Pokemon: The Gameboy Effect-Chapter 214: Intimacy

Understanding a Pokemon's emotions, aligning with its desires, and working toward a shared goal—this is the essence of a strong Trainer-Pokemon bond. When both Trainer and Pokemon strive for the same purpose, their wills synchronize, reaching a state where MEGA Evolution can unfold.

This method, taught to John by his mentor, Saul Badman, was the fastest way to cultivate such a bond. But Saul had also warned him: haste makes waste.

"Shared goals, huh...?" John muttered, lounging on the couch. He turned to Gardevoir, who was carefully pouring tea. "Do you have any goals, Gardevoir?"

Gardevoir paused, tilting its head in thought before shaking it slightly. "Nay?"

John scratched his head, a bit troubled. He glanced at Wobbuffet and his Bokob, both locked in a heated gaming session.

"If Wobbuffet could MEGA evolve, I could challenge it with a super difficult game. We'd struggle through, barely managing to beat the final boss—then, at that critical moment... boom! MEGA Evolution!"

John already had the entire script planned out in his head.

Unfortunately, that idea wouldn't work with Gardevoir, who wasn't particularly interested in playing games. Sure, it watched Wobbuffet and Bokob battle it out now and then, but that was about it.

John's gaze landed on the teapot in Gardevoir's hands.

Tea. Gardevoir had learned the art of brewing tea because she enjoyed drinking it.

"Maybe that's the key?" John rubbed his temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache. He had worked so hard to get his hands on a MEGA Evolution Stone, only to realize he needed a Mega Ring. Now, he finally had the ring, but MEGA Evolution still wasn't happening. It was like sitting on a mountain of gold but being unable to spend a single coin.

"Forget it," he sighed. "No point in forcing it. First, I should focus on strengthening our bond."

But how could he even measure something so intangible? There was no real way to determine just how deep his connection with Gardevoir was. Was he halfway there? A quarter? Was he even making progress at all?

"If only there was a way to quantify our bond... Wait." John suddenly sat upright. "Quantify...? Maybe I've been thinking about it wrong."

He snapped his fingers. "Intimacy!"

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The words 'bond' and 'intimacy' were practically interchangeable. They even developed the same way—spending time together, battling together, taking care of each other.

In the games, there was no explicit 'bond' system. MEGA Evolution just worked if a Pokemon held the right stone. But 'intimacy' was a measurable value that affected certain evolutions and move strengths.

"If intimacy isn't exactly the same as a bond, it should at least be a close enough indicator."

Excited, John grabbed his Gameboy. His in-game character was still standing outside the Tower of Mastery in the Kalos region.

"In Hoenn, you check intimacy in Verdanturf Town. In Kalos, it should be... Laverre City's Pokemon Fan Club?"

Without wasting a second, John opened the menu, selected Fly, and had his Flygon take him straight to Lumiose City. From there, he headed north, passing through Route 14 and straight into Laverre City.

Inside the Pokemon Fan Club, he found the NPC—a woman dressed in green—who specialized in reading a Trainer's intimacy level with their Pokemon.

"Good thing I remember this from when I raised an Espeon," John muttered. "Otherwise, I'd have to backtrack for hours."

He had his in-game character talk to the woman, eager to see the results.

[Girl in Green: It's starting to have a little affection for you. 'Almost like this.']

NPCs didn't provide exact numbers, but their responses corresponded to specific intimacy levels.

The intimacy scale ranged from 0 to 255, split into seven ranks. Wild-caught Pokemon started with an intimacy of 70, while hatched Pokemon began at 120.

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John tested his Flygon first.

"Flygon's been my ride for a while, so it should have decent affection."

[Girl in Green: You two seem like a great combination!]

That placed Flygon between 150-199 intimacy. Not bad.

Next, he checked Wobbuffet. The blue blob had been with him since hatching, so it had a higher starting point.

[Girl in Green: You two must really care about each other!]

150-199 intimacy, just like Flygon. That made sense.

Then, John tested his Blaziken—his very first Pokemon, the one he'd been raising since day one.

[Girl in Green: You must really love your partner, always keeping it close!]

200-254 intimacy.

"Almost maxed out, huh?" John muttered. "The longer they're with you, the higher the intimacy."

That meant his Greninja and Gardevoir should have similar results.

"If intimacy represents the bond, then Blaziken should be close to MEGA Evolution."

Too bad he didn't have Blaziken's MEGA Stone yet. He couldn't test it out.

Finally, he moved Gardevoir to the front of his team and talked to the NPC again.

[Girl in Green: Wow, I'm amazed! You two are incredibly close! Every day with you must be wonderful!]

John's eyes widened. That response meant full intimacy—255.

"Wait... that's maxed out!?"