After paying the registration fee and learning that the competition would only begin that afternoon, Icarus took his number plate and strolled through the streets with Airi and Stone.
He was rich now!
For the past forty-six days, he had been taking missions every single day!
As a result, his wealth had undergone a massive transformation. His bank balance had grown from six digits to seven, reaching a staggering 3.6 million alliance currency!
Originally, if he hadn't spent anything at all, he would have had over 4 million, but Pokémon couldn't grow stronger without money.
Food expenses alone over those forty-plus days had cost him 400,000 alliance currency, not to mention the energy crystals he occasionally bought for his three Pokémon to absorb and speed up their energy accumulation.
The cultivation manuals mentioned using energy crystals as an acceleration method, but constantly relying on them was far too expensive, and Icarus simply didn't have that kind of money.
So after studying his Pokémon's absorption patterns, he had them absorb energy crystals at intervals instead. This method was faster than relying solely on natural growth while remaining relatively affordable. Over the past month, he had only purchased four energy crystals for his three Pokémon.
Among them, Weepinbell had the highest demand, using one medium-grade Grass-type energy crystal and one low-grade Poison-type energy crystal.
Pidgeotto only used one medium-grade Flying-type energy crystal, while Houndoom, being the weakest, only used one low-grade Fire-type energy crystal.
Those four crystals alone had cost Icarus another 300,000 alliance currency. Adding in the other miscellaneous expenses, his total spending for the month had exceeded 800,000.
That amount was enough to buy back the house Airi used to own. In other words, Icarus had spent the equivalent of a city house in just over a month.
Raising Pokémon was truly expensive!
And Icarus suspected that the cultivation manuals he possessed were probably just ordinary versions. The major Alliance families undoubtedly had superior methods.
For example, when it came to shortening the time required for a Pokémon to reach Ordinary-level high grade, he refused to believe those families simply piled energy crystals onto every Pokémon. Since he himself could discover some useful patterns, those families definitely had more efficient techniques hidden away.
As for Alliance merit points, Icarus now possessed 1,807 points. Although he still hadn't decided what to exchange them for, he believed they would definitely prove useful in the future. Right now, however, Team Rocket contribution points seemed more practical.
Speaking of Team Rocket contributions, he had completed more than twenty missions during the past month. He now possessed exactly 600 Team Rocket contribution points, though he had already spent some midway through on high-grade manuals for Weepinbell and Pidgeotto.
Originally, he had intended to wait until Weepinbell reached high grade before exchanging for the manuals. But after considering Weepinbell's energy absorption speed, he wondered whether high-grade manuals might contain methods for shortening the energy accumulation process.
Unfortunately, they didn't mention anything of the sort.
Still, the exchange wasn't entirely wasted. Once Weepinbell and Pidgeotto reached high grade, the manuals would eventually be useful anyway. They were merely stored away for now.
The three walked along the main street, glancing around as though everything suddenly seemed cheaper.
However, both Icarus and Stone had experienced hardship before. They merely looked around without buying anything. None of these items were necessities.
As for Airi, since she was in her own town, most of the pedestrians around them were locals.
Fearing exposure, she didn't shop as boldly as she had in Pewter City. Instead, she quietly followed behind Icarus. Still, judging from the occasional twitch beneath her hat, it was obvious she was excitedly looking around everywhere.
"Brother Icarus, look! That Pokémon food store we always go to—it's having a twenty percent discount sale!"
Suddenly, Airi spotted a massive sign. The bold "20% OFF" lettering immediately caught her attention. Tugging on Icarus's sleeve, she whispered excitedly.
"Hm? It really is on sale!"
Icarus turned his head and looked over.
It really was the shop they frequented. The storefront displayed a prominent Alliance logo, meaning the Alliance either endorsed the store or directly shared in its profits.
Pokémon food from these stores was the most trusted by the public. After all, Alliance endorsement meant that if something went wrong, compensation would be guaranteed.
Because of that trust, such stores rarely held sales. Icarus himself had always paid full price no matter how often he visited.
Now, seeing the discount sign, and following the principle of saving whenever possible, he immediately ran to the back of the line to queue up. Naturally, Stone and Airi followed right behind him.
Time slowly passed as the line crawled forward.
Eventually, Icarus finally noticed the small print beneath the large "20% OFF" sign. It explained that the full discount only applied when purchasing one year's supply of medium-grade food for a single Ordinary-level Pokémon.
Pokémon food, regardless of type, could generally be divided into three grades based on effectiveness.
Low-grade food:
Only satisfied a Pokémon's daily nutritional needs and offered minimal improvement to strength. Examples included unprocessed Pokémon meat, ordinary iron ore, and low-to-mid-grade feed.
Medium-grade food:
Satisfied daily nutritional needs while also noticeably improving strength. Examples included refined iron ore, alloys, and low-to-mid-grade energy cubes.
High-grade food:
Satisfied nutritional needs while providing outstanding improvement to strength. Examples included rare metals and high-grade energy cubes.
Of course, these were merely foods purchasable with money. Beyond them existed premium resources that couldn't simply be bought, such as top-tier energy cubes or personalized conditioning plans from professional Breeders.
Currently, the food Icarus and his companions purchased belonged to the medium-grade category, which was also the most cost-effective.
It wasn't that Weepinbell and the others couldn't eat high-grade energy cubes. The problem was that their bodies couldn't fully absorb them. Anything beyond their limit would simply go to waste.
While fully saturated energy intake would speed up growth somewhat, the difference compared to medium-grade food wasn't dramatic enough to justify the price for commoners.
"Airi, Stone, you saw the condition too, right? We only get the full discount if we buy a year's supply. Are you planning to buy that much?"
After thinking it over, Icarus asked the other two for their opinions.
"A whole year's supply feels way too expensive," Stone immediately said, shaking his head. "I heard there'll be an auction on the final night of the year-end festival. Since it only happens once a year, there should be some good items there. I think we should save some money."
"Mhm, I agree," Airi nodded. "Half a year's supply is enough. A ten percent discount is already good. We should still leave ourselves some emergency funds."
Airi actually had slightly more money than Stone, but she also spent just as much.
After all, Staryu needed training for its Psychic abilities. Even energy cubes were more expensive. A low-grade cube of an ordinary attribute cost around 200 alliance currency, but Psychic-type cubes of the same grade cost 400, literally double the price.
Anything related to rare types like Dragon, Psychic, or Ghost was usually more expensive than common attributes.
After all, rarity and strength naturally drove up value.
"Then I'll buy half a year's worth too," Icarus decided after hearing both of them. "Buying a full year's supply for all three Pokémon would leave me nearly broke. My daily food expenses alone are already around 10,000 alliance currency."
Eventually, after another long wait, the three finally entered the store.
Icarus purchased half a year's worth of food for his three Pokémon in one go, costing him roughly 1.53 million alliance currency. His remaining balance instantly dropped to 2.07 million.
In just over an hour, he had spent another house's worth of money.
Originally, he estimated that even with the ten percent discount, the total should still have exceeded 1.6 million. However, because he bought half-year supplies for three Pokémon simultaneously, some items qualified for the twenty percent discount, and additional promotions stacked together as well.
In the end, he saved nearly 300,000 alliance currency altogether.
"I made a huge profit~"
"Exactly! I didn't expect there to be additional promotions!"
"What a conscientious merchant!"
The three walked out grinning from ear to ear, looking as though they had just struck gold.
Even though they knew the store owner still earned plenty of profit from energy cubes, none of them knew how to manufacture them themselves, so there was no helping it.
"Come on, let's go eat," Icarus said. "The tournament starts this afternoon, so we should fill our stomachs first."
After purchasing the Pokémon food, Icarus led the two toward the nearby food street.
As for Weepinbell and the others, their meals would be arranged in the Pokémon feeding area.
The streets were simply too crowded. If Trainers were still allowed to release Pokémon freely like usual, maintaining public order would become a nightmare.
Therefore, during the three-day year-end festival, releasing Pokémon in public areas was prohibited.
After a simple lunch, Icarus and the others headed toward Aoki Gym.
"I'm definitely taking first place this year!"
"Just getting through the first round is enough for me!"
"A bunch of trash!"
The moment they entered, lively chatter filled the air.
Looking around, the Gym hall was packed with people—easily several hundred.
Despite the crowd, the hall was clearly divided into two factions separated by a central line.
The group on the left wore flashy clothes embroidered with family crests and surnames. They were obviously the family factions of the town.
The group on the right consisted of scattered small groups dressed casually, some even wearing slippers. These were clearly the civilian Trainers.
Although the left side appeared more organized and glamorous, the right side clearly had far greater numbers.
"Let's head over there. It should start soon."
Glancing at his watch and seeing less than thirty minutes remained, Icarus led Airi and Stone toward the civilian side.
Like drops of water merging into a river, the three slipped into the crowd without attracting any attention.
Of course, if Airi had shown her real face, she likely would have drawn plenty of eyes.
The three quietly waited.
"It's Qi! I can't believe he came too!"
Suddenly, the noisy discussions nearby caught Icarus's attention.
"Qi? Isn't he only around twenty years old? He's already a high-grade Trainer!"
"That's right! He's probably the favorite to win!"
"I heard he only recently broke through!"
"As expected of the future hope of the civilians!"
Curious, Icarus looked toward the entrance.
A young man wearing a Trainer uniform slowly walked inside. With his brown hair and gentle smile, he gave off the feeling of a friendly older brother next door.
"Qi! You have to win this year!"
"Bring glory to us civilians!"
"Go for it!"
As Qi walked through the crowd, Trainers around him loudly cheered like enthusiastic fans.
"Thank you for the support," Qi replied kindly, bowing politely. "I'll do my best. I hope everyone here achieves good results as well."
After thanking the crowd, he quietly moved to the side and waited.
"Qi is still so approachable."
"Exactly. People who've done missions with him say he's polite and upright."
"He trains incredibly hard too."
"And his Kingler is insanely determined. Last year he only lost in the Top 8 because of type disadvantage and not having enough Pokémon."
"Well, he probably poured all his resources into that Kingler."
"True. I just wonder whether he trained new Pokémon this year."
"Even if he doesn't win this year, it won't matter. A twenty-year-old high-grade Trainer will definitely be recruited by one of the three major powers."
"Not necessarily. He still has another year left to compete. Even if not this time, he'll definitely succeed next year."
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