"I don't see anything unusual about the crystal's structure," Professor Oak told his assistant the next morning as the two examined the ring under one of the lab's microscopes.
"It just looks like a ring to me," said Tracey as he peered into the microscope. "Maybe a jeweler can tell you more about it. I'm definitely not an expert on that subject."
"Neither am I, Tracey," Professor Oak said as he picked up the ring and studied it. As he held it in his hand, to his surprise the crystal began to glow again. "Do you see that, Tracey?"
"Yeah," said Tracey in amazement as the crystal began to sparkle a pale silver. "Pretty strange."
---
"Nope, it looks just like an ordinary crystal to me," said the jeweler in Saffron City as he handed the ring back to Professor Oak. "However, the setting itself is quite unusual. It appears to be quite old."
"Old? How old?" Professor Oak asked.
"I'm not certain, but there's an expert on Pokémon-related art and artifacts who may be able to help you." He handed Professor Oak a business card. "That man should be able to tell you more about the ring than I can."
---
"Do come in, Professor Oak," the expensively-dressed young man smiled at his guest.
"Thank you," Professor Oak said as he entered the elaborately decorated room that was filled with valuable antiques. One thing he noticed was that all of the pieces – sculptures, paintings, books – dealt with Pokémon in some way.
"My name is Jiraldan, and as I'm sure my friend in Saffron City told you, I'm a collector," the young man said as he sat down at an ornate rococo desk and indicated that Professor Oak should take the seat on the other side.
"Yes, he mentioned that you might be able to help me," Professor Oak said as he reached into the pocket of his lab coat. "I gave this ring to my fiancee yesterday and I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me more about it."
Jiraldan took the ring from the older man, picked up a jeweler's loupe from his desk, and began examining it. "This is a rather unusual ring, Professor. Where did you find it?"
"I bought it from a street vendor in Naranjita about twenty years ago."
Jiraldan raised his eyebrows. "Really? How much did you pay for it?"
"Not very much. I'd say maybe ten or fifteen dollars."
"Well, you certainly did get a deal on this," Jiraldan smiled as he continued to study the ring. "Especially since this isn't from Naranjita at all."
"It's not?"
"No. The style of this appears to be Ecrudian."
"Ecrudian?"
"This is very typical of Ecrudian jewelry of the early Renaissance period. Matter of fact, there's a rather interesting story behind the subject of this ring."
"Kadabra?"
"Yes. About six hundred years ago, there was a sorcerer called Maldiavolo."
"Sorcerer?" Professor Oak said skeptically.
"Actually he was a scientist, just like you. Unfortunately, he was also a bit of a madman as well. He owned several psychic Pokémon that he used to terrorize the Pokémon and people of other villages. Kadabra was his particular favorite. Some say that he was able to use alchemy to create a crystal that could be used to control the actions of other Pokémon."
Professor Oak stared at the ring's appraiser in disbelief. "Are you saying that this is the ring…"
"No," Jiraldan smiled. "It's a reproduction. Probably late nineteenth-century. However, it is a very good copy and it would make a rather nice addition to my collection." Jiraldan put down the loupe and reached into his desk drawer. "You said that you paid fifteen dollars for it. I'm willing to pay you a hundred times that." He flipped open a checkbook and began writing. "Fifteen hundred dollars is a fair price for a ring of this quality."
Professor Oak's mouth fell open in disbelief. "I don't know about…"
Jiraldan paused in the middle of writing in the amount. "Oh, you wish to bargain, then? Very well, how about seventeen-fifty?"
Professor Oak's eyes opened wider. "I…I…"
Jiraldan sighed. "All right. Two thousand. And that's my final offer."
"I…I need to talk it over with my fiancee first," Professor Oak stammered. "After all, it's her ring."
"Certainly. I understand," Jiraldan smiled as he put away his checkbook and stood up. "But don't keep me waiting too long. My offer is good for only a short period of time and two thousand is a more than fair price. You won't get that from anyone else."
"I'll talk it over with Delia tonight," Professor Oak said as he rose from his chair and shook Jiraldan's hand.
"Delia? Is that your fiancee's name?" Jiraldan said as he escorted his visitor to the door.
"Yes. Delia Ketchum."
"What a lovely name…Delia," Jiraldan mused. "Does she live in Pallet Town, too?"
"Yes. We've been neighbors for years."
"I'll expect an answer from you tomorrow, Professor Oak," Jiraldan said as he opened the door.
"You'll have it. And thanks again."
After Professor Oak's departure, Jiraldan made his way to the telephone in the other room and dialed a series of numbers.
"Hello? Yes, this is Jiri. I just had a very interesting visitor a few moments ago. He has something that you may be very interested in…"
---
"Two thousand dollars?" Delia couldn't believe her ears.
"Yes. I couldn't believe it myself. If it's all right with you, I'll take the ring back to him tomorrow and then we can use the money to buy you another engagement ring. You can pick out whatever you like."
"Yes, that'll be fine." Delia picked up the ring and watched the light dance in the crystal in Kadabra's forehead. "Although it's such a pretty ring. I almost hate to see it go."
Samuel took the ring back from her and placed it in its box. "After what happened last night, I think we might be better off without it."
"Oh Samuel, do you really think the ring was what made me and Mimie sick last night?"
"I don't know, Delia, but I'm not going to take any more chances." He placed the box in the safe in the laboratory and locked it. "First thing tomorrow, we'll head over to the collector's place and get rid of this ring. Then we'll go shopping for a new engagement ring after that," he said as he took her in his arms.
"And then I can go look for a wedding dress!" Delia said excitedly.
"Why don't we get a head start on our honeymoon now?" Samuel said with a wicked grin as he slipped his hand inside her shirt.
Delia squealed. "Stop it! Tracey might walk in!" She wriggled out of his grasp and straightened her clothes. "Besides, if we're going to spend all day tomorrow shopping, I need to go home and get some sleep. And I think Mimie wants to go home, too." After kissing her fiance good-night, she headed back into the lab to go find her Pokémon. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning," she smiled as she emerged with Mimie in tow.
"Let me know if you or Mimie start feeling ill again," Samuel said as he opened the front door. "If either of you have any problems tonight, call me."
"Oh, I think I'll sleep well tonight," Delia laughed. "I'm going to be dreaming about my wedding dress!"
The sooner that ring is gone, the better I'll sleep, Samuel thought as he stood in the doorway and watched until the pair had made it safely back to the little white house at the bottom of the hill.