Maybe this was just the nature of traveling.
One minute you're resting comfortably on a massive bed, and the next you're sleeping on the streets, enduring the night breeze.
After Sprigatito bundled the Team Rocket trio and the Pokémon Center's wall together and shipped them off, Hakuya, Misty, Ash, and all the trainers staying in Viridian City had nowhere to go. In the end, they could only wrap themselves in sleeping bags and make do for the night under the chilly autumn wind.
As for Hakuya's heroic act of defeating the intruders, Officer Jenny, who rushed over to handle the situation the next day, was initially terrified by the sight of the ruined Pokémon Center upon drifting to a halt. However, she wasn't quite black-hearted enough to make Hakuya pay for the repairs. Instead, she actually presented him with a pennant honoring his brave and righteous actions.
Of course, the pennant for bravery was secondary; the more important part was the accompanying reward.
Generally speaking, League regulations stated that assisting local police in apprehending criminals and handling major cases would be rewarded with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 League Dollars.
"Um..." When mentioning the reward for assisting with a major case, Officer Jenny's pretty face flushed slightly, and she said somewhat apologetically, "Because Viridian City's finances have been a bit tight lately, the scheduled 50,000 League Dollars has been canceled..."
"But in exchange, the Viridian City Police Department will provide compensation in another form."
Saying that, she pulled a cylindrical incubator from the trunk of her motorcycle.
"Wow~ Is there a Pokémon Egg inside?"
Following behind Hakuya, Misty leaned to the side and peeked over, letting out a soft gasp.
"That's right~" Officer Jenny nodded, explaining the egg's origins. "This Pokémon Egg was recovered recently during a bust on a wild poaching syndicate. While we don't know who the parents are, for a poaching group to target it, its potential must be quite high... I hope that once it hatches, it'll be a great help for your future Gym challenges, Mr. Hakuya~"
"Thank you very much. I'll take good care of it."
Hakuya didn't spend even a second mourning the loss of the 50,000 League Dollars. The moment he saw the Pokémon Egg resting quietly inside the device, a smile spread across his face.
Although it was impossible to say exactly what would hatch from this egg, judging from the silver and pink patterns on its shell, he blindly guessed that it would likely hatch into a Steel-type or Fairy-type Pokémon.
"Meowha~"
Speaking of which, I wonder if taking this egg into the Randomized Emerald and using Flame Body will speed up the hatching process?
Hakuya placed the mysterious Pokémon Egg into his System Backpack, the thought suddenly flashing through his mind.
Of course, more important than hatching the egg was the ultimate conundrum of how to raise the Pokémon once it was born. After all, unlike Sprigatito and Milcery, who were broken, overpowered monsters from the Randomized Emerald, the Pokémon that hatched from this egg would be a proper, native Kanto resident. Who knew if it would even be able to adapt to the high-intensity battles of the game world later on...
With the Team Rocket attack and the Pokémon Egg incident behind them, Hakuya and Misty discussed things and decided to stay in Viridian City for a while to rest and recover. They planned to buy some essential food and medical supplies for the road.
The daytime itinerary was just wandering around, experiencing the local culture of Viridian City.
And late at night, it was back to the daily routine of clearing the Randomized Emerald.
—Elbowing Random Trainers in Progress—
AM 9:00.
[Route 104 is divided into north and south sections by Petalburg Woods. It is an unavoidable route to get to Rustboro City.]
When Hakuya exited Petalburg Woods and turned right onto the main road, a Rich Boy NPC named Winston, who had been waiting in the middle of the road for a long time, stopped him with his hands in his pockets and an incredibly arrogant look on his face.
"Oh, I assume you won't turn down my challenge. I have plenty of money."
Saying that, he casually tossed a Poké Ball and sent out a Shiny silver Metagross.
Because he was a Rich Boy NPC, the Pokémon he randomly rolled was an incredibly rare Shiny Metagross.
Yeah... this makes total sense, but the combination of these two elements gave Hakuya an inexplicably familiar feeling of déjà vu.
The Hoenn region, a Rich Boy, and his ace Pokémon is a Shiny Metagross.
"Are you from the Stone family or something?"
At this moment, looking at the wealthy young master who stood there with his hands in his pockets, his face practically screaming "I'm invincible, I have plenty of money," Hakuya's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Jokes aside, without a doubt, the guy in front of him was a formidable opponent who could not be underestimated.
—For their current team, Steel-type Pokémon were incredibly frustrating opponents to deal with.
Not only were Sprigatito's Grass-type STAB moves not very effective against Steel-types, but the Fairy-type Milcery was completely walled by them. Furthermore, in most situations, the absolutely broken "Wonder Guard" ability became a useless, blank-slate trait when faced with Steel-type attacks.
Not to mention, Metagross was no common roadside trash. It was renowned as a pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
With a massive base stat total of 600, including a staggering 135 in Attack, even a low Base Power 40 move like [Bullet Punch] could turn Milcery into a puddle—she could only pray that the Focus Sash tied around her forehead was securely fastened.
Entering the battle, he used the classic opening switch, sending out Milcery to scout the opponent's moveset.
Hakuya recalled Sprigatito into her Poké Ball and opted to send out his backline, Milcery, to take the field.
"Milcery, this battle is going to be a bit tough, but for now, you'll have to lead the vanguard."
"Nai~"
Taking Sprigatito's place, Milcery took the opponent's follow-up [Ice Punch] without a scratch and nodded in response.
With the Focus Sash securely tied to her head, she was currently confident that she could survive at least two punches from this big guy—
But as Hakuya watched the frost-covered, steel-plated fist crash down without dealing a single point of damage to Milcery, the wealthy young master placed his left hand over his chest. A ring set with a stone suddenly erupted with blinding light.
Accompanied by the increasingly intense background music, he shouted towards the sky.
"Respond to my heart! Metagross, Mega Evolve!"
Following that...
A powerful chain of energy linked the two of them together. Mega Evolution complete.
Ability activated.
[Mega Metagross's Huge Power raised its Attack!]
"Nai..."
Milcery swallowed hard, then slowly turned her head to look back at her Trainer.
And Hakuya's face was full of question marks.
"???"
Bro, instead of playing normal Emerald, you're secretly cheating by playing Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire early? And on top of that, how the hell did you roll the Huge Power ability?!
How am I supposed to fight this??!!