Alex and the girls waited a week for the auction to finally begin. During that time, they toured all over the Grand Market while staying in the most luxurious accommodations available.
They visited the Kennels, which housed an impressive assortment of rare Pokémon. They stopped by the Armory, where Alex even spotted copies of the guns he'd returned to Devon Corp after taking down Blackwake. And they even checked the brothels, purely to confirm no one was being mind-controlled.
Fortunately for the owners, none of the prostitutes were under the influence. They were simply people who enjoyed getting paid for sex. As far as Alex and the girls were concerned, it was a perfectly reasonable occupation.
Unfortunately, they also made their way to the slave market, where most of the slaves were offenders who had violated Underworld laws and were too weak to defend themselves against the expected retaliation. Most being the key word. There were some who didn't have proper paperwork, almost certainly kidnapped individuals who lacked the connections to protect themselves.
Mika, understandably, wanted to save them on the spot, but Alex held her hand tightly as a reminder of his promise. He couldn't risk exposing Sable's bodyguards this early. He needed to wait until he racked up a few bounties before pressing institutions that clearly had powerful backing. The kind the League would pay an arm and a leg to capture.
Sable, dressed in her usual armored pants and vest, led the way to the auction venue in the middle of the city, followed by Alex, Lyra, and Mika, all in their armored attire complete with helmets.
"My apologies, but we will require that you remove any head coverings," a staff member began to say before Sable presented her VIP cards. "Ah, my apologies. Please follow this young lady, and she will take you straight to your accommodations."
A young woman wearing a revealing staff uniform, with a top that exposed most of her chest and a very short skirt, happily led the way for Sable and her bodyguards. They headed up the stairs and eventually entered one of the private rooms, which featured luxurious accommodations including couches and a panel for bidding.
"This is private room number 11. If you need anything at all, simply press the help button on the panel, and we will be happy to assist you. The auction will start momentarily," she said before leaving the room and closing the door.
"Rotom, scan the room," Alex commanded.
Rotom shot out of his phone, zipped around the room, and eventually entered the touchscreen panel before returning to the phone in Alex's breast pocket.
"The room is clean," it replied in a robotic voice.
The girls immediately jumped on the couch and got comfortable while Alex stood by the tinted window and observed the auction hall, which spanned three levels. The ground floor was filled with regular customers, tightly packed in rows of seats facing the stage. The second floor featured a balcony reserved for wealthier clients, offering a better view and more comfortable seating. Along the perimeter of the hall, private rooms were set behind windows, hidden by tinted glass, giving their occupants an exclusive view of the proceedings while keeping them completely separate from the crowds below.
"I don't see the point of any of this," Sable complained. "Why do we have to go to the auction house? Can't we just randomly buy stuff everywhere and spend all the Spheres in one day?"
"You're assuming all the different organizations share their clients' information," Lyra replied. "They aren't so generous to each other, despite the solidarity they present to the public. Honestly, they'd sooner slit each other's throats if it benefits them."
"Yeah," Mika agreed. "We've taken down plenty of criminal bases, but none of their neighbors ever want to help. They're just happy they aren't the targets."
"This auction has members of all the organizations in the area gathered in one place. As soon as we start dropping Spheres by the thousands, they'll want to investigate, and if the price is right, Umbraline or the Grand Market would be more than happy to provide your information," Lyra explained. "Given your history as a miner, they'll connect the dots and peg you as a human Gholdengo."
"Then, when they decide to attack, they'll consider our perceived strength and come after us once the auction is over," Mika added. "Alex is betting they'll send Champions who probably have hefty bounties on their heads."
"Wait a minute! What about my reputation? I'll never be able to go out in public like this!" Sable exclaimed.
"Once we take down enough Champions, they'll naturally know you're off-limits, and they'll stop sending kidnappers after you," Lyra reassured her.
Suddenly, the curtains on stage opened, revealing a woman in a skimpy Lopunny-style one-piece costume.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this year's auction, hosted by none other than Marlo Fenwick, our esteemed Grand Market Administrator," the auctioneer announced with polished charisma. "We have an extraordinary selection of items today, so I hope you've brought plenty of Spheres. Let's begin with our first item of the auction."
From all corners of the stage, carts were rolled forward, displaying a striking array of items, including books, firearms, gadgets, armor, Poké Balls, and even preserved Pokémon remains that drew hushed murmurs from the crowd.
"For our first item, we present a rare recipe for a Pokéblock capable of permanently increasing the size of your Pokémon by 30%, starting at 1000 Spheres," the auctioneer announced, her voice crisp and enticing. "Be advised, however, that this increase in size does not enhance their strength and may, in fact, reduce their speed. The effects are also dependent on the specific Pokémon being fed."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd as they let out gasps at the rarity and novelty of the item.
Alex, however, wasn't interested. In truth, he hadn't come with much of a plan beyond spending Spheres like crazy. He just hoped he would eventually find something worth buying.
"Sold for an impressive 3200 Spheres. What an incredible start to our auction, ladies and gentlemen. Now, for our next item, this remarkable firearm, capable of firing 300 rounds per minute, starting at 10 Spheres."
The auction continued with a mix of rare and intriguing items, including schematics for Dominion Restraints used to control Pokémon, Zapdos feathers capable of powering an entire city or crafting potent Pokéblocks, Gholdengo coins, rare Dragon type Pokémon like Drampa and Turtonator, restricted Pokémon such as Malamar and Beheeyem, and even horny Pokémon, which proved surprisingly popular.
None of the items or Pokémon interested Alex or the girls, which was starting to become a problem until the next category of items rolled out. Or, more accurately, walked out.
"Up next, ladies and gentlemen, is our best selection of slaves. Don't worry, we have vetted them properly and confirmed that they do not have any significant background," the auctioneer announced.
Mika stood from her seat and turned to Alex with determination. She would purchase every single one of these people.
Before she could even say it, Alex beat her to the punch. "Go ahead. Use up all of our Spheres if you have to."
Mika ran up to Alex, hugged him tightly, and then rose to kiss him deeply.
"Thank you, Alex. Alright! We're in business," she shouted before sitting back on the couch and focusing on the bidding panel.
Alex shook his head and continued watching the crowd as they eyed the slaves on display. Many seemed genuinely interested, a reminder of just how devoid of morals the Underworld truly was. Then again, it might be this specific Grand Market, but Alex highly doubted it. Kidnapping was, after all, disturbingly common in Kanto.
As for the slaves themselves, they were naked and had blank eyes, clearly under mind control, displayed on stage much like the Pokémon that had been shown earlier.
For the next 50 slaves, Mika outbid every bidder by roughly 10% each time. It quickly became clear to the entire hall that every slave on stage would ultimately be claimed by private room number 11.
Some tried to raise the price to an absurd degree, but they sweated bullets whenever Mika's counter bid took longer than was comfortable to arrive. It served as a small warning to anyone intending to overprice her.
In the end, they spent only around 40,000 Spheres for all 50 slaves. They were mostly beautiful women or well-groomed young adults. As it turned out, men and children were not in high demand, at least not for this auction.
"For our next item, I present to you this Plate," the auctioneer announced while holding up a white tablet covered in diamond markings. "By itself, it can raise the power of Normal type moves by 20%. For those who may not know, Plates are currently worth no less than 100 million credits topside, a price that Sinnoh's current Champion, Cynthia, is more than willing to pay, assuming you have the right credentials, of course."
Alex's eyes widened, suddenly very interested. Wasn't that the target he needed to hit for Sinnoh in bounties? Sure, he would only get 16 million credits from it, since half belonged to Sable while the rest was split between himself, Lyra, and Mika, but it was still an excellent use of their Spheres. Additionally, since it was a deal with Cynthia herself, there might even be 10,000 contribution points included.
"The starting price will be 10,000 Spheres."
Bids immediately started flying, raising the price to 50,000 in no time. Spheres might not have a direct monetary equivalent to Pokédollars, since a price could not be placed on a necessity for life in the Grand Underground, but credits were a completely different story.
For most trainers, this Plate was a potential ticket to Champion rank, and 100 million credits along with a Champion's favor could go a very long way.
"Buy it," Alex said simply. "Use up the rest of our Spheres if you have to."
"50,000 going once, going twice… hold on. We have received a bid of 55,000 from private room number 11. Are there any more bidders?"
"55,000 going once, going twice…"
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