Still, there was one thing the vendor had gotten right.
For certain Pokémon, this stone really could grant unbelievable power.
The power of Mega Evolution.
Aaron looked at the mustached vendor with an expression that practically said, Yeah, sure, keep making stuff up, but he stayed silent.
Even the vendor himself looked slightly embarrassed. At this point, he felt like even he was starting to believe his own nonsense.
Still, he was experienced enough to recover quickly.
His expression immediately returned to normal as he grinned at Aaron.
"Come on, young man. Maybe I exaggerated a little, but this really is a treasure."
"I'll give you a special deal."
"Five hundred thousand, and it's yours."
The vendor put on a face like Aaron was getting the bargain of a lifetime.
Aaron nearly rolled his eyes.
This guy was blatantly trying to rip people off.
Aaron's mouth twitched helplessly.
"Alright, enough already."
"I just want to buy it as a toy for Big Guy. He likes collecting weird rocks."
"I'll give you five hundred."
"Deal or no deal?"
Aaron named his price directly and waited for the vendor's reaction.
Hearing five hundred, the mustached man was already tempted.
After all, it was just a random stone he had accidentally dug up while mining.
Selling it for five hundred was already pretty good.
Still, he wanted to squeeze out a little more profit.
He immediately put on an exaggeratedly shocked expression.
"Five hundred!?"
"No, no, no. That's way too low."
"Come on, young man, add a little more."
"Lowest I can go is one thousand."
"Take it or leave it."
Aaron immediately stood up and pretended to leave.
At the same time, he silently prayed in his heart:
Come on, stop me already...
Hurry up before walking back gets awkward...
Just as Aaron took his second step, the vendor's anxious voice rang out behind him.
"Hey, don't go!"
"We can negotiate!"
"Eight hundred!"
"Seven hundred!"
"Six hundred!"
"Five fifty!"
"Five twenty!"
"Ah, forget it. Five hundred it is!"
Seeing that Aaron would not budge even a little, the mustached man finally gave up and sold it for five hundred.
Aaron paused for a moment, secretly delighted, though his face remained calm.
He casually walked back to the stall, paid the vendor five hundred, and pocketed the Gyaradosite.
Then he flashed the vendor a bright smile.
"Thanks, boss."
After that, he left in an extremely good mood.
The moment the mustached man saw Aaron's smile, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
A terrible feeling washed over him.
He froze for several seconds before letting out a miserable scream.
"Holy shit... I got played by that brat!!"
...
Aaron happily tossed the Gyaradosite up and down in his hand.
A Mega Stone for only five hundred credits.
The smile on his face grew wider and wider.
Getting a deal this ridiculous honestly felt amazing.
When I get the chance, I need to secretly collect more Mega Stones.
If someone else discovers them first, I'm screwed.
Aaron silently made up his mind.
Just then, he noticed a large crowd excitedly rushing in the same direction while discussing something among themselves.
"Hurry up! The ring challenge is starting again!"
"Hahaha! Think anyone can win the 200,000 prize this time?"
"No chance. Nobody beat the defending champion last month."
"Seriously, that skinny guy doesn't even look strong. How's he beating everybody?"
"Who knows? It's ridiculous."
"Quit talking and move faster. We're gonna miss the show."
...
Hearing the discussion, Aaron became curious and followed the crowd toward the commotion.
After walking about a hundred meters, he spotted a temporary battle arena surrounded by spectators.
A skinny man wearing a green cap stood on the stage holding a microphone.
He grinned slyly and loudly announced:
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Welcome to the King of the Ring Challenge, hosted by yours truly, Slick Rick!"
"The rules are simple!"
"One-on-one real battles!"
"Beat the challenger behind me, and you win the 200,000 grand prize!"
As he spoke, the man pointed behind him.
Standing there was an extremely skinny teenager with a bony frame, an ordinary face, and tiny bead-like eyes.
He looked so thin that a strong wind might blow him away.
The moment the crowd saw such a frail-looking teenager, many people immediately grew eager.
How strong could someone this skinny possibly be?
Wasn't this basically free money?
Quite a few people were already cracking their knuckles, itching to jump into the challenge.
Of course, others remained completely calm.
They had already seen the skinny teenager battle before.
Those people were here purely to watch the chaos.
The moment Slick Rick noticed the crowd getting excited, a crafty look flashed through his eyes.
Then he continued shouting:
"You heard right!"
"Every challenger only needs to pay an entry fee of one thousand!"
"Just one thousand for a chance to win two hundred thousand!"
"So what are you waiting for!?"
"Stop hesitating and come challenge him!"
The crowd instantly exploded with excitement.
People immediately began pulling out money while shouting loudly:
"Me! I'm in!"
"I'm first!"
"Bullshit, I called it first!"
"Move aside already!"
"Quit shoving!"
"Hey! Stop pushing my balls, damn it!"
"Ow! My nuts are getting crushed!"