Wu Yan didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “What’s your reasoning?”

  Su Wen counted on his fingers. “Helioptile, Manectric, and the Pokémon you used before—they’re all Electric-types. If you didn’t have a special ability, wouldn’t it be better to train a banced team?”

  Wu Yan nodded. “You’re right. My ability is ?Electric Waves, and yours must be some kind of wave too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to block your probing with my Electric Waves during our battle.”

  He then sighed. “Actually, I’d like to train more diverse Pokémon, but my ability is just too beneficial for Electric-types. To raise other Pokémon to Gym Leader level would take several times the resources and time compared to Electric-types.”

  At this point, Su Wen brought up a question that had long puzzled him. “Teacher Wu, I think there are quite a few people in Xia with special abilities. Why isn’t there any testing or bonus for that during high school admissions?”

  “Because it’s easy to exploit,” Wu Yan expined. “The government’s stance on ability users is neutral—neither supporting, opposing, nor encouraging them. Most abilities are specific to single-type Pokémon, like mine, which focuses on Electric-types, or Zhou Wan’s. However, universities do offer bonuses for students with special abilities.”

  Before he could finish, Wu Yan executed a sharp turn and parked the car neatly within the lines. “Zhou Li and Zhou Wan’s abilities are probably tailored to Fighting-type Pokémon, right?”

  Su Wen and Chen You’s hearts nearly jumped out of their chests from the sudden maneuver. Su Wen took a moment to recover before saying, “Teacher Wu, if you keep driving like that, we’re taking a taxi back to school.”

  “Haha, noted,” Wu Yan replied, pulling out the keys and leading them into the auction venue.

  Su Wen asked curiously, “Don’t we need any qualifications to enter?”

  Wu Yan waved a gold card in his left hand. “I’m a VIP.”

  Sure enough, a staff member guided them directly to a private room on the second floor. The room had a rge gss window overlooking the auction floor, and a sound system ensured they could hear the auctioneer clearly.

  “Wow, this is luxurious,” Chen You said, sitting on a spacious sofa with a crystal table den with various fruits in front of him.

  Wu Yan felt a sense of pride, though the gold card wasn’t his—it belonged to the school principal.

  Before long, the entrance was closed, and an auctioneer in a tailcoat stepped onto the stage, signaling the start of the event.

  This was a formal auction organized by the Pokémon League, so there were no fshy opening acts. After a brief introduction, the first item was dispyed—a set of seven ?Lum Berries, starting at 1,500 yuan.

  Lum Berries could cure a Pokémon’s status conditions and were priced at around 200 yuan each, making them retively common.

  “1,600!”

  “1,800!”

  “1,800 going once, 1,800 going twice, 1,800 sold!”

  The second item was a ?Golden Ruyi Scepter, weighing 0.9 kilograms, with a starting bid of 300,000 yuan.

  “310,000!”

  “330,000!”

  ...

  Clearly, the auction wasn’t limited to Pokémon-reted items. Miscelneous goods were also on offer.

  Su Wen’s pocket money would only cover the first item. The subsequent bids, ranging from tens of thousands to millions, left him staring in awe.

  Finally, the ?Electirizer—a rare item that could evolve Electabuzz into Electivire—was introduced as the eleventh item, starting at 1.2 million yuan.

  The bidding was fierce. Wu Yan bid 1.4 million, but it was quickly topped by 1.45 million. The price soon soared to 6 million, with only a handful of bidders left.

  “6.5 million!”

  “6.6 million!”

  “6.9 million!”

  ...

  Seeing the competition, Wu Yan gritted his teeth and raised the bid to 10 million.

  “Isn’t that overpriced?” Su Wen asked. While he hadn’t personally bought one, he knew the market price for an Electirizer was around 9 million.

  Wu Yan took a deep breath. “Those bidders either have an Electabuzz themselves or are buying for their kids. If I didn’t go all in, it’d be hard to secure it.”

  Sure enough, the 10 million bid silenced the room. After a moment of hesitation, the other bidders gave up.

  “10 million going once, 10 million going twice, 10 million sold!”

  Soon, a staff member knocked on their door, wheeling in the Electirizer. For VIPs in private rooms, items were delivered directly, unlike the general auction floor, where buyers had to collect their purchases afterward.

  “Will you be paying by card or cash?” the staff member asked politely.

  “Card,” Wu Yan replied, swiping his credit card. In an instant, 10 million yuan vanished.

  The staff member asked if the Electirizer should be delivered to a specified location. After confirming, they left the room.

  With the Electirizer secured, Wu Yan rexed and leaned back, ready to browse the remaining items.

  As the auction continued, Su Wen and Chen You were captivated by the variety of items, including practical ones like ?Assault Vests. Unfortunately, the prices were far beyond their means.

  When the 24th item was introduced, the auctioneer gave it special attention.

  “The 24th item is a gss bead. Analysis shows it’s at least 50,000 years old, with intricate patterns that make it a beautiful dispy piece. Starting bid: 100,000 yuan.”

  Someone in the audience joked, “Every rock on Earth is billions of years old. Why auction something that’s only 50,000 years old?”

  The remark drew ughter, and the few interested bidders quickly lost interest, not wanting to be seen as gullible.

  The auctioneer sighed softly, expecting the item to go unsold.

  But Su Wen’s eyes were fixed on the bead.

  “Chen You, bid on it for me!” Su Wen urged, nudging his friend.

  “Huh?” Chen You thought he’d misheard. “What did you say?”

  Su Wen repeated, “I said, bid on it for me.”