"Hey! Buddy, I can add another 200 to the price. Don't go!"
The Watt Trader refused to back down, assuming Shiro didn't want to sell and was looking for someone else to trade with.
Shiro exhaled deeply and explained truthfully.
"I really don't have any Watts. I don't even have anything to collect them with. You should find someone else."
"What?" The trader made a sound of disbelief. Then, he pulled a device from his bag that looked like an upside-down funnel and waved it in front of Shiro. "Seriously? you don't have one of these? Did you just arrive in the Wild Area last night?"
Shiro nodded silently.
Seeing his serious expression, the man hesitated, his mouth opening slightly before closing again, at a loss for words.
Of all people, he had to waste time on someone who had just arrived last night. Looking around, he noticed that his competitors had already finished dealing with the other returning trainers.
With the misunderstanding settled, Shiro stepped around him, intending to explore and find something to eat.
"Wait! Hold on, buddy~" The trader rushed up again, this time shoving the Watt Collector toward Shiro. "How about this? One thousand Pokédollars. It's yours."
"Huh?" Shiro was caught off guard. He hadn't expected the guy to try selling him the device instead. He hesitated. "But—"
"But what?" The trader pushed the device closer. "Brand new. Quality guaranteed."
"How do I know if you're overcharging me? I don't even know the market price." Shiro stepped aside again, waving a hand dismissively.
He had no idea how much this thing should cost. Unfamiliar with it and the person selling it, there was no way he'd buy it. Even if it were free, he'd have to wonder if there was a catch.
"Then I'll just give it to you!" The trader forcibly stuffed the device into Shiro's hands. "Come on, man. Let's be friends!"
Before he could refuse, the man turned and ran off.
Shiro stood there in silence, staring at the device in his hands.
'There's definitely something wrong with this thing.'
Still, he put it in his backpack. Only when the trader was completely out of sight did he turn his attention to a skinny man sitting by the lake behind a small stall.
The man wore a loose black shirt and gray pants, sitting cross-legged without moving. In front of him were several Watt Collectors identical to the one in Shiro's hand.
Shiro walked over, his steps quiet against the grass. Stopping in front of the stall, he crouched down, his eyes on the devices.
"How much for one?" he asked.
"Five thousand Pokédollars." The man held up five fingers that looked like dried twigs. His voice was low. "Ask anyone around Lake Axewell. That's the price."
"Five thousand..." Shiro took out the device from his backpack and compared it to the ones on display. They were exactly the same.
That previous trader had switched tactics the moment he realized Shiro was new—not buying Watts but offloading this device onto him.
Shiro didn't believe in random acts of kindness. No way a stranger would just hand something over for free to "make friends."
"Can you check if there's anything wrong with this?" He held out the device.
The skinny man just stared at Shiro without moving.
Shiro added, "Help me take a look, and I'll buy one once you're done."
"Alright." The man finally reacted. He reached out with his bony fingers, took the Watt Collector, and examined it carefully.
After a brief inspection, he scoffed and tossed it back to Shiro with a cold chuckle.
"There's a tracking device inside. If you try to remove it, it'll send an alert to the owner. Let me guess—you got this cheap? Or did someone give it to you?"
"Found it." Shiro kept his response brief as he retrieved 5,000 Pokédollars and handed it over to purchase a new Watt Collector.
"How do I use this?" He asked.
"It's simple," the man explained. "Just hold the handle and point the funnel-shaped base toward the red energy inside a Dynamax space. The device will absorb it automatically."
Shiro nodded, committing the instructions to memory. He then placed both Watt Collectors into his backpack, ensuring they were secure before heading out.
He didn't throw away the one the shady trader had given him.
That guy might have been targeting him for money, but Shiro had his own eyes on the man's cash too.
After all, in the lawless Wild Area, robbing and looting were the fastest ways to make money.
He wandered around a bit more, spotting several trainers selling Pokémon meat and berries at makeshift stalls.
But instead of buying food from them, he made his way up the slope leading to the League store, deciding to stock up on rations there.
Shiro didn't trust the food sold by these trainer-vendors. Mainly because no one else was buying from them.
Pokémon meat and milk could be hunted or gathered, and berries were easy to pick. But the ones being sold here weren't necessarily fresh—and who knew what might have been added to them?
At the store, he stocked up on enough rations and berries to last half a month. He also purchased a Berry Encyclopedia to help identify berries in the wild.
There were simply too many types of berries, each with different effects. His vague memories from games and anime weren't enough to rely on.
Even the common berries listed in the book numbered in the dozens, and some of the same kind looked slightly different. As for those cultivated by humans, there was no way to keep track of them all.
For now, though, recognizing the common ones would be enough.
He also bought a detailed map of the Wild Area for 5,000 Pokédollars. It marked the territories of various Pokémon species along with rough estimates of their strength.
With everything he needed, Shiro followed the map toward his chosen training location.
His Rookidee and Gastly had been focusing on honing their moves and improving their physical attributes, but they needed actual combat experience as well.
Shiro chose the Scraggy territory on the northwest side of Lake Axewell—a cave and the grassy area outside it.
The colony only had one Intermediate-level leader. The rest were at Beginner or Novice levels, and there wasn't a single evolved Scrafty among them.
A long time ago, this Scraggy colony had been much larger, even boasting a Scrafty at the Gym-level as their leader. Unfortunately, they had caught the attention of Macro Cosmos. Every Scraggy with potential, including their leader, was captured. This left the entire Scraggy colony in ruins.
Their territory shrank drastically, and they could no longer even hold their own against the nearby Minccino population.
"Looks like a good training spot..."
By now, Shiro had reached the northern side of Lake Axewell on foot. Along the way, he encountered several hostile wild Pokémon, but none were particularly strong.
Every time he released his Rhyperior from its Poké Ball, the wild Pokémon would immediately flee in terror.
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