Pokemon: The Gameboy Effect

After a week back in his hometown, John returned to Aethermere City, where the allure of catching that elusive Shiny Onix had faded—for now, at least. With military training on the horizon, he focused on getting ready for his next adventure.

In his apartment, John packed most of his belongings, leaving just his clothes and a few important documents for the final trip to school. Sprawled out on the couch, his Gameboy in one hand and a notebook nearby, he balanced playing a game with watching his favorite TV series. Multitasking? Absolutely. But he'd perfected the art of leveling up his team while keeping one eye on the plot twists of his show.

As the game progressed, he found himself encountering stronger Pokemon, and his team was leveling up at an impressive pace. After wrapping up his tasks in Dewford, he boarded Mr. Briney's boat to Slateport City, a mission to deliver letters from President Joseph Stone to Steven and handle some additional deliveries in the city.

The journey took him across waterways 107, 108, and 109. John's mind wandered as he played, recalling his time with the Emerald Version and wondering if it was that version where players could encounter Lugia on waterway 109. The memories were a bit jumbled—he had bounced between the handheld and a GBA emulator on his phone over the years, which had left him mixing up details between the original and revised versions.

Upon arrival in Slateport, he thanked Mr. Briney (though it was mostly for the free ride) and landed on the sunny beach. True to his well-practiced routine, he immediately set to work: battling local trainers, scouring the city for items, and grabbing every last potion and Pokeball he could find. A long night of battling ensued, with him facing off against the beach trainers—who were more than ready to throw down, bikinis and all.

After an exhausting round of battles, John took a break in a nearby hut that served cold drinks and rented surfboards. There, he fought a few more trainers and finally defeated the hut's "boss." His reward? Six bottles of Soda Pop. Surprised by how effective the drink was, he even considered researching its ingredients further—who knew, maybe he could mass-produce it someday and make a fortune in the beverage business.

As a bonus, he also received a Soft Sand, which would boost the damage of Ground-type moves by 17%. This item wasn't just valuable in the game world; if it were real, he figured it would fetch a good price at any pawn shop.

Once he'd thoroughly explored Slateport City, he decided to check out the Battle Tent and Contest Hall. He wasn't particularly drawn to Pokemon contests, but he figured a quick visit couldn't hurt. In the Battle Tent, he earned a new TM, Torment, but he didn't yet have a Dark-type Pokemon to use it with.

At the Contest Hall, he received a Pokeblock Kit, which piqued his interest. For a brief moment, he fantasized about the idea of mass-producing Pokeblocks—imagine the business opportunities! But he quickly squashed the thought; his resources were nowhere near where they'd need to be for a project of that scale. For now, he'd stick to using the kit himself and leave the grander plans for later.