(A/N: Bonus chapter! Enjoy!)
"Boss, when will the breeding facility start up?" Emerald's voice came through the phone, slightly impatient.
"You figure it out. I'm the boss, if I have to decide everything, what's the point of having you as the manager?" John replied with a chuckle.
"But you're the boss, and I'm just the—" Emerald muttered under her breath. "Boss, have you arrived in the capital yet?"
"Just got off the plane."
"Since you're about to participate in the Elite Four meeting, I wanted to wish you the best of luck!"
"Thanks, and I wish you a prosperous business too."
Emerald's mouth twitched, and she hung up immediately. This boss of hers had such an awkward way of speaking. 'Prosperous business', was he wishing her well or himself?
John put down his phone with a smile and headed toward the airport exit.
Since arriving in the Ferrum region, more than ten days had passed, and he'd fought ten battles total.
None of the opponents he'd faced could compare to Chloe, though. It seemed he'd returned to the normal strength level of a typical region.
Trainers ranked 30,000+ typically used Pokemon ranging from level 20 to 50.
Only trainers within the top 10,000 had Pokemon above level 60.
The top 1,000 trainers had Pokemon above level 70, equivalent to the strength of trainers on each region's Victory Road.
A thousand quasi-Elite Four level trainers... At first glance, the Ferrum's strength seemed terrifying.
However, Ferrum's rules only allowed single battles. Therefore, most of the top 1,000 trainers probably had just one quasi-Elite level Pokemon for battle, with their other Pokemon being considerably weaker.
So if you counted how many truly quasi-Elite level trainers Ferrum had, there were probably only about two hundred who could actually compete on Victory Road.
Calculated this way, Ferrums strength was roughly the same as other regions, maybe even weaker.
After his second duel, John had started using Kubfu again, with his second-rate team's Steelix playing until his ranking reached the top 100,000.
Now, John's ranking had climbed to 783.
As his ranking improved, the intervals between battles began to extend, and his next match was already scheduled for three days later.
However, the only thing he needed from Ferrum was the Resonance Stone, which he'd already obtained. This was a reward for the top 1,000 players in the Iron Alliance, completely separate from the point system.
[Resonance Stone: Trainer equipment. When a Pokemon's "Resonance Energy" reaches 100%, it can perform a "Resonance Burst."]
[Resonance Burst: Pokemon acquires the "Superior Body" status and their next move is sublimated to "Ultimate Attack," with power increased by 50% and lasting for 10 seconds.]
The effect was powerful, even in John's view, Resonance Burst was stronger than MEGA evolution or Z-moves.
Although there was no attribute boost, even with just a 50% power increase, the key was the "Superior Body" status.
[Superior Body: Eliminates and provides immunity to all control-type moves.]
With the Superior Body status, Pokemon wouldn't be affected by any control moves and could guarantee their attacks would connect. Whether facing Final Gambit or forced suppression tactics, they'd handle everything with ease.
The only drawback was the "resonance energy" requirement.
It needed to reach 100% before activation, requiring Pokemon to spend time accumulating energy through battle, it couldn't be used immediately. Therefore, Resonance Burst could be considered an ultimate trump card.
The resonance stone from Ferrum was small, only fingernail-sized, and appeared as a translucent golden stone that looked like amber. John had threaded it on a black cord and wore it as a pendant around his neck.
"John!" A cold voice called from the distance.
John looked up to see a familiar figure approaching.
It was Senior Damian, wearing a purple suit with black-clad bodyguards lined up behind him, radiating an intimidating aura. Even though many people around recognized Damian, none dared approach him.
"Senior!" John greeted him and hurried over.
"Let's go, I'll take you to your accommodations." Damian nodded slightly and led John directly to a stretched luxury car.
The luxury car quickly departed the airport and headed toward the city.
"Do you have property in Dragoncrest?" Damian asked.
"No." The last time John had visited, he'd stayed at a hotel. He didn't come to the capital often enough to justify buying property.
"I bought some for you. Find time to take possession." Damian handed John a folder without ceremony.
John glanced through it: mansions, luxury cars, restaurant chains, and even ranches.
"This is..."
"You're already an Elite Four member, and you'll be coming to the capital frequently in the future. You need some local assets," Damian explained.
"Umm, isn't this too expensive?" John understood Damian's good intentions, but while the luxury houses and cars were valuable, the ranches near the capital were worth at least two billion pokedollars alone, definitely too expensive.
Damian glanced at John suspiciously. "Your breeding facility is already among the top four in the country. How much money are you still worried about?"
John couldn't help but laugh, thinking about how fast his breeding facility was generating income. These properties really weren't much in comparison. Damian had served as an Elite Four member for many years and had definitely accumulated substantial wealth.
For him, this was barely a gift.
"Then, thank you!"
"It's long overdue."
After driving for more than an hour, the luxury car entered a small manor.
"This manor is also part of what I'm giving you. The staff have already been arranged, and it can serve as your base here so you won't have to stay in hotels every time," Damianexplained.
John quickly found the manor's details in the paperwork.
The name was "Deerling Manor." It covered 200 acres, considered a small manor. It had a training ground, a Pokemon battle field, and various Pokemon habitats.
In this world, manors specially prepared for trainers were quite common.
After admiring the manor's scenery for a while, Damian suddenly stopped.
"I'll leave you here. I have other matters to attend to."
"Okay, thanks for the trouble, Senior. See you at the Elite meeting."
"Get ready. I'll be waiting to see your performance at the meeting," Damian said solemnly.
"I'm already prepared," John replied confidently.
"Good." Damian nodded, then added: "Also, keep your schedule clear. Don't leave the capital after the meeting ends. I'll be taking you abroad to a top-secret location."