John prepared to emerge from his training seclusion.
The real-world Pokemon Master Tournament was approaching rapidly. While he could probably cause absolute chaos even without additional preparation, he still needed to travel to the Battle Frontier and wait for the competition to begin. That meant he needed to finish his current training objectives quickly.
Standing motionless on the ground, Zeraora's entire body flickered with lightning. The electric energy expanded and flashed until it looked like a being made entirely of electricity. As it compressed the electrical power further, the golden lightning transformed into a blinding white brilliance. If John didn't know for certain that Zeraora wasn't capable of achieving "that" form, he'd have thought it was attempting to transform into its ultimate state.
The formation of what John called the "Compressed Thunder Core" wasn't something he'd taught Zeraora, it wasn't some brand new technique he'd invented. Rather, Zeraora had developed it instinctively while absorbing electrical power, using its Volt Absorb ability as a foundation. To accelerate the absorption process, it had begun compressing the electricity externally first, like squeezing a piece of candy before swallowing it whole. This method proved far more efficient than directly absorbing raw electrical current.
But the little guy had gotten a bit greedy, trying to swallow too much at once. It kept compressing the electrical "candy" larger and denser, making it increasingly difficult to absorb. That's how the Compressed Thunder Core had formed.
Still, beyond simply storing electrical energy, the Thunder Core had other useful applications John was still discovering.
"Time to head back," John said, pulling out a Pokeball and recalling Zeraora.
Standing at the entrance to his secret base, John looked toward the distance. His Pokemon were already preparing to leave under Gengar's guidance, the ghost-type opening a rift in space-time for them.
John didn't recall them to their Pokeballs. Instead, he let Gengar open a gateway to the Distortion World, allowing them to continue their training and battles in that harsh environment. The Distortion World's twisted physics and hostile Pokemon made it an ideal grinding location.
After sending all his Pokemon into the Distortion World, John and Gardevoir stepped through the portal themselves.
Inside the Distortion World, Giratina had been waiting patiently. The legendary Pokemon bowed deeply to John before leading him toward the depths of the reversed dimension.
When John emerged on the other side, he found himself standing in front of Riverstone University's research facility.
"Travel through the Distortion World really is fast," John mused. The distance between Sky Island and Riverstone was several thousand miles. Even Lugia would need over twenty minutes of flight time. But through the Distortion World? Just a few minutes.
Incredibly convenient.
Gardevoir immediately used Teleport, bringing them directly into the university research building.
Everyone on campus had grown accustomed to the Draconia Champion's ghostly comings and goings by now. Nobody even batted an eye.
John headed straight for the independent research laboratory, Scarlett's dedicated workspace where she and her team conducted their most sensitive experiments.
When he entered, Scarlett was in the middle of conducting some kind of test, holding a test tube up to the light and examining its contents carefully.
"Done with your training?" Scarlett asked without looking up, her hands never pausing in their precise movements.
"Yeah, the Master Tournament is about to start," John replied casually, stepping forward to flip through her experimental notes. "How's the progress?"
"The foundational research was completed weeks ago. The Drug Administration Bureau's efficacy tests came back approved. We're ready to begin commercial production and sales immediately."
Scarlett set down her test tube and turned to face John, a rare smile crossing her typically stern features.
"Congratulations," John said with a grin. "Future richest person in the world."
"Congratulations to you as well," She responded. "If I'm going to be the richest person in the world, then you'll be the second richest."
They looked at each other and burst out laughing simultaneously.
The other researchers working in the lab cast envious glances their way. As John and Professor Scarlett had just jokingly acknowledged, they were indeed about to become the world's wealthiest individual, first and second place respectively.
The reason was simple.
Not long ago, John had given Scarlett every medicinal item from his Gameboy, Potions, Super Potions, Hyper Potions, Full Restores, and various other medicines that didn't exist in reality. He'd tasked her with researching and manufacturing real-world versions.
Reverse-engineering existing formulas from completed products was vastly easier than creating new medicines from scratch. It was literally the difference between two entirely separate difficulty levels.
Still, reverse-engineering the Potion formulas had presented considerable challenges.
During the time John had been in seclusion training in the space-time rift, Scarlett had mobilized the entire resources of Riverstone Laboratory. Only now had they successfully reverse-engineered Potions, Super Potions, and Hyper Potions, the pillar medicines of Pokemon healthcare.
Moreover, they'd already passed Drug Administration Bureau approval. Commercial release was imminent.
Once these affordable medicines, with healing effects demonstrably superior to ninety-five percent of existing products on the market, were released, they would completely monopolize the Pokemon medical industry. It was inevitable.
As the exclusive patent holder for these Potions, John's overnight wealth was guaranteed.
Though honestly, at this point money had become somewhat meaningless to John. His needs were simple, and his Pokemon breeding facility practically printed cash already. So he'd decided to split the Potion profits, giving the Professor a ten percent stake.
Don't underestimate that ten percent. As the world's most widely used medicine with massive consumption rates, even that small fraction would make Scarlett the world's second-richest person.
But this level of profit sharing was necessary to permanently bind her to John's interests. She'd be tied to his success for life.
Besides, Potions, Super Potions, and Hyper Potions were just the beginning. His Gameboy contained countless other items that didn't exist in this world yet. He'd need Scarlett's expertise to bring them all into reality.