The overwhelming majority of people were indeed shocked. After all, Crawdaunt was a Pokémon that only evolved at level 30.
In the black market, that already made one a fairly skilled individual. Nobody wanted to provoke someone like that over a trivial matter.
Sieg casually strolled through the black market, vaguely sensing a few covert glances sweeping over him, only to quickly shift away.
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Sieg's lips as he thought to himself, "So many restless people around here. Just stepping into one shop was enough to catch their attention?"
He pretended to stop at a stall, browsing through some goods like a casual customer, but beneath the mask, his eyes flicked toward those silently observing him.
Merging into the crowd, Sieg pretended to leave. With a few swift turns and agile maneuvers, he effortlessly lost the people that had been tracking him.
By the time they realized it, Sieg had already vanished, now reappearing inside a quaint, old-fashioned store.
Counting the 800,000 Pokédollars he'd just earned from selling his Pokémon, Sieg's total funds were nearing 3 million Pokédollars. Carrying that much on him without spending would be a waste.
It was the perfect time to browse for any materials he might find useful.
The store's atmosphere was rather cool and quiet, and there weren't many customers. Most of the ones present had their eyes glued to the mid- and high-grade Pokéblocks displayed in the glass case.
Sieg, however, didn't spare those a single glance. Instead, he focused on examining the array of strange and exotic materials on the counter.
"One of the rewards from the Trainer School was a recipe for a mid-tier, general-use Dark-type Pokéblock. A lot of the ingredients are difficult to find in the market, but they've got them here!"
Amid strange looks from others, Sieg moved from shelf to shelf, buying all sorts of bizarre items.
A fang from a Houndoom.
A heart from a Mandibuzz.
A fragment of a Water Stone.
A bundle of feathers from the hair atop a Pidgeot's head.
On top of that, he picked up a sizable batch of rare berries and medicinal herbs.
In total, Sieg spent 700,000 Pokédollars on these materials and, under the puzzled gazes of others, left the store with a spring in his step.
"As expected, I've drawn attention again!"
Strolling slowly down a side street of the black market, Sieg sensed several new figures tailing him. Once again, he was reminded of just how treacherous this place was.
Here, the moment you showed a hint of wealth, the ones lurking in the shadows would pounce like hyenas.
Sieg found an opportunity to blend into a crowd gathered around a shop. By the time he emerged again, the black robe he'd worn was nowhere to be seen.
Now, he looked like a thin and wiry youth wearing only a mask.
Turning back toward the group of stalkers still watching the crowd, waiting for him to reappear, Sieg's lips curled into a mocking grin.
With a few more turns, he entered a store specializing in TM sales. Unlike the previous stores, this one was bustling.
There were at least several dozen people like Sieg inside, all browsing through the TMs on display.
From the outside, it looked oddly out of place.
Sieg's arrival stirred no waves. Most people only glanced at his mask before quickly averting their eyes.
There was an unspoken rule in the black market:
If you stared at someone's face for too long, it was considered a provocation, and a fight could break out at any moment.
Sieg began browsing through the sample TMs on display, though most of them didn't interest him, either they didn't suit his team's types or they were too common.
Only two caught his eye, "Scald" and "Taunt".
The two TMs were priced at 400,000 and 500,000 Pokédollars respectively.
After a brief moment of thought, Sieg bought them both.
Crawdaunt currently lacked a strong special attack. Bubble Beam wasn't cutting it anymore, so Scald was a perfect upgrade. As for Taunt, that was for his Murkrow.
With Murkrow's Prankster ability, Taunt was an essential technique. Sieg had always hated defensive, stall-heavy teams that relied on irritating tactics.
Of course… if he used them, that was a different story.
To avoid drawing more attention due to his spending, Sieg entered two different shops, wearing two different outfits, to buy the TMs separately.
After that, he wandered through a few other shops, picking up some odd trinkets that piqued his interest.
Like a decayed flower growing from a rock.
Even after consulting the digital library of Petalburg's Gym, Sieg hadn't found any info about it. He could only assume it was the world's first of a new hybrid species.
"It actually might be worth researching."
After some haggling, he managed to buy it for 3,000 Pokédollars.
Lastly, at a local black market outpost, he temporarily rented a TM learning machine and had Crawdaunt and Murkrow each learn the new moves.
Just like that, the 3 million Pokédollars he once held dwindled to just over 1 million.
In only two short hours, over 1,5 million League coins had flowed out like water.
For an ordinary family, this amount might be something they couldn't earn in a lifetime. But for a determined Trainer like Sieg, it was merely a small investment on the path to success.
He then found a low-key shop tucked into a corner of the black market and sold off the Mightyena for a bit over 300,000.
A small recovery to recoup some blood loss.
Though the Mightyena was high-level, it had belonged to someone else. Taming a Pokémon like that was no easy feat, usually only pros could manage it.
What's more, high-level Pokémon with fixed training paths were often unpopular.
Compared to a baby Pokémon, their value was considerably lower. Most people only bought them for temporary use.
Once everything was settled, Sieg left the black market behind, drawing a satisfying close to this excursion.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Chloé was still at the reception desk, glancing around the lobby as if searching for something.
When her eyes landed on Sieg, they lit up, and she lifted the hem of her white nurse uniform as she jogged over to him.
"Sieg, you're finally back!"
Looking at the suddenly appearing Joy Sieg asked, "Chloé, what's up? Is something urgent?"
Her expression grew slightly awkward at his words, as if still brooding over the time he had rejected her.
Still, she quickly composed herself, lightly patting her chest to calm her breath before speaking gently, "Sieg, I just received an emergency message from Petalburg Gym. They're looking for you, it sounded urgent."
Sieg's heart skipped a beat. He pulled out his Pokédex from his waist and, sure enough, found several missed calls.
He had powered off the Pokédex before entering the black market.
"Ugh, how could I forget that?"
Muttering to himself, Sieg hastily excused himself and rushed back to his room.