Chương 12: The Black Market Part -1/4

The Black market wasn't exactly close, it was about a 20-minute walk. Leon often stopped to let his Pokemon take a break.

This was despite them not possibly needing one, after all, these Pokemon had overwhelming super strength.

"Dang it!" If Leon was alone and didn't have to take equipment, things would be different. He would have simply summoned a flying Pokemon to fly him near the Black market.

Leon was currently poor, he technically only had a dollar to his name.

After walking and not being disturbed by anyone on the way, Leon could see the Black market ahead. And before he came to it, Leon was already at the entrance of the market.

There was a group of men standing at the entrance talking, but they immediately turned to Leon in surprise.

It wasn't like they hadn't seen this way of entering the market since he was probably going to set up a stall.

However, they had never seen the use of fully evolved Pokemon doing manual labor like this. What was really surprising was the Pokemon doing the hard lifting, and it was more than just one.

They were all rendered speechless, they usually bothered and cheated people at the entrance of the market.

This group knew who to target and not to target, but it was clear as day that this character wasn't to be trifled with.

Leon silently walked into the black market, where he saw many people dressed in cloaks and wearing masks.

"Selling a Fire Stone at a reasonable price, no haggling!"

"I'm selling a Sharp Beak! This will boost flying-type moves, first come first serve!"

Leon could hear and see many people advertising their products. It seemed like any standard market, but this is only how it appeared on the outside.

Leon wouldn't bother to explore deeper or bother with the hidden corruption here.

"Who the hell is that guy? Who does he think he is walking in here in such an imposing manner?"

A group of men glared and scoffed at Leon when they saw him. They didn't say it nor did it seem like it, but they were very intimidated by the sight of this.

Many people turned his way after seeing such strong Pokemon, how could it be ignored? Several stalls called out to Leon to come and check out their product—as if they discovered some fat sheep.

Leon only shook his head, he wasn't interested right now, well, he was but his pockets were experiencing a drought.

There were stalls and then there were people who just sat on mats and thick blankets. They displayed their product in this way and sold it likewise.

All eyes were on Leon every time he passed and he didn't like it. Unfortunately, it was the only way to get his stall set up.

"Master, do you see this guy? Does he not know that he's going to attract unwanted attention from them?" This man was tall and wearing a black cloak that covered his whole body.

"He doesn't seem worried, I mean, he walked in here with such Pokemon. These Pokemon aren't easy to obtain, so he might be from some strong force from Viridian City or elsewhere."

This guy's voice didn't sound as aged, but young and intellectual. This man also wore a cloak and a mask to hide his face.

"What do we do? Do we at least warn him of the possible dangers?" The tall man asked.

"No. Let's watch for now and see what he's selling. I'm interested to know for him to waltz into this market in such a high-profile manner."

He had his doubts, this guy wouldn't be so easily bullied with these outrageous types of Pokemon by his side. If anyone has their sights set on him, they would have to be very careful when doing it.

"This spot will do, no one's taking up this space, so I'll take it for myself." Leon turned to his group of Pokemon and instructed them.

Everything was organized as Leon had intended it to be. Before putting Pokemon into the fish tank, Leon had both Poliwrath rinse it out first.

There were quite a few people watching, wondering what Leon was going to be selling.

Afterward, the fish tank was filled with water.

"I should sell water Pokemon that can actually fight on land and not exclusive to water. The fish-bodied water types won't be as popular."

Leon searched his Pokemon home and decided to go with Poliwag, Psyduck, and the exception Pokemon, Remoraid. This Pokemon would evolve into a Pokemon that could fight on land.

These three Pokemon sat in the water together, having no issues with one another.

"Oh, so he's selling Pokemon." A lot of people felt it made sense, Leon had some hardcore Pokemon following him.

"Those are some pretty good Pokemon, but what are the aptitudes?" The young cloaked individual watched closely from afar.

"We could ask afterward, it doesn't look like he's done setting up. And we also have a tool to confirm their aptitude."

A tall cloaked man watched Leon's movements closely. In order for this to work, the cloaked man would need to be within range to use the device.

Leon laid out a few Pokemon eggs on the fish tank table. This table was being watched by both Poliwrath with sharpened eyes, awareness, and vigilance.

Their job was to watch over the fish tank and Machamp was to watch over the eggs.

Everyone who saw those eggs, eyes brightened. There were a large number of greedy gazes that landed on those eggs when they saw them. Most of them assumed that these were Machop eggs, which would be really good.

Anyone would want a Machop, it would also give people an advantage against the gym leader in Pewter City.

This was, of course, only for those who still had dreams of challenging the league. They clenched their fist, they wished they could just walk up and take these eggs, but that would only be seeking death.

However, it soon started to spread that those weren't Machop eggs due to the coloration. Those eggs were green and looked to have a smiley face on them.

Many people were confused about what type of eggs they were, so they could only wait and ask later.

"Those are Spinarak eggs, while the ones in his hand are Weedle and Caterpie eggs."

The tall man in the black cloak concluded when he saw them. He could easily identify these eggs, in fact, this was one of his expertise.

"I see, so he's selling bug and water-type Pokemon. These water Pokemon aren't bad, but not too many people will be happy about the bugs. They're very common in Viridian Forest—with the exception of Spinarak."

Spinarak was rare in Kanto, but common in Johto, so the price would be higher since it wasn't native to the region.

"Perhaps this guy's selling more than what meets the eye." The youthful cloaked man speculated that Leon might be selling things he wasn't willing to just bring out.

Leon took a seat behind his desk before stretching and looking around. There were a few things around here that he wanted to buy.

These stalls were actually selling things he was interested in, but he had to wait to buy them.

'Now I wait for customers, I should be able to make some decent income. I hope.' Leon gazed around the streets, he could see many eyes looking his way, so he was sure they were interested.

He couldn't tell that some of the gazes were filled with greed and longing for those eggs. The best time to get a Pokemon was when it was an egg, and you were the one to hatch it.

After Five minutes of waiting, his first set of customers appeared before him.

"Excuse me, I want to know more about these eggs. What type of Pokemon eggs are they, could you tell us?"

This man was muscular and wore a tight tank top shirt.

"These are Weedle, Caterpie, and Spinarak eggs. There are a few special services if you're willing to order a Pokemon from Kanto or Johto.

"There will be an upcharge for ordering a Pokemon of your choice and a small upcharge for getting it in its egg form."

"....."

"Wait, are you saying you can get just about any Pokemon, but there are fees for ordering and extra for getting it as an egg?" The man looked at Leon like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"That's correct, are you buying or what? I only sell Pokemon and that's it."

"I see, but you're right. I don't believe that you're capable of getting any Pokemon in Kanto or Johto so easily. However, I am interested in the Poliwag you have, how much are you selling it for?"

None of the men believed Leon and opted to avoid the topic altogether. Even if it was true, they were sure they wouldn't be able to afford it.

"I'm selling it for ₽100,000," Leon said bluntly.

"Hold on, my hearing seemed to be off, what did you say?" The man was shocked and thought he had heard wrong.

"₽100,000."

"My god, this is daylight robbery!"

"I thought you were running something special here, but it turns out to be you just mugging people in the streets!"

"Why don't you just rob it up front?!

A few of the men were furious when they heard the outrageous price.

"Young man, explain yourself, why is the price for the Poliwag so high? I know they're not easy to catch in the wild, but this price is far too much."

This was not at all a simple price, it was way too much. He wouldn't be able to accumulate it in one day. Besides, who walked around with this much money in the first place?

This man was interested in Poliwag, but he himself was a bodybuilder. Thus, he was interested in what Poliwag would become in the future—a Poliwrath.

"Its Aptitude is really good, so it isn't something you're going to get cheap. If anything, it should be higher than what I'm selling it for."

Leon's tone was dull and somewhat lonely, but he did this to change his speaking pattern to fit his image.

"Aptitude? What's the aptitude?" The man's expression suddenly softened when he heard this.

There were people listening from afar, they all perked their ears up to hear Leon's answer to this question.

"Green."

"....."

"I-I understand. Can you hold this Pokemon for me for three days? I don't have that kind of money on me right now." The muscular man shivered with excitement, he had to have this Pokemon.

"If you want me to do that, you need to put up a down payment first. If others show up and have the money upfront, then there's nothing I can do for you."

"How do I know if I can trust you? Where would I be able to contact you? There are many scammers around here, and I've seen many people get finessed."

"T-That's impossible! He has to be lying, you can't simply acquire a Pokemon of that level. Destroy his stall, this little bastard is running a scam and selling fake goods!"

Before Leon could reply, a group of hooded-robed men walked over with sinister expressions.

Author Note: ₽100,000 = $100,000 ᵗ¹