With the Arbok Gang completely neutralized, Eric didn't waste another second.
He systematically swept through the sprawling warehouse, treating it like a personal treasure trove. He bypassed the cheap, mundane items and focused strictly on the gang's secure vaults. With his system passively scanning everything in his line of sight, finding hidden compartments was very easy.
He cleared out stashes of energy crystals, evolution stones, TMs, and so on. The gang had been hoarding resources for years, exploiting rookie trainers and orphans to build their wealth.
Now, all of it belonged to Eric.
When he finally stopped and let the system calculate the total value of the raw materials he had swept into his spatial watch, even he had to pause.
Seventy million Pokédollars!
It was the most money he had gotten till now.
With his pockets sufficiently full, Eric made his way back to the heavy, reinforced steel door. He pushed it open and stepped into the dim, humid room filled with cages.
The dozens of captured Pokémon cowered against the back of their enclosures. They looked terrified, who knows what horrors they had to face till now.
Eric stood near the entrance, looking at them.
A month ago, he might have considered throwing Poké Balls at the ones with decent potential to sell them at the Black Market. But his mindset had shifted. He had the Breeder's Guild to fund his expenses now, earning millions purely through his own skill. He didn't need to gamble with the fates of innocent Pokémon just to make a quick buck.
He could contact the League Police and have them handle the rehabilitation, but Eric knew better. These Pokémon had been brutally traumatized by humans. Handing them over to another group of humans in uniforms, no matter how well-intentioned, would only stress them further.
The warehouse was situated on the absolute edge of town, backing directly into the Redwood Forest.
"Gardevoir," Eric said softly.
The elegant psychic-type materialized beside him.
"Tell them I'm not with the gang. Tell them the people who hurt them are gone, and I'm opening the doors to the forest. They're free to go."
Gardevoir nodded, her eyes glowing with a soft, comforting pink light. A gentle, soothing wave of telepathic energy washed over the room, calming the panicked minds of the captured Pokémon. She conveyed Eric's message with profound, maternal warmth.
Eric moved to the central control panel and slammed his fist onto the master release switch.
All the cages sprang open simultaneously. Eric took a step back, keeping his guard up just in case the trauma made any of them lash out aggressively.
But they didn't. Sensing the genuine safety in Gardevoir's aura, the Pokémon cautiously stepped out of their cages. Then, realizing the path to the open warehouse doors was clear, they bolted. A massive stampede of Pokémon flooded out of the room, rushing toward the treeline and disappearing into the freedom of the Redwood Forest.
Eric watched them go, feeling a quiet sense of closure.
He was about to turn around and leave when he noticed a small silhouette standing perfectly still in the middle of the empty room.
It was a small, quadrupedal feline Pokémon with blue fur and black bands around its legs. Sparks of electricity faintly crackled around its yellow, star-shaped tail.
It hadn't run with the others. Instead, it was staring directly at Eric.
Eric blinked, surprised. His system instantly pulled up its data.
---
Pokémon: Shinx
Gender: Male
Level: 12
Type: Electric
Ability: Intimidate
Held Item: None
Potential: Blue
---
Eric was a bit surprised by both, his potential, and the fact that he wasn't running away.
Shinx took a step forward. His body was covered in minor cuts and bruises from the gang's harsh treatment, but his golden eyes were burning with an absolute, undeniable fighting spirit.
Eric didn't even need Gardevoir to translate. He knew that look. It was the same look Poliwrath gave when faced with an insurmountable wall. The look of a survivor who refused to remain weak.
Eric knelt down to the Shinx's eye level, holding out an empty Poké Ball.
"You want to come with me? You want the power to bite back?"
"Shinx!" The electric-type barked fiercely, stepping forward and pressing its nose directly against the button of the Poké Ball.
The ball snapped open, pulling the Shinx inside in a flash of red light.
Click.
Eric picked up the Poké Ball, a faint smile touching his lips. "Welcome to the team."
Before leaving the warehouse, Eric pulled out the shattered, bulky smartphone he had looted from the gang leader. He dialed the anonymous tip line for the League Police.
"The Arbok Gang is finished. The members are incapacitated at their main warehouse on the eastern edge of the industrial sector," Eric said flatly, immediately crushing the phone under his boot before the operator could trace the voice.
He slipped back into the shadows and headed straight for the Black Market.
---
Robert sat behind his appraisal counter, casually reading a magazine, when the temperature in the alleyway dropped by several degrees.
He looked up, and his breath hitched.
Eric stepped out of the darkness, pulling back his hood. He didn't look like the desperate, hyper-cautious kid who had walked into this stall a few months ago with a handful of common Pokémon.
The teenager standing before him radiated a cold, suffocating pressure. Ghost-type energy wrapped around him like a second skin. Robert was a seasoned veteran of the underworld, but looking into Eric's eyes sent a genuine shiver down his spine.
'Is he really the same kid from before,' Robert thought, wiping a sudden bead of sweat from his forehead. 'It hasn't even been half a year... how did he grow this fast?!'
"Robert," Eric said smoothly, placing a spatial ring onto the counter. "I have a bulk sale. Make it quick."
Robert looked into it and his jaw dropped.
Dozens of high-level energy crystals, rare evolutionary stones, black-market TMs, and finally, a cluster of Poké Balls. They were the Pokemon he took from the Arbok gang members. They were bloodthirsty, scummy, and thoroughly corrupted by their trainers. They weren't fit to be released into the wild.
Robert swallowed hard, quickly tallying the massive haul.
"Eighty million," Robert said, his voice unusually respectful. "Seventy for the raw materials, and ten million for the Pokémon. Transferred directly to your untraceable card."
Eric just nodded and turned around, walking out of the shop.
Robert watched him leave, letting out a long, shaky breath. Whoever Eric was destined to become, Robert was just glad he had stayed on the kid's good side.
With his past finally laid to rest, his pockets full, and a new Electric-type partner on his roster, Eric set his sights on his next journey.
His business in Kanto was officially concluded for now.
It was time to head to Sinnoh.