The Candy series items were one of Silph Co.'s high-end product lines. Their function was to increase a Pokémon's various stats without side effects.
Of course, "increase" did not mean helping a Pokémon break past its natural limits. It only strengthened abilities within the Pokémon's existing potential.
After all, no matter how talented a Pokémon and its Trainer were, it was impossible to easily achieve the theoretical "perfect hexagon" stat chart.
Take Silas and Blaziken as an example.
Because Blaziken naturally excelled in offensive power (both physical and special) and Speed, their daily training focused heavily on those aspects.
Correspondingly, defensive training was somewhat reduced.
Even though Silas had Zero to maximize training time and efficiency, Blaziken's stamina was still finite.
As a result, Blaziken's stat distribution leaned heavily toward offense, which matched its species characteristics.
However, that inevitably created weaknesses.
Candy-type items could effectively compensate for that.
Resist Candy XL (boosting physical defense) and Clever Candy XL (boosting special defense) were useful for Blaziken.
However, like nutritional supplements given during the early growth stage, the improvements were relatively small.
But over time, cumulative gains became significant.
And at higher levels, battles often came down to whose weaknesses were fewer.
That was why the Candy series was extremely popular among Trainers.
Publicly, Silph Co.'s Candy series was divided into three tiers:
I Series – for beginner and standard-level Pokémon
L Series – for Advance and Pesudo–Elite-level Pokémon
XL Series – for Elite-level Pokémon
As for candies beyond that, Champion-tier or even Legendary-tier, hard to say.
Silas suspected the first two probably existed in extremely rare quantities. At the very least, Champion-tier candies might be manufacturable.
But for Legendary Pokémon?
Difficult to imagine.
Human technology likely hadn't reached that point.
Rumor had it that Silph Co. was also researching Pokémon-specific candies tailored to individual species, though no successful breakthroughs had been announced.
As the first item of the auction, the XL Candy series was certainly worthy.
The price, however, was terrifying.
A full set of early-stage nutritional supplements cost 50,000 Poké Dollars.
A single set of XL Candies cost one hundred times that, 5,000,000 Poké Dollars.
During periods of low production, prices could be even higher.
And that wasn't the worst part.
Silph Co.'s official recommendation was to purchase ten sets, consumed at intervals, to maximize effectiveness.
"That's profiteering. Absolute profiteering!"
Silas shouted internally.
It was clearly a calculated sales strategy.
If individual purchase volume increased while production remained "limited," prices would stay inflated.
But that was monopoly economics.
Nothing to be done.
After calming down, Silas reconsidered.
It wasn't quite as outrageous as he first thought.
Different candy types could be used on different Pokémon.
If he bought ten sets, Blaziken didn't need to consume all of them.
Its offensive stats were already excellent.
For example, Swift Candy XL (Speed-boosting) could instead be given to Gigalith.
"…What's the point."
He punched the air in frustration.
Even so, given the number of main Pokémon on his team, he'd need at least thirty to forty sets.
That was over a hundred million Poké Dollars.
He could afford it, But investing half his fortune into this?
Silas sighed and moved his gaze away from the first listing.
"Forget it. I'll ask Hiroki later if he can offer some kind of internal discount. Worst case, I'll accept the regular price."
Having connections had its benefits.
As the future heir of Silph Co., Hiroki surely had access to internal channels.
The auction listed 500 sets of XL Candies.
There would definitely be fierce competition.
Even if the average price rose to 6,000,000 per set, that would still be considered cheap.
Seeing the note "Auctioned in bundles of five," Silas could only reflect that capitalists were the best at making money in any world.
If only he were Steven Stone.
That guy probably didn't even notice sums like this.
The second auction item:
Cianwood Pharmacy's Secret Medicine.
Silas was familiar with this.
Though he hadn't seen it personally, it was the signature treasure of his senior disciple Chuck's Cianwood Gym.
Made from unknown ingredients, Secret Medicine could cure most Pokémon illnesses, including but not limited to fatigue and unusual symptoms and even had mild longevity-enhancing properties.
"Unusual symptoms" referred to conditions such as Electric-type Pokémon being unable to discharge electricity, or Fire-type Pokémon being unable to breathe fire.
More importantly, Secret Medicine could heal hidden internal injuries.
During prolonged training and battles, Pokémon endured immense physical strain, inevitably accumulating damage.
Most injuries could be alleviated or healed by the Nurse Joy family and Chansey.
But some injuries couldn't.
For example, if an Elite Four-level Pokémon were brutally beaten by a Champion-level Pokémon and left near death, Secret Medicine would demonstrate its true value.
Still, this item wasn't useful to Silas.
As Chuck's junior, if he truly needed Secret Medicine, Cianwood Gym wouldn't hesitate to provide it.
Of course, he hoped he'd never have to use it.
His eyes moved down the list:
Lumiose Galette / Shalour Sable / Pewter Crunchies / Balm Mushroom / Dome Fossil / Armor Fossil / Special Berry Juice / Max Repel / Max Aroma
All were regional specialty products, fossils included.
Whether Pokémon foods that cured status conditions or restored health, or natural materials required for cultivation—
Each item had strong appeal for Trainers.
Their effects might not be as directly impactful as XL Candies, but their importance was no less significant.
Silas evaluated them one by one:
"The first three have similar effects. I've already bought some Pewter Crunchies from Brock, so no need.
Balm Mushroom isn't useful unless I settle down somewhere instead of traveling.
Fossils? I still have a few unsold in my bag. Revival machines won't appear anytime soon.
Special Berry Juice, I don't have it, but I've collected similar recipes. With Zero's restoration analysis, I can replicate about 70–80% of the effect. Good enough.
…"
After finishing the first page, Silas felt slightly helpless.
Perhaps his standards were simply too high.
These were rare items, seldom seen on the market, Yet none were particularly useful to him.
Still, he wasn't discouraged.
The auction catalog had four pages.
If the first page had nothing he wanted, surely the remaining three would.
With anticipation, he flipped to the second page.
This page was entirely composed of held items and evolutionary items.
Bright Powder / Quick Claw / King's Rock / Silver Powder / Focus Band / Metal Coat
Mystic Water / Miracle Seed / Charcoal / Magnet / Soft Sand / Dragon Scale...
Clearly, the items were arranged from most common to most valuable and situational.
From the relatively common Bright Powder.
To the rare Dragon Scale, which only appeared on certain powerful Dragon-type Pokémon.
Just reading the list made his heart pound.
"A quarterly auction is this stacked?"
Silas took a sip of his iced drink to steady himself.
On reflection, It made sense.
Judging from the composition of the auction items so far, the regions involved even included Unova and Kalos.
With such a wide scope, three months was more than enough time to accumulate a significant number of items.
However, the catalog did not specify the detailed quality of the held items. That would likely only be revealed during the official bidding.
"Hm… if the price is reasonable, I'll buy a Protector for Rhydon so it can evolve via trade into Rhyperior."
After some thought, Silas identified something he actually needed.
Rhydon had been diligently working at the Pewter Gym, and it had contributed during the tournament as well. It deserved the reward.
Even if it wasn't part of his main team, it was still his Pokémon.
After evolving into Rhyperior, that massive Pokémon would absolutely rank among the top of the Pesudo–Elite tier and would be a tremendous asset.
It might have to change the type of work it did at Pewter Gym, since it would lose its single drill horn, But that shouldn't be a problem.
Rhyperior's absurd physical strength would compensate.
If its twin horns couldn't drill through something, It could just punch through it.
Though that might cost a few Geodude.
The launcher-like ports in Rhyperior's palms were perfect for firing Geodude as projectiles.
If it weren't for official battle regulations prohibiting external ammunition and the fact that each hand could only load three at a time, Rhyperior might genuinely be capable of taking on ten opponents at once.
Of course, that was assuming the Protector up for auction wasn't the highest-grade type forged from "hard stone." That would be too expensive.
A slightly lower-grade version made from volcanic rock would be acceptable.
As for expecting the evolution to improve Rhydon's innate potential.
Silas wasn't optimistic.
Evolution via held item had a lower chance of increasing potential compared to evolution through evolutionary stones.
Rhydon was no longer young and had spent years in the wild, accumulating injuries.
Most likely, the evolution would simply restore some of its condition.
That would be enough.
At the bottom of the page were the evolutionary stones Silas had been hoping for.
"As expected of an auction organized by the Goldenrod Department Store. The selection is complete."
There were ten different types of Evolution Stones listed.
For collectors, this would be exhilarating.
But, Why were all of them only quality 80–89? Seeing the notation in parentheses gave Silas a headache.
For ordinary Trainers, that quality tier was already optimal.
But he was different.
An Elite Four-level Alolan Vulpix deserved at least a 95+ quality Ice Stone.
He believed in fairness for his true main team.
Even if the evolution didn't raise innate potential, higher-quality stones provided subtle hidden benefits.
"There aren't any here either… Do I really have to swallow my pride and ask Lorelei?"
With that thought, Silas turned to the third page.
There were very few items listed.
[Liechi Berry (1)
Lansat Berry (1)
Key Stone (2)
Beedrillite
Scizorite
Thunder Stone (Quality 95)
Ice Stone (Quality 96)
Water Stone (Quality 96)]
If the two Key Stones were counted together, there were only eight items.
Silas inhaled sharply.
Not a single one of these would sell for less than nine digits.
Liechi Berry and Lansat Berry were in the same ultra-rare category as Salac Berry.
Liechi Berry increased Attack.
Lansat Berry increased the critical-hit ratio.
Unlike the Candy series, these Berries could allow stat growth that surpassed normal limits.
That was why Trainers coveted them so fiercely.
As for Key Stones and Mega Stones—
Anyone qualified to attend this auction knew about Mega Evolution.
Items that fundamentally boosted a Pokémon's strength were practically overpowered.
Two evenly matched Pokémon, If one Mega Evolved, it could completely overwhelm the other. That was a comprehensive stat enhancement.
While Beedrillite might fetch a slightly lower price, Scizorite would more than compensate.
Scizor was among the strongest Bug-type Pokémon.
And compared to the generally lower potential ceiling of Beedrill, Scizor had a much higher probability of producing high-potential individuals.
But none of that mattered to Silas.
The Ice Stone (Quality 96) was his true objective today.
One second he had been considering whether to ask Lorelei. The next, he was pleasantly surprised.
Life was full of little joys.
He was genuinely pleased.
"Compared to Thunder Stone and Water Stone, Ice Stone has a much smaller market in Johto, so the price should be slightly lower. But not by much. The quality speaks for itself.
Just in case, I'd better prepare…"
Always cautious, he began making arrangements.
Only just before the auction officially began did Silas leisurely flip to the final page.
Unknown Item List
That was the page's title.
Mysterious Crystal
(A crystal sphere excavated from underground; extremely hard in texture. Though covered in rock and dust, it is very beautiful. Effects unknown. Purpose unknown.)
Rarity Index: ★★★★
Azure Flute
(A flute capable of producing heavenly tones that echo through the sky. No one knows who created it or when. It is said that skilled musicians can play extraordinarily beautiful melodies with it. Note: Effect on Pokémon unknown. Cannot be used to awaken anything.)
Rarity Index: ★★★
..
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