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At two in the middle of the night, Chris was browsing through furniture options.
In the future, his secret base would be like his own independent home, so Chris wanted to buy the best furniture available, even if he wouldn't need it in the short term.
The next day was Saturday. After Chris got up and made breakfast for his Pokémon, he continued advancing through his journey. His next goal was to challenge the Lavaridge Gym and assess the strength of the Gym Leader. If he couldn't win, he'd grind for levels until ready.
Since Lavaridge Gym specializes in Fire-type Pokémon, Chris decided to bring Frogadier to the front of his team and focus on leveling it up. The type advantage would make things easier, as he had already experienced when facing Dewford Gym and Mauville Gym.
Heading north from Route 111, Chris reached Route 113, which led directly to the Fallarbor Town.
On Route 113, the ground was covered in gray volcanic ash from Mt. Chimney, blanketing the area in a fine gray layer. The air felt thick, almost like smog, but much worse. It wasn't an ideal environment, but some Pokémon thrived in these conditions.
The Pokémon found on Route 113 included Slugma, Spinda, Sandshrew, and, with a bit of luck, the rare Skarmory. Chris managed to capture the Skarmory he encountered.
He didn't plan to train it, though. He would use it as a temporary flying mount for future travels.
Additionally, there were people on this route collecting volcanic ash to craft glass items, such as furniture and special flutes.
These flutes had unique effects.
There were five types of flutes in total: the blue, red, and yellow flutes could respectively cure sleep, infatuation, and confusion. Each flute could be used indefinitely, making them incredibly useful items.
The last two flutes were more specialized:
- **Black Flute**: Increases the chances of encountering high-level wild Pokémon and decreases encounters with lower-level ones.
- **White Flute**: Increases the chances of encountering low-level wild Pokémon and boosts overall encounter rates.
The two flutes had opposite effects. Chris didn't find them too useful but thought the White Flute might be helpful when leveling up.
Chris decided to collect all five flutes. He asked the flute maker for a bag to gather volcanic ash and continued his journey.
After crossing Route 113, he reached the Fallarbor Town.
Next, he planned to head to Meteor Falls via Route 114.
Route 114 had a variety of Pokémon, including the rare Zangoose, Seviper, and Swablu, which could eventually evolve into Altaria.
Chris didn't need any of them, so he battled his way through the trainers without stopping. Despite that, it was already afternoon by the time he reached Meteor Falls, as there were too many trainers along the way. Although they weren't particularly strong, the constant battles wore him out.
After completing the tasks here, Chris planned to relax by picking a movie for the afternoon and taking his camera down to the nearby river.
He finally arrived at Meteor Falls.
Meteor Falls was a unique location. When Chris first started his journey, he had heard a rumor that Mewtwo could be found there, leading him to search the area extensively. Of course, it was just a rumor, and he didn't find anything.
The real significance of Meteor Falls came from its formation, said to have been caused by a meteorite crash. As a result, rare Psychic-type Pokémon like Solrock and Lunatone were common in the area.
Chris also remembered that deep within Meteor Falls, there was a place where Bagon could be captured.
When playing this version, Chris definitely planned to return later to capture Bagon. Unfortunately, he needed to master the move "Waterfall" first to reach the area where Bagon could be found.
Chris guided the protagonist into Meteor Falls, where he saw members of Team Magma surrounding a professor dressed in a researcher's coat.
**Team Magma Grunt:** "Finally, we've secured the Meteorite. With this, Mt. Chimney will..."
At that moment, the surrounded professor spotted Chris.
**Professor Cozmo:** "Hey! Handsome guy, help me out!"
"This title, this scene... feels familiar," Chris thought, suspecting a familiar character was about to make an appearance.
One of the Team Magma grunts noticed Chris and approached him with a sneer.
**Team Magma Grunt:** "Haha, a Water-type brat! You're late, as expected! Compared to us in Team Magma, you Water Fleet fools are nothing but a bunch of idiots!"
Just as Chris prepared for battle, someone familiar appeared behind the Team Magma grunts—it was Archie! And he wasn't alone; several of his followers were with him.
**Team Magma Grunt:** "Archie?! Why is he here? Forget it, now's not the time to deal with Water Fleet idiots. Let's go!"
Sensing trouble, the Team Magma grunts fled, running past Chris.
**Archie:** "Chase them!"
Immediately, the Water Fleet members sprinted after Team Magma, disappearing into the distance. As Archie passed Chris, he shot him a glance but continued without saying anything.
Now, only Chris and Professor Cozmo remained in Meteor Falls.
**Professor Cozmo:** "Quick, handsome guy! You need to stop them! They plan to use the Meteorite to trigger an eruption at Mt. Chimney. If that happens, the entire Hoenn Region will be in grave danger!"
Chris knew this marked the start of the Mt. Chimney storyline. He turned to leave, intending to head back the way he came, when suddenly his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed: "Li Tiantian (Berries)."
This was the contact number Li Tiantian had given Chris when he joined the Berry Club.
Chris quickly answered, and the soft voice of Sister Li greeted him from the other side.
**Sister Li:** "Brother Chris, the club activity is about to start. Where are you?"
"Ah!" Chris slapped his forehead. He had been so caught up in obtaining the Secret Power skill yesterday that he completely forgot about today's club activity. He also wanted to use the opportunity to ask his senior about mulch.
"I'm so sorry, senior! I completely forgot! I'll be there as soon as I can!" Chris replied quickly.
Hanging up, Chris saved his progress on the handheld device, deciding to continue the storyline later.
In a rush, he grabbed his coat, put it on, recalled his Pokémon, and hopped on his bicycle, racing toward the botanical garden for the club event.