Chapter 422: Welcome to the Ferrum Region
Early morning sunlight filtered through the villa’s windows as John enjoyed a peaceful breakfast routine. At the entrance, Tyranitar was constructing an elaborate fortress from sand blocks, munching contentedly as it worked. Upstairs on the balcony, John sat comfortably at the tea table sipping milk, while Gardevoir read quietly across from him.
Being back at his villa meant one thing, time for morning surfing!
This time, John had gotten creative. Instead of using Greninja as usual, he’d enlisted Lugia as his personal speedboat, letting the legendary Pokemon drag him across the waves at incredible velocity.
At the speed Lugia could circle the globe in mere hours, having John as a "passenger" was... well, let’s just say it was an experience that defied description!
If not for the three orbs protecting his body, he would have been reduced to ash by the air resistance alone. Even his surfboard and rope had required multiple reinforcements to withstand Lugia’s incredible drag force.
If I entered Altomare’s water competition again, John mused, I wouldn’t just take first place, I’d shatter every record they have!
Unfortunately, Altomare’s Grand Prix wasn’t running at the moment.
Taking a sip of milk to calm his excitement, John pulled out his Gameboy to check his progress.
On the screen, his character was already heading toward the Ferrum Region, with just three minutes remaining before arrival. The map function allowed John to use Pokemon’s Fly ability to travel there without physically going himself, a convenient feature he’d grown to appreciate.
The Ferrum Region wasn’t particularly distant, situated close to both the Kalos and Galar regions. John only needed to reach Kalos first, then fly to Ferrum from there. Including the journey from Hoenn to Kalos, the entire trip had taken just over an hour, a journey that would have required half a day or more before he’d captured Lugia.
[0 hours 1 minute 33 seconds][0 hours 1 minute 32 seconds]
John watched the countdown tick away until it reached zero.
The Gameboy screen transformed into a map displaying eight cursor points representing different locations:
[-Ferrum Town - Home of the Pokemon Center and numerous shops
-Tech City - A professional training hub with the most advanced Pokemon exercise equipment and teams
-Haunted House, Ryme Island, Tellur Beach - Wild Pokemon capture locations
-Neon City, Tellur Town - Trainer gathering spots for random battle challenges
-Ferrum Stadium - Headquarters of the Ferrum League]
John could control where his character would appear, but unlike other games, each city served a specific function rather than being an explorable map.
After reviewing each location, John summarized their purposes. The interface reminded him strongly of the game Pokemon Tekken, which made sense, since the Ferrum Region was indeed the setting for that fighting game.
"So the turn-based system has become real-time combat," John smiled, directing his character toward the "Ferrum Stadium."
The scene shifted, and John found himself in a bustling hall filled with people. Several staff members were handling registrations at the front desks.
"There’s definitely a difference from the games," John muttered, approaching the nearest staff member. Since he was essentially inside Pokemon Tekken, it would be unreasonable not to try a few battles.
"Hello, how can I help you?" the staff member asked with a professional smile.
"I’d like to learn more about the Ferrum League competitions. What do I need to do?" John inquired.
"Are you a tourist from another region? Here, this brochure should answer your questions." The staff member handed over a palm-sized booklet.
John found a chair and spent five or six minutes reading through the contents, quickly grasping the Ferrum League’s unique challenge system.
Unlike other regions where trainers had to defeat Gym Leaders, navigate Victory Road, and then challenge the Elite Four and Champion, the Ferrum League operated on a pure points ranking system. Trainers battled continuously within the League, and upon reaching certain point thresholds, they could face the three League Masters and ultimately the Champion.
Notably, the Ferrum League had no Elite Four, likely due to the region’s compact size leaving no room for traditional gyms.
This streamlined approach appealed to John, eliminating the need to travel collecting badges.
The battle rules also differed significantly from other regions. Every match in Ferrum was singles format with only one main battle Pokemon allowed. However, there was a "Support Pokemon" system.
Support Pokemon could be released alongside the main battler but had to be recalled after using just one move. Each battle allowed only three support calls, and trainers had to register exactly two support Pokemon before each match.
This meant Ferrum trainers typically focused on developing one powerful ace Pokemon while training two specialized support Pokemon for strategic assistance.
This system posed no problem for John, his extensive roster could easily accommodate such formation.
The final page contained information John found particularly interesting: rewards.
Every Ferrum League victory earned points, which served as the region’s primary currency. These points could be used for everything from meals and hotels to entertainment, and more importantly, they could be exchanged for valuable Pokemon resources.
The exchange catalog included various TMs, evolution stones, rare Pokemon eggs, and even MEGA stones. While these items held some appeal, John’s attention was drawn to something called a "Resonance Stone."
[Resonance Stone: Resonates with Pokemon to temporarily boost combat power and grant unique abilities.]
This was an exclusive Ferrum Region item, similar to how Z-Crystals were unique to Alola.
"Ten thousand points... that’s not too steep," John noted, having seen that Sceptile’s MEGA stone cost 120,000 points, giving him a rough sense of the point economy.
"Well then," John grinned, "let’s get this tournament started!"