"Why did you bring me here to eat? I wanted to see what you eat at the Chiba Gym. Do you guys just sip nectar and bask in the sun like Grass-type Pokemon?"
John sat in a bustling hotpot restaurant, the same one Mark had taken him to before. The place was already familiar, and as soon as they arrived, steaming hotpot and an assortment of ingredients were placed on their table, as if the staff knew them.
"Come on, don't be ridiculous. We're humans, not Grass-types! We eat meat too, you know." Mark shot John a look before picking up his chopsticks. "Honestly, if I hadn't dragged you out of there, my fellow disciples would've eaten you alive instead."
"Oh? All this just because I took your so-called 'legendary flower' and used a Shiny Pokemon to beat your senior?" John chuckled, grabbing a piece of meat and dunking it into the broth.
"You make it sound so simple. That 'so-called' flower is a huge deal at our gym. And yeah, you didn't just beat our senior brother—you crushed him." Mark sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I get it. You're strong. But don't underestimate how jealous people can get."
John shrugged. "Not my fault your senior wasn't strong enough. What was I supposed to do, lose on purpose?"
After his decisive victory over Jack, John had walked away with the coveted Legendary Flower, and no one dared to protest. Even the more defiant disciples, like Charles Darwin, had to reconsider their chances—after all, if their strongest member had lost, what hope did they have?
With orders from their gym leader, Isaac, Mark had been assigned to escort John out of Chiba Gym as quickly as possible. It wouldn't be long before the news spread: a Legendary Pokemon item had left Chiba Gym and was now in the hands of some university student with a knack for battles.
The reaction among top trainers would be predictable. Those with integrity wouldn't covet it, but less scrupulous trainers? They'd see John as a walking target.
So, after finishing their meal, Mark wasted no time getting John to the Airport, even going so far as to buy his plane ticket back to Aethermere City.
The flight left at 5:00 PM, arriving at Aethermere around 10:00 PM, where his friend Huo Wenjie was already waiting to pick him up. Just that morning, John had been at Chiba Gym, expecting to stay a while, yet here he was, returning home the same day. He glanced down at the Legendary Flower in his hand and grinned.
"Man, Gym Leader Isaac is generous. Just handing out legendary items like candy."
A thought struck him. He hadn't actually checked its stats yet.
Pulling out his Gameboy, he navigated to his inventory and immediately frowned at what he saw.
Garcidea.
Wait a second. Wasn't Garcidea the flower that let Shaymin transform into its Sky Forme?
John had seen it in both the games and the anime. In fact, it was so common in those versions that there was an entire field of them in one of the movies. If this flower was considered a legendary item here, then wouldn't that mean the world was filled with "legendary" items?
But in this world… there was no Garcidea.
Curious, he selected the item for more details.
[Garcidea: When held, absorbs negative effects from the surroundings. Moves gain a "Purify" effect, dealing double damage to Poison- and Ghost-type Pokemon. When negative energy accumulation reaches full capacity, it automatically unleashes Seed Flare. Current charge: 25/100. Additionally, the Pokemon holding it gains enhanced strength.]
John's eyes widened. Seed Flare—Shaymin's exclusive move.
So it really was Shaymin's Garcidea.
"A certain Pokemon can gain extra power while holding it… So that must mean Shaymin. But I don't have a Shaymin." He tapped his chin. "Guess I'll have Gardevoir hold it for now."
In this world, MEGA Evolution stones weren't counted as traditional held items since they were too rare, and Z-Crystals were manually activated by trainers through a Z-Ring. That meant Gardevoir carrying Garcidea wasn't an issue.
While the flower wouldn't provide an immediate power boost, against Poison- and Ghost-types, it was a game-changer. Psychic already countered Poison, and if Garcidea doubled the effect… that meant quadruple damage.
Wait.
If an opponent was both Poison and Ghost… would that multiply again?
Would it be eight times damage?
John's mind raced. "What Pokemon even has both Poison and Ghost typing?" He smirked. "Oh… Haunter."
At that moment, Haunter's Pokeball shook before popping open, the mischievous ghost appearing with a mischievous grin.
"Lick!"
Before John could react, Haunter's tongue shot out, smacking him right in the face.
Gardevoir materialized next, elegantly offering John a Lum Berry as if expecting him to need it.
John wiped his face, sighing. "The only Pokemon with both Poison and Ghost typing is Gengar. Too bad I don't have a proper way to test this yet. Even without Garcidea, Gardevoir wipes the floor with Haunter. No way to tell if it's eight times or just four."
Haunter hovered smugly, arms crossed. "Haunter (As long as I play dirty enough, no one can counter me!)"
John, who could hear Haunter's thoughts with his Ghost Eyes ability, cracked his knuckles. "You know, hearing your inner monologue makes me think I should beat you up now, before you get too full of yourself."
Haunter froze. "(Wait, what?)"
John smirked, tapping Haunter on the head. "And stop watching TV with Hariyama. Where the hell did you pick up that vocabulary?"
Ever since gaining the ability to understand Pokemon, John's entire perception of his team had shifted. Blaziken and Greninja were constantly strategizing ways to get stronger, but Haunter? He spent all his time binge-watching TV dramas and picking up nonsense phrases.
John shook his head, now even more curious about Haunter's full potential. Once the ghost fully unlocked his power, would he actually be Elite-level? Or was he just bluffing?
Either way, John looked forward to finding out.
"Alright, you troublemaker. Time to go back." He returned Haunter to his Pokeball, though he could still hear his thoughts.
"(I should ask Hariyama what to watch next… Maybe some crime drama this time.)"
John sighed, shaking his head. "This idiot."
He couldn't help but laugh. Life with Haunter was never dull.