The Solrock that Professor Cozmo released was unlike any ordinary one—it had a crimson body, and the protruding rocky protrusions around its core shimmered in a greenish Olivine hue rather than the usual saffron.
"Damn..."
Gary almost swore under his breath. But for the sake of getting the Salamencite, he held it in.
Having possessed a Shiny Charm for over two years, Gary was all too familiar with the odds of encountering Shiny Pokémon. Every time he spotted one, he reminded himself that the Shiny Pokémon might not be wild at all—it could belong to someone else entirely.
Whenever he passed a Trainer showing off a Shiny Pokémon, he felt a mix of jealousy and regret. Why did I even look at it? he'd think bitterly. That temptation always seemed to jinx him into running into another situation like this.
But now, staring at Cozmo's rare Solrock, it finally made sense why the professor had been so hesitant to trade it away.
Shiny Pokémon were exceptionally valuable. If someone truly adored a particular species, they might even trade a pseudo-legendary Pokémon for one. And Cozmo was someone who held deep admiration for the cosmos.
Solrock, a Pokémon believed to come from outer space, held immense symbolic value for him. In Cozmo's eyes, this radiant red Solrock was worth far more than a Salamence—perhaps even a whole Dragon army.
"So it's a Shiny Solrock. No wonder you're willing to trade Salamence for it," Gary said, trying to hide his conflicted emotions.
"This Mega Stone—Salamencite—was a birthday gift from my father when I turned 18," Professor Cozmo began, a bit melancholic. "But my Salamence was exchanged years ago, and I no longer have any use for it. Consider this a token of thanks."
He handed the Salamencite to Gary.
"Then I won't hold back."
Gary immediately accepted the Mega Stone. One more Salamencite was never a bad thing—if it turned out to be a duplicate, he could always ask Steven to swap it for another.
"I hope to see your Shelgon take flight and make its mark someday. If you earn a strong ranking in the tournament, I'll be cheering." Cozmo smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, Professor. I'll definitely climb to the top!" Gary responded with confidence.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Gary practically bounced with excitement.
"Today's a great day to score big!" he grinned.
He hadn't expected to receive the Salamencite for free. What a windfall.
Over the next few days, Gary remained stationed in Mossdeep City while waiting for a special delivery. In the meantime, he ramped up his training schedule. Each afternoon, his Hoenn-region Pokémon engaged in rigorous battle drills against Tyranitar. Every moment of the day was packed.
After three intense days of sparring with Tyranitar, Gary decided to bring in reinforcements. He had his trusted Blastoise and Scizor transferred over from Pallet Town for advanced combat training with his Hoenn squad.
According to the system's prediction, Gary would be required to use only Hoenn-native Pokémon in the upcoming Ever Grande Conference. That meant his current team had to toughen up fast—or risk being steamrolled in the early rounds.
While Ash tended to rely on heart and instinct in battles, Gary knew that if they ended up facing each other, Ash might pull out his ace team.
Gary recalled that Ash's previous Pokémon ranged between the mid-Elite and lower-Elite tier in terms of strength. Meanwhile, aside from Latios, Gary's current Hoenn team was barely at Gym Leader level. None of them had reached the semi-elite threshold yet.
Sure, Gary had a stockpile of Rare Candies—but they were precious. He had to use them wisely. After all, the Sinnoh League's Lily of the Valley Conference loomed on the horizon, where a certain legendary Trainer would be waiting.
If the system enforced the same restrictions there—only Sinnoh-region Pokémon allowed—then he'd have a massive uphill battle ahead.
He thought back to Ash's battle with Paul. Even with all his veteran Pokémon, Ash barely managed to defeat two of Paul's team. That meant Paul's full strength was likely around Elite Four level or higher. Who knew what his remaining four Pokémon were like?
Gary estimated that he'd need at least three Champion-tier Pokémon just to stand a chance. Anything less, and he'd be outmatched.
Fifteen days passed.
Under Gary's brutal training regimen, his Hoenn team made significant progress:
Breloom – Level 42Sceptile – Level 46Aggron – Level 50Slaking – Level 39Blaziken – Level 42Gardevoir – Level 44Swampert – Level 39Shelgon – Level 40
Marshtomp had successfully evolved into Swampert. Except for Swampert and Slaking, the others had reached solid Gym Leader levels.
Aggron had even crossed into quasi-elite tier thanks to three Intermediate Rare Candies Gary had used to boost its strength.
Gary was optimistic about Swampert. With more sunlight and battle experience, it would likely evolve and power up before the conference.
But Slaking, well… that was another story.
Due to its Ex Truant Ability, it required three days of rest for every one day of training. Over two weeks, Slaking had managed only four full days of actual work—the rest was just loafing around.
At this snail's pace, it might take Slaking three to four years just to hit the top Gym Leader tier. And at higher levels, training became even slower. An Elite-tier Pokémon might require six months to gain a single level. For Slaking, it would take double that.
Gary thought about a workaround. If he could catch a Pokémon with Gastro Acid, he could suppress Slaking's Ex Truant Ability altogether. That way, it could train like any other Pokémon. But that was a plan for another day.
Breloom had managed to awaken Worry Seed, which changed a Pokémon's Ability to Insomnia—but sadly, it didn't work on Pokémon like Slaking whose Ability was Ex Truant.
That morning, Gary received the long-awaited delivery from Samson Oak. It was finally time to move on from Mossdeep City.
He picked up the parcel from the Pokémon Center front desk and opened it. Inside was a sleek, black bracelet—the Z-Ring he needed to unlock his Z-Move potential.
"Hmph. Gramps is so stingy," Gary muttered. "Only the Z-Ring? Not even one Z-Crystal?"
He'd thought Samson Oak would send over a few Z-Crystals as well. In Alola, they weren't particularly rare—especially since the Tapu Guardians could create them. In fact, they were practically mass-produced.
Well, whatever. If he wasn't going to share, Gary would make do.
He equipped the Z-Ring and embedded the Z-Crystal he'd received earlier from the system into the Z-Ring's Sparkling Stone.
Now it was active.
Only certain Trainers like Kiawe, Lillie, and Lucas had been shown to trigger the Z-Ring's power in the games and anime. But now, Gary could access that potential too.
Z-Crystals allowed for one powerful Z-Move per battle. Once used, the Z-Crystal needed to recharge before it could be used again.
Thankfully, the recharging process was straightforward—absorb enough light. The stronger the light, the faster it charged. Under bright sunlight, it would be ready in about one hour.
Z-Moves weren't quite as powerful as Mega Evolutions, but they had one major advantage—they were faster to deploy.
In the games, Mega Evolution required a Pokémon to hold its corresponding Mega Stone, which meant it couldn't carry another item. But with Z-Moves, Pokémon could still hold other items while using them. This gave Gary a more flexible advantage.