"I need a loan," Alex suddenly dropped over dinner.
"What do you need a loan for?" Jenny asked.
"I need a loan to buy as many stocks of berries as possible—ones that will increase in price in a month or two."
"How sure are you that the price of these berries will increase?" Jenny asked skeptically.
"How desperate would trainers be if they could elevate two specific stats at the expense of the rest?"
"How much of an increase are we talking about?"
"The math is complicated because we haven't discovered a specific numerical representation of stats or the exact factors that go into their calculation. Even if I told you what I thought, it couldn't be proven right or wrong.
What I can tell you is that the increase is more significant for Pokémon with lower stats than for those with higher ones. The key point is that these stats can be reset for free using incredibly cheap berries, followed by a properly targeted diet.
It takes about 25 berries to erase all manipulatable stats from a single stat of a Pokémon and 250 pounds of specific Pokémon meat to build them back up. For a total reset, that's 150 berries. For complete maxing, it's 500 pounds of meat, distributed however you like," Alex explained
"It's the stat-reducing berries, isn't it?"
"Yup. And your Pokémon needs to consume 25 berries per stat before increasing it again with specific Pokémon food. By the way, Raticate and Clauncher are built for Special Attack and Speed, while Growlithe is built for Defense and Special Defense."
"How much do you want to take out as a loan?"
"As much as you can give me. In fact, the more money you invest, the more you'll get back."
"This is why you asked about market manipulation?"
"Yup. But I dropped that idea—it's too dangerous to rely on other people. I trust you, which is why I'm telling you, but I don't know who else to trust. The more berries we corner for ourselves now, the more money we can make in about five months—just before the next harvest season—assuming we release the news within the next two months. That would give farmers enough time to adjust their crops.
I suspect we could make even more if we wait until the next harvest season, but that would be a gamble."
"You did your research," Jenny said, impressed.
"It's a lot of money."
"And we just need to buy those six berries until we run out of money and sell them back in five months, right?"
"Yes, but I need to finish my paper first. It should take me about a month at my current pace."
"Alright. I'll handle everything."
"Take my money too. It isn't much, but 700,000 Pokédollars can go a long way."
"You don't need it?"
"I'll need it around the time we sell the berries, but not before. My work at the dojo should keep all my Pokémon fed until then."
"Alright."
"Great. I'll let you handle all of that, then. I'll also trust you to decide who else we can trust. The more people who buy into this, the greater our profits as the ones who bought out the berries first. Just make sure to buy the berries before telling anyone. Once a third person knows, it's no longer a secret—whether I release my paper or not."
"Okay."
And with that, Alex set his plan in motion—getting collaborators to drive prices up before the news broke.
By the next day, Jenny secured a loan close to 10 million Pokédollars. Adding in both her and Alex's savings, they amassed a total of 11 million Pokédollars' worth of cheap berries. This acquisition alone caught the attention of many farmers and wealthy investors.
Luckily for the Jenny clan, those wealthy individuals remained skeptical, allowing the Jennys to gain a solid lead before the investors wised up.
One Jenny going all-in was a fluke. Her immediate family joining in was understandable. But when the rest of the Jenny clan followed suit, it became a pattern—a pattern of demand exceeding supply, a pattern that generated money. Without even understanding why, wealthy individuals started buying berries in bulk, triggering farmers to adjust their plans for the next harvest season.
A month later, Alex posted his research paper on the online scientific community.
Due to Professor Oak's leadership in building a prominent scientific community alongside the Pokémon League, there was only one global scientific network. Instead of isolated regional groups, researchers across different regions were connected through the League's established system, forming an interconnected whole.
Any paper published anywhere was accessible worldwide for peer review.
When Alex posted his paper, many were intrigued by the idea of fluid potential—how a Pokémon's stats could be scientifically manipulated through diet rather than relying on inconsistent Pokéblocks that sometimes worked, sometimes didn't, and sometimes had only temporary effects.
Alex's research numerically proved that feeding a Pokémon 25 of each specific berry—Pomeg for HP, Kelpsy for Attack, Qualot for Defense, Hondew for Special Attack, Grepa for Special Defense, and Tamato for Speed—unlocked a reservoir of manipulatable stats.
Even more impressively, he confirmed long-debated claims that certain Pokéblocks and Pokémon meat could increase stats. Their inconsistency stemmed from the existence of a hard limit—once reached, further increases became impossible. However, by first reducing stats, trainers could reset this limit, revealing a system that could be deliberately manipulated through diet.
Alex went further, proposing that Pokémon were not as different from each other as once believed, supporting the concept of base stats. He also introduced the idea that Pokémon had a predetermined potential at birth.
In a groundbreaking twist, he hinted at personality-based stat variations, using his own Growlithe as an example. He detailed how he tailored its training to complement its personality.
To solidify his findings, Alex suggested future research directions—such as creating a database to record Pokémon stats at birth, which would help determine the maximum and minimum values for each species. The resulting spread would define a Pokémon's potential—the higher the initial values, the stronger the Pokémon could become in the future.
Breeders latched onto the idea, launching multiple online databases—until the League stepped in and established a unified, standardized system. Any dataset that didn't meet the League's rigorous criteria was invalidated.
Psychologists also jumped in, fascinated by Alex's claim that a Pokémon's nature influenced its stats. While it was already known that natures affected taste preferences, proving they also impacted stats was a game-changer.
The League responded by incorporating natures into the dataset.
As data poured in, patterns would begin to emerge. Once enough data sets were submitted by dedicated breeders, they would be able to identify the specifics Alex had mentioned.
For now, it was a collective, groundbreaking discovery—led by a 13-year-old who was still in school.
With the release of the paper came a surge of interest in the previously useless stat-reducing berries. As interest grew, so did their price.
At first, it was just scientists attempting to replicate and verify Alex's findings. By the next month, extensive studies had backed his claims. Another month later, trainers caught on to the news and emptied the market. The following month, they began scouring the wilds for the elusive berries that allowed them to specialize or generalize their Pokémon's stats.
By the fourth month, professional trainers had no choice but to buy them as well. Fortunately, the market recovered just before harvest season, when more berries would be available—hopefully at lower prices than before.
Unfortunately, the berries sold out again just before harvest, and prices continued to soar.
Alex, however, no longer cared—he was now a millionaire.
"Congratulations on becoming a millionaire at 14, Alex," Jenny celebrated.
"Thank you. Congratulations on becoming a millionaire in your mid-20s, Jenny," Alex replied.
They both smiled before clinking their glasses. They were celebrating at a famous high-end establishment that served regular animals. The chicken… tasted like chicken.
Alex was thoroughly disappointed, but at least he had fulfilled the previous Alex's wish. The meal itself was excellent—the chefs were top-notch.
As for their profits and reason for celebration? They made a total of 100 million Pokédollars in pure profit after repaying the loan.
They timed the resale just before the price peaked at 15 times their original investment. Sure, they could have made an additional 50 million, possibly even more once the post-harvest stocks were depleted, but they still walked away with 100 million Pokédollars.
Okay… after taxes, it was 70 million, but still. They were officially young millionaires. They decided to split the profits evenly, leaving them with 35 million each.
Jenny planned to buy a bigger place for her puppies, while Alex was finally getting that Drought Ninetales.
He had already put himself on the waitlist. It said it could take up to a year, but close enough, right?
As for the rest of the money, Alex hadn't really decided what to do with it. It was a lot… and yet not that much at the same time. Sure, he could buy three pseudo-legendaries, and they would all come as eggs with his preferred abilities, but how was he going to feed them?
That required sustained income, which he didn't have. He was already using most of their current earnings just to maintain his existing team, and it wasn't enough to build a truly top-tier squad.
So, for now, Alex decided to set that problem aside and deal with it later.
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