"Follow me," Marvin said as he stood up from the ground.
Shiro silently followed him into the hallway behind the lounge. The walls were lined with deep red carpets, and warm beige lights were built into the ceiling, casting a soft glow.
Every five meters, a door stood on either side, leading to different rooms.
"These two rooms are taken." Marvin pointed to the first two doors at the front of the hallway, then added, "The one on the right is mine. The rest are empty—pick whichever one you like."
Shiro gave a slight nod and walked a few steps down the hall before stopping at a nearby door.
"This one's fine."
"Alright." Marvin pushed the door open and entered the room selected by Shiro.
The entrance led into a short corridor that turned a corner, opening up into a small living space. A modest sofa faced a little TV, and beyond that was a bedroom with an attached bathroom.
"Check this out." Marvin patted a small cabinet near the entrance of the living room. On top was a half-circle device connected to the wall, giving off a sleek, high-tech vibe. He pressed a button, and a square screen lit up within the device.
Curious, Shiro watched as Marvin tapped another button that resembled a phone icon.
Buzz...
Within seconds, a soft female voice came from the device. "How may I assist you?"
"ID card," Marvin answered casually.
"May I have your name?" the voice asked.
Marvin glanced over at Shiro, who responded, "Shiro."
"Understood. Please hold..."
The sound of rapid typing and mechanical humming filled the room. Shiro watched as the half-circle device closed, then split open in the middle, revealing a sleek, silver card that slowly rose from within.
He picked it up and examined it. The front bore the Macro Cosmos logo, while the back displayed his personal information.
"Your identity's been reset," Marvin explained, with one hand lazily tucked into his pocket. "It's wiped from the standard League database. Gyms and city systems won't be able to track you anymore."
Shiro flipped the card back and forth, then asked, "So my old ID card is destroyed automatically?"
"That's right." Marvin nodded, giving the device an extra pat. "This thing's a service terminal. It's connected 24/7. If you need anything, just ask."
Without waiting for a response, Marvin grabbed Shiro's arm and tugged him toward the hallway again.
"Come on. I'll show you around the rest of the place."
...
About an hour later.
Shiro now had a decent grasp of the building's layout.
The twelfth floor, where they were staying, was originally an employee dormitory. The eleventh floor held the cafeteria—surprisingly generous, offering perfect-quality Pokéblocks for free, tailored to different Pokémon types.
For training, the ninth floor had private rooms, but there was also an outdoor training field behind the building, more spacious and open.
Floors fifteen to twenty were entirely black market zones.
Currently, Shiro wandered one of those black market hallways. The floor was carpeted in the same deep red as before, and the soft lighting gave no hint of the shady dealings behind each door.
Each room on this floor had a small indicator light next to the door. Red meant occupied.
Spotting a green light, Shiro pushed the door open.
Once inside, he was greeted by a wide floor-to-ceiling window. A black market merchant sat to the side, completely wrapped in a heavy black cloak.
"Oh? Long time no see, Mr. Shiro." The cloaked figure's head moved, following Shiro's every step. "What can I get you this time? A quick reminder: your spending limit is twenty million Pokédollars."
Every mission member had a monthly spending cap. Marvin mentioned his was ten million, though he wasn't sure what the others got.
Shiro didn't think twenty million was all that much. Raising Pokémon properly could burn through half of that without even trying.
"No, no, raising Pokémon doesn't cost that much." The cloaked man, clearly using psychic powers to eavesdrop on Shiro's thoughts, explained, "Your daily Pokéblocks are free and even the fastest Pokémon takes at least a week to fully digest special resources. Any faster might cause an energy conflict."
Shiro frowned. This was the first time he'd heard such information.
"Some Pokémon with better talent digest faster, maybe two or three days. But Pokémon know their own limits best. Just ask them." The man finished his explanation and asked, "So, is there anything you need?"
Shiro stayed silent, lost in thought.
Right now, his main Pokémon were Corvisquire and Gastly. Dreepy was still too weak to fight, and along with Drakloak it barely counted as one Pokémon.
Not to mention the two Pokémon would probably take a long time to fully absorb the Dragon Scale he'd given them. As for his Rhyperior, a Gym-level tool Pokémon, it was unlikely to see much action in official battles.
Training would mainly focus on Corvisquire and Gastly.
Corvisquire had recently reached Intermediate-level, while Gastly was still in the Beginner-level. Both had been through plenty of battles. Now, with enough resources, they could likely hit Advanced-level within a month and a half.
After that, he could follow those Gym challengers—training and battling at the same time.
What troubled him most was picking the rest of his team. He needed to gather six Pokémon as soon as possible.
"Have you decided?" The cloaked man spoke again, voice calm. He spread his arms, and waves of pink psychic energy shimmered between them. "I might be able to offer some recommendations..."
The psychic energy shifted, forming illusions of several Pokémon: Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble, Vulpix, Noibat...
All of them were rare and valuable, likely with impressive potential.
As Shiro scanned through the options, his eyes landed on a familiar figure—a Pokémon from Kanto.
"Growlithe?"
He pointed to the fluffy, fiery pup.
The merchant tilted his head. "Yes. Beginner-level, freshly imported from Kanto. Quite rare. The price is one million Pokédollars."
"I'll take it." Shiro didn't hesitate.
He didn't know much about raising Pokémon and felt unsure about picking from so many options. So, he went with his gut.
The main reason was that Galar's starters were too ugly. Their strength wasn't overwhelming either. Growlithe's evolution, Arcanine, was both powerful and majestic—plus, it could serve as a mount.
Back when he played Pokémon games in his previous life, he always made sure to catch a Growlithe.
"Alright..." The cloaked man brought his arms together, and a Pokéball appeared between them, containing Growlithe. "I assume you'll want a special berry to boost Fire-type Pokémon? I recommend Zone D, Type 7, Number 219."
"...What?" Shiro raised a brow at the weird code.
The merchant chuckled and said, "It's just a label. The first part is its location in the company's breeding garden—makes it easier to track."
"Got it." Shiro didn't bother asking the price. "I'll take it all."
Anyway, it was the company's money, the company's Pokémon, and he was working for the company.
He didn't feel the slightest pressure.
After receiving the Poké Ball and the special berry, Shiro handed over all the loot he'd collected during this time to the cloaked merchant. His backpack was packed with Poké Balls—most of them were taken from other people.
Among them were six Advanced-level Pokémon and eight Intermediates. He sold everything for around 680,000 Pokédollars.
He also had eight League cards of unknown value.
After the cloaked man bought those at half price, Shiro ended up with a total of 5.82 million Pokédollars.
Most of that came from the two watt traders who practically threw their lives away.
Counting the other cash he'd collected, Shiro had over seven million Pokédollars in his personal stash.
If he were still out in the Wild Area, that'd be more than enough to train his Pokémon comfortably.
Too bad he was just a corporate lackey now.
**
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