[Crown of Gyarados (★★)]
John didn’t need to worry anymore. This item combined both anti-electricity and rain effects, plus that sweet "25% chance to absorb damage and restore 25% HP" bonus.
It was a massive upgrade.
The only catch was that the anti-electricity effect required rainy conditions to trigger, which could be problematic. If an opponent set up sunny weather, the anti-electricity effect would be nullified.
But... John figured that scenario was unlikely.
If an Electric Pokemon faced off against Gyarados, they’d probably prefer rainy conditions anyway.
After all, Thunder in the rain guaranteed a hit—Gyarados couldn’t escape!
John also noticed the "★★" mark after Crown of Gyarados.
"If there’s ★★, could there be ★★★?" he wondered.
He currently possessed three exclusive items. Besides the Crown of Gyarados, his Haunter carried the Gastly Barrier and his Tyranitar had the Larvitar Ribbon. If he wanted to upgrade those to ★★ status, he’d need to find matching Pokemon exclusive items in future adventures.
Moving on to his other rewards, the secret treasure obtained from Team Aqua was "Refined Metal Coat."
[Refined Metal Coat: Increases steel-type move power by 40%, and enhances defense and weight when attacked.]
A Steel-type secret treasure.
John had only two Steel Pokemon in his lineup: Steelix and Aggron. He decided to give Aggron the Refined Metal Coat. After all, Steelix already possessed a Flame-Pattern Metal Coat, and the next Steel-type treasure would go to Steelix.
The bonus advanced skill TM was Brick Break.
A Fighting-type move with 75 power, its main function was destroying Light Screen, Reflect, and Aurora Veil.
It was essentially a Fighting move specifically designed to counter defensive barriers—perfect for Pokemon who excelled at close combat.
After storing away his treasures and skill TMs, John flew directly to Lavaridge Town. He couldn’t wait to clear the Magma Team dungeon and witness the epic battle between Groudon and Kyogre.
Landing in Lavaridge Town, he climbed Mt. Chimney. Just below the volcano’s peak, a cave entrance stood open. Walking through it, a prompt appeared before him.
[Enter dungeon "Team Magma Base"? (First-time completion rewards available)]
[Recommended entry level: 80]
John’s body materialized inside the Magma Team base.
Unlike the metal structure of Team Aqua base, Team Magma headquarters had a more primitive feel.
John felt like he’d walked into the volcano’s core. All around him were stone walls illuminated by mounted torches, and warmth radiated from the floor, permeating the air.
As he ventured deeper, this pleasant warmth gradually transformed into dry, oppressive heat. Mt. Chimney was indeed an active volcano!
"Should’ve brought a mask," John muttered, remembering that he’d encounter actual magma further in, emitting fumes far more noxious than those in Team Magma’s planning room.
He reached out to check the dungeon information.
[Dungeon objective: Defeat Maxie, leader of Team Magma]
[Secondary objective: Defeat all Team Magma members. Note: 40 targets remaining]
[Time limit: 120 minutes (countdown: 119:59:50)]
"Same mission structure," John noted, closing the prompt and tossing two Pokeballs.
Gardevoir and Greninja appeared.
"Gardevoir, MEGA evolution! Use Psychic to search the area!" John raised his hand, revealing his Key Stone.
Gardevoir immediately donned her black wedding dress, clasped her hands together, and began scanning the entire Magma base with her psychic powers.
"This time, you’re our vanguard!" John said to Greninja.
In John’s estimation, the Team Magma base dungeon would be significantly easier than Team Aqua base. The reason was simple: his two main fighters, Greninja and Gyarados, were both Water-types.
Team Magma wouldn’t stand a chance!
"Greninja~" Greninja acknowledged with a low grunt, crouching down before launching forward with powerful legs.
Almost immediately, shouts echoed from ahead.
A Magmortar rushed out, aiming its cannon-like arms.
But Greninja’s Water Shuriken had already struck before Magmortar could fire. One shuriken nailed Magmortar in the chest, sending it reeling backward. Its arm cannons misfired, causing an explosion.
The battle ended in seconds.
With just two hits from a five-shot Water Shuriken, Magmortar was instantly defeated!
The Elite Magma Grunt who had shouted the warning stood dumbfounded. He had intended to command Magmortar to hold John at bay while waiting for reinforcements...
"Camerupt, use Take Down!" Seeing Greninja approaching step by step, the Elite Grunt frantically threw another Pokeball.
But Camerupt had barely emerged when Greninja, surrounded by flowing water and wielding white blades in both hands, sliced through the air.
The combination was blindingly fast and devastatingly effective!
The Elite Grunt reached for a third Pokeball, but Greninja was already upon him, delivering a swift Pound to his face.
"Crack!" A crisp slap echoed.
The Magma member flew backward, his cheek swelling instantly. When he landed, he was already unconscious.
Greninja had held back significantly. If he’d used his blades, the Magma Grunt would likely have been dismembered.
With one enemy down, Greninja charged forward to find the next.
John followed at a leisurely pace, scanning for treasures with his detector.
"Team Magma is so poor!" he complained, putting away the treasure detector in disappointment.
The Team Aqua base had at least contained a Master Ball. The Magma base not only lacked a Master Ball, but apparently didn’t even have a single treasure-tier item.
"If there’s no Master Ball, let’s just finish this quickly!" John tossed another Pokeball, and Garchomp materialized.
"You go too, take down some Team Magma members."
Garchomp immediately sprinted off in the opposite direction from Greninja.
John wasn’t concerned about Garchomp and Greninja getting lost. Mega Gardevoir would guide them telepathically to enemy locations.
John walked straight toward Maxie’s position.
If everything went according to plan, by the time he reached Maxie, Garchomp and Greninja would have eliminated all the Elite Magma members and executives, then returned to his side.