Chapter 47 47: The Big Shopping Spree
Even so, Cynthia would still put real effort into selling the Peat Blocks.
There was no denying it—this time, Sora owed her a very big favor.
Two million Poké Dollars might be pocket change for a wealthy heiress like Cynthia.
But for Sora, it was nothing short of a lifeline.
"Phew…"
Looking at the notification on his communicator showing the 400,000 transfer, Sora couldn't stop the smile creeping across his face.
"At last… I don't have to worry about food expenses anymore."
He recalled Ursaluna, then returned to the hotel with his Pokémon.
The next day, Sora launched a full-scale shopping spree at the Eterna City Department Store.
"First, a backpack with enough storage space."
"Then—energy cubes."
With the help of a sales assistant, he selected cubes tailored to each Pokémon's attributes.
"Grass-type, Normal-type, Psychic-type, Fire-type…"
Energy cubes were essential resources for any trainer.
A tiny cube contained a massive amount of energy—rapidly restoring stamina and nutrition while drastically reducing feeding time.
Sora had Victini, so he didn't worry about energy recovery.
But some things were beyond even Victini's limitless power.
Lilligant had taken more than a year to reach Level 68.
At the root of it all was one simple reason:
He had been broke.
After every training session, she had to recover slowly on her own.
If he'd had sufficient energy cubes back then, Sora was confident he could have shortened that timeline from a year to just a few months.
Too bad there's no Fairy-type yet.
According to his plan:
Lopunny's line (Buneary) didn't need extremely high levels right now
Reaching Level 50–60 in the short term would be enough
Further potential development would be a long-term process
But Eevee was different.
He had high expectations for her.
If he wanted her to evolve into Sylveon, she would need a large amount of Fairy energy.
Victini could recharge existing energy.
But it couldn't create a new attribute that a Pokémon didn't already possess.
So Eevee's path was clear:
Practice Baby-Doll Eyes repeatedly
Gradually sense Fairy energy
Discover the evolution trigger through experience
Once she evolved into Sylveon and gained the Fairy typing, Victini's power could help her rapidly push past Level 70—entering the upper limits of ordinary Pokémon strength.
Unfortunately, in this era:
Fairy type hadn't been discovered yet.
And Fairy-type energy cubes didn't exist.
"For now, we'll make do with Normal-type cubes, Eevee."
"Bui~~"
She didn't fully understand.
She trusted Sora completely.
"Please come this way for taste testing, sir."
"Alright."
With so many Pokémon species, energy cube flavors were incredibly diverse.
The best way to find the right one was simple:
Taste testing.
Under the clerk's guidance, Sora and his team arrived at a sampling platform displaying the selected cube varieties.
Single-type cubes—like Grass-type—generally satisfied both Ogerpon and Lilligant.
But even then, their flavor preferences differed slightly.
So separate purchases were necessary.
Studying taste differences between:
Different attributes
Different species
Even individuals of the same species
That was the job of energy cube specialists.
People often underestimated how complex that field really was.
With over a thousand Pokémon species and nearly twenty attributes, the combinations alone were enough to make anyone's head spin.
The department store offered:
Universal formulas
Dual-attribute blends (like Fire + Ground or Water + Flying)
These could be purchased immediately and were relatively cheap.
But Sora wasn't interested in generic solutions.
"Ponii!!"
"Bi!"
Before long, the little ones found their favorite options among the dozen categories.
"Understood."
The clerk recorded the selected product codes and submitted the order to the factory.
"It will take about thirty minutes. Please wait."
"For now, we'll eat these," Sora said with a smile.
"Later, when we meet a top-tier breeder, we'll place custom orders—one unique flavor for each of you."
"Ponii!"
"Bi~~"
Ogerpon and Victini clearly loved energy cubes.
More precisely:
They loved the energy inside them.
Their levels were already high:
Ogerpon: 77
Victini: 72
If he wanted them to push past Level 80 soon, energy cubes were the key.
This round of shopping alone cost him:
300,000 Poké Dollars.
The biggest expenses went to:
Ogerpon
Victini
Lilligant
Ursaluna
Higher-level Pokémon consumed more nutrients.
And this was only:
One month of supplies.
It perfectly illustrated how expensive Pokémon training really was.
"Good thing you two don't eat much."
Sora sighed as he hugged Eevee and Buneary.
"Otherwise, that 400,000 would already be gone."
Because of their low levels, the two of them only cost about:
3,000 per month in energy cubes.
Not even remotely comparable to the heavy hitters.
Of course, once they grew stronger, their expenses would rise too.
That bill would come eventually.
Hopefully Cynthia moves quickly, he thought.
That projected 2 million income would probably sustain him for about six months.
By then:
Ursaluna and Lilligant would likely reach their level ceilings
They would no longer need energy cubes as growth accelerators
Their share of resources could be redirected to Eevee and future team members
Next, Sora headed to the daily supplies section.
Compared to energy cubes, standard Pokémon food was much cheaper.
Since it only needed to provide basic nutrition—not optimized growth—the entire team's monthly ration cost him:
10,000 Poké Dollars.
An absolute bargain.
"This is the gap between a regular trainer… and rich trainers, huh?"
Now he understood even better why Reggie had chosen retirement—giving his younger brother Paul the chance to advance further.
Still thinking about that, Sora continued moving efficiently.
Before long, he finished purchasing all necessary supplies.
Now all that remained was to wait for the freshly manufactured energy cubes to be delivered.
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Pat reon Advance Chapters: /YonkoSlayer