Lilith scoured the isles and inspected each with a fine toothed comb. She jotted down prices of things she would have liked to buy, along with a list of necessities. At first she was thinking of getting a splicing kit for Sableye. His egg moves were well documented and open to the public. Trick, Mean look and Feint were all good options she spied on. The option to steal items from wild Pokemon sounded like a good idea, but she had no practical experience to back up the notion.
Mean Look was a tremendous move. It created an invisible tether to a Pokemon, allowing the user to follow them practically forever, as long as they didn’t deactivate the move or start a fight with a different Pokemon. It worked similarly to Magic Coat, where it cost nothing to activate, but slowly drained their energy reserves. Any move that stopped a Pokemon from fleeing was well sought after. The price scaling shot through the room. Supply and demand was not her friend that day.
Feint was similarly circumstantial, considering it was powerful inside its niche. When a Pokemon wasn’t using a protecting move, it was useless, but catching someone off guard would be priceless. The simple fact that they had to watch out for it left mind games for the Opponent to consider. Using the nullifying move would be less free if consequences were introduced. Considering the need to predict the defensive positioning, it was too skilled for their team at the moment.
The move she wanted the most was a healing move. Dark types had a hard time healing in the wild because they got no access to moves that even slowly healed them. Grass types had Leech Seed, while Water had Aqua Ring. Other types were faced with the same problem, but not as badly as dark types. A move like Recovery would help Sableye’s longevity, but Moonlight could be cast onto others. Both recovered with energy from the air, but Moonlight was only half as good as Recover when outside of its top condition, being under the moon. Consequently, under a full moon, the move recovered up the full amount of the target Pokemon.
The only problem was that fairy energy. Status moves were weird, being hard to absorb by darks. There seemed to be some foundation that status moves were based upon, but the locals considered everything normal. If they were studying it, she had no knowledge.
Lilith wrote down Recover underneath Will-O-Wisp as she chewed on her pen. The two moves would bring Sableye’s fighting capabilities to the next level and would hopefully mitigate the awkward encounters where he couldn’t damage his opponent. A new move was still on the docket, but considerably low on the priority bracket.
Looking back, it seemed that Cheren’s payoff was a generous one. The amount covered just enough for her to pick up two T.M’s. There were multiple ways for her to make money, but most of them she disliked. It was good fortune that the opportunity came when it did. There was the option of selling off the items she had found all the way back in Bouy, or she could try her luck at the job board.
‘Hmm, Jobs give time to get real experience with our moves while selling stuff off would give more time for foundational training. Or I could just take the two T.M.’s and not overreach. I don’t think we would need any more than that for a while, at least until the new moves are taken care of…’ Lilith tried weighing all the pros and cons, looking for the best decision.
The problem with the items she had repossessed was that she had no knowledge of their value. Diamonds on earth were marked with numbers and thoroughly tracked, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to see something similar on items of such value. Getting rid of the Moonstone would be a good option along with the bug and Ice plates, but that only brought up the first problem again. She didn’t want to undersell.
‘Does it matter if I do? If I get funds now, then I can use those to invest in myself and reach higher in the future. Potentially at that point I’ll be able to stand by myself. Or, I could wait and get the full value…’ Lilith smacked her forehead.
It seemed that worrying about money happened in every world.
There were no good Dark Pokemon with the second typings that matched with the items she had. Considering that, they wouldn’t see much use. It began looking more and more like a good plan to get rid of them.
That left Absol’s shopping list.
Off the top of her head she could remember some moves that her species would be able to learn through Technical Machine’s, but had no clue about egg moves. Her memory about the general game mechanics was strong, but once it got to individual Pokemon, unless they were especially notable, she didn’t bother memorizing everything she could. The internet was there for a reason.
Iron Head or Iron Tail would be a good counter to Fairy types, one of her worst weaknesses. The only problem was that she wasn’t 100% sure they could be taught through T.M. If she bought one and found out it couldn’t be learned, the consequences would be disastrous. From what she could remember, Absol had great coverage moves to hit all Pokemon with a good super effective move. Some were special moves, however. They hadn’t practiced that branch at all, so they would have to tick with physical moves.
That one thought basically summed up her thoughts on improvements she could buy for Absol in the short term. A fairy counter wouldn’t be needed for Virbank, because of the obvious lack of them. But from what she could remember, there was only one fairy type introduced in Unova due to it not yet being a type. Whimsicott was turned fairy once introduced in the next generation, but how that translated to a linear timeline, she had no idea. Her assumption was that they were always fairy, but the people were just ignorant of the distinction due to some misconception.
A utility move that caught her eye was Thief. It functioned similarly to Sableye’s Trick, allowing her to steal held Items. The move was a much better prospect because it got the same type attack bonus, along with controlling the opponent's use of Items. That left the final agenda on her shopping list.
Held Items weren’t incredibly rare, with most being man made. Natural Items were much more expensive, but with Absol’s Dread Plate, she was good for the foreseeable future. Sableye was a different story. A Focus Sash felt like a good idea for him considering how frail he was. Holding a tiny amount of health inside to be used if they would have otherwise been knocked out in a single hit would be the perfect solution.
Sableye was frail, so she jotted down the option. Leftovers would be nice to have, allowing the user to slowly gain back shields over time. A lucky egg helped Pokemon grow in power faster, but she doubted an item like that would just fall into her lap. They were extremely expensive, and not even on the shelves at the local Marts. Every one of them were good all around items, but Lilith wanted an item that would help him specifically.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Hmm…” Lilith scrutinized the shelves, trying to jog her memory.
Items were good support, but nothing came to mind that would make or break a battle. They were just one more feature in the long list of advantages. At the end of the day, waiting wouldn’t kill them.
“Excuse me miss.” A voice broke her concentration
Lilith turned to the man, scrutinizing his Pokemart uniform.
“Can I help you with anything?” He asked with a smile.
She paused, trying to remember what she needed.
“Are there more areas for items? I can’t find what I’m looking for.”
She plucked the easiest problem out first.
“What Item? I can see if we have one in our storage room in the back” He offered with a smile.
Lilith paused.
“I don’t know what I want…” She explained.
“How about an item cataloging all products we, the Pokemart, have ever held? Natural treasures will be off the list of course, but anything other than that is on the table. Worse comes to worst, we can order your shipment from another location” He explained jovially.
“Yes!” Lilith practically jumped on him, having the solution to multiple problems.
The employee went back to the checkout counter, surprised at her sudden enthusiasm. He grabbed a large manual before returning to the counter.
“This has everything we sell in Pokemart’s.” He said with a proud expression while handing the book to her.
Lilith checked the front index and flipped to the items section. The book was well organized, and even had a picture of the item along with its intended function. There were two different sections, one by alphabetical order, and the other by function. She could search for items that boosted a single type, or learn what an item did.
‘Perfect,’ She thought.
Before she continued, another thought popped into her mind.
“Why is this on paper? I would think the mart would switch over to the Castor by now…” She trailed off.
“The Holo Castor is something only held in the Region of Unova. The Pokemart and PokeCenter are loosely attached to each region, but run by the Pokemon League, not to be confused with the Unova League. Two different things. It’s kinda like the international police.” He paused. “Long story short, the mark can’t decide, so we’re stuck with the most archaic methods.” The employee gave a deprecating smile.
With that new tidbit of knowledge, she got a feel for everything. The book was a goldmine of information. It listed out the boosting items, finding Silk Scarves along with Magnet’s and Charcoal. The items she was looking for were not there, but it was good to consider their price. The type plates were nowhere to be seen. Without a reference, she wasn’t comfortable with even showing them.
“Do you have a book of natural items too?” she asked, slightly hopeful.
If they weren’t in the man-made section, then they had to be elsewhere.
“Unfortunately not. They are much higher on the price scale, so they are only held in the larger cities like Oppelucid and Castelia, along with Victory Road.” He replied.
“Hmm.” Lilith gave a grunt of acknowledgement.
With thay out of the way, she turned her attention to the battle items. Choice Scarves and Spec’s were there along with Life Orb’s and Assault Vests. They were all good items in the game, but a little concerning. Choice Scarves boosted a Pokemon’s special attack by a large margin, but only allowed the use of one move until the user was safe from battle. Limiting move options didn't seem like a good idea in hindsight.
Life Orb seemed like a marvelous idea for a strong attacker until she looked at the price tag. It was more than double the two previous items, clearly showing which was superior. Lilith grumbled and continued down the list.
‘Hmm, an Eject Button would be nice. He could make use of Prankster and set up the next party member before returning unharmed. Fake Out pressure would be reset, and would be a good addition to his repertoire.’ Lilith analyzed.
The Item would recall Sableye back into his Pokeball once hit. It would help manage his frail body and increase the amount of chances for disruption.
‘It wouldn’t cost too much either…’ She smiled slightly.
Man-made Items had a much higher supply chain, leading to the general population having access. The objects only needed a special operation to turn a slab of metal into something a Pokemon could use. The secret to their success was well guarded and the League kept anyone from poking around where they didn’t belong.
“Do you have any Eject buttons?” She asked the man.
“Let me check!” He gave a smile before disappearing behind the door.
She hadn’t seen any on the shelves, but hoped they were still in stock. Time ticked as a handful of minutes went by. With the additional time, she continued to look through the list before her. Nothing really jumped out as a must get item though. Some were tempting, but wouldn’t be useful for a long while, or simply didn’t have the Pokemon that would best suit it.
It didn’t take long for the teller to return.
“Unfortunately we don’t have any at this Pokemart, but we can hold one for you at the Central Pokemon Center. You would have to pay here first, but then you can pick it up or have it sent wherever you like.” He explained.
Lilith thought over the proposition. With her added interest, there would only be enough money for one T.M. or splicer. She would have to pick between recovery and status.
‘Hmm… Will-O-Wisp would be nice, but Moonlight has the potential to be the only healing move any of my team would be able to get their hands on.’
Absol wouldn’t be getting any upgrades, but it seemed like a good plan to increase Sableye’s power. He was easily the weaker of the two, and any boosts would help tremendously. The next chance at acquiring a new Pokemon was all the way in Castelia, the next city. It would be a while before she even attempted the gym, so it was still a long way off.
‘If I only have two, then Moonlight can wait…’ She finally decided.
“I’ll take The Eject Button and a Will-O-Wisp T.M., where can I pick up the Item?” She decided.
“I can ring you up right over here!” He gave a large smile, moving over to an inconspicuous side register.
“Is there anything else you want today, or can I help you in any other way?” He asked.
The attentiveness he held towards his job was becoming a little creepy. Yes, nice people were good. But once it got too much, it just came off as weird.
“Nope, that’s it.” She finished.
“Coming right up!”
Lilith swiped her League card and then was handed the Technical Machine in a box. She got the directions to the nearest Pokemart that had an available Eject Button before finally being on her way.