Kay began carefully looking around at all the red, shiny Power Stones on the white shelves. There were so many of them, glowing softly under the store lights.
Each one had a small piece of paper under it, explaining what Pokémon it came from and what stage it had reached before dying. Kay leaned in closer and started reading the descriptions one by one.
As he read, he began sorting the Power Stones in his mind. He only wanted the ones that were compatible with Growlithe.
Many of the Power Stones belonged to Arcanines, but not all of them were right for Growlithe. Some were too powerful, while others came from stages that would be too risky or damaging for a Pokémon as young as Growlithe to handle.
Growlithe evolving into Arcanine before the Inferior Bronze stage was already rare. So, Kay was hoping to find something good here, something that could help his Growlithe grow stronger without causing harm.
First, Kay eliminated all the Power Stones that came from Arcanines above the Superior Steel stage.
Not only were those stones too powerful, but their energy could hurt Growlithe rather than help. Plus, they were way too expensive.
Kay couldn't even think about buying them. Some of them were priced higher than 10,000 TentaDollars, which was way beyond what Kay had.
Next, Kay focused on the Power Stones of Arcanines that were in the Superior Steel stage. He began checking which Potentials were available in that group.
Kay knew it was rare to find a high-potential Power Stone from such an early stage. Usually, Pokémons with high potential didn't die so early.
Pokémons with high potential are usually protected by the leader of the dungeon, which makes it very hard to kill them before they reach high stages.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Kay's eyes stopped on one Power Stone that looked a little different from the others. When he read the description, his eyes widened.
It was from an Arcanine that had a purple potential, something extremely rare to see at this stage. Kay couldn't believe what he was reading, so he quickly asked the system for more details.
'System, check this Power Stone and tell me about its potential,' said Kay to the system.
The system replied in its robotic but familiar voice:
"This is a Power Stone from an Arcanine that died in the Superior Steel stage, just after evolution. Its potential is Light Purple."
Kay nodded slowly, taking in the information. Kay had read before that Power Stones coming from Pokémons that had just evolved were unstable because the Power Stones had just been created inside the Pokémon's body.
Since the Arcanine had just evolved before it was killed, Kay knew that the Power Stone wouldn't be as stable as other Power Stones. But even so, it still held strong power that could benefit Growlithe greatly.
While Kay was thinking, the system added, explaining more:
"Even though it had just evolved when it died, this Power Stone would still give Growlithe a significant boost. It is safe for use, and it is the best for Growlithe on this shelf."
That was enough for Kay. If Rotom confirmed it, then the stone was trustworthy. Kay decided to depend on the system more.
He quickly looked at the price tag and found that it cost 400 TentaDollars. That was still within his budget.
It wasn't cheap, but it was affordable, especially for something this rare and useful that he couldn't find outside.
Kay smiled slightly and made a mental note. 'This Power Stone would be a perfect choice for Growlithe.'
He'd come back for it at the end of his time inside the store. Now, he still had to look for something for Eevee.
Without wasting a second, he turned and began moving toward the next set of shelves to continue his search.
Kay didn't waste a second. After checking the countdown and seeing that only six minutes remained, he knew time was slipping through his fingers like sand.
Every second mattered now. Without moving from his spot, he immediately contacted the system in his head.
'Is there any Psychic-type Power Stone that would be very good for Eevee?'
It might seem strange to ask about Psychic-type Power Stones when Eevee was still a Normal-type Pokémon.
But Kay knew that when a Pokémon was nearing its evolution, it wasn't supposed to use a Power Stone that matched its current type.
Instead, the Power Stone had to match the type of the Pokémon it would evolve into. Kay had spent time studying and preparing.
In most cases, Pokémon kept the same typing after evolution. A Squirtle stayed Water-type all the way to Blastoise.
A Machop evolved all the way into Machamp without changing its Fighting-type. But there were some Pokémons who changed types completely after evolving:
Skorupi was a Poison/Bug Pokémon, but it evolved into Drapion, a fearsome Poison/Dark Pokémon.
Swablu started off as Normal/Flying, but upon evolution into Altaria, it gained the rare Dragon/Flying combination.
And then there was Eevee, one of the most versatile Pokémon ever discovered.
Eevee could evolve into many different forms, each with its own type. So, Eevee's trainers should make the decision about their future evolution early.
This decision would change the type of Power Stones that the trainer should offer to his Eevee.
Luckily, Kay had already discussed the future with his Eevee. After long talks and training sessions, Eevee had expressed its wish to become an Espeon, the Psychic-type Eeveelution.
In this world, Psychic-types were extremely rare and highly respected for their strength and mysterious abilities. Kay supported Eevee's decision fully.
"Yes, there are some good choices. Go to the place of the unknown Power Stones. They're on the shelves 100 meters to the right."
The system answered Kay's question.
Kay was confused when he heard the system's answer. He didn't know that there was a spot for unknown Power Stones, and he also didn't know what he would find there.
Kay didn't hesitate for even a breath. He turned immediately and began sprinting down the aisle toward the right side of the store; he was blindly trusting the system now.
The shelves flew past him as he rushed to the spot the system had mentioned. He didn't follow the alphabetical order method he relied on before. He didn't have time. Besides, he had something more reliable: Rotom, his system.
Rotom was connected to his thoughts and his emotions. It was capable of reading Power Stones, not just from a shelf, but even from inside a living Pokémon's body.
That meant scanning a shelf of labeled Power Stones was an easy task for it. To Rotom, it was like sipping a glass of water.
After a short sprint, Kay arrived at the shelf. Immediately, his eyes caught sight of dozens of softly glowing light-pink stones, all carefully arranged in rows.
A paper label was stuck above the display with the word "Unknown" written clearly in bold letters. He had reached the right place. The system's directions had been perfect once again.
Kay let out a breath, not from exhaustion, but from relief. Finding the stones had taken much less time than expected, and he had avoided the stress of checking names, labels, and shelf numbers. That saved him a lot of time.
But now came the more important task: choosing the right Power Stone for Eevee. And this wasn't something he wanted to rush or guess.
He stared at the rows of glowing stones with different colors and shapes for a few seconds, then simply asked in his mind, 'System, choose the best Power Stone for Eevee among these.'
There was no hesitation in his request. He wanted the stone that would match Eevee's energy, stage, potential, and upcoming evolution into Espeon.
It could see everything Kay couldn't: the inner flow of energy inside each Power Stone, the traces left by the dead Pokémon that had once lived and battled, and how compatible those traces were with Eevee's developing strength.
It could even simulate what kind of breakthroughs Eevee might achieve depending on the Power Stone it used.
Kay knew something else, too. Eevee was now about to break through to the next stage. That meant its body could now handle a stronger Power Stone than before, up to two sub-stages higher than its current level.
According to the rules of Power Stone compatibility, Eevee could now use a Power Stone from the Intermediate Bronze stage.
He waited silently for the system to finish its analysis and select the right one. Now that he had found a decent Power Stone for Growlithe and was about to secure one for Eevee, the most important part of this visit to the special store was almost complete.
See you in the next chapter...
Drop some Power Stones...