Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 331: Honedge

The first auction item was a Cyan-grade Pokémon egg. Although Julian didn't win the bid, it successfully sparked the interest of the auction attendees.

Even Julian himself felt a bit intrigued. As the second auction item was brought onto the stage, he put his phone back into his pocket.

"The second auction item is the five-year ownership rights to five intermediate-tier and twelve beginner-tier Secret Realms in Rockwell City. Here are the details for each realm."

After the auctioneer finished speaking, attendants distributed the documents to every guest.

"Esteemed guests, please review the materials. The bidding will begin in ten minutes." The auctioneer announced.@@novelbin@@

A total of seventeen Secret Realms were up for auction.

The documents only provided a general overview—if they contained detailed information, ten minutes wouldn't be enough to read through them.

In Drakoria, private ownership of beginner- and intermediate-tier Secret Realms was permitted. Only Advanced-tier Secret Realms and above were controlled by the government.

Owning a beginner- or intermediate-tier Secret Realm was one of the most reliable ways for a family to establish wealth and influence—provided that the Secret Realm hadn't already been exploited for many years.

After ten minutes, the bidding began.

In the end, a family from Rockwell City secured the five-year ownership rights to all seventeen Secret Realms for 50 billion.

(T/N: Not in "Dollars" for anyone who still didn't know)

As more auction items were presented, the atmosphere of the auction heated up.

Some guests argued fiercely over items, their faces flushed with excitement. Others deliberately placed high bids to frustrate their rivals—only to overextend themselves and suffer losses in the process.

Soon, it was time for the twelfth auction item.

"This is the personal training manual of a Grass-type Elite ranked 86th on the Elite Leaderboard. The notes detail the training process for Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur."

"These notes were consigned directly by the Elite himself, so you don't have to worry about their authenticity."

The moment those words were spoken, the audience's eyes lit up with excitement—especially those who specialized in Grass-type Pokémon.

Even if two trainers had the same Pokémon with the same potential, why did one grow stronger faster than the other?

The key difference was in their training methods. A good training method could significantly accelerate a Pokémon's growth.

Most prestigious families had unique training methods specialized for certain Pokémon or Pokémon types—These exclusive methods were often the foundation of their family's success.

Thus, such training methods were never shared—Unless:

- The owner was in desperate need of money, or

- They had discovered an even better method.

Although this Elite was only ranked 86th, it was important to remember that the Elite Leaderboard only had 100 spots in total.

And this ranking system was determined by the Elite Challenge held every four years, making it a highly credible measure of a trainer's strength.

The leaderboard was updated once every four years.

Although the auction only offered training notes for the Bulbasaur line, they were still insights from a Grass-type Elite Trainer—a rare and valuable resource.

This kind of knowledge was hard to come by.

Even other Grass-type Elite Trainers would be tempted to bid—as cross-referencing different training methods could lead to new insights and improvements.

In the end, the training notes were sold for a price of 12 billion.

One had to admit—trainers really were rich. They didn't even know how useful the notes actually were, yet someone was willing to pay over 10 billion for them.

On the other hand, this also meant that trainers burned through money fast.

Take this Elite, for example—If he had enough funds, he wouldn't have sold his own training notes in the first place.

For many trainers, the speed at which they earned money was directly tied to how fast they spent it—and sometimes, they spent even faster than they earned.

The auction continued:

- The 20th auction item.

- Then the 23rd.

- Then the 27th.

When the 27th auction item was brought out, Julian's interest was finally piqued.

The auctioneer announced:

"The 27th auction item is a Green potential Honedge. This is a Pokémon historically controlled by the royal family of Gallia. We were only able to obtain this one through 'special channels.'"

"Although this Honedge is only Green-grade, its rarity is still extremely high. And as of now, no Honedge has ever been officially recorded in Drakoria."

"Owning this Pokémon would make you the very first Drakorian trainer to possess a Honedge!"

The auctioneer's words were all facts—there was no exaggeration.

Honedge was indeed exclusive to the royal family, where it served as their symbol. Even within Gallia, only royal family members were allowed to own one.

For an ordinary trainer to obtain a Honedge? Impossible—unless they were personally acknowledged by the royal family.

And for foreign trainers? That was nothing more than a dream.

Even foreign governments had tried to negotiate with the Gallian royal family. No matter how high a price they offered, Gallia refused to give up even a single Honedge.

Drakoria had also attempted to buy one officially, but their request was flatly rejected. Because of this, even the Walker family—the number one Steel-type family in Drakoria—did not own a single Honedge.

Yet now, a Honedge had appeared at this auction. There was no doubt—this Pokémon had been acquired through illegal means.

It just so happened that a royal family member had vanished during a Secret Realm expedition not long ago. Their entire team had been wiped out, and the incident made headlines for a while.

Now, seeing this Honedge on auction… It was highly likely that it had once belonged to that missing royal.

After all, this Honedge was already Level 33. It could have been caught in a Secret Realm,

but between "stealing one from a Secret Realm" and "killing a royal and taking it", the latter seemed far more likely.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Because every Gallian royal owned a Honedge, they had become prime targets for certain unscrupulous individuals.

"Alright, let's get straight to it—starting bid: 10 billion."

The auctioneer's voice echoed through the hall. But—

Silence.

Not a single bid was placed.

Even though Honedge was incredibly rare, this one was still just a Green-grade Pokémon at its core.

Spending 10 billion on a Green-grade Pokémon? Ridiculous.

Even a Green-grade pseudo-legendary Dragon-type would sell for around the same price—and that was far more valuable.

But the real problem wasn't just its grade. Once someone revealed ownership of this Pokémon, they would immediately become a target for the Gallian royal family's wrath. Unless you were strong enough, owning this Honedge was a death sentence.

If it had been a breeding pair—a male and female—there might have been a profitable opportunity to breed more and make back the cost.

But with just one, the risks outweighed the benefits.

Just as the auctioneer began to worry that the item would be withdrawn due to lack of bids—Julian's voice rang out from Box #8.

"10 billion"

The auctioneer sighed in relief—but nobody else followed up. In the end, Julian won the Honedge for the price of 10 billion.

Among all the attendees, Julian was the only one who could afford to take the risk. His family background meant the Gallian royal family wouldn't dare make a move against him.

Even if they tried to strike from the shadows, they risked getting killed in return.

Worse still—if they angered John Walker, he might just decide to take a stroll through their capital—or pay an unexpected visit to one of their major cities.

Once the payment was processed, the Poké Ball containing Honedge was delivered to Julian. And—This Poké Ball was the kind specially used by the Gallian royal family.

They hadn't even bothered to switch Poké Balls before selling it, confirming Julian's suspicion.

*****

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