As per the commission's requirements, daytime from Monday to Friday was dedicated to standard Pokémon battle instruction.
Having built up his confidence after the first class, Hakuya found the subsequent tactical lessons progressing quite smoothly.
Given that most of the students' first Pokémon were Rock-types, Hakuya started by covering one of the primary weather teams: the Sandstorm team.
Unlike Sun and Rain teams, which rely on weather to boost the power of their attacks, the core of a Sandstorm team is defense. It utilizes the sandstorm to continuously chip away at the opponent's health while boosting the Special Defense of Rock-type Pokémon, supplementing this defense with high-damage attackers.
He didn't expect them to completely master it immediately; he just wanted them to understand the basic methods of using and countering it.
Of course, Ms. Roxanne frequently sat in on these classes.
Even though Hakuya emphasized multiple times that the absurd performance of Latias and his other Pokémon had very little to do with his post-capture training, the beautiful teacher didn't seem to listen. Acting like a top-tier student, she always clutched a notebook, writing down every single word Hakuya said during his lectures.
And when night fell, it was back to the essential routine: violently elbowing NPCs in Randomized Emerald to earn some extra battle cash.
9:30 AM.
[Rustboro City: The city pursuing the integration of nature and science.]
Because Floragato had fainted during the previous challenge against cyber-Roxanne and they were sent back home, Hakuya's group now had to walk all the way back along the path they had already cleared to reach Rustboro City and progress the plot.
As for why he didn't just fly there on Latias...
Theoretically, he could. But when Hakuya actually tried, the system informed him that he didn't have enough Gym Badges, causing them to crash-land on the spot.
By the time they walked back to Rustboro City, the plot event triggered perfectly on cue.
"Get out of my way! Move!"
"Hey, wait! You can't steal my package!"
On the empty streets of Rustboro City, two figures chasing each other flashed past their eyes.
—The Devon Corporation employee they had helped earlier in Petalburg Woods had his important package stolen again by a Team Aqua grunt. Now, they had to hurry along Route 116 toward Rusturf Tunnel to get it back for him.
"Meowha~"
"Let's go. Time to help that clumsy guy get his package back again."
Seeing this, Hakuya, familiar with the game's walkthrough, didn't hesitate to head east toward Route 116.
Route 116 was guarded by a total of eight roadside Trainers.
Perhaps the balancing mechanics of Randomized Emerald were kicking in again, because the Pokémon and abilities these guys rolled were relatively average this time.
The only one that was somewhat troublesome was a Lugia with the [Fur Coat] ability.
Lugia already had incredibly high defensive stats; coupling that with an ability that halved physical damage turned it into the ultimate meat shield.
However, unfortunately restricted by its movepool, it was ultimately soloed by Milcery.
After Hakuya sliced through the roadblock Trainers like a hot knife through butter and could clearly see Rusturf Tunnel, a balding old man with a white beard, who had been waiting at the entrance for a long time, anxiously rushed over to ask for his help.
"Ahhh! While Peeko and I were taking a walk, a strange thug attacked us! That bastard stole my Peeko!"
"???"
"Wait... the 'Peeko' you're talking about is that thing?"
Having just agreed to help out of convenience, Hakuya stepped into Rusturf Tunnel. Seeing the massive "fat fish" figure beside the Team Aqua grunt, his expression instantly broke.
You own a Kyogre...
...and you just casually take it for a walk on the streets of Rustboro City? And you actually let a fleeing grunt snatch it from you?!
Oh, right. This is the randomized version. That makes total sense—
"Dammit, this thing is useless!"
Seeing Hakuya and a green cat charging at him like peerless gods of war, the grunt cursed as he abandoned the Kyogre. He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and immediately initiated a true-man's duel with Hakuya.
"Jolteon, prepare for battle!"
Unlike the original Volt Absorb or Quick Feet, this Jolteon rolled the [Simple] ability.
Stat changes were doubled.
Unfortunately, before it could finish setting up with Calm Mind, Floragato's [Seed Bomb] crashed down and knocked it unconscious.
"Useless piece of trash. You're up next, Garchomp!"
Recalling the fainted Jolteon, the Team Aqua grunt immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
"Floragato, return for now. I choose you next, Milcery!"
Facing a Dragon/Ground-type Garchomp, the natural choice was, of course, to bring out the [Wonder Guard] Milcery to torture it.
Upon seeing the cream Pokémon appear, the Team Aqua grunt's face turned unusually serious. His underlying code instinctively prompted him to execute a maneuver to reverse this unfavorable situation.
Thus, he revealed the Mega Bracelet on his wrist and shouted loudly.
"Garchomp, Mega Evolve!"
"It's actually Mega Garchomp Z! Its base Speed stat is going to jump to an astonishing 151."
Looking at the figure wielding scythe-like dragon fins before him, Hakuya couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Immediately after, a hovering system notification popped up.
[Mega Garchomp Z can't get it going!]
"Uh... the Slow Start ability on a Garchomp. Late, but inevitable."
At this moment, looking at the confident Team Aqua grunt and his Mega Garchomp Z, Hakuya's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He originally thought the standard Mega Garchomp—which lost 10 base Speed upon Mega Evolving—was already frustrating enough.
He didn't expect Randomized Emerald to disrespect Garchomp even more than Game Freak, slapping it with [Slow Start] right out the gate.
The precious Speed gained from the Z-form was immediately halved by the [Slow Start] ability, making it even slower than its pre-Mega form.
Moreover, calling it a "Land Dragon" wasn't even accurate anymore.
Because after entering its Mega Z form, it completely discarded its original Ground-typing, becoming a pure Dragon-type.
—Pure Dragon. An absolute death sentence.
"Milcery, use Dazzling Gleam repeatedly."
Paying absolutely no mind to Garchomp's desperate struggle using [Draco Meteor], Hakuya waved his hand grandly, ordering Milcery to send it packing.
With a single, miserable wail, the battle concluded as a completely one-sided slaughter.
Young pure Dragon-type Pokémon are advised to watch this battle only under adult supervision.
After watching the Team Aqua grunt flee in panic and returning the "Peeko" Kyogre to Mr. Briney at the tunnel entrance, Hakuya took the stolen important package and headed to the Devon Corporation building.
"I am the President of the Devon Corporation. I heard from my researcher that you have helped our employees more than once. Before you deliver the package to the shipyard in Slateport City, could you please deliver this letter to a man named Steven in Dewford Town? Take this as a token of my appreciation!"
Before Hakuya left, the President of the Devon Corporation kindly gifted him an important item.
"The PokéNav! This is some good stuff~"
Hakuya looked at the communication device he had obtained for free, his face lighting up with joy.
Given that items obtained in Randomized Emerald could be brought back to reality, he finally had a proper communication device.
It was definitely better to get it for free by following the Randomized Emerald plot. If he had to buy one back in reality, it would probably cost around 100,000 League Dollars. Converted, he didn't even want to think about how many Great Balls that could buy.
Besides the PokéNav, he also picked up quite a few items while grinding the roadside Trainers.
—Since he didn't have [Cut] and had to resort to snapping the blocking saplings with his bare hands, Hakuya eventually found five Silver Repels, one Miracle Seed, and an unidentifiable stone.
[Silver Repel: Prevents weak wild Pokémon from appearing for 200 steps.]
[Miracle Seed: Boosts the power of the holder's Grass-type moves by 20%.]
[Unknown Fossil: An unidentified, mysterious fossil. Perhaps a rock enthusiast would like it.]
The Silver Repels could be kept for now; they'd be useful for traveling quickly without triggering overpowered wild encounters that would spike his blood pressure.
Hakuya gave the Miracle Seed to Floragato. Her 165 base Attack in Omni-Form, combined with the 20% power boost to Grass-type moves from the Miracle Seed, pushed Floragato's offensive output to an unprecedented height.
As for the unknown fossil, if he couldn't find a rock enthusiast, he could always sell it at the Poké Mart for cash.
"...It's a mysterious fossil, for crying out loud! And you're telling me it's only worth 50 League Dollars here?!"
Several minutes later, Hakuya slammed his hands on the counter of the Rustboro City Poké Mart, shouting in disbelief.
Facing Hakuya's loud roar, the brainless NPC cashier simply stood there with a blank stare.
Son of a btch! Even the trashiest basic Poké Ball sells for 100!*
And now you're telling me a priceless ancient fossil is only worth a pitiful 50?!
Scammers! I'm not selling!
Hakuya threw the mysterious fossil into his System Backpack to gather dust and silently walked out of the Poké Mart.
Shortly after, he suddenly remembered something. He rubbed his chin lightly, his eyes lighting up.
"Right! Didn't Roxanne happen to be a rock enthusiast?"
As the Gym Leader of Rustboro City, Roxanne not only specialized in Rock-type Pokémon but was also a fanatic rock collector.
When he challenged her Gym earlier, Hakuya had clearly seen the interior decor.
Roxanne had essentially renovated the place to look like a fossil museum. Countless display cases neatly showcased a wide variety of ancient fossils. Right next to the battlefield, there was even a massive, several-meters-tall, shockingly complete skeleton of a Dragonite.
Recalling this, Hakuya nodded to himself instinctively.
As expected, rather than selling it for a paltry 50 League Dollars in the game, it was much better to bring it to the real world and ask Roxanne—a rock enthusiast and a wealthy Gym Leader—if she was interested in buying it.