Little Orange Sun Beach.
Gerwin, sweating from the beach games, walked to the nearby parasol and lay down on a white lattice deck chair.
He took out a small cell phone from his chest.
Dialed the number.
Quickly.
The call went through.
"Hello, Gerwin." A low, soft voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Sister Binina, I'm on the Orange Islands, sunbathing on Little Orange Beach." Gerwin boasted with a smile.
"Really? Well, you better have fun, because your vacations might be few and far between in the future..."
Binina on the other end didn't sound angry, but a slight stiffness appeared on Gerwin's expression.
In his mind, he could imagine his captain smiling with squinted eyes, speaking threatening words in the nicest way.
"Cough, cough, just joking. There's one more match, and I'll get that sea chart." Gerwin laughed awkwardly.
"Well, it's no big deal if you don't get it. It's just some optional treasure, something to add fun to boring life and kill time. Just be careful not to be targeted by those pesky bounty hunters."
"I got it." Gerwin obediently replied to the captain's concerned advice.
After a slight pause, he added, "By the way, Captain, we encountered an attack from a group of Sharpedo midway."
"Oh?"
"Not sure who did it."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"It shouldn't be that 'Caesar' Bartholomew guy, he went to the waters near the New Continent secretly a while back. But 'Bloody Henry' might be possible. He's been active lately, seems to be getting a chummy with that Black Tide fellow."
Binina shared some information she knew.
"So, it could very well be Henry or even Black Tide's guys?" Gerwin asked.
"Can't rule out that possibility," Binina said, then added, "They shouldn't have the guts to mess with the Saint Anus, given there are quite some 'big shots' on board. But just in case, I'll keep an eye on their moves for you."
Binina did care about her crew members.
"That makes me relieved."
Gerwin's eyes shifted, suddenly showing a mischievous smile, and said, "By the way, Sister Binina, I found a really impressive person on the Saint Anus. Not sure about his strength level yet, but definitely stronger than me. What's more important is his strong tactical abilities. Would you... consider it?"
"Beep beep beep—"
The line went silent.
Gerwin was momentarily stunned.
Then he realized, pouted, "Really, Captain, when will you finally grow up? Your delay in getting married is putting so much pressure on us crew members..."
He stuffed the phone back with some difficulty, muttering quietly, "Are you planning to drag us all to remain single with you until old age?"
With the captain unmarried, how could these crew members marry first?
Wouldn't that be a blatant betrayal?
...
...
Big City.
Natsuhiko, just coming out of the black market, sold all the Pokémon he had accumulated to the Pokémon store in the black market.
The Rhydon and five Rhyhorns caught in Goldenrod City weren't sold. This time, he got four Pokémon from Pates and Lai Le.
The price for the Rhydon and Rhyhorns didn't exceed Natsuhiko's expectations, fetching a total of six hundred thousand League Coins.
But the price for the four Pokémon from Lai Le and Pates was rather low.
Two Senior Level, two Excellence Level Pokémon, only selling for four hundred thousand.
According to Natsuhiko's understanding, tamed Pokémon should fetch a higher price.
But pondering it carefully, Natsuhiko understood.
The first reason for the low price was because these Pokémon were heavily injured, and treating them would incur costs.
Secondly, black market merchants are shrewd, noticing Natsuhiko's Pokémon didn't come through "proper" channels, possibly even being stolen from some faction. Such Pokémon often need to be sold quickly, allowing merchants to deliberately depress the price.
These are tricks that the black market merchants running Pokémon stores know well.
Lastly, when compared to wild Pokémon, tamed ones are often harder to "train" and demand more time, manpower, and resources.
Of course, this indirectly curtails the idea of making money by plundering others' Pokémon that some ruthless individuals might have.
Because the risk doesn't quite match the reward.
This is also one reason why Pokémon Hunters are more enthusiastic about wild Pokémon rather than organizing to snatch others' Pokémon.
However, to Natsuhiko, it didn't really matter, as this was an unexpected windfall.
After leaving the black market, his anonymous bank card had over a million more League Coins on it.
Adding his previous two hundred thousand savings and the one-and-a-half million Flint helped him earn by selling an Intermediate Level Dark Stone,
his funds now totaled two million seven hundred thousand.
If he could successfully claim Pates' bounty, along with the thirty thousand prize for winning the competition on the Saint Anus, Natsuhiko's money might break four million!
Undoubtedly the largest sum he has ever owned.
However.
The money seemed substantial but spent quickly, purchasing a few Technique Secret Manuals for Pokémon, and buying some training equipment or Pokémon items, would exhaust it.
"Should I consider improving the quality of Energy Blocks for the Pokémon?"
Natsuhiko pondered as he left the black market.
Currently, Beedrill and the others were consuming Advanced Energy Blocks, considered top-quality food for Pokémon, but one level up from Advanced Energy Blocks are the Special Level Energy Blocks.
Because of their exorbitant price, Natsuhiko hadn't even dared to think about them before.
Now that the finances are a bit more abundant, maybe he can consider it.
But even so, with four million League Coins, if spent on Special Level Energy Blocks... it would.
Only support three Pokémon for a few months at most.
He rubbed his temples.
"Raising Pokémon is truly expensive. The more money I have, the less it feels enough to spend?"
Leaving the black market's entrance, he hailed a cab.
"First, I should secure the bounty on Pates..."
Discreetly touching the Pokeball at his waist.
As he got out of the car and opened the door, Natsuhiko put the mask on his face, completely changing his appearance.
Takes off his black trench coat and stuffs it into his backpack.
Looks up at the large words on the gate before him.
Navy Bounty Exchange of Orange Islands.
"This should be the place."
Natsuhiko stepped in.
'Actually, if things go smoothly, being a bounty hunter could be quite lucrative, except it's too dangerous.'
Weak pirates have no bounty, and confronting powerful pirates is too risky.
This time, running into Pates wasn't so tough. If it were someone stronger, Natsuhiko might have instantly had Abra use Instant Movement to flee.
He arrived at the counter.
'Now I'm a bounty hunter. What should a bounty hunter do?' Natsuhiko wondered.
Knock knock—
With a cold face, he lightly tapped his fingers on the counter.
"Who's there?" A gruff voice sounded from behind the door, as a rugged man in a blue-and-white striped shirt walked out grumpily.
Bam.
Natsuhiko directly tossed a small gray bag onto the desk.
The responsible navy officer glanced at the expressionless Natsuhiko, opened the bag, and checked inside.
He raised his head in surprise, "The 'Giant Clamp' Pates from the 'Star of Blood'?"