With the Dewford Gym defeated and Flash upgraded to the new "Secret Flash," John was ready for the of his journey.
He guided Ralts back into Granite Cave, feeling the familiar thrill of exploration. From the ground floor to the basement, his screen suddenly went black—a stark departure from the standard Emerald, where the caves still allowed a small field of visibility around the protagonist. Here, however, the darkness was absolute.
Without hesitation, John opened the Pokemon interface, selected Kirlia, and activated Secret Flash. Instantly, Granite Cave lit up like midday, banishing the darkness. With his path now illuminated, he set off deeper into the cave, eager to discover what treasures and challenges lay ahead.
Within minutes, he'd already picked up a Pokeball, an Escape Rope, and encountered a variety of wild Pokemon. The basement floor of Granite Cave was far richer in wild encounters than the upper levels, and soon John found himself facing a diverse array: Zubat, Onix, Abra, Makuhita, Sableye, a Mawhile , and, most excitingly, Aron.
"Aron..." he murmured, drumming his fingers against the screen. Aron, the sturdy little Steel/Rock-type, had always intrigued him with its evolution into Aggron—a tanky powerhouse with incredible defense and attack stats, only hindered by its dual weaknesses to Fighting and Ground.
But in its MEGA evolved form, Aggron switched to a pure Steel-type and gained the Filter ability, reducing damage from super-effective moves. It became a terrifying tank with few weaknesses, and John knew a Shiny Aron would be an invaluable addition to his team. He could already see it becoming one of his primary fighters.
Taking a sip of the Coke sitting next to him, John leaned back, considering his options. "If I can't beat the third Gym soon, I'll come back and farm for a Shiny Aron." The encounter rate for Aron here was around 40%, much higher than Ralts had been. While Ralts had taken him a full week to catch, a Shiny Aron could appear in just a few hours. Plus, he'd have a shot at finding Abra, Sableye, or even a Mawhile along the way, each with the potential to MEGA evolve down the line.
As he descended to the second basement floor of Granite Cave, he noticed the Pokemon variety change again, this time with frequent encounters with Onix and Nosepass, two Rock-types known to roam this level.
"I wonder if Roxanne's Nosepass came from here." John mused with a chuckle. "She and Brawly are a couple in the anime, right? Maybe this place has a bit of sentimental value for them."
On the central platform of the second floor, he found an Everstone. Known for preventing Pokemon evolution, the Everstone was a sought-after item among Trainers who wanted to hold off evolution for moves or simply liked their Pokemon's unevolved form better. Teddiursa and Litten, for example, had large fanbases who preferred their adorable base forms.
After half an hour of exploration, John finally reached the lowest depths of Granite Cave, where he encountered none other than Steven, the former Hoenn Champion. Steven was hard at work mining with his Aggron, clearly in his element among the rocks and minerals.
"Do you enjoy mining too, young man?" Steven asked, smiling up at John.
"Not really," John replied with a grin. "but I am here to deliver a letter." He handed over the envelope.
Steven took the letter, read it thoughtfully, and then nodded. "Thank you. It's been a long time since I was last back here." he said, before handing John a small reward—a Steel Wing TM.
Steel Wing was a Steel-type move with decent power and a small chance to boost Defense. While useful for certain Pokemon, it wasn't especially valuable to John at the moment.
"Thanks, Steven." John said, hiding his mild disappointment. "Next time, though, can you throw in a MEGA Evolution Stone or two?"
Steven hurried off, leaving John to consider his next move. He asked Kirlia to use Teleport, and in an instant, they were back at the Pokemon Center on Dewford Island. After a quick heal, he boarded Mr. Hatch's boat back to Rustboro City.
In Rustboro, he received his final reward for the errand from Steven's father, President Mr. Stone: an Exp. Share.
The Exp. Share allowed a Pokemon to share experience points with others in the party without entering battle. It wasn't all that useful for John's current team, who were strong enough on their own, but he could see it coming in handy later, especially if he wanted to train something more fragile like Abra.
As he stashed the Exp. Share in his bag, John's thoughts turned back to the Shiny Aron hunt. "Maybe I'll spend a few more days in Granite Cave before tackling the third Gym. I've got a good feeling about it." With that plan in mind, he was ready for whatever the caves—and the journey ahead—might throw his way.