"…Vice President, the kids have been traveling for most of the day, and as soon as they arrived, they jumped straight into battle. Even an iron man couldn't take it. Why don't we let them rest for now and talk tomorrow instead?"
Inside the Pokémon Center's main hall, Drake glanced at Phoebe, who had "secretly" let out a yawn, then turned to the bigshots still chatting with Sato.
"That's true, we really didn't consider it. The kids came from far away and we didn't even give them a proper welcome… that was our oversight," one of the officials quickly said.
Sato gave Phoebe, who had just yawned, a discreet look of approval. Even he was feeling a bit tired for once.
Waving goodbye to those overly chatty bigshots, Sato and the others were naturally assigned to VIP rooms within the Pokémon Center.
This particular Pokémon Center had very few people in it, as it was only open to internal League members. Most of the time, it functioned more like a guesthouse.
And Nurse Joy was still Nurse Joy… just with a slightly different hairstyle.
That's why Sato had always felt that the true rulers of the Pokémon world weren't the Pokémon League or Team Rocket, but rather the Joys and the Jennys!
"Finally, we can rest. Joseph~ I desperately need delicious food to replenish my nutrients," Phoebe whined pitifully, but her sprawled-out couch potato pose made it clear she wasn't sincere.
"Let's just order food. I'm too tired to move," Joseph flopped onto a single sofa as well, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The others were the same, lying around on the couches in a daze. After all, dinner was coming soon, and it was still too early to sleep.
Knock Knock knock! Knock knock knock!
After the knocking continued for several rounds, Sato was the first to give in and open the door.
"Elite Four Drake!" Sato blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Drake, the Elite Four member, to be done so early.
"Knowing you all must be tired, I already asked Greno to prepare dinner. It'll be sent straight to your rooms," Drake patted Sato's shoulder, and then couldn't help but add, "You did great out there."
"Thanks for the praise. Come in and have a seat," Sato smiled and accepted the compliment without hesitation.
"No need. You all get some good rest," Drake shook his head and turned to leave, but halfway down the hall, he stopped and came back. "Unova's going to find out about Mega Evolution sooner or later. You might as well see if you can cash in on it a little."
Sato stared blankly for a moment. It was hard to believe those words came from an Elite Four. But then again, he was the captain of the ship; far from inflexible.
More than ten minutes later, another knock came at the door. This time, all five of them stood up and headed for it.
At this hour, it could only be Greno bringing dinner. Starving as they were, none of them hesitated. They all rushed to the door at once.
After eating and regaining their energy, everyone perked up again. Especially Mark and Joseph -who hadn't battled today and were still relatively fresh- were ready to head out.
"Weren't we going to check out the night market? Are you guys really not coming?" Mark went around knocking on each of their doors.
In the end, the five of them were all lured downstairs by the "mystery" of the local food stalls. After all, who knew when they'd be back again?
They stepped out of the Pokémon Center, passed through the gate of the Unova League's branch building, and were greeted by the lively night market scene.
The Unova League's headquarters was located in the heart of Vertress City, so naturally, the surrounding area was bustling. The streets were full of Trainers, and almost half of the people had small Pokémon following at their sides.
Pichu was perched on Sato's shoulder, Mark with Togetic, Ryoko held Axew in her arms, and Phoebe, getting playful, released Yamask to float by her side.
Joseph thought for a moment and also released Kirlia, finally rejoining the group.
All five of them had released their Pokémon. The only recognizable ones were the Dragon-type Axew and the Ghost-type Yamask, both of which were quite rare. The other three were unfamiliar to most.
Along the way, they immediately drew massive attention. All around them, shop owners selling Pokémon-related goods started calling out loudly.
Kids this young with such high-level Pokémon lineup? Clearly wealthy or high-status. The best kind of customer to make money from.
Phoebe and Ryoko, now fully recovered, were bouncing from store to store, not skipping a single one.
"Weren't you two whining earlier about being too tired to move? What's with all the excitement now?" Mark commented with his usual tactless tone.
"Hmph, none of your business!" Phoebe mumbled while biting into a hot pepper bun.
"Exactly!" Ryoko echoed, steam coming out of her mouth as she chewed a steamed ice cream bun.
Mark backed off, while Joseph and Sato calmly bit into durian cream puffs, pretending they neither saw nor heard anything.
"Mmm, delicious."
"Super delicious."
"Hey, check out that store's name… Pokémon Consignment House? So Unova actually allows direct sales of Pokémon now?" Mark, still a bit annoyed, wandered off aimlessly, and really did stumble upon something.
Everyone looked in the direction of his voice and indeed saw a large sign reading "Pokémon Consignment House."
"Let's go take a look!" Phoebe waved her hand grandly, and the group of five pushed through the crowd, heading for the shop.
"Just as I thought, it's directly run and managed by the Unova League," Joseph said, pointing at the small League logo beneath the sign, wearing a knowing expression.
"Still sounds like selling to me..." Mark muttered but followed the others into the shop anyway.
The interior was a bit different from what they had imagined. There were no cold cages or display cases.
Just a narrow walkway, flanked on both sides by low-level mimicry spaces; basic, but enough to maintain the Pokémon's living needs.
Inside those mimicry spaces lived numerous small Pokémon, each wearing an ID tag.
Mark approached a Pansage and saw that the tag on its neck read: "Breeder: Night Whisper."
"First time at a Pokémon Consignment House?" a matronly voice suddenly called out.
They turned to see a curly-haired woman smiling at them. A sleeve band hung from her left arm, printed with the words "Pokémon Consignment House."
"This is a paradise for Breeders. Every Pokémon you see here comes from a well-known and reputable Breeder. Just as the store's name suggests, if a Trainer takes a liking to one, they can apply to purchase it.
But the process is a little different. Aside from paying a set fee, you must also get the Breeder's approval before you can take the Pokémon."
"And how is that any different? It's still just selling Pokémon, isn't it?" Phoebe asked, not seeing the distinction. In her mind, that so-called "approval" was just a smokescreen.
Then, the five of them saw the previously cheerful matron suddenly glaring at them with a fury that made them feel like they couldn't breathe.
She was just an old woman, yet the pressure she gave off was overwhelming. Who was this woman really? Some kind of hidden bigshot?