Chapter Three: The Shadow's Sneak Attack, But to Little Effect

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In front of the computer, after using the webcam to scan the rough Evolution Stone, Koutai sent the images to the other party.

“Hey, is it this stone?” A Bi was very surprised after seeing Koutai’s description and pictures, and confirmed once again. He had studied many items but had never found any information about this particular stone.

In the animated world’s lore, this stone had never even appeared.

Koutai recalled that, according to the game’s timeline, the earliest discovery of this stone was by researchers in the Unova region.

When describing the stone’s effects, Koutai avoided using the strangely specific claim of “increasing both defenses by 50%.” After all, in the real-world lore, no professor had yet tested a Pokémon’s individual base stats, which was perfectly normal.

“Yes, just as I said, the Evolution Stone can only be used on Pokémon that are capable of evolving but have not yet evolved. It’s a miracle stone for weaker Pokémon and the greatest aid for some already quite powerful ones. With this stone, they can sometimes even surpass their evolved forms!”

“If you need it, pay a deposit and I can help polish it. After my craftsmanship, the stone’s effect will be even better than its current state.”

Koutai sent the message, but there was no immediate reply.

They must be deliberating and thinking it over. After all, facing something completely unknown, most people would wonder if it was a scam.

“Hmm... I agree.” A Bi’s hesitation didn’t last long before he sent a new message: “You’re an acquaintance of Mr. Steel, and I’m here specifically seeking special items. If I refuse to buy just because I doubt the effect, that would be missing the point... I’m a researcher, and I will personally verify the stone’s effect.”

Phew!

Got it!

Koutai exhaled in relief.

The first deal since arriving in the new region was settled — a great start.

The agreed delivery date was one week later. As for shipping, surprisingly, it could be sent by air mail from Yanmo City — probably carried by Dragonite or a Messenger Bird Pokémon for long-distance delivery.

Now, the deposit...

“Ten thousand Pokédollars.”

The deposit was 20% of the total price. Since Evolution Stones were almost impossible to buy in previous generations—only found on the road or given as gifts—only in the ninth generation, Scarlet and Violet, did Evolution Stones become purchasable items with a price tag of fifty thousand Pokédollars.

Koutai was selling strictly according to the game’s pricing, not intending to be a greedy merchant on the first order.

Scaring off the customer would be disastrous.

Knock... knock, knock...

A strange knocking sound echoed through the air. Koutai looked up, puzzled, toward the door.

“Someone knocking?”

From the deeper part of the house, a chilling atmosphere began to rise.

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Rising from the counter, Koutai opened the cabin door, but there was no one outside.

Rain still drizzled steadily, dark clouds blanketed the hills, and the distant forests, valleys, and snowy peaks were shrouded in mist. The sky was gloomy, and visibility was blurred.

Knock, knock, knock—

The knocking returned. Koutai double-checked and found no wild Pokémon passing by to shelter from the rain near the door. The nearby village showed only faint smoke from chimneys, no signs of movement, and only wild grass swayed miserably under the rain.

Listening closely, Koutai realized the sound wasn’t coming from outside but from...

Following the noise inward, he arrived at the basement door.

Confusion and caution filled Koutai’s eyes.

He had just come out of the basement and hadn’t noticed anything inside!

Could it be...

haunted? Ah, that was actually quite common in the Pokémon world. Unexpectedly, he encountered it right away.

Rainy day and a haunted house—quite the atmosphere.

Indeed, in the Pokémon world, there is a spirit realm. Every generation has its ghostly side stories, so hauntings are perfectly normal. Besides, having taken over the body of the original owner who had died, it was possible the former owner’s soul still lingered here.

“If you’re some kind of ghost... well, rest in peace, I guess.”

“I may not have experience exorcising, but ghosts in the Pokémon world possess the Ghost attribute. Since it’s an attribute, there must be a way to handle it.”

Trainers specialized not in brute force but in using items—there’s a great divide between fighting empty-handed and wielding tools.

Instead of entering the basement directly, Koutai hurried back to his room to prepare for battle.

The warehouse held materials; the finished items were outside.

First, he took out a box of pale purple dried berries, popped one into his mouth, and chewed.

“Buddha Fruit. When hit by a highly effective Ghost-type move, it activates to halve the damage from one Ghost-type attack.”

This was a berry from the Sinnoh region, faint memories told him these berries also grew in nearby forests. After all, these berries were brought to northern Johto a thousand years ago by the ancient Sinnoh people.

Since ancient times, this berry had mysterious powers. Resembling a flower and with a strong sweetness, it was ideal for making sweets. Some people dried it as a protective charm. If living in a haunted area, you needed to keep such berry products at home.

Next, Koutai put on protective gloves and opened a locked cabinet in the corner, filled with important materials and exclusive items.

He first took out a pale white incense. Clean Incense. Its effect: when the lead Pokémon holds it, wild Pokémon are less likely to appear, as some dislike the scent.

After lighting the incense, a pleasant aroma wafted from the holes of the incense burner. Then Koutai took out a string of Sharpedo’s dog teeth from the second shelf of the cabinet.

“Sharpedo’s dog tooth. Not a battle item but a Pokémon material. It retains some Dark-type energy, and since Sharpedo is part Fire-type, the tooth also contains residual Fire-type energy.”

He wore the dog tooth necklace, then took out a specialty from Johto: the Angry Bun. This local delicacy could cure most abnormal status conditions.

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Next, he reached the bottom shelf of the cabinet, where some hard mud balls wrapped in green leaves lay—these were Sticky Balls.

Then, he took out a voice recorder placed at the inner side of the lower shelf. It contained a recording of the Dark-type move “Roar.”

Of course, this was just a recorder; it couldn’t attack others with sound energy, but it produced loud noise designed to irritate opponents. The recording came from the common low-quality Murkrow found in forests.

Finally, he grabbed a few Poké Balls.

Fully equipped, having eaten and prepared, Koutai opened the basement door.

When the light turned on, the shelves lit up completely. Koutai secured the door to prevent it from being blown open and stepped inside.

A cold, chilling aura hit him. Koutai shivered lightly—an instinctive response. He was sure he hadn’t felt this when he left before.

Step by step, Koutai felt like something in the basement was watching him. The wisps of smoke from the Clean Incense slowly drifted to every corner.

“Carvings, star sand, antique crafts, Fire Stone, Power Band, Shell Bell, Geodude’s Stone Skin fragments...”

Creak... squeak...

Suddenly, the basement door made a sound.

Koutai immediately turned toward the door, and at that moment, a black shadow rose behind him!

In the pitch-dark basement, a pair of blue eyes lit up!

“Yo—!”

Doublade’s spirit was elated!

The outsider really took the bait!

Anyway, take this: “Shadow Sneak”!

That was how the knight greeted people!

The fast-moving black shadow struck Koutai precisely!

The effect...!

The effect seemed... not good?!

Doubt and confusion filled Doublade’s eyes. Koutai, hit by the Shadow Sneak, only staggered slightly and immediately regained his footing. Turning around, he saw the ancient sword floating midair, looking somewhat stunned, and he showed a knowing smile:

“Looks like the effect isn’t so good after all!”