At All Costs {Pokémon Fanfiction}

Chapter 5: Intuition Says Otherwise

The fresh Mahogany air fills my nose as the morning begins. I can see the rest of the town starting to wake up and begin the same bustling I've experienced before. Stalls start setting up shop, including the one Margery visited yesterday to purchase her shells she claims is "valuable merchandise" to future profits. I have absolutely no idea what she plans to do with three hundred shells. I know though that if anyone has any idea what Margery is thinking, it's Margery.

"So what's your plan today?" I ask, quickly realizing the futility in the lack of specifics to my question.

"Isn't it obvious?" she exclaims gleefully. "Pro—"

"I mean other than profit," I interject. With a disappointed huff, Margery crosses her arms as we weave through the alleyways and narrow streets towards the main road.

"Well, other than profit?" she asks me. "A great question. That deserves an even better answer."

I glance over at her as we pass crates in the dim alley. "Which is?" I ask.

"I don't usually have a short term goal other than profit. And, even if I did, it'd probably be something that would inevitably lead to profit," she answers, pulling her jacket closer to her body as we squeeze through a narrow passage between buildings and out into the market street. Merchants shouting competing for sales erupts around us, as if it's within the street's confinement itself. It's a whole other level when being there in person. The stall from the day before is a smaller stand near the outskirts of the town further west. Being in the center of it all brings a whole new perspective and discoveries.

"Wow, this is amazing," I say in awe. The incredible harmony of order and chaos is like the clash of two opposing legendary Pokémon that represented polar opposites. A duo like Hoenn's Kyogre and Groudon immediately springs to mind like a Spoink.

"And the best part about it is when I get to take advantage of all the gullible idiots and make money off of them! Isn't it great?" Margery grins, patting her money pouch in her inside pocket from the outside of her jacket. Her sense of merchant pride has no bounds.

"I don't think anyone else would have put it that way Mar—" I start, but immediately realizing that Margery already made her way somewhere else. A quick scan of the immediate surroundings has me Lock-On at the nearest stall to our left, where an older man is raving about whatever in the world he's selling. I walk over and take a closer look at what seems to have caught Margery's interest.

"Yes! There aren't many left! You have to get one before they all go!" the man shouts, displaying his merchandise out in front of the two of us. Margery is in deep thought looking at a large array of...small statues? Lots of them and they all seem to be the same or about the same. They all depict Arceus, with it in an elegant pose for the equine, overlooking whatever you want to aim its gaze at. There are maybe thirty or so of them out on the splintered-wood countertop in front of us. Margery already has one in her hand, feeling it around the smooth base and looking at the minute details I couldn't care less about. She tosses it in her grasp up and down, probably to get a rough estimate of its weight.

"And you say this is...made of what, exactly?" she asks the shopkeeper.

"That, Miss, is two pounds of pure solid silver. You can't go wrong with a statue of the omnipotent protector in a graceful pose that was sold to us and distributed by the local church representatives themselves. They even insisted that a lucky few who deserve it will purchase blessed ones that help ward off evil," the man nods.

"And how much does it cost?" she asks him. The man pauses for a moment, then smiles at Margery.

"For you miss, how about a special discount? Five gold coins!" the man offers. Margery's eyes widen. I know what that means. She must have been offered a deal she can't refuse.