With the help of road signs and repeated requests for directions, Yong finally spotted the enormous red building ahead: Rustboro City's Pokémon Center.
He entered the lobby and handed Onix's and Marshtomp's Poké Balls to Nurse Joy, then went straight to the Video Phone Booth to make a video call home.
"Is that you, Yong? We haven't heard from you in days! Are you all right? Your dad and I have been so worried!"
Seeing his mother on the screen warmed Yong's heart. He said happily, "Don't worry, Mom. I just spent a few extra days in Petalburg Woods. I came across all sorts of interesting things, but I'll tell you about them when I get home!"
"As long as you're all right! Make sure you stay safe!"
"I will, Mom! Oh, right, I'm going to stay in Rustboro City for two days and challenge the Stone Gym. Could you mail those ores over to me?"
"You're challenging a Gym? All right, I'll send them in a little while. You're staying at the Pokémon Center in Rustboro City, right? Just wait for the delivery!"
"Great! Mom, you and a certain someone can wait for news of my victory!"
He deliberately stressed "a certain someone." Watching his father go wild on the screen, Yong cheerfully hung up on him once again.
Yong headed to the restaurant, ready to treat himself to a proper meal. After all, he had spent days eating his own cooking. Well... how should he put it? It filled his stomach, and that was about it. Boiling noodles was something anyone with hands could do, after all. There was no skill involved whatsoever.
After wolfing down his meal, he returned to the lobby and collected his two fully recovered Pokémon. Then he went to the room he had booked earlier and let Onix and Marshtomp out.
"Roar~"
"Marsh!"
Seeing both his companions looking so energetic, Yong nodded.
"Onix, Marshtomp, we're getting ready to challenge a Gym. This won't be like any of our previous battles. Our opponent will be really strong! So we're going to start some special training. Let's give it our all together!"
Both Pokémon nodded in response.
"Good! Now, let's fill your stomachs first!"
He took out the Pokémon food and Pokéblocks he had prepared and let them eat their fill. Lying down on the bed, Yong quietly considered their upcoming training plan.
Onix would continue working on defense and bodily hardness, improving control and application of Rock-type energy in the process.
As for moves, Onix needed to learn Protect for extra defense, then Sandstorm to control the battlefield in combination with Sand Tomb.
Limited move coverage is a problem. Let's see if there's a chance to learn Dragon Breath! Once the supplies from home arrive and Onix absorbs them, I can get a Metal Coat ready for evolution. Hmm, that's the plan for Onix for now. As for Marshtomp...
Yong turned his head to look at Marshtomp, who was happily eating. Honestly, this evolution had gone better than he had expected. Marshtomp had learned three moves at once, showing a talent for moves far beyond that of a certain snake who couldn't grasp Bite or Crunch.
The most important thing right now was for Marshtomp to get used to the new body and master the newly learned moves. There was no need to learn anything else just yet. Once those were mastered, they could see whether Marshtomp could develop Hammer Arm or Brick Break from Rock Smash. Strength training also needed to continue, and Marshtomp could wear the forced-training device Yong had won.
With the rough plan worked out, Yong felt drowsiness creeping over him.
"Onix, Marshtomp, get some good rest after you finish eating. Good night!"
"Roar!"
"Marsh!"
Finally, I can get a comfortable night's sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow!
Morning sunlight spilled into the room. The boy opened his eyes groggily, and only after a long while did his mind catch up, the light gradually returning to his eyes.
"Mmm~ That was a good sleep. Traveling really is exhausting."
After stretching, Yong finally felt fully awake.
He looked around the room. Onix lay coiled in the room's sitting area, that enormous body curled up, while Marshtomp leaned against the bed. Both Pokémon were sleeping peacefully. Yong slipped quietly out of bed, took out the Moomoo Milk, and set the Pokémon food and Pokéblocks on the floor before starting on his own breakfast.
Before long, the warm milk and toast were ready too. He woke his two Pokémon, and their pleasant day began with delicious food.
After tidying up, Yong left the Pokémon Center and headed to Rustboro City's Pokémon supermarket.
Apart from the black market, Technical Machines could only be bought at supermarkets run by the Pokémon League. He browsed along the way until he reached the TM counter. One look at the list of moves made him gasp!
Ordinary TMs, such as Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Farmer's Three Punches, cost around 100,000 Pokémon dollars each. Stronger moves like Earthquake, Surf, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt ranged from 200,000 to 300,000! Dragon-type, Psychic-type, and Ghost-type moves were slightly more expensive than those of other types.
Exceptionally powerful moves, or ultimate attacks such as Sheer Cold, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Fissure, and Psycho Boost, cost over 300,000, and weren't necessarily even in stock.
The most expensive were status moves such as Protect, Safeguard, Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, and Petal Dance, or weather moves like Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail, and Sandstorm. They were the rarest and hardest to record, so they commanded the highest prices.
Technical Machines in this world weren't something just anyone could make. Elite Four-level Pokémon had to spend time and energy recording them.
And success was never guaranteed! Any interruption, shortage of energy, or tiny mistake during the process could cause failure! The Pokémon themselves would also suffer an energy backlash, making it extremely dangerous. As a result, few individuals or organizations besides the colossal Pokémon League could record TMs. They simply lacked the resources.
When other Pokémon learned from them, they had to understand and study how the energy was used. It wasn't as simple as watching something on a television screen.
Pokémon moves were formed from the energy of their respective types. How could learning them possibly be that easy? They needed the experience and insights of a predecessor, which was another reason TMs were so expensive.
Of course, TMs on the black market were generally low quality. Most were made by illegal organizations forcing elite-level or Gym-level Pokémon to record them. The quality was terrible: the recordings might be incomplete, or the move imprints too faint, leaving the TMs practically useless. Still, bargains could occasionally be found, since the prices were lower.
After looking around, Yong only found a Dragon Breath TM, though he was lucky enough to find one last Protect TM too! As for Sandstorm, there wasn't a single one for sale.
He sighed. Dragon Breath cost 200,000 and Protect cost 450,000. Together with his other supplies, the total came to 750,000. The prize money he had won vanished in an instant. It hurt.
Yong left the supermarket in anguish, consoling himself with the thought that it was all for the sake of getting stronger. He admired the sights of the big city as he headed toward its northern coast.
According to the information he had gathered beforehand, the northern beach had plenty of low hills and muddy marshes, making it an ideal training ground for Onix and Marshtomp. There were also plenty of Trainers there, so he could train and battle at the same time, improving their strength as much as possible as they worked toward earning their first Badge.
At that thought, Yong suddenly felt brimming with motivation. He quickened his pace toward the north side of the city.
Meanwhile, outside Petalburg Woods, a strange man with his face hidden beneath a hood and his body covered by a large trench coat lurked in the shadows of the trees, making his way toward Rustboro City.