Pokémon: Wings Of Shadow

Pokémon with high potential require a massive amount of resources to grow rapidly.

Wild Pokémon usually live in their own groups, like the Dreepy line. Within their clans, they have powerful elders for protection and a steady supply of resources. They spend most of their time eating and sleeping, slowly growing over the years.

That process can take decades. In the end, once their potential is fully used up, they evolve into their final form. But humans can't wait that long and are forced to use enormous resources to speed things up.

"Bug-types... most of them have weak talent. The only good thing is that they grow fast. But when you get one with high potential, its growth becomes slow, and I can't afford that anymore," Dalton said through gritted teeth. "My biggest regret was back when I was at Advanced-level. I stubbornly stuck with training bug-types… but they were never meant to be more than a stepping stone for beginner trainers."

Shiro nodded slightly at those words.

A Larvesta egg like this was definitely precious. Most importantly, raising a Pokémon from birth makes it easier to form a deep bond.

It was more than enough to trade for three Gym-level Bug-types.

And that wasn't even considering this egg had already absorbed a lot of resources and was likely close to hatching.

But still...

"Why didn't you just sell it on the black market? You could at least get dozens of millions in Pokédollars, right?" Shiro asked.

The black market had a very simple pricing system. Advanced-level Pokémon started at one hundred thousand, Gym-level went for a million, Elite-level could reach ten million.

If the Pokémon had been stolen, its price would be low, and it'd be resold after being brainwashed. Wild ones prices could go up by ten to twenty percent since they still had room for proper training.

As for high-potential eggs or rare resources, those were worth a fortune. Because no matter how strong a Pokémon was, the ones trained personally and that listened to commands were always the most valuable.

Like before, Shiro had sold an Elite-level Dragon Scale from Rylan in Hammerlocke for several million Pokédollars.

That kind of money couldn't buy a single well-trained, obedient Gym-level Pokémon. But it could lay a solid foundation for raising a Dragon-type hatchling. In the end, the value always depends on what the trainer needs.

Weaker trainers tended to buy brainwashed Pokémon, even though they knew those would be weaker than properly trained ones and might even lose to wild Pokémon with enough experience.

But having a Pokémon, even a bad one, was still better than nothing.

Even a conditioned Gym-level Pokémon could still suppress an Advanced-level one.

"I don't want to use brainwashed Pokémon," Dalton replied. "Even if it's an Elite-level one, I wouldn't use it. And those three Gym-level Bug-types… I raised them myself. I just want them back."

His reason was simple. He only wanted the Pokémon he had trained on his own.

"Alright… fair enough." Shiro nodded again, but his tone suddenly shifted. "The egg is good. But what if I just kill both of you and take it?"

As he spoke, his Corviknight let out a sharp, harsh screech, like a crow perched on Death's shoulder, counting down the final seconds of life.

Dalton and Felix's faces stiffened, but they soon calmed down. After all, they were all wilderness trainers. In this world, trades only happened between people of similar strength. Otherwise, the strong just devoured the weak.

Right now, Shiro had the power. If he wanted to take it by force, it would be completely normal.

But Felix had already expected this. He knew the man was just testing them to see if they had any hidden cards. If their strength was only what they'd shown so far, he would've made his move already.

None of the three people here were good guys. If they could, every one of them would gladly eliminate the other two.

"Hah..." Felix took a deep breath and said, "As part of the trade, we can also promise not to leak the fact that you took those two black symbols."

"Hm?"

Shiro's expression darkened.

So Felix had seen him looting Hunter G's body and noticed the two Unown. But so what if they saw it? These two…

"How can you guarantee you won't leak it?" He sneered. "What, are you planning to kill all the hunters in the Dynamax Den?"

Felix's expression didn't change. He simply shook his head and responded calmly, "I ran into quite a few hunters after leaving that place, but none of them knew what the actual mission target was. Only two guys trusted by Hunter G knew the truth, and they both died on that hill, all for controlling the Dynamax device."

Shiro fell silent for a few seconds, then chose to accept the trade rather than just taking things by force.

Whether Felix was telling the truth or not, this deal was in his favor. If it was true, and he killed them here and stole everything, there was a chance the information about the Unown would somehow get out. That would be a real loss.

He didn't care much about a few million Pokédollars from selling a Pokémon. But he still added an extra condition.

"The trade's fine, but I also want your notes on training Bug-type Pokémon. You've probably got it written down somewhere, right?"

Dalton didn't hesitate. He nodded and agreed.

"Sure. No problem."

He had completely given up on raising Bug-types at this point. Giving away the notes meant nothing to him now.

From his backpack, he pulled out a white, cocoon-like egg the size of a basketball, along with a black leather notebook. Shiro also brought out three Poké Balls. Under the wary eyes of a few Pokémon, the two slowly exchanged items, then stepped back a few paces.

"Deal's done. Thanks." Dalton said in a low voice, then released Orbeetle.

As psychic energy shimmered, he floated into the sky and flew off into the distance.

Felix quickly recalled his Obstagoon and signaled for his Skuntank to follow.

The two of them kept moving for a good ten minutes before finally slowing down, making sure Shiro and his Corviknight were completely out of sight.

"...This settles the debt I owed you for helping me back then." Felix said, pulling up his hood to hide his pale, emotionless face.

Dalton gave a slight nod, then vanished on the spot, teleporting away with Orbeetle.

* * *

By the shores of Lake of Outrage, Shiro held the Larvesta egg in his hands. After sensing it with his mind, data appeared in his eyes:

[Name: Larvesta

Type: Bug/Fire

Level: ?? (Novice)

Ability: Swarm

Held Item: None

Status: Incubating]

'Your psychic power is still too weak. That's the best you can manage right now,' Unown A commented, seizing the chance to speak. It easily saw the projected data screen forming in Shiro's vision through its own abilities.

"So this kind of detection… it's done with psychic power?" He asked.

'That's right.' Unown A floated above the slightly glowing red egg and added, 'If you become skilled enough with it, this data screen can even become a 3D projection, limited only by your imagination. But it's purely for sensing. If you want more abilities, you'll have to train your psychic power.'

As he looked at Unown A, Shiro felt a growing desire to master psychic power.

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!