That evening, Yozora rode on Pidgeot, leaving the northern seas behind. He found a random small island and spent the night there.
The next day, he set out once more on Pidgeot's back and finally arrived at Goldenrod City in the afternoon.
They descended in front of the Department Store.
After days of constant travel, Pidgeot was exhausted. Beads of sweat were already running down its face.
Generally speaking, the higher a Pokémon's level, the greater its stamina. Clearly, Pidgeot's current level was not high enough to sustain continuous long-distance flights.
"You've worked hard these past few days, Pidgeot." Yozora gently stroked the feathers atop its head and fed it a high-quality Pokéblock.
When Pidgeot ate it and revealed a satisfied smile, Yozora finally recalled it back into its Poké Ball.
"From here on, I'll still need to travel long distances… If only Charmeleon would evolve into Charizard. That would greatly ease Pidgeot's burden." Yozora mused to himself.
Strong trainers were always flying back and forth across the skies. Yozora's level wasn't there yet, but if he had two reliable flying mounts, he too could soar freely.
Entering the Department Store, he saw it at once—the Mega Stone for Beedrill was still there. The price hadn't changed either: 125 million.
Yozora purchased it without hesitation.
The store manager rushed over upon hearing the news, warmly welcoming him.
"Honored guest, may I ask if you already possess a Key Stone? If not, we will gift you one and have it crafted into a fine piece of jewelry for you…"
After the formalities, Yozora obtained his very own Key Stone, set into a sleek black metal bracelet.
He slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist.
As for Beedrill's Mega Stone, it had been crafted into a black metal necklace.
From now on, as long as Yozora carried the Key Stone and Beedrill carried the Mega Stone, he could initiate its Mega Evolution.
It was also worth noting: a Mega Stone was considered a held item, as was the Battle Soul Cloak.
In official League battles, each Pokémon could only hold one item.
But privately, there were no such restrictions.
Which meant that outside of tournaments, Yozora could let Beedrill hold both the Mega Stone and the Battle Soul Cloak simultaneously.
Having secured Beedrill's Mega Stone, Yozora also thought of picking up one for Charizard. He and Charmeleon had already reached a deep bond of mutual understanding, meeting the most crucial requirement for Mega Evolution.
Moreover, Charmeleon had long since stabilized at its current stage. Yozora had the feeling it was on the verge of evolving into Charizard.
If he prepared the Mega Stone now, then when that day came, he could trigger Mega Evolution immediately.
"A Mega Stone for Charizard, you say? I'm terribly sorry, but whether it's the X or Y stone, we're currently out of stock," the manager said apologetically.
Yozora nodded, showing he understood.
Unlike Beedrill, Charizard was an immensely popular Pokémon. But even so, Mega Stones remained extremely rare.
The result was obvious: Charizard's Mega Stones were extraordinarily scarce. The moment they hit the shelves, they were instantly bought out.
Naturally, their prices were also far higher than those of a less popular Pokémon like Beedrill. They could easily reach 180 million—or even 200 million.
"Thank you for your patronage." After spending 125 million, Yozora received 12,500 tokens.
He blinked, then chuckled.
He had nearly forgotten that purchases here also came with tokens.
Speaking of tokens, Yozora thought back to that chubby boy who once wanted to exchange them for a Dratini egg.
"It's been a while… I wonder how that little guy is doing. If he hasn't gathered enough yet, I might as well give him mine." Yozora smiled faintly, a touch of nostalgia in his expression, and headed toward the battle arena on the top floor.
Back then, he had made a profit off the boy. Now that he had some means of his own, it was only fair to give back.
Money itself meant little to Yozora. If not for the sake of growing stronger, he wouldn't bother earning it at all.
The battle arena upstairs was as lively as ever.
Yozora wandered briefly before quickly spotting the chubby boy.
"Big Brother Yozora!"
When the boy saw him, his face lit up. To him, Yozora was a powerful workhorse of a trainer—someone who could win endless battles and tokens.
"Big Brother Yozora, you're finally back! Remember, if you win tokens, you have to sell them to me!" the boy said with a mischievous grin.
Yozora smiled. "If I remember right, your name's Jun, isn't it? It's been a long time. You still haven't reached one hundred thousand tokens? How many more do you need?"
"Almost there—about fifteen thousand left," Jun replied.
"Fifteen thousand, huh? I've got a little something for you." Yozora pulled out a black storage pouch and tossed it to him.
Jun accepted it and peeked inside with his mind. His eyes nearly popped out.
The pouch was crammed with glittering golden tokens—at least ten thousand of them!
"All for me? If you sold these, they'd fetch at least fifteen million! Big Brother Yozora, did you strike it rich or something?" Jun stammered, laughing in disbelief.
"I did make a little money recently. Back then I profited off you; now it's only fair you get some benefit too."
Yozora patted his shoulder and led the way toward the battle stage. "Come on, we're still short about 2,500. I'll win them for you."
Overjoyed, Jun hurried after him.
On stage, Yozora sent out Charmeleon, who utterly crushed their opponents.
By evening, Yozora had earned the missing 2,500 tokens and handed them over. At last, Jun had gathered the full one hundred thousand.
His round little face flushed crimson with excitement. "Dratini! I'm finally getting my Dratini! Big Brother Yozora, let's go! You helped me so much—I'll let you touch the egg! That way you can feel the aura of the legendary dragon!"
"Heh…"
Yozora flicked a coin lightly against Jun's forehead and grinned. "Why would I bother touching an egg? I can stroke a Dratini directly."
With that, he reached to his left side and retrieved a Research Ball, expanding it quickly.
Yozora kept his six mainstay Pokémon's Poké Balls on his right, while his Miltank and Dratini were on his left for easy distinction.
With a pop, he released Dratini.
By now, Yozora's strength was such that he no longer cared if others saw Dratini.
In fact, he intended to keep Dratini out more often—it would make training easier and strengthen their bond.
Time had passed, and Dratini had grown slightly, its skin beginning to show faint signs of molting.
For a species like Dratini, its first molt was a critical turning point. It marked the end of infancy and the start of its Rookie stage as a true battling Pokémon.
From that moment, Dratini would be able to train, even to fight.
With battles came energy expenditure, and with that came growth fueled by replenishment.
And with an Elite-level Miltank at his side, raising Dratini would be no trouble at all. The real limitation now was that Dratini was still too young to absorb too much at once…
(End of Chapter)