After taking the moving stairs two at a time, Ran arrives on what is clearly not a particularly popular floor, judging by the small number of other shoppers, but that's not his focus. Instead, he looks in awe at the rows of bookcases that aren't just lined up from side to side, but rather form an enjoyable maze to get lost in. Right in the middle of the floor, positioned around the escalator, are large plaques and arrows, giving some means to navigate the maze and find the subjects he's interested in.
Plenty of topics fascinate him, but Ran sadly can't indulge in every interest at once. Instead, turning his heart to stone, he ignores the arrows pointing to such things as evolution mechanics and type specialties and instead opts for the clearly relatively recent addition of 'Sinnoh'. It's a hopeful guess, as his next stop will be the part of the floor that holds all the books on the poison-typing, but if there's any place where he might find some information on Skorupi, the books focusing on its native area are as good a place to start as any.
As he hurriedly paces through the store towards the correct shelves, he notices a significant detail about the other customers wandering the fourth floor. Not only are they less-numerous than those on the previous floors, but there's a certain atmosphere that surrounds them. It's not that they're all openly enthusiastic to be there, because a few trainers' long faces make it very clear that such a thing couldn't be further from the truth. But there's a focus, a deliberateness to their being there and their searching of the stacks that hasn't been common amongst the other rookie trainers Ran has largely been surrounded by since the start of his journey.
It's not to say that Josie and Grady, browsing the toys and training equipment on the floor below, aren't dedicated trainers in their own right. But Ran believes it says something about a trainer if he's willing to, out of all the options in the entire Goldenrod Trainer Department Store, spend his time and money on books of all things. Of course, a large number of trainers believe that everything they could ever need to know about pokémon can be found on the pokénet, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The pokénet, expansive as it is, is meant for the general public and only offers information that's considered to be general knowledge.
Any recent research, any niche findings, any clan or personal secrets, all of those are nowhere to be found on the free pokénet. Instead, if they're even on there in the first place, they're no cheaper than a physical copy. And that's if you know where to look in the first place. Missing the connections and know-how to figure out just where such things can be found online, Ran is very interested in the far simpler approach of grabbing a book out of the stacks and reading the back cover to see if it promises any information he can use.
He hardly expects to find all that much in-depth research on Sinnoh's still largely mysterious native pokémon, but even just the general information about Skorupi, that a Sinnoh-native would consider common knowledge, is invaluable to him. Crucially, any mentions of his exact natural habitat and anything even vaguely relating to his evolution, whether that's requirements or outcome, is information he desperately desires.
To start, Ran simply scans the titles on display, a large pile of books soon growing in his hands. By the time the pile is getting genuinely uncomfortable to carry, he's happy for a small nearby table to put his prizes down on. Then, taking into account not only his budget, but also portability, he sets himself a hard upper limit of three books. At which point he starts to winnow out the unworthy.
Which is a lot harder than expected. One of the first books he considers tossing is a travel log, which shouldn't even have been in the Sinnoh section, if the sailor that wrote it hadn't ended up at the Lily of the Valley Conference for a few days before running out of funds. It's a long shot, but what if he saw Skorupi's evolved form compete? That might be very informative. Hesitantly, Ran puts it on the 'second-chance' pile, which he creates on the spot.
After twenty minutes, there's exactly two books he's fully written off, seven second-chancers and five must-haves. With pain in his heart, the second-chance pile is also binned then and there. Which still leaves him with five books, rather than the three he wants to settle on.
There's Introduction to the Geography of the Sinnoh region, which'd provide valuable insight on the possible habitats Skorupi might be native to. Usually, any works about geography also include mentions of the native pokémon-species. That'd be extremely useful.
Next is Observations on Sinnoh's Trainer Culture. It's less than a hundred pages long, but it's impossible to discuss trainers without discussing their teams, leaving Ran hopeful that Skorupi or its evolution will get more than one mention. If the books on sale weren't covered in protective plastic to keep them from being opened before purchase, Ran would like nothing better than to sit down on the spot and browse through the tiny book, but with that option not available to him, he's still stuck on square one.
Sinnoh Safari, the Great Marsh is the intriguing title of the third book, promising information on the history of Sinnoh's Safari Zone, a comparison of its qualities and flaws relative to its equal in Johto and Kanto as well as, crucially, a full listing of the pokémon that can be found there as well as their capabilities. If Ran had even a single indicator that Skorupi could hail from a marshland, it'd be an immediate acquisition, but the bug-type's unease in Ilex Forest has him extremely doubtful on that front.
Fourth is the horribly dry Analysis of Cultural, Economical and Technological Benefits to Sinnoh-Indigo Exchange. Ordinarily, he would be more than happy to ignore the book completely, but poison-types are renowned for their roles in both medical and cosmetic innovation. It seems quite likely that the promise of new poison-types, which might unlock new advances, will merit more than a minor mention in such a book.
Finally, to round out his shortlist, there's Sinnoh's Stars, a book covering Sinnoh's Champion and Elite 4, their respective rises to their positions and their teams. If there's a poison-specialist amongst them, then Ran is sure that Skorupi's fully evolved form will feature on their team. Unfortunately that does rely not only on Sinnoh's Elite Four specifically having a poison-specialist as well as Bugsy giving him a pokémon which he knows has Elite-potential.
It's that final point which, after a lot of hemming and hawing, sees Ran return Sinnoh's Stars to the shelves. Conversely, after listing the pros and cons, Introduction to the Geography of the Sinnoh region and Observations on Sinnoh's Trainer Culture are must-haves, leaving two books to choose between.
Ultimately, Sinnoh Safari, the Great Marsh, wins out. Ideally, that would be because he's genuinely convinced that it'll hold more information on Skorupi. Practically, it's because no matter how much Ran tries to convince himself otherwise, he's just not willing to plow through a large book on culture and economy on the off-chance that the Skorupi-line will get more than a passing mention.
Mind made up, he finally makes his way to the counter, where a kind middle-aged lady happily bags up his books. Finally, first purchases of the day by his side, Ran lets out a relieved breath. Now he'll actually get to go and look at some of the fun stuff.
Skipping right past the fourth floor, deciding to leave the fun extras for last, in case his budget (and carrying capacity) stretches that far, he heads to the third floor eagerly. Not for its dazzling display on TMs, which are to Ran's mind quite premature for his team, considering they've still got a lot of their own natural moves to learn first.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The capturing technology is obviously also right out, as he's only got two slots left and already owns a Moon Ball for one of those two slots. Which leaves the section for held items. It's the part of this whole shopping expedition he's been looking forward to the longest, and which he's been aggressively budgeting for since day one. Way back when they'd planned their original route, the plan had been to arrive at Goldenrod City directly after winning his first badge. Compared to that plan, he's had a whole foray to Violet City to further build up his funds, giving him the financial breathing room to come and purchase some of the items he's been dreaming of for so long, before even battling Whitney.
Though he's got a clear idea of just what he wants to buy, there's one small problem to overcome first: The small army of younger kids crowding around the displays. Or at least Ran assumes it's going to be a problem, but as he walks up, they seem to realize that he, unlike them, is a paying customer. It's an admittedly ego-inflating moment when they part before him. Unfortunately, the first display he approaches doesn't hold what he's looking for, as although the gems on display are definitely powerful, they're also both one-use and quite pricey. Unbothered, he continues to the next display, which proves far more fruitful.
The first item his eye falls on, is a familiar one. Having witnessed some of its effectiveness when battling Tommy, Ran examines the small container of Silver Powder closely. It's actually slightly cheaper than the average type-boosting item, likely due to the Bug-type's poor reputation in the higher echelons of competitive battling. Considering the type's offensive effectiveness against psychic-types however, major weakness of Ran's team as they are, it's a must-have for Aria. She's already become a significantly bigger threat upon evolving. With Silver Powder to power her up further, as well as make her less reliant on her limited ghost-type arsenal, she'll become a proper menace.
Next, in the same display, he spots the flying-type-boosting Sharp Beak. With it not coming in Silver Powder's handy container that, according to the informational charts, is self-adhesive, he's initially a bit worried about keeping it attached to Golbat. Fortunately, the small informational chart next to it assures any interested customer that a high-quality collar or strap is included in the price. Unfortunately, with just how common flying-types are, this one comes out a fair bit more expensive than average, with only the rare and highly-desired Mystic Water having a higher price tag attached. Still, it's a must-have, especially with a challenge at the Cianwood Gym hopefully in his not too distant future.
Then his eye falls on the Poison Barb, which is both relatively cheap and usable by all of his pokémon. But he's got other plans for Arbok and as for Skorupi… It might be a relatively cheap purchase, but with a change in his secondary typing still pending, if Bugsy is to be believed, Ran isn't in a position where he can just purchase a held item that might not last him all that long. There's something to be said for Poison Barb's versatility, but though Ran likes his chosen typing a lot, it does offer relatively little in super-effective damage, nor does handing it to one of his team members provide an offensive type coverage the rest of his team can't account for.
With two slots left to fill and not wanting to risk putting the cart before the Rapidash, he decides to leave it at that for the type-boosting items. Instead, he wanders to the next display, though it doesn't end up holding what he seeks. Undeterred, he continues on to the next display and then the one after that. However, by the time he's passed by all the displays, he still hasn't found what he's looking for. Worried, though not willing to just throw in the towel, he finally walks over to the counter.
"Yes, sir?" The balding salesman asks politely, the moment Ran stops in front of his counter.
"I'd like to purchase one jar of Silver Powder and one Sharp Beak, however, I also have a question. I was looking for Black Sludge, but I couldn't find it on display?" Ran replies, at first drawing an eager smile before his question causes the salesman's expression to fall.
"Ah yes, Black Sludge… well we do have some in stock in the back, but due to its, hmm, caustic nature and dubious reputation, it was decided that it should be removed from the displays. You'll have to answer some questions first, sir." The salesman replies hesitantly, his gaze having turned weary and assessing.
"I'm sorry?" Ran asks in surprise, caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events and the salesperson's grave words.
"Standard procedure I'm afraid," The man answers without further explanation, wiping away a drop of sweat from his bald brow, "To start, may I see your trainer ID, please?"
Warily, Ran hands over his ID, his free hand sinking to his belt as he watches for any kind of scam or funny business.
The salesman runs the ID through a scanner, before looking at a computer screen for a minute, expression easing slightly after a few moments of looking.
"All of your pokémon are poison-types?" The salesman asks finally, directing his attention towards Ran once more.
"They are." Ran confirms easily, still unclear as to just what the point of this entire conversation is.
The man continues immediately, already having known the answer from scanning Ran's ID.
"Do you plan to add any non-poison-types to your team?" The older man asks next, drawing a frown from Ran at the somewhat intrusive question.
"I'm not sure I want to discuss my future plans for the composition of my team with a stranger like that." Ran answers curtly, glaring at the store's employee, who quails slightly under the sharp rebuttal.
"V-Very well, let me rephrase," The man stutters for a moment, before continuing, "Do you intend to use Black Sludge on any non-poison-type pokémon, as a tool for training or punishment?"
Now Ran is the one that's stunned for a moment, as the implication of the salesman's words spin wildly through his head. On non-poison-types, Black Sludge isn't just ineffective, it's actively detrimental, eating away at a pokémon's vitality. With no way to defend against it and most of what he's read about the substance indicating that it's suspected to be an exceptionally painful process for non-poison-types as well.
"No!" Ran firmly declares, not elaborating further even as he continues to frantically analyze this new information. Using Black Sludge as a punishment is obvious. It causes constant pain whilst eating away at the victim's health. Assuming you've got a pokémon that needs to be punished for some reason or other - a Dark-type perhaps? - Ran can see the practical benefits to using Black Sludge. Simply strap it to the pokémon in question and every time you bring it out of its ball, it'll be getting punished without requiring any further time or effort from its trainer. But the mention of using it as a training tool is less apparent and significantly more intriguing. Is there a way to build up a pokémon's pain tolerance or endurance through protracted suffering or damage over time effects? Would there be any accessible literature on the subject? How would you test the efficiency? Count out how long it takes for the pokémon to faint? What if-
Nope, stopping right there. Intriguing or not, the idea is simply too cruel to consider. There's other, better ways to train and even if there aren't, no pokémon deserves to be deliberately made to suffer. The mere thought of Aria or Skorupi recoiling in pain, of Golbat stoically trying to bear the hurt without showing any reaction… or the betrayed look in his starter's eyes. No, he's not considering this any further.
"You intend to use the Black Sludge exclusively on one or more poison-type pokémon?" The salesman asks dryly, his now blasé attitude drawing Ran out of his own thoughts once more.
"Yes." Ran confirms more calmly, focusing once more on actually procuring the item he wants.
"Very well sir, that's all the required questions out of the way. You are cleared for purchase. How many doses would you like to purchase?" The salesman finally finishes up his mandatory check, returning to his earlier friendly attitude now that Ran has apparently answered the questionnaire to a satisfactory degree.
Unbothered by the man's mood swings, Ran merely nods as he answers, "I'll take a self-adhesive container for use on one pokémon. That'll be all."
The salesman nods in understanding, before disappearing to the back for a few long minutes. Finally, he returns with Ran's chosen items. In short order, they're put in neat packages bearing the Goldenrod Trainer Department Store's branding before disappearing into a convenient carrying bag. When the salesman tells him the tally, the total isn't surprising, but it's still high enough to make him second guess himself for a moment.
Spending this much money, before facing Whitney, does leave him with very slim reserves until he receives the winnings that'll come with his third badge. Then again, with how well things have been going, and these items strengthening his team even further, he'll only have to deal with the strained finances for a few days at most.
Pockets significantly lighter, a quick glance at his pokégear shows that he's only got a few minutes to spare to make it to the rooftop for lunch. Not wanting to keep the others waiting, he hustles towards the escalators, eager both for food and a chance to find out whether Josie or Grady purchased anything interesting.