The TM obtained was Solar Beam.
[Solar Beam: Power 120, charges on the first turn and attacks on the second turn unless under Sunny Day.]
As a Grass-type move, Solar Beam was a solid offensive option. However, its charge time made it tricky to use effectively unless paired with Sunny Day, where it became an immediate powerhouse.
"Not bad. At least it's a strong Grass-type move, and it becomes a real threat under Sunny Day," John muttered as he tucked the TM into his pocket. This was the fourth copy of Solar Beam he'd collected.
He found one in Hoenn's Safari Zone, another on Route 27 in Johto, and a third on Route 21 in Kalos. Each of those had already been used by his Pokémon.
The move was compatible with Blaziken, Aggron, and Vigoroth. Venusaur could already learn it naturally, so there was no need to waste a TM on it.
"I'll save this one for Arcanine. Between Blaziken, Aggron, and Arcanine, it gives them all a solid counter against Water-types."
His collection of powerful, unconventional moves continued to grow.
Aside from the 26 hidden treasure-tier Pokémon items and TMs, the Rocket Hideout raid also yielded Mega Stones and exclusive Pokémon-held items, all tailored to Pokémon already on his team.
The Mega Stone he obtained was for Blaziken.
Blaziken was John's first Pokémon, but its status had become somewhat awkward. It wasn't weak, but the rest of his team had grown incredibly powerful, overshadowing it. Against Master Miao, he had even swapped Blaziken out in favor of Machamp.
But with Mega Evolution, Blaziken could finally reclaim its place in the first lineup.
The exclusive item he obtained was Larvitar Ribbon, meant for Tyranitar.
[Larvitar Ribbon: When held, attacks against opponents whose level is not more than five higher than the user have a 15% chance to cause flinching. The item evolves after triggering flinching 100 times. (Exclusive to Larvitar, Pupitar, and Tyranitar. Ineffective for other Pokémon.)]
The effect wasn't amazing, especially compared to the King's Rock John had given to Greninja. The probability was low, and it only worked against certain opponents. However, the fact that it could evolve intrigued him.
Currently, Tyranitar was holding Smooth Rock, which extended Sandstorm to 15 turns, reduced damage taken during Sandstorm by 1% per turn, and allowed defensive stats to stack up to 20 times.
Since it hadn't fully absorbed the power of Smooth Rock yet, John decided to hold off for now. Once it was done, he'd swap in Larvitar Ribbon and see what happened after it evolved.
This Rocket Hideout raid had been a huge success. More importantly, it guaranteed a treasure-tier Pokémon item every month moving forward.
"The exclusive item came from defeating Ariana before Lance arrived," John realized. "So if I take her down before he shows up next time, will I get another one?"
The rewards hadn't been marked as one-time only.
"Guess I'll just have to beat Ariana again and find out."
After healing up at the Mahogany Town Pokémon Center, John summoned Flygon and took off for New Bark Town.
From there, he surfed east on his Shiny Gyarados toward Tohjo Falls.
Tohjo Falls didn't have much in terms of wild Pokémon—mostly Magikarp and Goldeen—but there were occasional Slowpoke.
"I should catch a few and put them in the store for breeding," John thought. "Apparently, Slowpoke tails are a delicacy..."
"More importantly, if I evolve them into Slowbro, I can get Mega Evolution. If I go the Slowking route, it's a solid defensive option too."
After crossing the waterfall, John finally arrived at Victory Road.
Funny enough, he hadn't even visited Hoenn's Victory Road yet, but here he was in Kanto's.
No rival NPCs had shown up yet, but the wild Pokémon here were powerful: Machamp, Onix , Golem, Rhydon, Crobat.
Using Sweet Scent didn't change the encounters much.
The average wild Pokémon level was 46—the highest he had seen outside of dungeons. No doubt, these were the remnants of Pokémon abandoned by trainers who failed to beat the Elite Four.
It was also the perfect training ground.
John decided to challenge the NPC trainers here. As expected, they all carried full teams of six Pokémon, ranging from levels 70 to 75.
While stronger than Gym Leaders (who usually capped at level 70), they weren't necessarily more skilled. Gym Leaders specialized in a single type, so challengers could counter them easily. But against someone like John, who had a well-rounded team, these NPC trainers had no such advantage.
Still, the battles were long—each one lasted between 15 to 30 minutes. Unlike the official League format, these were six-on-six, full-scale battles.
Worth it? Definitely.
Each NPC on Victory Road gave as much experience as two Gym Leaderss.
"If I rotate between Victory Road in Johto, Kalos, and Kanto every two weeks, my leveling speed will double."
Becoming an Elite in one year?
"I might only need half that time."
After defeating five trainers, John reached a crossroads.
North led to Indigo Plateau, where the Elite Four and Champion awaited.
East led to Viridian City in Kanto.
West led to Mt. Silver.
Challenging the Elite Four? Not yet. The Viridian Gym? Later.
John turned west and stepped toward Mt. Silver.
As he approached, a prompt appeared before him.
[Enter Dungeon: "Mt. Silver"? (Will disappear after completion)]
[Recommended Entry Level: 100]