Not Being a Trainer This Time

Chapter 551: Chapter 314: Kitakami Agricultural Exchange Conference

Naoki had never seen this antique shop before, so it must have just recently opened.

The shop door was a heavy carved wooden door, and as it opened, an ancient, rustic aura greeted him.

At first glance, the store was very spacious, with the bar facing the door, and rows of shelves lined against the wall, displaying various old antiques.

A middle-aged man, wearing round glasses, slicked-back hair, and dressed rather meticulously, was standing behind the bar, using a feather duster to clean the dust beside him.

On the bar, a Litleo lay lazily, snoring away.

Upon hearing the door open, the man immediately put down his feather duster, his eyes shining with a light: ”Is there a customer?”

Litleo also raised its head to look over.

”Hello, boss!” Naoki greeted them with a smile.

”What do you want to buy?” The man put down the feather duster, walked forward, and asked, ”Are you looking to buy antique paintings for your collection, or perhaps antique tea sets that help Poltchageist and Sinistea evolve? I have everything here!”

Hearing this, Naoki was confused. He knew Sinistea, but what was this Poltchageist Pokemon?

”Poltchageist?” Naoki couldn’t help but ask.

The boss looked surprised: ”You’ve never heard of this Pokemon?”

Naoki nodded honestly: ”I only know Sinistea.”

”I see!” The boss didn’t mind and introduced with a smile, ”Poltchageist and Sinistea are both Pokemon that inhabit tea sets, and they need specific tea sets to evolve.”

”However, it’s understandable, as the Paldea Region doesn’t have Poltchageist. These Pokemons live far away in Kitakami!”

Kitakami... Naoki instantly understood that although he hadn’t heard of Poltchageist’s name, based on the three words Kitakami, he could deduce that it’s one of the new Pokemon introduced in the Scarlet and Violet DLC.

Speaking of Poltchageist, it seemed the boss had a lot to say.

He let out a sigh, walked to a shelf, pointed to an aged tea bowl on it, and said:

”Look, this is the tea set needed for Poltchageist’s evolution!”

”It’s said to be the regret of Tea Masters who couldn’t reach the pinnacle of the tea ceremony before they died, attached to matcha, becoming this Pokemon.”

”In Kitakami, there’s a terrifying rumor about Poltchageist [if you waste food, Poltchageist will sprinkle matcha on you, then drain the essence from your body, turning you into a shriveled corpse]!”

”How about it, scary isn’t it?” The boss asked.

Naoki: ”...”

This made him increasingly curious about Kitakami.

In Naoki’s perception, it was an agricultural and tourism-rich idyllic town, producing red apples and rice abundantly.

What a remarkable place! How could there be something this terrifying?

”Feels like it’s been deliberately exaggerated like Sinistea and Polteageist,” Naoki thought.

Nonetheless, he wasn’t there for this matter today.

Although this antique shop just opened, it had a wide variety of antiques.

Medieval knight armor, ancient manuscripts full of ancient scripts, old pottery used before...

When Naoki’s gaze lingered on them, the boss would actively introduce them:

”That’s armor worn by knights from the Paldea Kingdom era, very well preserved, has been around for five hundred years, and still isn’t rusted.”

”These are Pokemon observation notes left by ancient scholars from the Paldea Kingdom era. Although the content might be commonplace for modern people, these notes were quite precious and important in those ancient times.”

”This? This is also a Paldea Kingdom era item, and it’s said that the King once drank water from it.”

”...”

Naoki stared silently at the pottery that looked like a chamber pot.

Just then, on the other end of the shelf, he suddenly saw an ancient treasure chest about thirty centimeters high, looking aged.

Naoki was immediately attracted to it.

The boss followed him to the treasure chest: ”This treasure chest, like that pottery, also comes from the Paldea Kingdom era.”

”Over two thousand years ago, during the reign of the Paldea Kingdom, explorers organized a grand treasure hunt, and this treasure chest was something that some explorers got during their expedition. The treasure inside has been taken, leaving only this empty shell.”

”How much is it?” Naoki asked with interest.

If the treasure chest were given to Gimmighoul, it could help it transform from its Roaming Form to its Chest Form, and all the gold coins collected could be stored inside.

The boss said: ”I won’t hide from you, all the treasure inside this chest has been taken, it’s just an empty shell now. If you want it, you can have it for twenty thousand League coins!”

Twenty thousand League coins... which isn’t very expensive to him; he could earn it back with a bottle of goat’s milk.

But such items don’t have an official League price and depend on the vendor’s preferences.

Naoki didn’t know whether he was getting a good deal or not, so he decided to try bargaining.

Thus, Naoki began to use his limited bargaining experience: ”Ten thousand!”

The boss: ”...”

”That’s too exaggerated, even store-bought decorations aren’t this cheap!” The boss glanced at the corner of his mouth: ”Moreover, this item has existed for two thousand years and is still a very collectible antique.”