"You made it yourself?!!" Whitney exclaid in shock when she heard Aoki's words. Realizing her voice was too loud, she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
She leaned in close and cautiously asked, "You made these Pokéblocks yourself? Are you an advanced Pokémon Breeder?"
Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
Aoki sighed and rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on. Still, he replied, "No. Do you think I could make high-grade Pokéblocks at my age? I only made the interdiate-level Pokéblocks for Miltank. As for Slowpoke's, I bought them elsewhere."
"Ohhhh~~" Whitney let out a long "oh," but the admiration in her eyes didn't fade.
"You seem about the sa age as , but you're already an interdiate-level Pokémon Breeder. anwhile, I still haven't even qualified to inherit the family Gym... Uh..." Whitney trailed off, looking a little discouraged.
"..."
Was she seriously comparing Gym Leader status to being a Pokémon Breeder?
However, Aoki understood her point. Becoming an interdiate Pokémon Breeder at his age would indeed cause a stir—after all, the average age for reaching that level was around twenty-five. Aoki was only fifteen.
Whitney didn't question his words. The process of making high-grade Pokéblocks was extrely complex, and at his age, it was hard to believe he had mastered that skill.
Aoki didn't bother comforting her, though he didn't need to—Whitney quickly bounced back on her own.
Still, she looked hesitant, no longer as carefree as before.
Seeing her hesitation, Aoki found himself asking before he could stop himself, "What's wrong?"
"Aoki, um... that... can I place a long-term custom order for Miltank's Pokéblocks with you? Don't worry, I'll pay well!" Whitney said hesitantly.
After watching how much her Miltank loved Aoki's Pokéblocks, she hadn't even taken out the high-grade ones she had prepared. Sohow, Aoki's interdiate Pokéblocks seed to suit her Pokémon better.
Aoki was montarily stunned, then smiled. "No problem. How many do you want? I can't make a large batch all at once, so you'll have to wait a bit."
Aoki's straightforward answer made Whitney beam with joy.
"Okay! Ti isn't an issue. The market price for interdiate Pokéblocks is usually between 50 and 80 Pokédollars per piece. Since yours are specially tailored for Miltank, how about 100 Pokédollars per piece?"
That was a high price. Normally, high-grade Pokéblocks sold for around 400 to 500 Pokédollars, but their production cost was significantly higher than that of interdiate Pokéblocks. As Whitney ntioned, standard interdiate Pokéblocks sold for about 50 Pokédollars, aning she was offering double the usual price.
Since soone was willing to pay a premium for his Pokéblocks, Aoki certainly wouldn't refuse. It wasn't his style to pass up an opportunity when a wealthy custor practically invited him to profit.
As a direct mber of the Pokémon League, Whitney might have been a bit naive, but she could be trusted on business matters. She assured Aoki she wouldn't tell anyone about his Pokéblock-making skills without his permission.
Even so, Aoki was careful not to claim he could make high-grade Pokéblocks. If word got out, it would be impossible to keep his identity hidden.
While interdiate Pokémon Breeders were relatively rare in the League, they weren't important enough to attract high-level attention. But if a fifteen-year-old could make high-grade Pokéblocks? That would definitely cause a stir.
"How many are you thinking of ordering?" Aoki asked directly.
Whitney pondered for a mont, then started counting on her fingers. "One for Red, one for White, one for Pink, one for Rosie, one for Trouble..."
She kept counting, her fingers moving one by one, until she ran out of fingers and had to start over. Watching her, Aoki felt sweat forming on his forehead.
Was she planning to buy Pokéblocks for every single Miltank on her family's farm?!
Eventually, Whitney gave up counting, waved her hand, and said casually, "How about 100,000 pieces to start?"
Her big, bright eyes looked at Aoki expectantly, as if the enormous number wasn't a big deal at all.
"..."
One hundred thousand?!
"Can you say that again?" Aoki asked stiffly.
"Is 100,000 okay?"
"No, the question before that."
"Uh... I want to buy so interdiate Pokéblocks for Miltank?"
"Yeah... No!"
"..."
(The author is just ssing around here, sorry! Haha!)
"100,000 is way too many. I don't have that kind of ti," Aoki wiped away imaginary sweat and rejected the offer outright.
Although making interdiate Pokéblocks was simple with high-quality tools and his system's assistance, producing 100,000 of them would take an enormous amount of ti—sothing Aoki was currently short on.
"Really? Hmm... how about 10,000, then?" Whitney tilted her head in thought.
She truly didn't see anything wrong with her request. Whenever her family bought Pokéblocks—aside from high-grade ones—they always purchased them in bulk, usually in the hundreds of thousands. She was just used to that scale. It hadn't occurred to her that Aoki was working alone and couldn't keep up with such demand.
10,000 was still a huge number, but at 100 Pokédollars per piece, it ant 1 million Pokédollars in total. Since the cost of producing each interdiate Pokéblock was only around 10 Pokédollars, this was an incredibly profitable deal.
"10,000 is doable, but you'll have to wait a while. I make them myself, and I don't have enough materials right now—I'll need to buy more," Aoki said.
For soone like him, who was in dire need of money, making an easy 1 million Pokédollars was a great deal.
"Okay! No problem. When we reach Goldenrod City, you can stay at my place for a few days. I'll have my people gather the materials, and you can make the Pokéblocks while enjoying your ti in the city. No rush!"
Whitney directly invited Aoki to stay at her house and help with the Pokéblocks at the sa ti.
Aoki thought for a mont, then nodded in agreent. It wasn't just about the money—his newly acquired Miltank could benefit from spending ti around other Miltank. Maybe it would help her overco her shyness.
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