Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Bizarre and Wonderful Goods in the Supermarket

The Greedent Supermarket is a large chain, and there is one located in Viridian City as well. Perhaps the owner felt that the Greedent from the Galar region matched their aesthetic, leading them to choose this Pokémon as their brand trademark.

The iconic logo of the Greedent Supermarket is a cute, cartoonish Greedent. Hise quite likes this store; the items sold here are reasonably priced, unlike certain other supermarkets where a plain glass cup can cost over a hundred bucks—one would think it was made of crystal.

Hise came here with a specific goal in mind. He headed straight for the Pokémon food section, where he spotted Snorlax rations. He remembered this was a new product released by a research lab, boasting the miraculous effect of satiating a Snorlax with only a small portion.

The downside was the high price. Hise looked at the box in his hand—a large five-kilogram container. According to the packaging, the food inside was enough to cover a Snorlax’s normal consumption for an entire month, which was quite impressive.

However, the price tag was rather daunting. Hise glanced at the label, which indicated that this bag of Snorlax rations cost as much as 1,779 League Coins—nearly 1,800. It was not a small sum.

"Hiss... these Snorlax rations are seriously expensive..." Hise felt a pang of heartache. 1,800 League Coins—if he were still in Viridian City, he could have scrounged a bit more from Officer Jenny's Gengar to afford it. But currently, his savings were limited, and he still needed to purchase furniture like a bed, so he had to be frugal.

"But come to think of it, a colleague of mine used to spend over a thousand a month on cat food, so perhaps this is actually reasonable." Hise forced himself to rationalize it. If a small creature like a cat could eat over a thousand a month, a Snorlax being fed for a whole month for 1,800 was practically a miracle.

With that thought, Hise felt much calmer. He placed a bag of Snorlax rations into his shopping cart and pushed it toward the condiment aisle, as his food truck was running low on seasonings.

"This price is just too high!" Zorua, perched on Hise's head, said with a look of shock. 1,800—that could buy so many books! Zorua felt a bit distressed.

"What’s so surprising about that? Do you know what the most expensive things are in this place, aside from things like Evolution Stones used to enhance a Pokémon's strength?" Hise curled his lip; being shocked by a mere 1,700 was an overreaction.

"What could it be?" Zorua asked, full of curiosity. She truly couldn't imagine anything more expensive than that.

Hise smiled and pushed the cart toward a certain section. He stopped shortly after and picked up a small bottle. It contained only 100 milliliters, but the price tag below it made Zorua dizzy just by looking at it.

"One zero... two zeros... three zeros... so many zeros..." Zorua stared at the price tag, dazed, swallowing hard. What kind of number was this?

"Stop counting. This 100ml bottle of Milotic hair conditioner costs exactly what you see: over 13,000 League Coins." Hise scoffed. Compared to this conditioner, the Snorlax rations were small potatoes.

And it was only 100 milliliters! Hise felt that if he ever bought it, he would be too afraid to use it, wanting to keep it on a pedestal every day.

Thinking of this, Hise carefully put the conditioner back. Although it wouldn't break if dropped, what if something happened? He would likely have to declare bankruptcy on the spot.

The most competitive field in the Pokémon world, and the one with the largest market share, is Pokémon grooming. Milotic is considered a luxury brand in the realm of Pokémon skincare, and the Primarina brand is on par with it, also commanding a high price.

However, Hise remembered the most expensive cosmetic he knew of: the "Champion Beauty" line endorsed by Kalos Champion Diantha. A single jar of whitening cream, identical to the one used by her Gardevoir, sold for the sky-high price of 50,000 to 60,000 League Coins, reminding Hise once again of his own ignorance.

Zorua was now completely beside herself, muttering on Hise's head about how many books she could buy with 13,000 League Coins. Hise figured she was about to turn into a broken record.

After purchasing the necessary condiments, Hise headed to the furniture section. The beds here came in all sorts of strange shapes and sizes, including an ultra-large bed claimed to allow trainers and their Pokémon to sleep together comfortably. A bed with a weight capacity of up to 1.5 tons cost over 30,000 League Coins.

Despite Zorua’s frantic hints, Hise ignored these beds. He circled the furniture area until he found a bed in a corner that satisfied him.

It was a very simple bed, lacking any features other than its basic function. It could accommodate a person, and it was sturdy enough for a not-too-heavy Pokémon to sleep on as well. Most importantly, it was economical and offered excellent value for the money.

Hise had slept on a similar bed in the Jenny dormitory, which had been bought for him by Officer Jenny Maple. According to her, "Arcanine" brand beds were rugged and lacked aesthetic appeal, but once you slept on one, the comfort was indescribable.

Although it lacked fancy features like smart voice systems, the Arcanine brand was incredibly durable and reliable, with top-tier quality control. Whenever Jenny Maple talked about Arcanine beds, she would go on and on, even tracing their history back to their origin.

This struck Hise as odd—why was she so knowledgeable about this? Later, after asking Officer Jenny Belle, he learned that the Arcanine brand was actually an industry owned by the Jenny family. Belle also shared a secret that wasn't much of a secret at all: the pharmaceutical products under the Joy family's "Blissey" and "Chansey" brands were also widely recognized as the best in the entire League, bar none.

"This price isn't cheap either," Zorua said, looking at the bed Hise had chosen and counting the zeros, feeling dizzy again. She discovered she had developed a strange ailment called "zero-dizziness"—whenever there were too many zeros in a number, she started feeling off.

"I know it's expensive, but Maple said that Jennys get a discount on these. Even though I'm not a Jenny, I am an honorary one." Hise shrugged, though he wasn't sure how much the discount would be.