon Center to find an empty space for some nighttime training with his Pokémon, a black luxury car suddenly sped up from behind him, stopping right in front of him.

Then, a chubby boy and three muscular boys stepped out of the car and approached him.

The chubby boy clearly looked like the son of a wealthy businessman. Dressed in an all-white designer suit, his hair was slicked back with gel, as if he wanted everyone to know he was nouveau riche. His fat hands were adorned with rings of various gems, and he held a golden PokéBall in his hand.

The four muscular boys behind him acted like his bodyguards, all dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses, standing upright behind the chubby boy.

"Woof woof woof~~" Seeing the strangers blocking him and his trainer, Growlithe growled fiercely, baring its teeth at the group ahead.

"Not bad at all! This is definitely a wild Growlithe caught in the field. It's so different from those docile ones bred in captivity; it's full of wild spirit! Using it for dog fighting would surely guarantee a win. Kid, give me your Growlithe, and I'll give you 2 million PokeDollars." The chubby boy was not intimidated by Growlithe's aggressive stance; instead, his eyes lit up as if he had discovered a rare treasure. He spoke arrogantly to Sato, typical of a rich snob.

As soon as he finished speaking, two of the muscular boys quickly took out a black box from their space gear. They stepped to either side of the chubby boy and opened the boxes in front of Sato.

When the boxes opened, stacks of freshly minted League bills appeared before Sato, the smell of the ink hitting him immediately.

The chubby boy's name was Ichiro Yamaguchi. His father, Masao Yamaguchi, owned a real estate company in Viridian City, and they were very wealthy, making him a well-known rich kid in the area. Ichiro's interest in buying Sato's Growlithe was primarily to use it for dog fighting but even more so to show off to his friends.

Recently, dog fighting had become a popular activity among the wealthy youths in the major cities of Kanto, and as a rich kid from Viridian City, Ichiro didn't want to fall behind. He had already spent a lot of money to buy a wild Dratini from a Pokémon Hunter.

Unfortunately, the Dratini Ichiro purchased for a high price had performed quite poorly compared to the other rich kids' fighting Pokémon, with more losses than wins, which was honestly quite embarrassing for him. 

It must be said that acquiring a wild Growlithe, which was something extremely rare, was quite a point of pride. So when Ichiro heard from others that a civilian Trainer had caught a wild Growlithe, he immediately rushed over.

"So, here's 2 million PokeDollars in cash. You can count it first, and as soon as you hand over the PokéBall containing your Growlithe, this money will be yours. To be honest, the market price for Growlithe is only about 1 million PokeDollars, but since yours is a wild catch, I'll double the price and give you a good deal," Ichiro continued arrogantly after his subordinates placed the cash before Sato, his small eyes revealing a hint of cunning.

In reality, as the official police Pokemon of the Jenny clan, Growlithe's natural habitat had always been controlled by them. Wild Growlithe were very, very rare, and Pokémon Hunters typically refrained from poaching and selling such "sensitive" Pokémon to avoid angering the Jenny's.

Thus, Growlithe rarely appeared in the black market and usually commanded exorbitant prices; it was impossible to buy one for less than five or six million. Ichiro's claim of buying Sato's Growlithe at a premium price was clearly an attempt to deceive him, banking on Sato's ignorance of market prices, and also suggested a coercive intent.

But the person Ichiro was facing now was Sato, and his plan was about to fall through; he had kicked a hard rock.

Sato remained completely indifferent to the two boxes of freshly minted PokeDollars in front of him, merely glancing at them before his expression suddenly turned cold. He pressed the buttons on the two PokéBalls in his hand.

In the next second, two beams of white light shot out, revealing Zubat and Gloom on either side of Sato. At the same time, a chilling aura emanated from the two Pokémon, sending shivers down Ichiro's and his companions' spines.

In Sato's mind, every Pokémon he had was like family. The idea that someone wanted to take his family away and use them as tools for gambling fights was something he couldn't tolerate.