John continued his journey along Route 120 and Route 121, advancing the main storyline. These roads weren't particularly special—just the main path leading toward Lilycove City. But Route 120 did make him pause for a moment.
Absol was a rare find. While its base stats weren't mind-blowing, its Attack power was exceptional. With Mega Evolution, it could run the devastating "Quick Attack Double Swords" build, especially when paired with Magic Bounce. Unfortunately, John already had enough Dark-types on his team, so he decided to move on.
Route 121 housed the Safari Zone—also known as Sand Arc Paradise. Unlike regular battles, trainers here could only throw Pokeballs or use Pokeblocks to attract Pokemon, making it a pure capture-based area. John took a stroll inside, checking out the available species.
The selection wasn't bad—Heracross, Mareep, Houndour, and even Pikachu were up for grabs. He noted them down in his journal. If he ever needed one, he'd come back later.
As he continued east, John spotted three Team Aqua grunts huddled together, whispering among themselves. The moment he approached, they scattered and bolted.
"If I remember correctly," John mused, "this should be the lead-up to the Mt. Pyre plotline."
However, instead of heading straight to Mt. Pyre, John decided to check out Lilycove City first. The city's eastern coastline stretched out to the open sea, leading to Mossdeep City—the gateway to the Kalos region.
At least, that was the plan.
A Team Aqua recruit stood blocking the way, accompanied by three Wailmer. No battle, no negotiation—just an unmovable, smug roadblock.
"So, I'm stuck for now, huh?" John sighed, his eyes shifting to a nearby base with an open door. "Oh, wait—this is the Team Aqua hideout!"
His eyes lit up. "There's a Master Ball in there!"
In the game, the Master Ball was a god-tier item—a guaranteed catch for any Pokemon, including legendaries. If he could get his hands on it, hunting down a legendary Pokemon would be a breeze.
Excited, John rushed toward the entrance—
Only to be stopped by a locked door.
"Tch. Figures. The base isn't accessible yet."
With no way forward to Mossdeep City and the Aqua base off-limits for now, John had no choice but to head back to Lilycove.
At the heart of the city stood the Lilycove Department Store, a massive shopping complex packed with everything a trainer could need. Unlike regular Pokemarts, this place carried all sorts of rare items—Pokemon dolls, skill TMs, and more.
John wasn't interested in dolls—his Secret Base was already decked out with real-world animals, so extra decor was unnecessary. His main focus was the skill TMs.
The store carried only eleven different TMs, but they were all top-tier:
Offensive moves: Fire Blast, Thunder, Blizzard, Focus Blast, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam, and Giga Impact.
Every single one was a powerhouse move.
Then came the price tags.
"One million per TM?" John muttered, his eyebrow twitching. "And Hyper Beam and Giga Impact are five million each? What a scam."
In a standard Pokemon game, grinding for this much money would take forever. But in his reality, where people valued Pokemon techniques immensely, he could flip these skills for ten times the price.
That gave him an idea.
"Since my breeding center isn't up and running yet, I could expand into tutoring advanced moves!" John smirked, already seeing the profits rolling in.
He glanced at the defensive TMs:
Protect, Safeguard, Reflect, and Light Screen.
These weren't as flashy, but they had their uses.
Protect was a solid all-around defensive option, though it wasn't as broken as in the games—it could only block attacks from Pokemon of equal or lower strength.
Safeguard prevented status conditions.
Reflect and Light Screen created barriers against physical and special attacks, respectively.
Perfect for tanky Pokemon.
"Wobbuffet would love this setup," John chuckled.
Defensive moves were cheaper than offensive ones—just one million per TM. They weren't as popular, but John figured he could still put them to good use.
In the end, he bought three copies of each TM, burning a total of 87 million in cash.
"Less than 100 million? Chump change," he said, waving off the expense.
Next, he pulled up his Pokemon roster. Whether they were part of his main team, secondary squad, or reserves, if they could learn these moves, they were learning them.
More coverage never hurt.
For example, his Gyarados—a Water/Flying type—could now learn Fire Blast and Thunder. That meant if he faced a Grass-type opponent, he wouldn't need to switch out.
"Might as well go all in." John fed it Thunder as well. It was stronger than Thunderbolt and had an added synergy—when paired with a Damp Rock-boosted rain setup, Thunder became a guaranteed hit.
"One-shot kills, here we come."
Two hours later, every single one of his Pokemon had been upgraded with their new moves.
And the 87 million he spent? Just the beginning.
By the time he was done, he had burned through over 400 million in total.
"At least it's money well spent," he reasoned. "My team's power level just skyrocketed."
And, as always, he could earn it all back later.
With his wallet significantly lighter, John left the department store and made his way to the Pokemon Center. His team had taken a bit of a beating, so he healed them up to peak condition.
Then, without missing a beat, he set off toward Mt. Pyre.
Time to progress the story.