"Where is this, Brock?" After a long journey, Alex Carter couldn't help but ask Brock.
"This place? It's a small dock, a port where only communication ships to the mainland come and go. You'd think this spot would be as popular for sightseeing and tourism as Verdant Beach, but for some reason, it doesn't attract as many tourists," Brock said, puzzled.
"Oh, who cares about all that? Maybe people just like that fresh, rustic feeling. This is a city, after all," Misty said, stretching. "Let's hurry up; we still need to catch the boat!"
"Um… isn't that the ship we're supposed to take?" Alex pointed to a cruise ship that had just set sail in the distance, speaking to Ash and the others.
"No way?! Oh no, oh no, we missed it! The next one isn't until tomorrow; what do we do?" Misty said dejectedly.
Alex and the others sat by the dock, feeling troubled, when suddenly a Horsea appeared in the water before them.
"Wow, it's a Horsea! It's so cute!" Misty, a Water-type Pokémon Trainer, adored Water-types.
Ash quickly took out his Pokédex. "Horsea, the Dragon Pokémon, a Water-type. It lays thousands of eggs every spring, and the male Horsea raises them. It's a very rare Pokémon."
"System, why didn't you tell me the Pokémon's type? You didn't detect it yesterday either. System, System, are you there?" Alex called out to the System in his mind.
But there was no response.
"Damn it, what a broken system. Is it malfunctioning? This is so boring," Alex muttered to himself.
"This Horsea seems injured, look at its eyes," the observant Brock said.
"But there's no Pokémon Center nearby! No, treating its injuries should be the priority." Saying this, he took out a Poké Ball, preparing to catch the Horsea and treat it.
At this moment, Horsea spewed ink from its mouth, drawing blurry shapes of Tentacool and Tentacruel on the sea surface.
Ash and the others didn't understand the message. After Misty caught Horsea, she rushed into the city to find a shop selling Potions.
Alex, however, laughed. Ash and the others didn't know what was happening, but he did. Horsea was warning them, trying to tell them that the Tentacool army was preparing to invade human settlements for revenge.
Once in the city, Alex and the others fanned out to search for shops.
At this moment, a voice suddenly appeared in the mind of an older man behind Alex: "Sell the mutated Magikarp in your hand to the young man in front of you."
The man didn't know why this voice suddenly appeared in his mind, but he had no intention of resisting. Instead, he thought, "I should follow the instructions of this voice."
"Hey, young man, wait a moment, wait a second!" the man shouted at Alex.
A panting shout suddenly came from behind Alex. He turned slightly to look back and saw a bearded man in a hat and trench coat, with a large backpack, running towards him. He looked like he had something urgent.
"Are you calling me, sir?"
Alex pointed to himself with some confusion, then pointed to the man and said, "Do we know each other, sir? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"Whether we know each other or not, we soon will. Let me introduce myself. I am the legendary person loved by everyone, whose presence makes flowers bloom, and whom all things welcome..."
"Goodbye." Hearing this, Alex's face darkened, and he prepared to leave, interrupting the man's words.
"I've never seen such a thick-skinned person. I, your humble servant, am handsome and talented, and I've never praised myself like that, 'loved by everyone, makes flowers bloom.' I think it's more like 'causes flat tires wherever cars are seen,'" Alex muttered inwardly. "Can't he be a bit more humble like me? Really."
"Hey, young man, young man, don't go! I haven't finished talking yet, young man."
Seeing Alex turn to leave, the man panicked and quickly stepped forward to grab Alex's backpack.
"What are you doing, sir? I'm busy. I don't have time to listen to you brag," Alex said, looking exasperated.
Alex was a little annoyed at this moment. What was wrong with this man? Being narcissistic was one thing, but he was also so persistent. And he was persistent with a man like me; is that really okay? You're not a beautiful woman. If you were, I might consider it.
"Alright, young man, I see you have extraordinary bones—no, no, I can tell from your back that your future achievements will be impressive. So, as someone who might one day dominate the Kanto Region, how can you not have a suitable Pokémon? Am I right?" the man said with a fawning smile, while opening his backpack.
His backpack was filled with water, and swimming inside was a Magikarp, a Shiny Magikarp with a mutated color.
"Come, come, young man, take a look! How about my Shiny Magikarp? Doesn't it suit you perfectly?"
"You're kidding, right? You're not saying you want me to conquer all of the Kanto Region with this Magikarp, are you?" Alex rolled his eyes.
Alex, of course, knew that Shiny Pokémon were extremely rare. But that also depended on the species.
For example, a Magikarp like this, its Shiny form wasn't very useful to him. In the entire Pokémon world, wherever there's a river, wherever there's water, you'll find it. And the sheer number of Magikarp is unimaginably vast. In such circumstances, the appearance of a mutated Magikarp isn't actually rare.
Moreover, the most difficult part is that Magikarp's evolution is extremely challenging. Some people even raise a Magikarp their entire lives without ever evolving it. And Magikarp's evolution requires absorbing some of its anger to evolve.
However, with the System's help, I, Alex, should be able to buy some items that promote evolution.
And Gyarados, Magikarp's evolved form, is a very powerful Pokémon. It can master many different types of skills and is extremely temperamental.
It seems in the anime of the previous life, James's Magikarp was mentioned. He kicked the Magikarp away, constantly taunting it, saying he never wanted it again. As a result, that Magikarp actually evolved directly, and even called its friends. Together, they used Dragon Rage, sending James and Ash flying.
It's worth considering.
"Hey, young man, I see you're hesitating, so you must think my Magikarp isn't bad, right? Don't hesitate any longer! And don't disbelieve my Magikarp, it's really good. I've fished for Magikarp for so many years, and this one has the most perfect body proportions. Plus, it's a mutated Shiny Magikarp, very hard to come by. If it weren't for our destiny, I wouldn't even sell it to you."
"Don't disbelieve me. I once caught a very good Magikarp and sold it to someone named James. It's a pity, that guy didn't know its value at all, and I lost all my money," the man complained, looking helpless.
After hearing what he said, Alex looked at the man with a strange expression. So this person was the legendary Magikarp Salesman! The man who sold Magikarp to James in the anime.
For a moment, Alex was conflicted. Although Gyarados, the evolved form of Magikarp, was very powerful and evil enough, which Alex liked very much, the evolution aspect was very difficult.
The device to help Magikarp evolve into Gyarados would definitely not be cheap at the System's store, given how black-hearted the System was. And he didn't have much credit left. The key was that the System was now malfunctioning, and he didn't know where it was.
"Oh, young man, you don't have to worry! Magikarp is very easy to raise. You just need to give it some food regularly. Maybe if you just keep it, it will evolve on its own, and then wouldn't you make a huge profit?" the man kept trying to persuade him.
"Hm, alright, alright. So, how much is this Magikarp?" Alex decided to get it first and then consider the evolution.
"Not much, just 150,000." The man grinned slyly.
"150,000?! Sir, why don't you just rob a bank?" Alex almost spat blood in anger. "You call this full of sincerity? It's practically robbery! Magikarp outside are dirt cheap, and you're selling it for so much?"
After Alex finished speaking, he turned and walked away.
"Young man, wait, wait! We're doing business, right? If I don't set the price high, what if you try to haggle? Right? How can you just walk away like that? At least try to bargain!" The man stomped his foot in a hurry.
"Will you sell it for 10,000?" Alex said with disdain.
"Damn it, you're the black-hearted one! You're talking about me? Who bargains like that?"
"No, no, that's too low. I'd lose my shirt at that price. 100,000 is the absolute minimum, no less."
"Still 100,000? That's outrageously expensive. 10,000, take it or leave it? If you don't sell, I'm really leaving, I'm telling you." Alex said impatiently.
At the same time, Alex quietly released Haunter and gave Haunter an instruction.
"Haunter, use Hypnosis on him."
At this moment, the man had already wanted to give up. After all, he had been doing business for so long and had never lost so much money. But just as the man was about to say he wouldn't sell it, a cold voice rang out again.
"You must sell the Magikarp to this person. You must sell the Magikarp to this person." After that, the man seemed possessed and became resolute again.
"Alright, you little rascal, fine, fine, 10,000 it is, really. I'll just sell it to you at a loss."
"Hehe, glad you're willing to sell." A mischievous smile appeared on Alex's lips.
"Haunter, tell him I've already paid him and to give me the item, then leave~"
After he finished speaking, Haunter was seen waving its claws, continuing to hypnotize the Magikarp Salesman.
"Alright, I've already paid you, so this Magikarp is mine. Oh, and also, you can't do such black-hearted business anymore," Alex said triumphantly to the Magikarp Salesman.
"Yes, I understand," the man replied blankly.
Alex, with the Shiny Magikarp in hand, contentedly went to find Ash and the others to meet up.
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