After leaving the Chang'an Gym, Yozora returned to the Pokémon Center for maintenance.
There were still more than three months before the registration deadline for the Indigo League. Yozora was short two Badges, but there was plenty of time.
He wasn't in a rush, nor did he intend to disrupt his own rhythm.
After handing over all his Pokémon to Nurse Joy for care, Yozora used the time to visit the shop next door and sell off some of the spoils he had collected.
Among them were a top-grade Fire Stone and a top-grade Thunder Stone, which he sold without hesitation. To him, it didn't matter—if he ever needed them, he could just buy them again, even if it cost a bit more.
In truth, Yozora almost never needed such things.
Evolution Stones were far too limited in scope.
Take the Fire Stone, for example. Only Eevee, Vulpix, Growlithe, and Pansear required it. The usage was far too narrow…
And there was no need to insist on using top-grade Fire Stones either. Mid-grade ones were sufficient. If one truly wanted to unlock potential, the effect of a Flame Gem was no worse than a top-grade Fire Stone… though each Flame Gem cost a minimum of thirty million, far more expensive than a top-grade Fire Stone.
The goods Yozora carried were worth about seventy million. After the transaction, he received around sixty-three million.
Fair enough.
Shops weren't charities; they'd never buy at full price.
If Yozora sold everything himself, he could get the full seventy million, but that required both time and energy.
Selling in bulk meant earning a little less, but saved him a great deal of effort.
Counting this together with his existing savings, his balance was now exactly one hundred million Pokédollars.
"At the time, the Celadon Department Store had a Beedrillite on sale for 125 million… I wonder if it's still there?" Yozora mused.
Either way, even if it was, he was still short.
"I'll wait until after my journey—once I've collected all eight Badges, I'll return and check again."
Just as Yozora reached this decision, his Pokégear rang—it was a call from Professor Bill.
At this point in time, cell phones were still cutting-edge technology. Even Professor Oak himself didn't own one.
Yozora had received his from Professor Bill.
The two had stayed in contact ever since, but usually only through text messages.
For Bill to call directly this time, it had to be important.
"Yozora, I've received word—Team Rocket has discovered an Articuno nest on the Seafoam Islands. Not long ago, their strike force attempted to capture the adult Articuno, but the younger one escaped!" Bill's voice carried urgently through the line.
An adult Articuno, and a younger Articuno…
Yozora wasn't surprised.
Many Tier 1 Legendaries existed in numbers greater than one, and as for Tier 3 Legendaries like Articuno, there were certainly several.
Articuno did not live in flocks, preferring solitude. But when they had offspring, the mother would care for the chick for a period of time.
Some claimed Legendaries had no gender…
That was absurd.
The concept of Pokémon gender was created by breeders through the Day Care system, founded by humans with extensive experience in raising Pokémon.
But really—had ordinary breeders ever seen a Legendary? Studied one? Raised one?
What right did they have to determine their gender?
In the games, if the protagonist placed a Legendary in the Day Care, the caretakers couldn't even determine its gender, much less breed it. That was the reality.
Of course, some Pokémon truly had no fixed gender.
Ditto, for instance.
Strictly speaking, Ditto wasn't genderless, but rather hermaphroditic, able to reproduce freely with any partner.
In the games, Ditto could breed, while Legendaries could not.
But in truth, were Legendaries truly incapable of producing offspring?Obviously not.
It was merely that ordinary breeders lacked the skill to aid in such things.
Then again, could anyone really blame them?
Legendaries were proud beings. To even acknowledge a human as a Trainer was rare enough. To obey another breeder's instructions? Impossible.
Team Rocket had been entrenched in Kanto for years. The Articuno they had caught was surely not the only Legendary in their possession.
Of course, here "Legendary" referred to the species, not necessarily the tier of power.
In Yozora's eyes, even the adult Articuno they captured could hardly be considered true Legendary-level.
Legendary Pokémon—true gods of the world—what did that mean?It meant the power to destroy the heavens and earth!
Forget Rocket's strike force—even if Giovanni himself led the entire organization, capturing a true Legendary was near impossible.
Even Mewtwo…
Though Rocket had created Mewtwo, it wasn't born as a god-tier entity. It, too, had to grow from scratch.
Of course, its starting point was far higher than ordinary Pokémon. From the moment of its birth, it already wielded immense power.
"Rocket's strike team has already withdrawn, leaving only regular elites behind to guard the area. Yozora, if you have time, you might try your luck. If you could capture that Articuno chick… well, well…" Bill deliberately lowered his voice, but his excitement could not be hidden.
A Legendary species.
Who could remain calm before such a prospect?
Even if Bill was not a Trainer but a researcher—a top-tier Professor-level researcher—he could barely resist the temptation to study a Legendary Pokémon.
If Yozora truly managed to catch that Articuno chick, then when his undercover mission ended, once he could retire peacefully, wouldn't they have the perfect opportunity to study Articuno one-on-one?
That scene… even Professor Oak would weep with envy!
"…All right. I'll give it a shot."
Yozora tried to remain calm, but his heart beat faster. He was not yet able to reach the stillness of his master, Mr. Tyron, whose mind was like an unshaken lake.
But then again…
Could even his master stay calm if a Legendary appeared before him?
"Damn it…" Yozora almost chuckled at himself. Some wicked part of him actually wanted to see the shocked look on his master's face.
"But Professor, if I show up on Seafoam Islands, won't they suspect you of leaking intel?" Yozora asked suddenly.
Bill's safety came first.
"What of it? Just as Rocket has infiltrators inside the League, do you think the League has no infiltrators inside Rocket?" Bill answered firmly. There were League undercover agents within Rocket's ranks—more than one or two.
And that didn't even count Bill himself.
After all, strictly speaking, he wasn't an official member of the Indigo League. At most, he could be considered half an insider.
He held no formal position.
And this undercover operation of his had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. To this day, only Yozora and Bill himself knew the truth—no third person was aware.
(End of Chapter)