"Since it's your first time here, I'll let that slide. Now, take a good look at what this consignment house really does."
So that was it, this intimidating matron was actually the owner of the Pokémon Consignment House.
Just then, a middle-aged man walked into the shop with a young girl. The girl's face lit up with excitement and curiosity as she looked at all the Pokémon around her.
"Dad, it's a Lillipup! So cute~ Can I have it?"
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"No, no, no, that Panpour looks so gentle. I really like it too~"
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"That one… that's a Cottonee, right? So soft and fluffy and adorable… I can't decide!"
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She chirped nonstop, tugging on her father's hand and darting around the store. Every time she saw a slightly cuter Pokémon, she'd overturn her last decision, and by the end, she was completely overwhelmed.
"Do you remember the promise we made before we came?" the father asked gently, rubbing her forehead affectionately.
"I remember, I remember! The goal was to get a Joltik. But every time I see another cute Pokémon… I can't help but take a second look…" the little girl said, growing bashful as she spoke, then quietly hid behind her father.
"Then let's go see the Joltik first. After that, we can look around some more, okay?"
"Mm-hmm!" The little girl nodded eagerly, tightening her grip on the small crossbody bag she was carrying.
"Tsubaki, sorry to bother you again," the father nodded at the matron walking toward them, clearly familiar.
"Hi, Granny Tsubaki!"
"Hello, Lele. Did you finish the bug powder? Do you feel confident this time?" the woman named Tsubaki asked with a cheerful smile. When she wasn't angry, she really did seem friendly.
"I finished it… but I don't know if Joltik will like it." The girl named Lele nodded nervously, her fingers tightening on the strap of her bag.
"Don't worry. Come with me. Joltik seems to be in a good mood today, so maybe it'll say yes." Tsubaki reassured her, then led the father and daughter toward a large tree within the mimicry space.
Sato and the others didn't say anything. They quietly followed, clearly intrigued by how this "shop" operated.
Soon, they arrived at the tree. At Tsubaki's call, a palm-sized Joltik suddenly scurried out from behind the trunk.
"Joltik, Joltik, I made a fresh batch of bug powder. Would you like to try it~?" Lele seemed to be familiar with Joltik. Without hesitation, she ran up and pulled out a jar of bright yellow-orange powder from her bag.
"Joltik?"
Joltik wasn't afraid of Lele at all. It stepped forward and sniffed the powder to "assess" its quality. After hesitating for a moment, it wiggled its body at her.
"You want to try it? Okay, okay!" Lele understood its body language and carefully scooped out some powder, then evenly sprinkled it over Joltik's body.
A faint electric spark flashed across its fur as Joltik lay contentedly on the ground, its body growing glossy and smooth.
"This dry bug powder is used to bathe Joltik. Being an Electric/Bug type, it hates water baths. That's why its Breeder made this part of the evaluation," Tsubaki explained from the side, seemingly directing the information at Sato and his friends.
"Yay, yay, yay! Joltik acknowledged me! Dad, I can catch Joltik now~" Lele beamed with joy as the Joltik climbed onto her shoulder, immediately turning to her father with the good news.
"My Lele is the best. That means Joltik is your partner now. Be sure to take good care of it."
"Mm-hmm!"
"Tsubaki, I'll handle Joltik's breeding fee now. It was 5,000 Pokédollars, right?"
"That's right, just 5,000 Pokédollars." Tsubaki made sure to emphasize the price, then shot a deliberate glance toward Phoebe.
Honestly, considering a Poké Ball cost just 200 Pokédollars, 5,000 for a Joltik was quite cheap.
Still, here in the consignment house, it was called a breeding fee.
After the man and Lele left, more customers came in right away.
Tsubaki didn't have time to host Sato and the others, so she focused on managing the appointments she had already made.
Having seen enough by now, Sato and the rest had basically figured it out. Price-wise, the Pokémon in the consignment house were generally affordable, though there weren't many rare ones.
As for the so-called "tests", most were based on the Pokémon's care requirements. They posed some challenge for newcomers, but nothing too complex.
In Sato's view, the consignment house was more like a large-scale Starter Pokémon selection venue geared toward "ordinary" people.
At the very least, it gave the general public a real chance to interact with and try raising Pokémon.
With how fast the Unova League had developed in recent years, perhaps it wasn't just due to technology; clearly, they also valued nurturing the next generation.
"So, what do you think of my Pokémon Consignment House?" Tsubaki came over proudly after finishing up with the wave of customers.
She was kind of cute.
"Thank you for the lesson. Do all cities in Unova have consignment houses like this?" Ryoko's background allowed her to see the real strategic intent of the Unova League behind the operation.
"More than half are covered now. But of course, this is the main branch," Tsubaki replied smugly.
"Can we take the tests too?" Sato suddenly asked, surprising the others.
"You could, sure… but do you really need to?" As someone who managed the main branch of the League's consignment system, and considering her earlier "pressure", it was obvious Tsubaki wasn't ordinary.
She clearly already knew who Sato and the others were. That explained her earlier actions and this question now.
"When you meet a Pokémon you really like, it's hard not to feel something," Sato said frankly, holding nothing back.
"You could, but to be honest, most of the Pokémon here have pretty average potential. Are you sure you need that?"
Tsubaki had phrased it gently, but all five of them picked up on the implication: average potential.
Sato, of course, had long been aware of that. Any Pokémon whose potential could be detected by his Dark Energy had given him Elite-level feedback, without exception.
However, ever since acquiring the Potential Enhancement Serum, and with his Dark Energy now capable of slowly improving the potential of Dark-type Pokémon, Sato no longer cared much about starting potential.
His time in the Unova Region was limited, and now that he had been pushed into the public eye, who knew if he'd get another chance to travel freely.
Now that he had found a Pokémon that truly caught his eye, if not now, then when?
"Potential doesn't matter." Sato shook his head and, under Tsubaki's slightly skeptical gaze, walked toward one particular Pokémon.