Chapter 159: Opportunity Knocks
The battle concluded swiftly, almost anticlimactically. Kiba's Charizard, likely tiring of the drawn-out spectacle, finally closed in, clamping its powerful jaws around the Tauros's neck in a fiery Flare Blitz-enhanced bite. A pained bellow echoed through the arena as the Tauros collapsed, smoke rising from the scorched fur around the bite wound, clearly unable to continue.
The referee promptly raised his flag, then decisively waved it down. "Tauros is unable to battle! Charizard wins! The victory goes to the Blue Trainer, Kiba!"
Another wave of ecstatic cheering erupted from the stands. Fans waved their banners frantically, their screams reaching a fever pitch.
"Kiba! You were amazing!"
"So cool! So strong!"
"That other guy didn't stand a chance! Kiba's unbeatable!"
Down on the field, Kiba reveled in the adoration, flashing practiced smiles and acknowledging the crowd with nods and waves. His Charizard stood beside him, radiating power, the perfect picture of a champion's Pokémon.
Xiu watched the scene unfold with weary detachment. He'd witnessed similar displays of public adoration before, some even more intense. It held little novelty for him. As the initial burst of cheering subsided, replaced by the commentator's effusive praise, Xiu's gaze drifted back to the defeated Tauros, still lying injured on the field.
'Charizard didn't need to inflict that much damage,' he thought critically. Kiba played with it, deliberately prolonging the fight for showmanship, like a matador teasing a bull before the kill. The Tauros was covered in wounds, bleeding sluggishly onto the dirt.
What truly soured Xiu's observation, however, was the reaction of the Tauros's trainer. Instead of immediately tending to his injured Pokémon, the young man scrambled towards Kiba, excitedly trying to get a picture or an autograph, completely ignoring the fallen Tauros.
A flicker of genuine disgust tightened Xiu's expression. His eyes hardened as he watched the trainer fawning over the victor while his Pokémon suffered. He quickly forced his features back into neutrality, turning away from the scene. 'There's nothing I can do about individual cruelty or neglect.' The tournament had barely begun.
He handed his temporary staff pass back to a nearby official, exited the arena building silently, and stood for a moment outside the main entrance of the Pokémon Center, breathing in the relatively fresher air, trying to dispel the unpleasant aftertaste of the battle's conclusion.
As he stood there, a figure detached itself from where they'd been waiting near the entrance, hurrying towards him – Fushun, the farmer, looking anxious and agitated.
"Fushun?" Xiu recognized him immediately. "Why are you still here? The materials for you are stored inside, I can show you where..." He assumed the farmer was back for the fruit he'd set aside.
"No, no, young brother, it's not about that!" Fushun waved his hands dismissively, his voice urgent. "You saved me yesterday! Without your help, I... I wouldn't have dared return to my village! The materials are nothing compared to that!" He glanced around furtively, then lowered his voice. "Brother, I have something important to tell you."
His secretive manner piqued Xiu's curiosity. Despite the man's earlier fear, he now seemed driven by a need to share information. And Xiu, frankly, had time to kill. "Alright," he agreed. "What is it?"
Fushun nodded gratefully, then began explaining. "What you said yesterday... about the prices, the buyers... it got me thinking. I couldn't sleep. So last night, I drove to a few of the nearby towns, talked to some old friends, other drivers like me..."
Having been alerted by Xiu's line of questioning, Fushun had leveraged his network. As a driver who had worked the routes around Viridian for over a decade, he knew many others in the same trade – the lifelines connecting the rural villages to the city market.
His informal investigation had uncovered a disturbing pattern. Roughly two weeks prior, buyers in Viridian City had suddenly, almost simultaneously, begun purchasing massive quantities of staple foods – grains, vegetables, fruits – driving prices up temporarily. Farmers, seeing unusually high prices, had eagerly sold off existing stocks.
Then, about three days before the festival began, the buying frenzy abruptly stopped. Sellers uniformly refused further shipments, even at the previously lower, standard prices. Many drivers, caught with perishable loads, were forced to divert to other cities at considerable loss, or sell locally at rock-bottom prices if they could find any buyers at all.
Meanwhile, despite the halt in incoming supply from the villages, the retail prices within Viridian City hadn't dropped back down. Instead, they continued to climb, becoming even more inflated.
Fushun explained that his village, primarily focused on fruit with specific ripening times coordinated for the festival, had luckily missed the initial buying frenzy. Their scheduled delivery had coincided exactly with the sudden refusal phase, which, combined with the roadblock delay, led directly to his predicament. His isolation and the blocked transport routes had prevented him from realizing this was part of a larger, coordinated action until Xiu's questions sparked his suspicion.
"The timing... it was planned," Fushun concluded grimly. "They stockpiled goods when prices were high, then cut off supply to drive prices even higher in the city, squeezing us farmers out." He looked earnestly at Xiu. "I know you're an assistant of Professor Oak... maybe this information... maybe it can help somehow? This situation is hurting all the villages around here."
Xiu listened intently, absorbing the details. Fushun's findings confirmed his suspicions and painted a clear picture of deliberate market manipulation. Stockpiling, creating artificial scarcity, price gouging... A classic, if crude, economic attack. He also understood Fushun's underlying motive: hoping Xiu, through his connection to Oak, could report this to higher authorities.
After a moment of thought, Xiu replied, his tone measured. "I can attempt to pass some of this information along the appropriate channels, Fushun, but I can't guarantee any specific outcome." He met the farmer's hopeful gaze. "However, I need you to do something for me in return."
"Anything! Just ask!" Fushun agreed immediately, bowing slightly.
"You said your friends are drivers. They deliver to these buyers regularly. They must know the locations of their main storage warehouses within or near Viridian City." Xiu's eyes sharpened. "Get me those locations. As accurately as possible."
He paused, then added another task. "Also, I have a friend who requires reliable drivers for transporting certain goods in the near future. Discreetly ask around among your most trustworthy contacts. Find out who might be available and reliable. When you have the warehouse locations or potential driver contacts, come back here to the Pokémon Center. Leave a message for me at the front desk; they'll notify me."
Fushun absorbed the instructions, nodding seriously. Understanding the implicit quid pro quo, he thanked Xiu profusely again and hurried off, energized by a new sense of purpose.
Xiu watched him go, then turned and re-entered the Pokémon Center. He left a brief message with the front desk nurse, instructing her to inform him if Fushun returned, before heading back up to his room.
'Market disruption... stockpiling... artificial inflation...' An idea sparked in Xiu's mind, connecting Fushun's information to his own existing operations. This instability... it creates opportunities. While the cause was unclear – potentially Team Rocket or just greedy merchants – the effect was a vulnerable supply chain. An opportunity to expand his own distribution network, perhaps even legitimize parts of it by filling the gaps created by this artificial scarcity.
The illicit funds from the book operation needed laundering and reinvestment...
He sat down at the computer terminal, his mind already racing. He began typing, outlining logistics, potential suppliers, distribution points, cost analyses. Slowly, a detailed business proposal began to take shape on the screen, leveraging the potential chaos in Viridian's food market.
He worked for over two hours, refining the plan, calculating risks and rewards, before finally encrypting the detailed document and sending it off to Xiaoyuan.
With the immediate planning done, Xiu leaned back, trying to piece together the bigger picture. The price hikes, the Team Rocket rumors, Oak's casual dismissal, the officials' muted response... 'what is truly happening in Viridian City?'
A sharp knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He stood up, feeling oddly tense, his mind still grappling with the city's underlying currents. He walked to the door, expecting perhaps Professor Oak, finally returned, or maybe Fushun back already with information.
He opened the door. Standing there was not Oak, nor Fushun, but one of the Pokémon Center's regular staff members, looking slightly hesitant.
"Excuse me, sir," the staffer said politely. "There's someone downstairs asking for you."
Xiu frowned slightly. "Is it a middle-aged man?" he asked, assuming it was Fushun.
The staffer shook their head slowly. "No, sir." They paused. "It's a woman."
"A woman?" Xiu felt a prickle of surprise, then immediate suspicion. Who could possibly be asking for him? He didn't know anyone in Viridian City, aside from Oak, Sachiko, and now Fushun. "Alright. Thank you. I'll be right down." He nodded to the staff and closed the door, his mind instantly shifting to high alert.