"Uh..."
"It seems that the Beldum in the Pokédex image is... pure silver!"
"Holy crap! That's terrifying!"
Everyone who understood what Hiroshi meant was shocked and horrified.
The light on the screen was shining!
This Beldum was exactly the same as the one in the story about Champion Steven Stone!
As the winner of this lottery, Ningguang suddenly understood why Hiroshi had held her wrist with such strange intensity earlier.
Now, she couldn't help but wring her hands together, sweat dripping from her palms for the first time in years.
Hiroshi looked up and down at Ningguang with eyes that looked at her like she was a monster.
What kind of luck is this?
A Child of Destiny?!
This is reality, not a game.
In a game, you can hatch two or three thousand Pokémon eggs using the "Masuda Method" to get one Shiny.
In reality, just pulling out a Shiny in a single draw is insane enough, but a Shiny Pseudo-Legendary?!
Hiroshi suddenly felt like he was being pulled by the threads of fate.
"Shiny colors are not just rare; they are extremely rare."
"The 'Shiny' variants of ordinary Pokémon are one in thousands, let alone those with Pseudo-Legendary qualifications?"
"I can't tell you the specific random probability because the number is so small. You can just consider it a pie falling from the sky—a miracle."
Ningguang took a deep breath when she heard the words, unable to suppress her excitement.
"Boss, how much is it? I want it!"
Hiroshi glanced at the System quotation, and his eyelids twitched.
"One Billion Mora..."
A normal Pseudo-Legendary, such as a baby Gible, is 50 million Mora.
The Shiny variant directly increased the value by a multiplier of twenty!
"One billion?" Zekrom's voice rumbled from the ceiling, dripping with amusement. "Humans and their shiny coins. But for a creature of silver steel and golden will... perhaps it is a fair trade."
Neither Hiroshi nor Ningguang, who was aware of the true value, thought the price was outrageous.
"Using valuable numbers to buy a priceless Shiny Pseudo-Legendary... I earned it with my blood!"
Ningguang continued to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart. With her decisive personality, she waved to Baiwen, one of her secretaries.
"Prepare the funds. Transfer from the Golden House reserves if necessary."
Baiwen nodded, her hands shaking slightly as she prepared the super-large deposit certificate.
But Hu Tao, Xiangling, and Hongyi were already dizzy from the offer of one billion.
One Billion Mora.
Even if they searched all over Liyue Harbor, there were not many people who could generously pay this huge sum of money for an adoption in one go. Ningguang was one of the few who could do it without blinking.
Hu Tao and Xiangling were both happy for her and depressed for themselves.
If they had found the Shiny Beldum... giving up would be the only option. But it was impossible to give up such a treasure! Hu Tao was lucky; she had the money from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor family trust, but even that would be a stretch. Xiangling herself would have to borrow money from every merchant in Liyue to even make a down payment.
After a while.
Hiroshi returned from the breeding room, floating a heavy object with his own hands (assisted slightly by the Beldum's magnetism).
The Pokémon was a mechanical life form. Its cells were all magnets, and strong magnetism replaced the continuous circulation of blood in its body.
The Beldum floated in the air due to its magnetic repulsion properties. Its body was a sleek, polished silver, and the massive claws were tipped with pure gold.
"Beldum, this Big Sister will be your Trainer from now on."
The Beldum's single red eyeball spun around, showing curiosity and a hint of shyness. It floated and circled around Ningguang twice, humming with a low magnetic frequency.
When Ningguang opened her arms with an elegant smile.
The Beldum flew over slowly to accept the embrace.
But the moment Ningguang hugged her initial Pokémon...
A drop of cold sweat suddenly appeared on her forehead. Her smile froze.
It is... a bit overweight...
It weighed about twenty or thirty kilograms. It was literally a chunk of solid iron.
This is just a newborn state. When it grows up into Metagross, won't it weigh nearly a ton?
Ningguang maintained her grace through sheer force of will, holding the heavy metal dumbbells in her arms like a precious baby.
"These are ten boxes of High-End Energy Cubes, already equipped according to the taste of the Beldum (it likes minerals mixed in), and ten bottles of Moomoo Milk. Captain Hongyi should have told you about them."
"These Poké Balls include a Premier Ball, which is a gift from our store."
"A total of One Billion and Eighteen Thousand Mora. Thank you for your patronage!"
Ningguang had brought three secretaries here, probably intending to let the secretaries also extract Pokémon. But now that she had obtained a Shiny Pseudo-Legendary, she decided to take it back to the Jade Chamber to raise it for a few days and assess the situation before allowing her staff to get distracted.
Before leaving.
Ningguang asked Hiroshi to play the video of Hu Tao and Xiangling's "noob duel" again on the big screen.
"Will the Pokémon League be the destination for all Trainers?"
When she noticed that the Beldum was also watching the video, spinning its eye with interest, Ningguang changed her usually slow-tempered, calculating personality and suddenly became high-spirited.
Ningguang raised her head and asked Hiroshi seriously.
"The world of Pokémon is not just about Trainers," Hiroshi explained, leaning back. "There are also Breeders, Coordinators, and Researchers..."
"Even among Trainers, there are many who don't like to fight and prefer a more peaceful lifestyle."
"However, competition and battle carry the dreams of Pokémon and Trainers. Just like the story I just told you—Hoenn Champion Steven, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia—all Champions were forged in the fires of the Regional League competitions..."
Hiroshi changed the topic back to the business at hand.
"Therefore, I also plan to promote all the systems of the Pokémon world in Liyue Harbor and even the entire Teyvat. This includes the most charming and attractive aspect: The Pokémon League!"
Ningguang was not surprised when she heard this. She herself was attracted by the passionate battle on the video, let alone how ordinary people would react.
She was about to say something.
Then she heard Hiroshi continue to describe his business plan.
"I plan to popularize Pokémon throughout Teyvat. This mass adoption is the basis for popularizing multiple professional systems."
Ningguang: ???
She took a deep breath, her business instincts kicking in sharply.
"Do you have that many Pokémon eggs in your Breeding House?"
"When I walk out of your shop, the news of a 'One Billion Mora Shiny Pokémon' will spread, and the entire Liyue Harbor will go crazy."
"Many people will come here with the intention of buying."
"The dignitaries of Yujing Terrace, the big merchants, the middle and upper classes of the city... the demand will be insatiable."
"Manager Hiroshi, can you supply the ambition you speak of?"