Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

The fourth floor's breeding zone was mainly composed of shops selling Pokémon eggs and baby Pokémon. Each shop had its own area of expertise.

After arriving on the fourth floor, Reiji noticed it was significantly livelier. Most of the crowd were parents bringing their kids to pick out a starter Pokémon.

Some opted for Pokémon eggs — especially blind box eggs, which were a bit cheaper.

Others chose to buy baby Pokémon directly as their child's first companion, which cost considerably more.

After all, catching a wild Pokémon was free, but these were fenced off and sold for a price — wasn't that basically a rip-off?

Still, most people preferred buying here rather than taming wild Pokémon, mainly because the latter's instincts were harder to control.

There was also the concern of the adjustment period — parents feared a wild Pokémon might hurt their child. To avoid that, many would choose baby Pokémon trained by breeders as their child's first starter.

These Pokémon had already been taught how to interact with human children.

So when kids received one of these, they could quickly bond and complete the standard first capture ritual of a rookie Trainer.

Among all the shops, the most popular types were baby Grass- and Water-type Pokémon.

Water-types were common in the area, while Grass-types countered them — so these two were clearly the first choice for most parents.

One store specialized in Grass-types. Reiji followed the crowd inside.

It was a spacious shop, set up like a forest and meadow — mimicking a natural Grass-type habitat.

First came the Pokémon egg section. Most of the eggs had white shells with green patterns — definitely Grass-types.

The eggs were split into two categories. One group had clear labels indicating which species was inside.

The rest were piled together — unidentified Grass-type eggs sold as "blind boxes."

Although the exact species was unknown, you could still guess roughly what kind of potential the Pokémon might have, so these sold for much cheaper.

Labeled eggs ranged from a few hundred thousand to over a million Pokédollars. Blind boxes went for around 100,000.

Buying a Pokémon egg was basically gambling. You couldn't tell what its potential would be — it all depended on luck.

But the odds were poor. Reiji didn't trust luck.

The real method was looking at the egg's parents — their potential, talents, and inherited moves. That gave you a decent idea of what to expect.

If an egg had been tossed into the blind box pile, its parents were probably nothing special — otherwise, there's no way it'd be sold for only 100,000.

After passing through the egg section, Reiji followed the flow of people to the first artificial habitat.

Here, you could feed the Pokémon and observe them. If you liked one, you could catch it with the shop's Poké Balls and take it home. If not, just return it.

Most of the baby Grass-types here were priced above a million — especially Exeggcute with Psychic potential and Shroomish with potential for Fighting-type moves after evolving.

Without at least a million, you weren't going to get either. The rest were still pricey but somewhat negotiable — under a million if you pushed. After all, these were common Pokémon. In the wild, you could find plenty of them in the forest.

As for why Shroomish fetched a good price, that was due to the underground fighting scene and the various dojos in town — Fighting-types were in high demand, almost rivaling Electric-types.

Reiji caught and examined four baby Grass-types: one Exeggcute, one Shroomish, one Bellsprout, and one Hoppip. After reading their data, he returned all four.

Exeggcute: potential 35

Shroomish: potential 36

Bellsprout: potential 37

Hoppip: potential 36

No special inherited moves, just basic stuff. Price range: 1–3 million.

After comparing their stats with their prices, Reiji quietly noted how much of a scam this place was. These were all extremely common Pokémon — and they were being sold for millions?

Aside from convenience — letting rookies catch them on the spot — he really couldn't see what service the shop was providing.

If it were him, he wouldn't waste that kind of money on this garbage.

The second habitat had slightly better offerings.

Led by a guide, Reiji entered the next artificial environment.

Same Pokémon species — but now with inherited moves and stronger talents.

For example, some Oddish knew Grassy Terrain, Leech Seed, or Synthesis. Similar story for Bellsprout and Hoppip.

Exeggcute and Shroomish still relied on their Psychic and Fighting potential, respectively.

Prices were steeper: 3–4 million depending on the species.

He scanned several baby Grass-types in this area — all had potential over 40.

With good training, some of the two-stage evolvers here could reach Gym Leader level or higher. Becoming an experienced Trainer would be no problem.

Reaching near-Elite Four strength was even possible, depending on investment.

Then came the third habitat. This one only held a few Pokémon — the shop's crown jewels.

No need to check price tags — just listening to the customers talk, Reiji already knew: 7–8 million per Pokémon.

He scanned them too:

All had potential above 50

One Shroomish had 49

Each had 2–3 inherited moves

Parents were around gym leader-level Pokémon.

Clearly, the breeder here knew what they were doing — they'd filtered out the best baby Grass-types to use as bait.

If he wanted to "find a bargain," his best bet was still the second habitat. That's where 50-potential Pokémon might slip through.

The others? No chance — unless you got lucky with an egg or went hunting in the wild.

After a full circuit of the Grass-type shop, Reiji entered the Water-type breeding center next door.

Same general layout — but instead of forest simulation, it looked like an aquarium.

At the entrance, another egg section — again divided into labeled eggs and blind boxes.

Unlike the Grass shop, these eggs came in a wider variety of colors and patterns — and were slightly cheaper.

There were also more Water-types available overall.

That made sense — this was the Orange Archipelago, after all. Water-types were abundant here.

This place had three artificial habitats too, with different featured species.

Some of the Water-type baby Pokémon available:

Psyduck

Poliwag

Slowpoke

Seel

Shellder

Krabby

Horsea

Goldeen

Staryu

Magikarp

Wooper

Lotad

Corphish

Feebas

Azurill

Most popular? Psyduck, Slowpoke, and Staryu — likely because of their Psychic potential.

Next tier: Seel, Azurill, Wooper, Corphish, Krabby, Horsea, Poliwag, Lotad.

Least popular included Shellder, Goldeen, Magikarp, and Feebas.

Nobody wanted them. Magikarp and Feebas were complete mysteries to most people — nobody understood how to evolve them.

Reiji, of course, did. Feebas required high Beauty and confidence — it could evolve into something stunning. He definitely planned to raise one someday.

But here? They were just ornamental fish — not for sale. No one would buy those "useless" three anyway.

What surprised Reiji most was Psyduck's popularity — on par with Slowpoke and Staryu. Unexpected.

Even Poliwag ranked below Wooper and Corphish — probably due to its evolution requiring a stone.

If not for their two-stage evolutions, Poliwag, Horsea, and Lotad might already have been relegated to Magikarp tier.

If he released his own Krabby here, with 59 potential, it'd crush all the so-called "store champions."

That kind of potential was near Elite four tier. Once it evolved, it would definitely hit Elite four-tier — probably worth over 10 million.

Which meant, with four such Pokémon in his care… Reiji was basically a walking multi-million Pokédollar ATM.

But as long as no one knew their potential, he was safe.

He reminded himself again: never reveal too much until they're fully trained — or someone might come after them.

With that caution fresh in mind, Reiji stepped into the Electric-type breeding zone next.

Electric-types were just as popular as Grass and Water-types.

[End of Chapter]

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