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"Congratulations to this Trainer! You may take Ralts after payment."
"Additionally, all Trainers who obtain Ralts or Gible today will receive my written Gardevoir or Garchomp breeding guide, along with the specialized Pokémon food I've developed specifically for Ralts and Gible."
"Now, let's welcome today's second Ralts!"
Fifteen minutes later, all nine Ralts had been claimed. The revenue reached 680 million Pokédollars, more than double the earnings from the previous auction. Besides the first 3-IV Ralts, two 2-IV Ralts had sold for 100 million each.
Selling Ralts with higher IVs was definitely more profitable.
With all nine Ralts sold, it was time for the highly anticipated Gible!
"Finally, our main event will now take the stage," Chris announced with a flourish.
Gible waddled forward on its short legs, and its information appeared on the white screen behind it.
[Gible (Dragon, Ground)]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Sand Veil (Evasion increases by 20% in Sandstorm, immune to Sandstorm damage)]
[Individual Values: HP (21), Attack (31), Special Attack (10), Defense (31), Special Defense (20), Speed (15)]
[Moves: Sand Tomb, Sand Attack, Dragon Breath, Bulldoze, Bite]
"Sand Veil ability, perfect IVs in Attack and Defense—I believe I don't need to elaborate on its value?" Chris declared.
Attack was the most crucial stat for Garchomp.
Choosing a Gible with perfect Attack was equivalent to securing a Garchomp with perfect Attack at evolution, and the perfect Defense was a significant bonus.
This Gible would simply be unstoppable with Close Combat!
Everyone in the auditorium collectively drew a deep breath.
"For a Gible with such excellent potential, I've set the price at 3 billion Pokédollars. Is that excessive?" Chris continued.
Half the audience fell silent.
Was it expensive?
Of course 3 billion was expensive! The 3-IV Ralts had just sold for 300 million! And this 2-IV Gible cost 3 billion.
Ten times the price...
Yet no one could honestly claim it was overpriced, because a Gible with perfect Attack and Defense IVs was genuinely worth it.
The market price for a Dragon pseudo-legendary was roughly 500 million. But that was just a theoretical figure, like saying the market price for a Ralts was 15 million.
"Now, those not interested in this Gible may return to the back seats," Chris announced.
Sure enough, hundreds of people stood and quickly departed.
Many left not because they lacked interest in the Attack-Defense perfect Gible, but simply because they couldn't afford it! Having a net worth of 10 billion didn't mean they could spend 3 billion on a single Pokémon.
More than a hundred people exited, leaving about two hundred attendees.
Chris remained perfectly calm, glanced at Gible, and signaled that it could choose its own Trainer.
Gible stepped forward slowly, looking up at everyone.
Unlike Ralts, Gible lacked the ability to sense human emotions. Its choice would be random—whoever caught its fancy.
Then, without warning, Gible bit the head of a young man in the second row who was eating French fries.
Security guards rushed forward to pull Gible away, but Chris stopped them.
"Congratulations, sir! Gible has chosen you."
"Biting is how it expresses affection."
"I hope you can adapt to this behavior."
"At least until it evolves into Gabite, it will frequently bite you like this!"
Chris laughed. Being experienced, he usually deflected Gible's surprise attacks with Pokéblocks!
The young man was stunned, not by being chosen, but by Gible's unexpected bite.
He dared not move at all.
After hearing Chris's explanation, he regained his composure.
"Then... can I remove it?" the young man asked cautiously.
"Of course. If it were truly biting hard, do you think your head would still be intact?" Chris replied. The Gible he had caught in the Lumiose wilderness was level 25.
With its bite force, a human skull wouldn't stand a chance if it meant business.
The young man carefully lifted the Gible from his head. Relief washed over him, followed by pure ecstasy!
A 2-IV Gible!
This was definitely a Pokémon that could be raised as his ace. He never imagined he'd be so fortunate.
The surrounding audience cast envious glances.
Selected from over two hundred people—this was true luck!
"Sir, please take Gible to complete the payment."
"With that, today's Pokémon-Trainer Matchmaking Conference concludes!"
"One more announcement: in mid-month, at this same venue, we'll offer two 2-IV Growlithe, three 2-IV Ralts, four 2-IV Aron, and one 1-IV Bagon."
"Please forgive the reduction in Ralts availability. Finding high-quality Pokémon isn't easy!" Chris bowed appreciatively.
In truth, he had many high-IV Ralts stored with Professor Birch. He could easily offer 20 per month, and if that wasn't enough, he could always hunt more at Petalburg City's outskirts.
But releasing too many high-IV Pokémon would diminish their perceived value, making it seem trivial for Pokémon to reach their genetic potential. This would cheapen the concept of perfect IVs.
Then people might think they could buy high-IV Pokémon from any breeding facility at a fraction of Chris's prices.
That wasn't Chris's vision. He preferred maintaining limited quantity—just ten Pokémon per auction—while increasing variety, preserving their premium status.
He was using this opportunity to establish the concept that "products from Chris's Breeding House are always premium quality!"
When the audience heard about the 1-IV Bagon coming next time, excitement rippled through the crowd, with many resolving to return for the next auction!
Chris exited the stage from the side.
Below, a tall woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses and silver professional attire was waiting for him.
She was Wanda, the person Denver had recommended to Chris. Hearing her surname, Chris immediately recognized she must be from their family.
Indeed she was, though not Denver and Theodore's cousin but their niece. Wanda had little interest in becoming a Trainer. She hadn't attended a Pokémon University but instead graduated from a prestigious conventional university.
Her current profession was "corporate attorney."
She had experience with ranches, breeding facilities, and financial matters.
Chris had approved her website design and screening methodology, so he had temporarily appointed her as his consultant and assistant.
During his absences, she would oversee the breeding house, gym, and ranch operations.
"Master," she said urgently, "representatives from the military are here!"