Chapter 103: The Shattered Gem

Zhao Fang rested his chin on his palm and watched the auction. One had to admit that the wealthy were truly many at this sale; the items being bid on kept climbing to ever higher prices. So far, the highest price belonged to a fire-type Pokémon breeding recipe, which went for a full two million League Coins. Zhao Fang grimaced. Truly, such money had no owner at all.

If he were not afraid of exposing his golden gift, he could sell a single batch of his Pokémon food for several hundred thousand without much trouble. After all, who had ever seen food that directly boosted a Pokémon’s core breeding stats? It was practically a monopoly. Yet Zhao Fang was not the kind to be made foolish by greed and reveal everything.

With his current strength, if he actually exposed that gift, the League would likely move in and lock him away, turning him into little more than a man who cooks all day, perhaps even drawing attacks from shadowy organizations. In his eyes, even with the power of the Elite Four, that gift could not be made public.

Bored, Zhao Fang yawned. The auction had already passed the halfway point, and still he had not seen what he wanted. He had seen many of the offered items, but that gem was nowhere among them.

“Next we present this lot,” announced the auction steward, lifting a sheet of parchment from a glass case without unfolding it. “A hand-drawn adventure map submitted by Master Shendai, the Pharaoh of the Battle Pyramid. It records a shipwreck he discovered during his ocean expedition. According to him, the wreck was ancient, though he cannot guarantee what lies inside it. Opening bid: one hundred thousand League Coins. Each increase must be at least ten thousand.”

The room buzzed loudly. If some other adventurer had offered such a map, the excitement would have been smaller, but this was Shendai—the Pharaoh of the Battle Pyramid, a true titan whose hands held a Pokémon of the Three Divine Pillars. A wreck location from him was like an announced cache of treasure, especially an ancient one.

No surprise, the map soared straight past two million and was finally claimed by a proud young lady for 2.42 million.

“Next lot: this stone, presented by a trainer. While adventuring in Orange Blossom Forest, he stumbled upon it by chance. It may be connected to the Ghost Hall. Opening bid: ten thousand League Coins.”

Not every item at this auction was precious; now and then smaller things appeared as well. Still, when Zhao Fang saw the gem before him, his pupils narrowed. It looked uncannily like the stone Gengar had once shown him.

It looked similar, but he could not be certain. The stone was fractured, its form like only the right half of the other one, with a sharp seam running through it. That was likely why the starting price was so low.

He gripped the edge of his chair, tense. It looked similar indeed, yet there was no trace of ghost energy inside. It seemed nothing more than a broken gem—nothing truly worthy of a collector.

Others seemed to agree. Even though ten thousand was low, no one made a bid. Zhao Fang hesitated because he could not determine whether this was truly the stone Gengar had mentioned. If it was, he could tell himself it was worth it. If not, then he would look like a complete fool for buying a shattered gem for ten thousand.

In the end, Zhao Fang raised his hand anyway. He bought the overlooked stone for ten thousand League Coins, and the auctioneer finally looked relieved—no-sale outcomes were never good.

He still could not be sure whether it was the missing fragment from Gengar’s gem, but he was not willing to miss the chance. If it were, he might never see such a thing again.

When he examined it more closely later, he read the inscription:

A fractured gem.

He frowned, yet tucked it away and kept it close.

The onlookers nearby stared at him as if he were an idiot. He did not care. With this in hand, he had already decided to go back to Orange Blossom Forest and confirm everything with Gengar.

The rest of the auction passed in calm rhythm. Many items tempted him, but their prices were far beyond his reach, and none looked like bargain catches. In the end, the final featured lot was the Minidragon egg, a Pokémon egg that can hatch a Dratini. A bidding frenzy followed; it went for over eighteen million, and Zhao Fang felt the true distance between him and a true magnate.

After the sale, Zhao Fang quickly restocked on Pokémon food, healing medicine, and Poké Balls, then bought passage. He was returning to Orange City. Before boarding, he sent a message to Hironna, explaining his plan. She did not seem to care much, only telling him to wait for her in Orange City.

Sailing from Kaina City to Orange City took four full days. Through those days, Zhao Fang endured the dizziness, while drilling his Gyarados, Ice Dragon, and Dromesia in training. The Ice Dragon was not happy in this environment. The constant rocking of the ship tortured her badly; later she even vomited, which sent Zhao Fang rushing to find Miss Joy aboard. That was when he learned she was seasick.

“I’m sorry, Ice Dragon. If you can fight off this seasickness, then in time you’ll be able to resist confusion as well.” He sat beside her, stroked her long neck, and offered what comfort he could. The weary Pokémon gave a weak cry.

Every night afterward Zhao Fang entered the memories of the Unknown Totem, but for those days the High Tower remained dark the whole time. He grew used to it; each night, once inside the memory, he trained the team according to how they had performed earlier that morning.

When Zhao Fang stepped onto the pier again, he had gained some resistance to the motion. After a while, one can get used to vomiting.

He did not hesitate this time. He slipped quickly from the dock into Orange Blossom Forest. Then he ran into an immediate trouble.

Without the ring he had used to teleport, how was he to reach the Hall by the sea now?

Zhao Fang drew out the map. With two badges, he could push deeper into the forest than before, but even so, the Hall was still not far away.