Chapter 48: The Uncle Who Sells Stones

Because Pewter City is surrounded by mountains, the light here is still sufficient in the afternoon but dims earlier than in other cities in the evening.

After Ash and Misty strolled around outside, nearing evening, they decided to visit Trainer Street, a street specifically designated for trainers to sell items.

Of course, not all trainers sell here. Since it became famous, many merchants have also set up stalls here, selling trinkets or food.

After discussing with each other, Ash and Misty decided to go shopping and buy something to eat at the same time, avoiding a separate trip to the store.

They also hoped that the street food would have a unique flavor not found in stores.

"There are so many people..." Although it was close to dinner time, there were still many pedestrians on this street, and several stalls around were selling various items.

Ash even spotted a specialty from the Hoenn Region, the Lava Cookie. Lava Cookies are a special product produced in Lavaridge Town, Hoenn Region.

They can be eaten by both humans and Pokémon, taste very good, and have a special effect: they can relieve any status condition!

Ash and Misty went over to look out of curiosity and found that the price of a Lava Cookie was not less than that of a Poké Ball. It cost 200 pokes a piece, which made Ash hesitate.

For 200 pokes, you can only eat it once to remove one abnormal effect.

It might be better to prepare more tree fruits.

But Lava Cookies also have an advantage that berries can't match: they can be stored for a long time, while berries will go bad after a few days.

So, it depends on the situation. At least Ash couldn't afford to buy one right now.He only had 6,000 pokes a month.

After accounting for Pokémon and his own daily food expenses, there wasn't much left.

He also wanted to give some money to his family.Misty didn't buy a Lava Cookie either. Although her situation was better than Ash's, it wasn't much better.

In fact, if the Cerulean Gym hadn't relied on the League's subsidies and the performance of the three Sakura sisters, it might have been inherited by someone else.

So, Misty had also considered selling her bicycles. Although second-hand bicycles are not as expensive as new ones, she could still sell them for a decent amount of money.

She planned to sell her bicycles here in Pewter City.

The two stopped and bought some food from a roadside stall. The prices were reasonable, and they were able to eat for less than 30 pokes.

"There's even a stone seller?!" Just as Misty threw her garbage into the trash can, she noticed a stall selling stones not far away.

They were real stones!"Stones?" Ash was startled and followed Misty's gaze to the stall, seeing the owner, a middle-aged man with a beard and slightly dark skin.

Ash raised his eyebrows slightly, recognizing the middle-aged man as Brock's father.

Although he didn't remember the encounter in the anime or Brock's father's name, he did remember that it was with Brock's father's help that Pikachu learned Thunderbolt in the original story.

"Let's go over and take a look!"

Misty took Ash's hand. She seemed to be a little used to this gesture and held Ash's hand without thinking.

Ash didn't mind.When the two approached the booth, they were surprised by the high prices of these strangely shaped stones.

Some relatively small stones were priced at 120 pokes, and the most expensive one was even 1,500 pokes!"These stones are so expensive.

Will anyone buy them?" Misty asked Brock's father in disbelief.

"Of course someone bought them. Do you think these are just ordinary stones?" Brock's father asked Misty back.

Seeing Misty's blank expression, he explained,

"Look at this stone..."Brock's father picked up a stone priced at 600 pokes and showed it to Misty and Ash, while Pikachu also looked at it curiously.

"Did you see anything?" Brock's father didn't explain immediately."Hmm..." Misty pondered for a while, tilting her head slightly,

"Is this... the shape of Gloom?""That's right!" Brock's father's eyes lit up. He obviously didn't expect Misty to recognize the shape of the stone. He seemed a little excited,

"It looks like Gloom.""But...even if it looks like a Gloom, can it be sold so expensive?" Misty asked puzzled."It's not processed. It's grown like this naturally."

Ash explained, having heard about similar strange stones in his previous life. These stones could be sold for far more than gold.

"It's naturally formed?!" Misty was surprised. She had thought these stones were all processed into their shapes."Precisely because it's naturally formed can it be sold at such a price!" Brock's father said with a smile."It's amazing..."

Misty couldn't help sighing. She even saw a stone shaped like Gyarados at the booth, priced at 1,200 pokes. The most expensive one was an Arcanine shape.

"How about it, do you want to buy one back?" Brock's father asked, seeing Misty's reaction."F-Forget it..." Misty waved her hands again and again.

She couldn't afford these things. When Brock's father saw this, he couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart. He hadn't sold these things for many days.

After all, the market for this kind of strange stones was not very big, and no one would easily buy a useless stone.

Misty pulled Ash to leave the booth. Before Ash left, he looked back at Brock's father and shook his head slightly.

Ash felt that Brock's father might as well go back to the Pewter Gym instead of continuing like this.

It was irresponsible behavior to leave his children with Brock and go out by himself, no matter what the reason was!Moreover,

Ash still vaguely remembered that the reason why Brock's father abandoned his family seemed to be not a serious reason, and his wife, Brock's mother, didn't seem to be a reliable person.

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Adios