"Choose your rare Pokémon items before you leave!"
As John prepared to exit the office, Zachary handed him a sleek tablet.
Through this device, John could browse through the Investigators' official inventory database, codenamed "Arsenal", and select three rare Pokémon items from their collection.
The government's resources were truly impressive. Hundreds of rare Pokémon items, virtually unobtainable in the outside world, were cataloged in their system.
John couldn't help but feel a tingle of excitement as he scrolled through the options, mentally calculating his choices as he returned to his seat.
When he got back to the table, he discovered his bacon had mysteriously vanished. John glanced at Mira, but she was suddenly very interested in her coffee cup, avoiding eye contact completely.
In retaliation, John snatched the maple muffin she hadn't eaten yet. The girl quickly scribbled on her notepad and held it up with an indignant expression: "THAT'S STEALING!" followed by an angry face doodle.
John pretended not to notice as he took a large bite of the muffin and focused on selecting the rare Pokémon items he wanted. When choosing items, he needed to consider what he already had and what he was lacking.
First priority was equipping his main Pokémon team.
His Tyranitar currently held "Erosion Smooth Rock," and once it finished absorbing that, John planned to give it a "Larvitar Ribbon."
Garchomp carried the legendary "Dragon Fang," but being a legendary item, it couldn't be absorbed. The previous rare item he had already been given was fully absorbed. John could get a Dragon-type rare item for Garchomp to absorb during regular training.
Gardevoir was currently carrying "Garcidea," which like the "Dragon Fang," couldn't be absorbed. He wanted to acquire a Psychic or Fairy-type rare item for it. Gardevoir hadn't absorbed any rare items yet, and as his current ace-in-the-hole, its priority was higher than his other Pokémon.
Gyarados wore a "Rainstorm Veil" but hadn't consumed any rare Pokémon items yet.
Greninja had "Coercion Kings Rock," which it hadn't absorbed yet, so that could wait.
Finally, there was Blaziken, currently without any items since its previous "Bolt Charcoal" had been fully consumed.
(A/N: Yeah, it seems that with enough time, Pokémon can absorb items while keeping their effects, which also frees up a slot for a new one.)
Four Pokémon in his main team had no rare items to absorb. His shortage was obvious, but he could only select three rare treasures right now.
John's plan was straightforward:
-One Psychic-type item for Gardevoir
-One Water or Flying-type item for Gyarados
-One Dragon-type item for Garchomp
John knew there were limits to how many rare items a Pokémon could absorb, with the specific number varying by individual. But since both Gardevoir and Gyarados had never absorbed any rare items, they definitely needed their first ones.
For the third item, John quickly chose the most valuable Dragon-type treasure available. If he had the chance to choose, he might as well take the most expensive one.
With his priorities set, John began searching through the Arsenal database.
He first looked for Dragon-type treasures. Due to their rarity, even the government's vast inventory only contained two options. John selected the one better suited for Garchomp:
[Battle Armor Fang: Increases Dragon-type move power by 40%. 50% chance to increase user's Defense and Special Defense during physical attacks. Reduces damage from super-effective moves by 33%.]
John recalled that Garchomp's previous Dragon treasure was called "Dragon Fang," with the effect: [Increases Dragon-type move power by 40%. 30% chance to lower opponent's Defense during physical attacks. Enhances weather-based bonuses.]
One lowered the opponent's defense, while the other raised Garchomp's own defense. If it could possess both abilities simultaneously, Garchomp would become formidable on both offense and defense!
"Garchomp should be able to absorb two rare items, right?" John wondered hopefully.
He placed the order, figuring that if Garchomp couldn't absorb it, he could save it for a future Bagon.
The second item was a Psychic-type treasure for Gardevoir.
Energy-system Pokémon items were few, only seven available. John selected the most suitable:
[Mystic Twisted Spoon: Increases Psychic-type move power by 40%. Enhances Calm Mind effect. Strengthens Future Sight moves.]
The effect was straightforward, mainly improving Calm Mind and Future Sight.
The Calm Mind enhancement wasn't just about battle performance. During daily training, better Calm Mind effects meant faster improvement in Gardevoir's Special Attack.
As for Future Sight, John had never positioned Gardevoir as a pure attacker. Psychic-types were known for functionality, Teleport and Future Sight were incredible skills. John wanted Gardevoir to improve offensively while still utilizing both Teleport and Future Sight effectively. During their border operation, Future Sight had proven invaluable.
Unfortunately, the Arsenal database didn't have items that enhanced Teleport abilities. Otherwise, John might have ordered one to keep in reserve.
Lastly came the rare item selection for his Shiny Gyarados.
The attributes he wanted were Water and Flying, with more options available for both. John's vision for the red Gyarados was as an absolute attacker, so he selected items with this in mind.
Among various options, John finally decided on a Water-type treasure called 'Crushing Force Mystic Water.'
[Crushing Force Mystic Water: Increases Water-type move power by 40%. Increases water weight in Water-type moves. Increase rate scales with the Pokémon's Attack stat.]
The increased water weight immediately brought to mind the move Surf.
Surf's attack method was to strike opponents with massive waves. If the water weight increased, even by just 10%, it would effectively boost the power of the giant waves summoned by Surf!
John doubted the increase would be so minimal, especially since it scaled with the Pokémon's Attack stat.
He decided to let Gyarados test it out. The method would be simple: have Gyarados spit out one liter of water before equipping "Crushing Force Mystic Water," then another liter after equipping it, and compare the weight difference.
Additionally, moves like Hydro Pump derived much of their damage from impact force. Increasing the water weight would also boost these water moves' power.
The only question remaining in John's mind was whether the increased water weight would burden the Pokémon itself.