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"You seem quite interested in this Misdreavus egg, sir. Let me tell you, I got this egg from—"
The middle-aged man, who had been boastfully talking non-stop, finally noticed a change in the attentive listener named Sato. Stepping closer, he began explaining the origin of the Misdreavus egg just for him.
"How much? Name your price."
Sato, growing visibly impatient with the man's feverish boasting, abandoned his polite front and cut straight to the point.
He had listened long enough to figure out that the man wasn't actually insane—he was just bragging for fun and using it as a tactic to inflate the value of his item.
Honestly, from what Sato had learned through the Grimoire of Dark Spirits, most Ghost-type Pokémon were absolute schemers.
It was extremely difficult for humans to gauge their age. Even if a Ghost-type Pokémon seemed low-leveled, their true age could easily exceed that of your grandparents.
Because of this, Ghost-types were known to be highly individualistic. Gaining their loyalty was far more difficult than with any other type.
That's why nearly every trainer who specialized in Ghost-types preferred to raise them from eggs—it was the best way to ensure loyalty from the start.
(Note: Ghost-type Pokémon are the most likely to be born with rebellious tendencies.)
Unfortunately, Ghost-type eggs were exceedingly rare. Don't expect them to fall in love and breed like flesh-and-blood creatures. That idea's practically a grim joke.
Even aphrodisiacs had no effect on them, so it was almost unheard of for two Ghost-types to actually reproduce and lay an egg.
(Note: Most Ghost-type Pokémon in the wild are born through natural phenomena. When lingering souls of the dead remain in the human world, they often transform into Ghost-type Pokémon through various means.)
Even if you did obtain a Ghost-type egg, there was no guarantee that the Pokémon inside would be of good quality.
Unless the parents were confirmed to be powerful, every Ghost-type egg was essentially like a scratch ticket—completely luck-based.
And for something as crucial as a Pokémon's potential, 99% of trainers couldn't afford to ignore it. It directly determined whether raising the Pokémon would be worth the investment.
Luckily for Sato, his system's scanning ability made it impossible to get scammed when it came to picking out eggs. And right now, this particular Misdreavus egg in front of him seemed quite satisfactory.
.....
Misdreavus Egg Information:
Pokemon: Misdreavus
Level: 1
Type: Ghost
Ability: Levitate
Gender: Female
Known Moves: Growl, Psywave
Egg Moves: Curse, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch
Held Item: None
IVs: (out of 31)
HP: 28
Attack: 26
Defense: 27
Sp. Atk: 28
Sp. Def: 26
Speed: 30
[Overall IV Rating: Purple (Total IV = 166)]
.....
From the data, it was clear that this yet-unhatched Misdreavus had excellent potential. With a total IV of 166, it was just 9 points shy of the threshold for golden-tier potential.
Moreover, it had three inherited moves—all of which were practical and highly useful. That alone strongly indicated that the parents were high-level and of decent quality.
Notably, Misdreavus was one of the Pokémon that requires an evolution stone—specifically, the rare Dusk Stone—to evolve into Mismagius.
Sato happened to have one, thanks to the generous old village chief of White River village in the Hoenn region. Even better, his Dusk Stone was a premium-grade stone capable of enhancing a Pokémon's base potential.
So, in Sato's eyes, the Misdreavus in this egg wasn't a purple-tier Pokémon—it was a golden-tier one.
He was confident that with a top-tier Dusk Stone, this Misdreavus would gain well over 9 extra points in IVs, pushing her into gold-tier status.
And with higher potential comes better development of innate abilities. This had already proven true with Arbok, whose ability to awaken multiple pattern mutations upon evolution was extraordinary.
Normally, an Arbok would be lucky to awaken just one snake-pattern mutation. His? It awakened three right away. That was the power of high IVs.
The real strength of a Misdreavus didn't lie in brute strength or flashy moves—it lay in how deeply she could tap into her unique, innate capabilities.
And when it came to unlocking those hidden potentials, Sato was well-prepared. He had two solid reasons for confidence.
First, the Grimoire of Dark Spirits, passed down and perfected by generations of Volcan Guardians, contained detailed methods for developing Misdreavus's innate talents.
Second, he possessed a Nightmare Crystal from none other than the Legendary Pokémon, Darkrai. It was saturated with immense, pure nightmare energy.
.....
Item: Darkrai's Nightmare Crystal
Effects:
- Significantly enhances the power of Dark-type moves.
- Absorbs nightmares, granting immunity to all sleep-inducing effects.
- Grants perpetual Keen Eye ability to the holder.
- Enables shadow stealth, allowing the user to merge with shadows.
Restrictions: Non-Dark-type Pokémon cannot use it unless they possess exceptional dream-manipulation abilities.
(Notes: This is a peculiar crystal nurtured within Darkrai's body. Though only a fragment, it contains immense nightmare energy and grants extraordinary powers.)
.....
As a dream-walking, nightmare-generating species, Misdreavus was more than qualified to wield the crystal.
Sato suspected that with it, Misdreavus would easily be able to induce nightmares in the dreams of others—and those nightmares would generate a massive amount of fear energy.
Normally, creating nightmares consumed a Misdreavus's internal fear energy. But with the Nightmare Crystal, it would cost her nothing to produce nightmares endlessly.
Not only that, but each induced nightmare would also spawn even more nightmare energy—energy that she could absorb as she exited the victim's dream.
In short, a Misdreavus equipped with this item would collect fear energy at an exponentially higher rate, forming a powerful symbiotic relationship with the Nightmare Crystal itself.
For all these reasons, the Misdreavus egg in front of Sato was invaluable. As long as the man didn't ask for an absurd price, he was definitely going to buy it.
"You know how rare Ghost-type Pokémon are, especially when it comes to eggs," the man began. "Like I said, this egg came from an ancient tomb. There were several powerful Ghost-types guarding it. That alone should tell you how special it is. So I can't go any lower than 100 million PokéDollars. That's my bottom line."
As soon as the man saw that Sato was serious about buying, he narrowed his eyes and smiled, testing the waters with a high opening price.
He'd been pleasantly surprised by how respectfully Sato had listened earlier, so he decided to offer him a chance to negotiate.
"Heh."
Sato couldn't help but laugh in his face the moment he heard the price—100 million PokéDollars for an unhatched egg with unknown potential?
Sure, Ghost-type eggs were rare, but in the end, it was still just an egg. No one could say for sure what was inside. At best, it represented untapped potential, not actual strength.
As for the middle-aged man's claim that it came from some ancient tomb and was the descendant of a powerful Ghost-type Pokémon—well, that might be enough to fool little kids, but someone at Sato's level as a trainer wasn't buying it for a second.
Still, the man didn't get upset at Sato's mockery. He had only been fishing with that price anyway.
Of course, if Sato had agreed to the purchase without hesitation, the man would've happily raised the price even further. After all, in this day and age, finding a big sucker wasn't easy.
Unfortunately, Sato clearly wasn't the big sucker the man had been hoping to reel in. So, the two of them began a heated price war over that Misdreavus egg.
Eventually, under the man's satisfied gaze, Sato successfully purchased the precious egg for 62 million PokéDollars—a steep price, but well worth it in his eyes.
"By the way, Peter, do you have any other Ghost-type Pokémon eggs here? Like Gastly, for instance. If the price is right, I'd like to buy another Ghost-type Pokémon egg."
After accepting the Misdreavus egg from the man—who, having confirmed the payment, now wore a genuine smile and even introduced himself as Peter—Sato made his request.
Misdreavus primarily feeds on fear energy, so the mid-tier life energy collector Sato had prepared hadn't been very useful. Thus, he intended to buy another Ghost-type Pokémon egg while he was here.
As for which Ghost-type Pokémon? Naturally, he favored the Gastly line. In Sato's mind, the mega evolution slot for his Team Rocket identity was still meant for Gengar.
"Yes, of course we do. Right this way, Mr. Sato."
Having just closed a big deal, Pete was no longer the cold businessman from earlier. Faced with a wealthy client like Sato, even his frosty heart had melted a little under the charm of money.