Trickery and the Invitation
Package?
"Ka-kah—"
Haunter immediately floated over to the window, cupping its hands around its mouth like a megaphone and shouting at the delivery person below, almost giving the poor deliveryman a heart attack.
With Pidgeotto watching nervously, the package was handed over.
When Johan saw the sender's name, he smiled.
Lance.
He recalled that last time, when Drake sent a package, it arrived via Dragonite. But this time, Lance's package came through a Pidgeotto, even though it belonged to the delivery person. Somehow, Johan felt like this was a subtle omen of something.
"Ka-kah~~"
Before the package was even opened, Haunter curiously stuck its head inside.
Johan: "…"
Upon opening it, Johan found a TM (Technical Machine) and an invitation letter inside.
He remembered that when the video of his battle with Lance had gone viral, Lance had mentioned compensating him with an item or a TM.
"Nasty Plot?"
Seeing the move inscribed in the TM, Johan's eyes lit up.
[Nasty Plot: Sharply boosts the user's Special Attack.]
"This TM isn't cheap. Lance really went all out… or could it have been given by Agatha?"
"Nasty Plot" is like "Swords Dance", except it boosts Special Attack instead of Physical Attack. Moves that significantly boost stats like these are often more expensive than most high-power moves.
Of course, they're also harder to learn.
"But… both Haunter and Vulpix can learn Nasty Plot."
This is what pleased Johan the most.
Haunter is primarily a Special Attacker, and Vulpix's Special Attack stat is also relatively stronger than its Physical Attack.
It's like getting two moves for the price of one.
Absolute profit!
"Haunter, this challenging task is up to you."
Johan handed the TM to Haunter with a serious expression and instructed it to learn the move together with Vulpix.
"Ka-kah?" Haunter tilted its head.
"You're supposed to be naturally gifted, right? A move like this shouldn't be a problem for you," Johan said with a look of suspicion.
Haunter immediately straightened up and pounded its chest in a show of confidence.
"Ka-kah! ╭(●｀●)╯"
Pfft, easy! Just watch me!
Taking the TM, Haunter turned away with slumped shoulders and sighed.
Maintaining this genius persona is exhausting. Why did I ever pretend to be one?
"Oowu?" Vulpix tilted its head adorably, watching Haunter with wide eyes.
Seeing Vulpix's innocent gaze, Haunter's spirits lifted.
It floated down next to Vulpix and took a deep breath.
Alright, let's do this!
Johan chuckled softly.
This wasn't exactly him pressuring Haunter; it was more like Haunter had dug its own hole and Johan was just going along with it.
He turned his attention to the invitation.
When he opened it, he was surprised to find a ticket inside.
"A VIP ticket for the Youth Exhibition Match?"
Johan couldn't help but be amused.
"Well, at least it's not an invitation to participate."
In the Pokémon world, there are countless tournaments due to the prominence of Pokémon battles, and most of them are quite popular.
From the grand All-League Master Tournament to small town Baby Cups, each has its own audience.
Competitions can generally be divided into three types: Exhibition Matches, Standard Battles, and Free-For-All Matches.
Among them, Free-For-All Matches are slowly phasing out as time goes on.
Standard Battles are the mainstream nowadays.
For instance, the World Championships, Master's Points Tournaments, Gym Leader Challenges, and Specialist Battles all fall into this category.
As for Exhibition Matches, as the name suggests, they're organized by inviting well-known competitors to participate. Winning or losing isn't important; the goal is to be entertaining and put on a good show. The matches neither affect scores nor rankings.
"Since when does Lance participate in exhibition matches?"
However, when Johan saw the sponsors listed…
"Wow, Silph Co., Devon Corp., Pokétime, and the Battle Company… The appearance fees for this must be astronomical."
Typically, major companies sponsor exhibition matches to promote their new products.
But for so many big corporations to join forces…
It was clear that the League was planning something.
"The venue is Sootopolis City in Hoenn?"
Johan rubbed his chin, his mind spinning with several speculations.
First, the League might be planning to formally introduce Pokémon Contests to the stage.
Second, his mind kept flashing back to an old, vague memory—a plan involving capturing Rayquaza!
"Forget it; it's not really my business anyway."
Johan placed the invitation on his shelf.
Whether or not he'd attend depended on his schedule.
After packing up his things, Johan called Haunter and Vulpix, and they left the house.
They took a taxi to the largest electronics market in Rustboro City.
The enormous shopping center housed every piece of equipment available in the Pokémon world, from phones, navigational devices, and Pokétime watches to Berry Blenders and more.
Inside, aside from the wide variety of merchandise, there were also Electric-type Pokémon everywhere.
There were Plusle and Minun running in hamster-like wheels, Elekid twirling their wired arms like power cords, and even an Ampharos holding a tub of popcorn, fixated on a TV drama…
"Ka-kah!" Haunter exclaimed.
It spotted a cute Pichu darting by and became excited.
"Oowu?" Vulpix turned in the direction Haunter pointed, but the golden little creature had already disappeared.
Johan led them to a specialized shop for Berry Blenders.
Despite having done some research beforehand, seeing the price tags in person made him grimace.
Most were tens of thousands of dollars at the minimum.
"Hello, sir. How may I assist you today?" a saleswoman greeted him with a professional smile.
"I'm looking for a second-hand Berry Blender," Johan replied.
"Of course."
The saleswoman didn't show any displeasure at his request for a second-hand machine. In fact, customers coming in to find second-hand blenders were quite common.
"Please follow me."
She led Johan to a storage room filled with various models of Berry Blenders, some visibly older and others relatively newer, with a wide range of prices.
"If you don't mind me asking, are you a Trainer?" she inquired.
"Uh, sort of," Johan responded.
"In that case, you might be interested in this."
She handed him a flyer from a nearby shelf.
"Ka-kah—"
Haunter took the flyer and handed it to Johan, peeking over his shoulder to read along.
"'Sponsored by Rustboro Electronics Mall, the Elekid Cup Trainer Tournament'? The prize is…"
Click!
Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out.
"Ka-kah?"
A power outage?
But the saleswoman seemed unfazed. She called out, "Ampharos, if you would, please."
"Baaa~~"
With a soft hum and a red glow from its tail, Ampharos generated electricity, and the store's lights quickly came back on.
Johan noticed that other stores were also quickly restoring power using their own Electric-type Pokémon.
So, the stores keep Electric Pokémon for power outages?
But the real question was…
How does a major commercial district like Rustboro Mall lose power in the first place?
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Powerstones?
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