Tia makes a special order over the phone and makes a shopkeeper's day.
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
“You have reached the Ginkgo Group’s PokeMart Division Customer Service. If you know the extension of the party you want to contact, please enter it now. For sales inquiries, please press 1. For billing inquiries, please press 2. For-”
“To speak to a human being, please press 1!” Tia mimicked the operator’s voice as she pressed 1 on her PokeGear’s keypad. “Geez!” She bobbed her head absently at the oddly catchy hold music, and waited.
“PokeMart Sales Department, how may I help you?”
“Ah! Yes, I’m interested in buying several Poke Ball variants in bulk,” Tia answered.
“Are you ordering for a PokeMart?”
“Uh, no. I’m a researcher, and I’m ordering Poke Balls for my research.”
“I… see. Are you ordering from an address in Sinnoh?”
“No… I’m actually in Kanto.” Tia gave Professor Oak’s address in Pallet Town in lieu of an actual address since she was constantly on the road.
“Okay… and how many of each Poke Ball do you need?”
“150 each of Dusk Balls, Heal Balls, and Quick Balls.”
There was a strange noise like a strangled yelp that was quickly silenced, then a long pause. “You’re… sure you’re not ordering for a PokeMart?”
Tia let out a huff. “I’m not. I’m ordering for my research, and I need 150 of each Ball!”
Another pause. “I’m going to have to transfer you to another department. We can’t handle individual orders of this size. Please hold.”
Tia blinked. What? What do they mean, ‘can’t handle individual orders of this size?’ she thought.
After a few long moments, the call reconnected. “Hello,” a bored male voice spoke, “This is Ginkgo Gadgets Specialty Shop. How may I help you?”
“I’m trying to buy Poke Balls for my research,” Tia said tiredly.
“Well, you’ve called the right place,” the voice said, slightly more interested. “We specialize in hand-crafted Poke Balls, from Johto’s Apricorn Balls to Sinnoh’s home-grown Tumblestone Balls. What’re you after?”
“Uh… Look, I’m just trying to buy Dusk Balls, Heal Balls, and Quick Balls in bulk. Can you do that for me?”
“Sure!” the voice said, even more excited. “As you probably already know, those three Poke Balls are hand-crafted right here and sent out to every PokeMart in Sinnoh. They’re in pretty high demand, and only a few go to each Mart every month.”
Tia frowned. “Uh… no, I didn’t know that, actually. I’m looking to get 150 of each, as soon as possible. Is that fair?”
There was a tremendous crash at the other end of the line, as if the person had dropped the phone. She then heard him scramble to pick it up again. “150 each?” he said in a strangled voice.
Tia frowned harder. “Um… yes. Is there a problem?”
“NO, no! There’s – there’s no problem,” he stammered, “150 Dusk Balls, Heal Balls, and Quick Balls…” he repeated back to her. “This is amazing,” she heard him say under his breath. “We’re looking at about a 4 to 6 week lead time before you get them, since we’re crafting them all from scratch. Is that okay?”
Tia nodded to herself. “Sure. That’s fine with me.” She had a large stock of Devon-made Poke Balls she was just starting to experiment with, so that gave her some time to kill.
“Okay.” The voice took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“And about pricing…” Tia said seriously, “I know Silph and Devon have researcher discounts-”
“W-we can throw in something like that!” the voice said hastily, “Not to worry! I’ll send you the final bill when the Balls are ready to go!”
“I’ll see them in 4 to 6 weeks then,” Tia said in closing, “Thank you!”
“Thank you!” the voice said graciously. Then, Tia heard him shout, “Hey, guys! We just got the biggest order of our lives!”
Tia smiled to herself, then hung up.
I took a little bit of creative license here. I noticed that in D/P/Pt, there isn't a major Poke Ball/technology company like there is in Kanto/Johto and Hoenn (Silph and Devon respectively). But in Legends: Arceus, the Ginkgo Guild is the major commercial force in Hisui. So I had it survive until present day Sinnoh as the Ginkgo Group.