After Luna spent more than 100,000 Poké Dollars buying all kinds of ingredients on the first floor, the group continued upward.
In the Pokémon Held Item section, they found many items that were rarely seen in Aoki Town, though most were Rock- and Ground-type items.
Stone spent heavily here, purchasing two mid-tier Ordinary-grade Soft Sand and one mid-tier Ordinary-grade Silk Scarf. Fortunately, the prices were clearly listed and not inflated. Aside from especially rare and powerful attributes, mid-tier Ordinary-grade items all sold for 650,000 each. The three items cost him a total of 1.95 million.
These items were intended for his two Sandshrew and his Kangaskhan.
Although Kangaskhan had not yet reached the mid stage, they bought the item in advance since they happened to find one. As for the Hard Stone carried by his Graveler, it had been purchased at an auction and had cost about 100,000 more than market value.
Just like that, nearly half of Stone's savings disappeared.
Icarus also purchased a high-tier Ordinary-grade Sharp Beak for his Pidgeotto, costing 700,000. His Houndoom received a high-tier Ordinary-grade Charcoal, also worth 700,000.
Since Houndoom was already using a secret version of a cultivation manual, Icarus believed it wouldn't take long to reach the high stage. Buying a high-tier item immediately seemed worthwhile.
Unfortunately, only one mid-tier Ordinary-grade Water-type item remained in stock, so Icarus gave it to Airi. After all, her Squirtle was still only at the beginner level and didn't need a held item yet.
Thus, Airi spent 650,000 on a mid-tier Ordinary-grade Mystic Water for her Poliwag. The Water Gem Poliwag had previously been carrying was transferred to Staryu.
As for the recently advanced low-tier Ordinary-grade Marshtomp, both she and Icarus felt it was more cost-effective to wait and buy a mid-tier item later.
Besides, their next destination would be Cerulean City. There would surely be suitable items there.
After these purchases, Icarus's funds shrank considerably, leaving him with only about 3.6 million.
The separate bank card containing Luna's earnings from selling Energy Cubes and MooMoo Milk still held around one million, but he intended to keep that money for emergencies unless something truly irresistible appeared on the upper floors.
Fortunately, nothing particularly caught his eye.
His personal cultivation manuals were already sufficient: the offensive Earth Fiend Fist, the internal cultivation method Pure Origin Art, and the movement technique Traversing Steps.
Since he wasn't a frontline combatant, this was enough for now.
However, in the Pokémon Materials section, he purchased a large amount of Poison-type materials for Weepinbell, spending another 200,000 and reducing his funds to roughly 3.4 million.
As for Stone, he felt both happy and miserable.
The misery came from being nearly broke. Only about 100,000 remained in his account.
The happiness came from discovering that Dragon-type materials were far more abundant here than in Aoki Town.
He had already spent nearly two million and still hadn't purchased everything he wanted—he hadn't even bought a tenth of what was available.
After all, Pewter City was one of the eight major cities. Even Dragon-type materials at the Ordinary level were readily available.
"Sigh… Brother Icarus, let's go take on some missions."
Leaving the department store, Stone spoke with a conflicted expression.
He was truly out of money.
"Yeah. I was planning to take some missions anyway."
Seeing Stone's embarrassed look, Icarus patted him on the shoulder.
An adventure wasn't a vacation.
They weren't rich heirs with endless resources. If they wanted to keep traveling, they had to earn money along the way.
Still, another thought surfaced in Icarus's mind.
Maybe I should try persuading Stone again.
If Stone joined a major Gym, materials like these would likely come with discounts and other benefits.
The current profit-sharing arrangement was already extremely favorable to Stone.
Strictly speaking, Stone was the weakest member of the team.
Airi was definitely stronger than him—not just because of her Water-type advantage, but also because of Staryu's Psychic abilities and her own naturally extraordinary talent.
As for Icarus himself, he had already reached the high stage.
One high-stage Pokémon could easily defeat three or four mid-stage Pokémon simultaneously.
The fact that he only took forty percent of the team's profits was already remarkably generous.
In most wilderness teams, if a Trainer possessed the only high-stage Pokémon, they would typically claim at least half the profits.
Ever since Stone obtained Kangaskhan, his expenses had increased dramatically.
He truly needed a place where he could reduce his costs.
If he joined a Gym and received guidance from an Elite-level Trainer, he would easily be able to support his Pokémon.
Moreover, a promising apprentice would never be sent on missions alone. Many other apprentices would undoubtedly seek opportunities to work with him.
With an Elite-level mentor backing him, Stone would rarely be taken advantage of.
Icarus had once considered bringing Stone into Team Rocket, allowing him to enjoy the organization's resources.
But he quickly abandoned the idea.
Stone and Airi were too close.
If Stone joined Team Rocket, the two of them would inevitably disappear frequently together. That would only make Airi suspicious and lead to unnecessary complications.
I'll try persuading him again in a few days.
With a silent sigh, Icarus led the group toward the Pewter City Pokémon Center.
The Pokémon Center here was much larger and more impressive than the one in Aoki Town.
Naturally, there was no Nurse Joy waiting at the front desk.
As the managers of the Pokémon Center system, members of the Joy family didn't handle routine reception duties.
Only Trainers with sufficient status, background, or strength had opportunities to meet them directly.
After healing the Pokémon that had participated in the Gym challenge, the group headed to the self-service terminals to browse available missions.
Most were similar to those found in Aoki Town.
However, because of Mt. Moon, there were also many unique local missions.
For example:
Capturing talented Nidoran♂, Nidorina, and Clefairy
Recovering fossils
Mining rare metals and ores
Collecting special stones
Although some areas of Mt. Moon were controlled exclusively by the local ruling family, most of the mountain remained open to Trainers.
The mountain was simply too vast.
Even if the family monopolized it, they lacked the manpower to exploit every resource.
Besides, few family heirs wanted to spend their days digging ore.
So they opened most of the mountain to the public, charging a symbolic entrance fee of 10,000.
The mountain was rich enough that even an Ordinary-level Trainer could earn 20,000–30,000 a day simply by having their Pokémon mine in relatively safe areas.
If they happened to discover rare ore, the profits could be enormous.
Many local Trainers effectively made their living through mining.
That was also why Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon were so common around Pewter City.
These Pokémon possessed excellent instincts for locating mineral deposits.
Of course, the ruling family wasn't losing money.
Instead of paying workers and compensating injured miners, they collected entrance fees while purchasing the extracted ore afterward.
The risks were entirely borne by the Trainers themselves.
If someone died while "adventuring," it wasn't the family's responsibility.
As a result, countless Trainers still flocked to Mt. Moon every day.
One mission Stone selected involved mining in Mine No. 2, a metal-ore mine.
Considering his Pokémon lineup and specialization, Icarus approved immediately.
The group also accepted several routine missions, including collecting Raticate teeth and Arbok venom sacs.
These could easily be completed while traveling along Route 3, the road connecting Pewter City and Mt. Moon.
Since there was a transit town along the route with its own Pokémon Center, they wouldn't need to rush back to turn in missions.
After accepting several standard jobs, Icarus also picked up missions to capture wild Clefairy and Nidoran♂.
Both species were common around Mt. Moon.
Although the largest populations were controlled by the local family, many smaller colonies were intentionally left in the wild.
Wild breeding occasionally produced exceptional individuals.
As for Clefairy, the truly valuable ones—those capable of learning Heal Pulse—were already under the family's control.
Ordinary wild Clefairy were little different from cute companion Pokémon and weren't considered especially valuable.
Officially, however, the family claimed they were generously sharing resources with all Trainers.
"Let's go. We'll pack up, eat lunch, and head out immediately."
"Mm-hmm!"
"Alright!"
Since it was still before noon, the group ate, fed their Pokémon, and then departed.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Finally free from its Poké Ball, Squirtle happily cried out as it enjoyed the fresh air.
"Woo…"
Meanwhile, Houndoom—currently serving as a mount—looked utterly resigned.
Feeling the little turtle squirming around on its back, it slowed down and shot Icarus a resentful look.
"I'm still a kid too! Why am I carrying another kid?"
"Haha! Houndoom, you've grown up now."
Icarus patted both Houndoom and Squirtle.
"When you were little, Weepinbell and Pidgeotto always looked after you. Now it's your turn to take care of Squirtle."
"And don't worry. Right now Squirtle is riding you. But when she evolves into Blastoise, you'll be riding her across rivers and oceans."
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Hearing that, Squirtle immediately agreed.
"That's right, big brother! I'll give you rides too when I grow up!"
Houndoom lowered its head helplessly.
Most importantly—
It wasn't a "big dog."
It was Houndoom.
A fearsome hellhound.
"Big dog" completely ruined its image.
"Hahaha! Alright, alright. Houndoom. Fearsome hellhound."
Icarus couldn't help laughing.
To be honest, with its resigned expression and the innocent Squirtle riding on its back, Houndoom looked more adorable than intimidating.
"Squirtle~"
Squirtle tilted her head innocently.
"But big brother isn't scary at all. He's a very gentle Houndoom"
One detail worth mentioning:
Icarus's Squirtle was female.
Female Squirtle were extremely rare, with the commonly accepted ratio being roughly seven males for every female.
The fact that the Third Branch had been willing to exchange a female Squirtle for him showed just how much they had invested in recruiting him.
It was practically an all-or-nothing gamble.
If Icarus ever defected, they would undoubtedly regret it deeply.
Still, that willingness to take risks partially explained why the Third Branch had survived for so long despite its rivalry with the main Gym faction.
As for breeding, the rules in this world were somewhat unusual.
Pokémon needed compatible Egg Groups to produce offspring.
Any Pokémon within the same Egg Group could breed together.
The offspring would inherit the mother's species while potentially inheriting certain moves from the father.
Ditto was the exception, capable of breeding with almost any compatible Pokémon, with the offspring taking the form of the non-Ditto parent.
Pokémon belonging to the Undiscovered Egg Group, however, could not breed at all—even with Ditto.