Pokemon: The Gameboy Effect

In just seven days, the number of Nosepass on Professor Birch's ranch had grown to 256. But Aron—that was a different story. The number had ballooned to a staggering 1,300.

It was almost as if they'd formed a magnetic mountain, or a mini version of an Oreburgh mine, right there in the backyard. Every single electrical appliance in the house had been shorted out, and now John had to go out into the hills to mine and feed the creatures. It was a mess.

Sitting outside the ranch, cigarette in hand, Professor Birch sighed. He couldn't help but feel that inviting John into the world of Pokemon had been a decision made with a brain full of fog.

John, on the other hand, wasn't exactly thrilled either. The Shiny Pokemon he was hoping for hadn't shown up—not a single Zubat, not a single Geodude. He'd managed to catch over 1,300 Aron, though, which he was planning to use for egg hatching purposes.

At least he had one piece of good luck: he'd caught Shiny Ralts and Shiny Makuhita.

"Great," John muttered, staring at his phone screen. "Just great."

He glanced at his bank account balance.

[Balance: $23.42 millions]

"Well, at least this is something." The numbers, though dull and monotonous, were the only comfort to his troubled mind.

In the past week, John hadn't caught any Shiny Pokemon, but other aspects of his journey had still been productive.

The stolen Pokemon items he'd offloaded had netted him over $20 million, and surprisingly, two treasure-level items had been included in the haul: a Hard Stone (increases Rock-type moves by 23%) and a Black Belt (boosts Fighting-type moves by 25%).

The Hard Stone was reserved for a future Shiny Aron, while the Black Belt was going straight to his Combusken. After all, compared to Makuhita, Combusken was the Fighting Pokemon he was focused on developing.

Over the past week, his Pokemon had also gained several levels. Makuhita had hit LV 23, while Combusken and Kirlia were both at LV 26. Frogadier was the highest at LV 28, thanks to being the first to use Thief to earn some extra cash. The other Pokemon gained their levels through the Exp. Share.

As for Smeargle, it had been LV 17 after a few training sessions with Frogadier.

"Alright, time for a battle," John said as he dropped his Gameboy and gathered his Pokemon.

Frogadier, who had been soaking in the backyard pool, leapt effortlessly onto the second-floor balcony, while Combusken followed closely behind, covered in sweat from its latest training regimen. Kirlia was seated across from John, sometimes meditating with Calm Mind and other times simply watching TV with him.

Makuhita came last, waddling in with Smeargle perched on his shoulders, stumbling and swaying with each step. The sight of it made John feel like the whole house was shaking.

"Don't go upstairs after you evolve," John warned. He was genuinely afraid Makuhita would trip and cause the floor to collapse under its weight.

"Muka~~ㄟ(≧◇≦)ㄏ," Makuhita whined, but it was clear he wasn't taking the warning seriously.

Ignoring the faux tears, John recalled the Pokemon into their respective Pokeballs and hopped on his sonic bike. It was time to head to the battle area.

Today wasn't just any day—it was the day for Delibird's delivery, but John still had one more thing to take care of: the new military training competition.

The Military Tournament would last 15 days. The first three were for registration, and the next twelve were dedicated to the competition itself. More than 300 trainers had signed up this time, though the vast majority were from the Battle Department. There were probably fewer than 30 students from the Breeding Department participating.

The competition was structured so that, over six days, the top 64 trainers would be selected. After that, they'd battle in a knockout format until the final match on the last day.

Today marked John's first match.

With a sharp turn, he slid around the corner and smoothly parked his bike at the battle area's lot. The place was packed.

There were 40 battlefields, each crowded with spectators—some were freshmen, others were upperclassmen. Whether they were there to watch the Pokemon or simply to scope out the new students, no one could say for sure.

"Battlefield No. 24," John found his assigned area from the text message he'd received.

He was exactly five minutes early.

Walking into the arena, he immediately spotted a young man wearing a blue jacket standing at the opposing seat. This was Sam, the name that had appeared on the registration list.

John handed his student ID to the examiner, then made his way to the opposing seat to wait for the match to begin.

"Go, John!" came a voice from the side.

John turned to see Grace cheering him on. She was standing next to Rose and Ethan, a familiar face from their earlier interactions.

Across from him, Sam was sizing him up.

"Hmm. He's taller, better looking, and probably wealthier than me. What makes him so special?" Sam thought, eyeing Grace. He'd heard rumors that she had a soft spot for John, and it bothered him.

Grace, known for her boldness and beauty, had made quite a splash at the academy. She had even made it onto an unofficial campus "beauty list" before it was taken down. Her admirers were countless—Sam included. As a freshman, he wasn't the only one with his eyes on her.

One of his friends leaned in over the barrier and shouted, "If you want to win her over, this is your chance! John's a tough opponent, but you can't let him win! Show her you're the one!"

Sam's face tightened, but he was determined. "I'll win this match. I don't care if he's from the Breeding Department. I'll win—and do it with style."

He took a deep breath, and his confidence soared. After all, he was from the Battle Department. Losing to a Breeding Department student would be embarrassing.

Before the battle began, Sam reminded himself: this was his chance to prove himself, and he wasn't about to waste it.

The competition was about to get real.