Chapter 39: Thief TM
They didn't try to stop him, merely watching quietly as he made his way to the second floor. There, John found the museum manager inspecting something on a table. He approached and handed over the letter.
"Ah, perfect timing!" the manager said, grinning. "I was just about to need that!"
Suddenly, two Team Aqua members appeared, striding over with purpose.
"Finally, you're here! Hand over the parts!" one of them demanded.
"Alright, you take care of this, young man!" the manager exclaimed, ducking behind John, leaving him to face the Team Aqua grunts on his own. John couldn't help but wonder if this manager was related to the one at Devon Corp—they both had a knack for making quick exits.
Before he could dwell on it, the Team Aqua members attacked. In just a few minutes, John's team had wiped the floor with their LV 13 Pokemon. As they retreated, the Team Aqua boss, Archie, arrived on the second floor, looking unimpressed.
"Ugh, pathetic. You let a kid beat you?!" he sneered before turning his cold gaze on John. "Who are you, and why are you meddling with our plans?"
Without waiting for an answer, Archie continued, "It doesn't matter who you are. Humans, Pokemon—everything exists because of the sea. Our goal is to expand the ocean. So, stay out of our way, or else!"
With that, Archie turned and left, not sticking around for a second longer.
"Wow, you actually beat Team Aqua! You're incredible!" the manager exclaimed as he grabbed the letter and dashed downstairs, barely stopping to thank John.
Back in the museum's main hall, John noticed a lone Team Aqua grunt aimlessly wandering around. Curious, he approached.
"Hey, hey! Don't hit me!" the grunt yelped, quickly handing John a TM. "I'll give you something... just please forgive me!" Then he bolted before John could respond.
The TM he received was Thief. Finally! John thought, his eyes lighting up.
[Thief: Power 60. If the user doesn't have an item or loses the item during battle, it steals the target's held item. Items stolen from wild Pokemon are kept permanently.]
Excited by the possibilities, John taught Thief to Frogadier and decided it would lead his new item-farming squad. Ready to put his new strategy to work, he headed over to Route 110, just outside Slateport City. Tall grass stretched for miles, and it wasn't long before he encountered wild Pokemon: Zigzagoon, Poochyena, Oddish, Wingull, Electrike, Plusle, Minun, and Gulpin.
After two hours of testing, John learned a valuable lesson: the rarer the item, the lower the chance of it being held. On the flip side, common items were easier to find. Zigzagoon, for example, had a 50% chance of carrying an Oran Berry, and Poochyena was similar with a Pecha Berry. Wingull sometimes held Beautiful Feathers, but they weren't particularly valuable.
Oddish, however, turned out to be a big win, yielding over 20 Absorb Bulbs.
[Absorb Bulb: When the holder is hit by a Water-type move, its Special Attack is boosted]
Absorb Bulbs weren't in high demand, but they could still fetch a nice price. John had seen some listed online for around 50,000 each. Plusle and Minun also dropped Cell Batteries.
[Cell Battery: When hit by an Electric-type move, the holder's Attack stat increases.]
These were worth around 30,000 each. Electrike, however, was less cooperative. John battled over 30 Electrike without any results, leading him to suspect they didn't carry items at all.
Then there was Gulpin. While Electrike had been a total bust, Gulpin proved generous. It had a 50% chance of carrying an Oran Berry and a less than 5% chance of holding a Big Pearl.
Big Pearls were rare and valuable, fetching high prices. After checking the Pearl Trading Platform, John found that a Big Pearl from Gulpin had recently sold for around 140,000.
John quickly did some mental math.
In just two hours, he had managed to gather:
Absorb Bulbs: Worth 30,000 each
Cell Batteries: Worth 30,000 each
Big Pearls: Worth 140,000 each
In just two hours, John amassed:
20 Absorb Bulbs = 600,000 Pokedollars
10 Cell Batteries = 300,000 Pokedollars
1 Big Pearl = 140,000 Pokedollars
Total: 1,040,000 Pokedollars
The realization hit him—this method could be a goldmine. If he kept grinding for eight hours, he could rake in 4,160,000 Pokedollars in a single day. With this strategy, he could triple his previous monthly income with ease. Feeling triumphant, John headed back to Slateport City, plotting his next big move.
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