Pokémon: Trail of Ultimate Champion

Although the Pokémon League has consistently enforced strict bans and crackdowns on Pokémon trading, the results have been minimal.

Toshi remembered a saying from the world he used to live in: "No trade, no murder."

Applied to this Pokémon world, it means: "No demand, no trade."

In this Pokémon world, everyone's life is closely related to Pokémon. Coupled with the grand contests that the League holds from time to time, many people want to have a powerful Pokémon with strong strength.

To cultivate a Pokémon to that level, quality is key. So when many people earnestly seek a high-quality, high battle power Pokémon and can't find one, it creates a market for trading.

As a result, no matter how much effort the League puts into cracking down on these activities, they cannot be completely eliminated.

However, if one wants to engage in Pokémon trading, it can only be done in the black market. But Toshi had just dealt a heavy blow to the Inkoutou, the largest underground force in Petalburg City; at this crucial moment, it was uncertain if the black market would even be operating normally.

What's more, the Pokémon he planned to sell belonged to the Inkoutou!

Yamamoto, as someone with Elite level strength, was certainly a prominent figure in the Inkoutou. If the Inkoutou discovered that Toshi was selling one of their own Pokémon, he would most likely be facing death.

Toshi thought, "It seems I can only sell these four Pokémon at the black market in another city."

He needed to act quickly, as the four were currently in a severely injured state and could die at any moment. If even one were to die, it would be a huge loss for Toshi.

You might wonder why Toshi didn't treat them first.

Come on, these four all had at least Intermediate strength. If they were released while still conscious, Toshi wouldn't have the strength to subdue them, so he wouldn't take that risk.

"But this Sableye..."

Toshi looked again at the Poké Ball containing Sableye in his hand.

Sableye's strength, like Butterfree's, was also Basic, but Toshi had noticed that its move proficiency was even higher than Butterfree's.

Moreover, since it was only lightly injured, Toshi reasoned that this Sableye would most likely be awake when released, and since it was a Ghost type Pokémon, it would undoubtedly be easy for it to escape.

If it managed to run away, it would be difficult for Toshi to get it back.

"It's better to wait until Butterfree's strength increases a bit before trying to interact with this Sableye."

After careful consideration, Toshi decided to put the Poké Ball away for now. Given that Sableye's injuries weren't severe and that Ghost type Pokémon can go without food for a while without issue, Toshi could afford to delay dealing with Sableye until later.

However, he couldn't wait too long; he figured it would be best not to exceed a week, as the quality of Sableye could decrease if it wasn't recovered by then.

After tallying up all his gains from the previous night and re-storing the items on the ground, he prepared to head out again.

This morning, Satou Kenji had told him he hoped Toshi could come by earlier. While Toshi had promised to keep him company, he was curious about why Satou Kenji specifically mentioned coming early.

However, Toshi had been quite busy in the morning and hadn't had a chance to ask in detail.

But since he had promised, Toshi felt he needed to keep his word.

Having been there once before, Toshi reached Satou Kenji's house in just half an hour.

As soon as he entered, Toshi was greeted by a strong medicinal smell.

Could it be that Grandpa Satou Kenji was brewing medicine?

Toshi shouted, "Grandpa Satou Kenji, I'm here!"

"Toshi, come over here to the kitchen!"

He thought that Satou Kenji might need his help brewing medicine, so he immediately hurried toward the kitchen.

As he got closer to the kitchen, Toshi found the smell to be even stronger, and he could hardly imagine how Satou Kenji could stand to be in such an unpleasant place.

Toshi covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, frowning as he asked, "Grandpa Satou Kenji, what kind of medicine are you making? Why does it smell so bad?"

At that moment, Satou Kenji was stirring something in a large iron pot. Hearing Toshi's comment, he replied with a smile, "Toshi, this is something good! Why don't you take a guess? Here's a hint: it's related to Pokémon."

Although he didn't understand how Satou Kenji could endure such a smell without any protection, hearing that this pot of medicinal soup wasn't for him, but for Pokémon, made him think.

"Could it be that what's in this pot is prepared for your Pokémon?" Toshi asked in confusion. "But I don't think I've seen your Pokémon before?"

Satou Kenji laughed. "It's not that you haven't seen them; it's that my Pokémon have long since passed away."

"Then who is this for? It can't be for a wild Pokémon, right?"

Satou Kenji shook his head and pointed at Toshi with his right hand.

Toshi's eyes widened as he pointed at himself. "Me? Is this for me?"

"To be precise, it's for your Butterfree," Satou Kenji said with a smile. "Toshi, do you know what I used to do?"

Toshi thought for a moment and replied based on what he had observed around him, "Grandpa, you cultivated berries, right?"

Satou Kenji laughed heartily. "Toshi, you're only half right. While I cultivated berries, it wasn't for selling them; it was to make Poké Balls." 

"Make Poké Balls?" Toshi exclaimed in surprise. "Apricorns?!" 

Satou Kenji was somewhat surprised, not expecting Toshi to know about Apricorns. He thought he would have to explain it to him.

"That's right, it's Apricorn."

Toshi thought for a moment, "I remember that due to modern techniques, Apricorn seems to have vanished from the world, right?"

"Yeah," Satou Kenji sighed, "there probably aren't many left who still practice this craft! Once I'm gone, this craft of mine will likely be lost too."

Toshi stepped forward and placed a hand on Satou Kenji's arm, "Grandpa, don't talk about dying lightly; it's unlucky."

Satou Kenji chuckled and patted Toshi's shoulder, "Grandpa knows his own body; it's a fact that it can't last much longer. But meeting you in these last moments, I can say that the heavens have treated me well."

"Grandpa Satou Kenji…"

Satou Kenji waved his hand, "Alright, let's get back to what's in this pot."

"Grandpa, while I specialize in making Apricorn, my ancestors had quite a few insights into berry cultivation. In the past, my ancestors would use Beautifly and Dustox to help the fruit trees grow better, so naturally, they became quite familiar with these Bug-type Pokémon and developed unique cultivation methods.

The moment I saw your Butterfree yesterday, I knew this Butterfree was underdeveloped and desperately needed to replenish missing nutrition. That's why I prepared this medicinal brew, but this mixture is suitable for Beautifly. Although Beautifly and Butterfree both have the Bug and Flying types, whether it will actually be effective can only be determined by letting Butterfree try it."