Since learning that his mom earned P$300,000,000 for him, Cole had become quite spirited.
The auction was proceeding in an orderly manner. After auctioning a series of ordinary items, it was time for Trainer items to be auctioned. At this auction, ordinary items and Trainer items seemed to alternate in rounds.
This time, a blue patch was brought to the auction stage, with a yellow star pattern printed on its packaging.
"May I have the attention of all Trainer friends, the next item for auction is an Ability Patch. Most Trainers have heard of it — it can help Pokémon awaken their Hidden Abilities. If you're not satisfied with your Pokémon's ability, take note — an Ability Patch can absolutely make your wishes come true.
Everyone knows that Ability Patches are extremely costly to produce and can only be handcrafted, so they've always been rare. If you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll encounter another one. Opportunity knocks but once!"
Hearing Scarlet's introduction, Cole immediately sat up straight.
Wasn't this exactly what he needed?
Previously during battles, he had complained that Heliolisk's ability didn't match its talents, but now here was an opportunity to change its ability.
Heliolisk's current ability was Dry Skin, which restores HP in rain or when hit by Water-type attacks, but reduces HP in sunny weather or when hit by Fire-type attacks. It wasn't that this ability was necessarily worse than others, but it just didn't suit his powerful gecko.
In battle, Heliolisk would most likely use the Sunny Day move, so in most situations, the Dry Skin ability would only have a negative effect. This might be useful when paired with a Water-type Pokémon in doubles or facing a Water-type opponent, but that lacked versatility.
Comparatively, the Solar Power ability would be much better. Although it would also cause Heliolisk to continuously lose HP by the same amount in sunshine, it would significantly boost its Special Attack.
For a Heliolisk that excels in Special Attack, this would be much more versatile!
Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
By now, Scarlet had finished hyping up the Ability Patch's wonders and was announcing its starting price.
"The starting price for this Ability Patch is P$200,000, with minimum increments of P$10,000."
As soon as Scarlet finished speaking, people began bidding one after another.
The value of the Ability Patch naturally couldn't compare to those million-dollar auction items from before, but many people needed it. Plus, this item rarely appeared, so the price quickly soared.
"P$250,000!"
...
"P$350,000!"
...
"P$500,000!"
...
"P$1,000,000!"
In the blink of an eye, the price of this small patch had broken one million — clearly overpriced — but everyone was still eagerly bidding. What could they do when everyone wanted it?
For wealthy people, price wasn't important — what mattered was whether they could buy it.
When the price reached P$1,900,000, bidders gradually dwindled. By this time, Cole was considering whether it was still necessary to secure this Ability Patch.
If he couldn't get it this time, he could always look for other channels. Although he now had 300 million, money should still be spent where it was needed. If the premium was too high, there was really no need to compete.
Instead of an Ability Patch, he could buy an Ability Capsule, which could also change a Pokémon's ability, though only normal abilities. For Heliolisk, its other ability, Sand Veil, was also more useful than Dry Skin.
An Ability Capsule would definitely be cheaper than an Ability Patch.
However, while Cole hesitated, Daisy didn't. She picked up the bidding device and entered a long string of numbers.
"2 million! Box 112 bids 2 million. Any other bids? If you miss this chance, you'll lose it. Don't hesitate!"
Cole: ( ╬⊙﹏⊙ )
"Mom..." He was dumbfounded again, extending his arms like the poor young man he was with a pained expression.
But Daisy reclined leisurely on the sofa, lifting her skirt slightly to cross one fair, delicate leg over the other. Holding a glass of red wine in one hand, she gently swirled it before taking a small sip, acting as if he was making a fuss over nothing.
Daisy: ⊹(＾-＾)⊹ Calm down, calm down, it's just 2 million.
With her rich lady attitude, is this really my mom?
"2 million once, 2 million twice, 2 million three times, sold! This Ability Patch now belongs to the esteemed guest in Box 112!"
In the end, the Ability Patch was bought by Daisy.
After the Ability Patch auction ended, several Pokémon were brought to the stage in succession: Charmander, Totodile, and Turtwig.
Competition for these three starters was also fierce, with each selling for over 4 million. Lysandre participated in bidding twice but gave up as prices continued to rise.
It must be said that this auction was truly high-end, with rare Pokémon and items appearing one after another.
"Without realizing it, our auction is coming to an end. Next up is our main attraction. Our first featured item is still a Pokémon, but this Pokémon's rarity level is quite different from the previous ones. Everyone, please look at the big screen behind me!"
As Scarlet finished speaking, the big screen behind her suddenly lit up, showing a photo of an adorable Pokémon.
In the photo, the Pokémon stood on all fours, covered with scales of various sizes — some grayish-white, some black, some golden — with the largest one on its head in the shape of a heart.
This was Jangmo-o, the baby form of the pseudo-legendary Pokémon Kommo-o.
As soon as this Pokémon's photo appeared, murmurs immediately spread through the audience.
"I believe many guests here recognize this Pokémon. Even if you haven't seen it in person, you've certainly heard of it. This Pokémon is Jangmo-o."
After a string of praise, Scarlet began discussing more substantial information, such as its type, abilities, preferences, habits, moves it had already learned, training suggestions, and more — all very practical information.
Although everything sold at this auction was extremely expensive, it must be said that their service attitude was excellent. While promoting some unrealistic information to increase the price, she also thoroughly explained the auction item's true information.
After explaining for about half an hour, Scarlet cleared her throat and said, "That's all the information I have about this Jangmo-o. Now let's begin the auction. The starting price for Jangmo-o is P$1,000,000, with minimum increments of P$100,000. Customers may start bidding."
As soon as Scarlet finished speaking, numbers flashed rapidly across the big screen — those wanting to obtain Jangmo-o were already itching to bid.
"P$1,100,000!"
…
"P$2,100,000!"
…
"P$3,100,000!"
…
"P$9,100,000!"
The numbers were jumping so fast, it was dizzying.
"I didn't expect the first featured item to be a baby pseudo-legendary. Looks like all the featured items in this auction must be extraordinary." Cole said with amazement as he watched the numbers flashing wildly on the big screen.
Lysandre heard this and asked, "Are you interested in this Jangmo-o?"
Cole quickly shook his head, "Not interested, really not interested."
After saying this, he looked toward Daisy, only to see her looking at him with an expectant expression.
"Garde~ Garde~" — Honey, if you really want it, we can buy it. We can afford it.
"Mom, I'm begging you, please stop. I really don't need it. I already have a Larvitar, and all other pseudo-legendaries mean nothing to me."
As he spoke, Cole released his Larvitar and held it in his arms, giving it a big kiss. He had to use Psychic Power; otherwise, with this little one's current weight, it would be too difficult for him to hold.
"My dear Larvitar, I love you the most."
Larvitar: (•ω•) ?
The newly released baby dinosaur looked completely confused, sucking on its finger while staring blankly at Cole.
"Good baby, don't suck your finger. Here, this is your favorite silver ore. Take it quickly." Cole took out a piece of silver ore the size of a baby's fist from his spatial backpack and handed it to Larvitar.
Larvitar: (◕▿◕)
Seeing the silver ore, its eyes lit up.
Whatever Cole and the others had been discussing was no longer its concern. It happily hugged the silver ore and began licking it.
Both Lysandre and Daisy were amused by his antics, but Daisy finally gave up on the idea of buying the Jangmo-o.
'Phew~' Cole sighed in relief.
This baby pseudo-legendary was different from the previous auction items — without several tens of millions, it would be impossible to secure.
Cole had once seen in the news that a shiny Beldum sold for a final price of 100 million, and it was purchased by Joseph Stone, the current president of Devon Corporation in the Hoenn region.
Although Jangmo-o wasn't shiny, its final price would probably be similar.
"Since you're not interested in Jangmo-o, I'll make a move." Lysandre said.
"Not interested, not interested. Go ahead if you want to bid." Cole waved dismissively.
Although he sometimes did envy those who had pseudo-legendary Pokémon, he wouldn't actually go out of his way to pursue one.
By now, Jangmo-o's price had skyrocketed to over ten million.
"P$25,000,000!"
…
"P$26,000,000!"
…
"P$27,000,000!"
…
"P$30,000,000!"
The bidding momentum was still surging with no signs of slowing down.
Lysandre didn't immediately join in. It wasn't until the price reached 80 million that the bidding pace finally began to slow.
"P$85,000,000!"
Lysandre finally made his first move.
"P$86,000,000."
At this moment, in the Dragon Clan's private box, Seth entered a string of numbers into the bidding device.
{T/N: I changed Sara's father's name from Steven to Seth because a dear reader mentioned there was already a character with that name. Few of you will understand what I'm talking about because I've already corrected the error, but I apologize nonetheless. I never watched Pokémon, only when it was on TV 15 years ago.}
"Dad, this price is already ridiculous. Let's just give up." Sara advised her dad.
"Didn't we come specifically for this Jangmo-o? We're not short on money, and in the future, when this Jangmo-o grows up, it can improve our family's Dragon-type Pokémon bloodline. Why not?" Seth replied.
"But..." Sara wanted to say something more, but with one glare from her father, she could only close her mouth silently.
After silencing his daughter, Seth looked at Lance with a smile and said, "Once we get this Jangmo-o, I'll give it to you to train."
Lance quickly waved his hands, "Uncle, I don't want it. Give it to Sister Sara instead."
Seth looked at his daughter in annoyance and said, "She should focus on evolving her Dragonair into a Dragonite first. Always making a fuss, but I haven't seen much improvement in her strength."
Sara glared at her father in dissatisfaction, "Hmph! Just you wait, my Dragonair will evolve soon."
"I'll be looking forward to it!"
While arguing with his daughter, Seth continued to enter bids into the bidding device.
"P$87,000,000!"
In just this brief moment of conversation, Jangmo-o's price had increased by another million.
After Seth bid 87 million, almost no one dared to continue.
But then Lysandre made another move.
"P$88,000,000!"
He had just earned over 300 million and hadn't spent much of it yet!
Hearing this price, Seth stiffened his neck, "Who made that bid? Are they deliberately going against me?"
Lance answered, "It seems to be from Box 112."
"Box 112? Who's in there? I feel like they've bid several times already. Who's even more extravagant than us?" Seth asked curiously.
At this point, Sara timidly raised her hand, "I think Box 112 is where Cole and his group are."
When they parted ways, she vaguely remembered that Cole had entered Box 112, which wasn't far from their Box 116.
"So it's them." Seth suddenly realized, "No wonder. That Mr. Lysandre is much richer than us. This is going to be tough!"
As he spoke, he increased the price by another million.
"P$89,000,000!"
At this point, Lysandre expressed the same confusion as his 'opponent', "Who's in Box 116?"
Cole thought for a moment and replied, "I think it's Sara and her family."
"No wonder they've kept up until now." Lysandre nodded in realization, then looked at him and said, "But even if the competitor is your friend, I won't back down."
"The highest bidder wins. It doesn't matter to me which of you gets it." Cole said helplessly.
Lysandre nodded and silently raised the bidding price to 90 million.
And so, the two men continued testing each other, eventually pushing the price of this Jangmo-o all the way to 96 million, with Lysandre securing it in one go.
In Box 116, Seth spread his hands and said, "Well, the Jangmo-o is gone. No need to worry about which of you should train it now."
Sara and Lance both shrugged, showing they didn't mind.
"Now that Jangmo-o has found its new owner, let's move on to our second-to-last featured item." Scarlet announced, clapping her hands.
A massive object covered with a red cloth was carried onto the auction stage.
Finally, it's here!
Seeing the mysterious item on the stage, Cole unconsciously sat up straight.
Although the auction had already announced there would be an item related to S-class Berry trees, what exactly it was remained unknown.
Not only Cole was paying attention to this featured item, but also the Sasaki family, who had also built their fortune on cultivating Berries.
✲✲✲
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