At five in the morning, John boarded a special plane arranged by the Trainer Association, heading toward the vast grasslands. Even with priority travel, the flight from Riverstone to their destination would take four hours, meaning he'd arrive around nine.
Seated a few rows away was a girl dressed entirely in black. A black mask covered her face, a beret sat snugly on her head, and only a pair of sharp, inquisitive eyes peeked out from her attire. From the moment John stepped onto the plane, he could feel her gaze locked onto him.
As a well-known trainer, he was used to this kind of attention. With a resigned sigh, he leaned back into his seat, closed his eyes for a brief rest, and pulled out his Gameboy. freewebnoveℓ.com
Last night, rather than turning in early, he had taken Vigoroth to the training grounds to run some tests. He wanted to gauge its proficiency with Mega Punch and Body Slam. To his surprise, its progress with those moves was still mediocre, but its Force Palm and Mach Punch had significantly improved.
That puzzled John. The last time he had checked, Vigoroth had only just learned Force Palm and Mach Punch, yet, within a month, it had already mastered them?
Not only that, but Vigoroth was beginning to combine Force Palm with other moves, creating an entirely new attack pattern. John suspected that before its evolution, it was aiming to reach a peak form of combat, incorporating Mach Punch, Force Palm, and close-range techniques into a seamless offensive style.
That rate of improvement was staggering, faster than his Blaziken or Greninja!
Was Vigoroth a genius?
It wasn't impossible, given that it was a flawless 6IV Pokemon. However, after some investigation, John discovered the real reason: meditation. Apparently, Vigoroth had started meditating before and after training, and the results were undeniable. With a clear mind, learning new skills became significantly easier.
"Meditation actually works that well?" John had asked himself. That night, he made Blaziken and the others join in, testing the method. Sure enough, it had an immediate impact on their training.
After that, he'd spent hours refining his team's regimen before finally heading to bed close to midnight.
Now, lost in his Gameboy, John suddenly felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Turning, he saw the girl in black holding out a note, written in small, elegant handwriting:
Mr.John, I'm your fan. Could I get your autograph?
"Sure," he said, taking the pen and paper.
The girl's eyes lit up as she handed over a Pokeball alongside the pen. This time, her note had a different request:
Please write 'Shiny' on my Pokeball!!!
John blinked. Three exclamation marks?
Did she think his signature would bless her Pokeball, making it summon a Shiny Pokemon?
That was some next-level superstition.
Honestly, if she wanted luck, she should ask a Togepi to scribble on it instead.
But if that's what she wanted...
John smirked, taking the Pokeball and scribbling 'Shiny' on it in bold letters. The girl accepted it like it was a priceless artifact, tucking it safely into her jacket as if it were a sacred charm.
John simply shrugged and went back to his Gameboy.
His in-game avatar was currently in Johto's Mt. Silver, but he had no intention of staying there. Mt. Silver was an endgame zone, full of Level 100 wild Pokemon. Not to mention, if his suspicions were correct, the legendary trainer Red might be hiding somewhere in its depths.
Challenging him now would be suicide.
Better to focus on the Kanto gyms first.
So far, John had already defeated Pewter City's Brock, Cerulean City's Misty, Vermilion City's Lt. Surge, and Celadon City's Erika. Next on his list was the Fuchsia City Gym.
However, since he was currently on a plane, he decided to take a detour in-game. Instead of heading to Fuchsia right away, he flew to Blackthorn City in Johto. His goal? Farming Dratini at Dragon's Den.
John wasn't planning to train a Dratini himself unless he found a Shiny one. Otherwise, he preferred waiting until he reached Meteor Falls in Hoenn, where he could try his luck at catching a Shiny or 6IV Bagon. For now, he'd settle for capturing high-IV Dratini to sell.
As he prepared to grind for Dratini, he felt another tug on his sleeve.
It was the girl again, holding up another note:
How do you always find so many Shiny Pokemon?
Her wide eyes sparkled with curiosity.
John narrowed his gaze. Wait... was she really a fan of his, or just a hardcore Shiny collector?
"You can talk, right?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
In response, she handed him another note.
John stared at the paper, then at her. "Then why not just ask me?"
Instead of writing a new note, she simply flipped the one she had over, revealing two more words:
John's brain stalled for a moment.
Less than three minutes into this flight, she had already initiated contact twice. And she called herself socially anxious?
Oh sure, total introvert behavior.
"So, you get nervous when speaking out loud?" he asked.
The girl didn't write this time. Instead, she nodded her head furiously, like a bobblehead doll.
John sighed. "Then just say one word."
She hesitated, gripping her pen tightly. After a long pause, she handed him another note:
John rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long flight.
Eventually, he gave in and exchanged contact details with her so they could just text each other. Less effort on his part.
Through their chat, he learned that her name was Mira. She had recently become a Pokemon Investigator, and this was her first mission. Her obsession with Shiny Pokemon was no coincidence, she had officially dubbed herself a 'Shiny Pokemon Collector.'
The current number of Shiny Pokemon she owned?
John nearly choked on his laughter.
"A collector... with nothing to collect?" he typed.
Mira responded with a single emoji: : /