[Mind Badge: The power of all Pokémon Psychic moves in the team is increased by 10%]
In his hands, he now held two classic texts—one on breeding Psychic-type Pokémon, penned by the renowned duo Liza and Tate, and another, a manual on Psychic training techniques.
A Psychic training manual? Now that was interesting.
John had always been fascinated by psychic abilities—telekinesis, telepathy, hypnosis. Especially hypnosis. He wasted no time and flipped open the book.
The first line hit him like a slap to the face:
If you weren't born with innate Psychic abilities, you can stop reading now.
What if I was born with Psychic abilities? In real life, I'd be training under some grandmaster right now! What kind of exclusionary nonsense was this?
Frustrated, he skimmed through the rest. The text confirmed that natural-born Psychic talent was a strict prerequisite.Liza and Tate had both been gifted from birth, which was why they had been able to develop their abilities. For anyone else, it was impossible.
Great, John thought, so unless I plan on passing this down to some hypothetical psychic-powered kid in the future, this thing is useless.
With a sigh, he tossed the book to the bottom of his growing pile of Pokémon training guides.
The breeding guide, though, looked more promising.
It primarily covered Solrock and Lunatone, as the duo had specialized in using them for double battles. Their training insights were thorough—Solrock's section included advanced methods for Morning Sun, Light Screen, and Wonder Room, while Lunatone's detailed the training of Moonblast, Moonlight, and Magic Room.
The moves were impressive, but Morning Sun had particularly strict learning conditions. None of John's current Pokémon seemed compatible with it—though, perhaps, Venusaur could give it a shot.
Wonder Room and Magic Room intrigued him. The former swapped an opponent's physical and special defense—perfect against Pokémon like Steelix, whose absurd physical defense far outclassed its special. The latter temporarily nullified held items, which immediately made John think of countering Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.
Moonblast was already in Gardevoir's arsenal, but Moonlight was not. Since it was a move tied to lunar energy, there was a chance Gardevoir could learn it with the right training.
Satisfied, John skimmed through the remaining content on Solrock and Lunatone's synergy in double battles before setting the book aside. The Gym challenge was done, and now, there was only one thing left to do: fly to the Kalos region from Mossdeep City.
As he stepped out of the Gym, John ran into a familiar face—Steven Stone, Hoenn's former Champion.
"I watched your battle against the Gym Leaders. You're growing into quite the skilled Trainer," Steven said with a smile. "Come with me to my house—I have something for you."
John perked up. Steven had a house in Mossdeep City? That meant he had multiple homes. Given his family's vast business empire, he probably had a mansion in every major city in Hoenn.
Eager for whatever gift was coming, John followed Steven to his Mossdeep residence. Once inside, Steven handed him a Technical Machine.
"This is Dive," Steven said. "Once your Pokémon masters it, you'll be able to travel underwater without issue. Consider it my reward for an entertaining battle."
John grinned. "Thanks, Steven."
Because of his new Mind Badge, Dive had automatically upgraded to Secret Dive.
Secret Dive: Power 100. Increases underwater movement speed, enhances resistance to water pressure, and allows deeper diving.
The power boost was decent, but the real benefit came in field applications—diving deeper, moving faster underwater. In battles, Dive was rarely used. Water-type attacks usually relied on Surf, which John had already strengthened once before.
He opened his bag and taught the move to both Gyarados and Greninja.
After that, Steven had nothing more to say. It was clear his sole purpose in showing up was to give John the TM.
Stepping outside, John noticed a young boy standing near Steven's house. On a whim, he spoke to him.
"Oh! Here, take this," the boy said cheerfully, handing John a King's Rock.
John blinked. A King's Rock? From a random kid?
[Coercion King's Rock: When the Pokémon holding this item uses an attack that does not induce flinching naturally, there is a 30% chance to cause the target to flinch. If the holder is of a higher level than its opponent, it will also intimidate them upon entering battle.]
John stared at the rock, then back at the boy.
This kid was richer than Steven.
This was his first time getting a treasure-tier held item from an NPC. Did wealth just radiate off Steven, spreading to his neighbors? Or was it a requirement to be rich just to live in this part of Mossdeep?
Regardless, the item was a game-changer. Regular King's Rock had only a 10% flinch chance—not particularly reliable. But this treasure-tier version boosted the odds to 30%. Paired with a multi-hit move like Water Shuriken, it was downright scary.
With Water Shuriken's five hits, at least one should trigger the effect, right? If it did, Greninja would become a nightmare for opponents.
John immediately equipped the King's Rock to Greninja before heading to the Mossdeep Space Center.
Technically, it was Hoenn's space exploration hub, but it also served as a rocket launch site and an airport. If his memory was correct, this place was about to get involved in Team Magma's latest scheme.
Maxie, their leader, had stolen Groudon. At this stage, he should have been busy trying to control the legendary Pokémon. But instead, he was after rocket fuel?
Why? So he could blow up Mt. Chimney?
John shook his head. He had always found Maxie's plan ridiculous. Did the guy really need to go this far just to watch a volcano erupt?
Arriving at the center, John was greeted by a staff member named Elon.
"Are you here to board a rocket to space?" Elon Tusk asked. "Or would you like to take a space shuttle to another region?"
John's mind short-circuited.
Board a rocket to space?
Was that actually an option? Did the Pokémon world have an entire universe mapped out for exploration?
His curiosity got the best of him. He saved his progress and selected the option.
"Alright," Elon Tuck said with a professional smile. "That'll be 30 billion Pokedollars."