Time waits for no one. Even the most elaborate lunch must eventually come to an end.
Misty had hoped to spend more time with Eddie, but he was ready to continue his journey. Seeing his determination, she didn't try to delay him further.
After lunch, Eddie and Misty said their goodbyes at her doorstep.
"Now that you're leaving Cerulean City, I don't know when we'll meet again. This is a Soothe Bell I've been keeping. Consider it a reward for helping and saving me. It's not particularly expensive, just a small token from me. Don't read too much into it."
Before Eddie departed, Misty hesitated momentarily, then took something from her pocket and handed it to him. She couldn't quite meet his eyes as she spoke awkwardly.
Taking the small white bell, Eddie noted its pleasantly gentle chime. Then, looking at Misty's awkward yet somewhat proud expression, he smiled.
Although Eddie wasn't sure why Misty had taken a liking to him, he wasn't inexperienced in matters of the heart and knew exactly how to respond.
"Of course, don't worry, I won't overthink it. When my Charmeleon evolves into Charizard and I can fly freely, I'll come visit you whenever I have time."
"I'm not thinking anything special. I just find your place quite comfortable. It's a nice spot to rest and have a good meal occasionally."
Misty laughed when she heard this.
After exchanging a few more words, Eddie waved goodbye and left Misty's house.
He departed from Cerulean City and headed north. His destination was the Sea Cottage on Route 25.
There was a hidden quest there with a worthwhile reward, so he needed to get there quickly.
However, before continuing, Eddie wanted to assess his recent acquisitions. After all, he had just defeated Misty and received several valuable items.
He hadn't examined them at Misty's house, as it would have been difficult to explain where these items came from and why he hadn't used them before.
"Let's see... the Black Belt, the TM for Focus Blast, and the Soothe Bell that Misty just gave me."
Eddie sat down under a tree just outside Cerulean City and took out his new items.
Focus Blast: The user heightens its mental focus and unleashes its power. This may also lower the target's Sp. Def stat.
"Getting Focus Blast is excellent timing. During the battle with Mega Gyarados, I was just thinking how Riolu lacked a ranged attack, and then I received this."
Eddie felt this couldn't be mere coincidence.
It seemed that every reward he received was particularly well-suited to his needs.
Was the Pokémon world somehow favoring him?
"Well, it's a good thing regardless. No point in overthinking it."
"Currently, only Riolu can use Focus Blast. Charmeleon and Grovyle can't learn it now, though they'll be able to after evolving into Charizard and Sceptile."
Eddie sometimes found the Pokémon world's mechanics strange. Some moves could only be learned after a Pokémon evolved.
He understood the logic behind this—evolution significantly changed a Pokémon's physical capabilities, making it reasonable that they could learn more powerful moves afterward.
But what puzzled him was how some moves could only be learned before evolution, becoming impossible to learn afterward. It was still the same Pokémon, after all.
"Fortunately, TMs can be used unlimited times in this world, so I don't need to worry about this issue."
Eddie decided to teach Focus Blast to Riolu first. Charmeleon and Grovyle would get their chance after they evolved, which wouldn't take long anyway.
"Ding! Riolu used the TM and learned Focus Blast!"
After Riolu mastered the move, Eddie put the TM away and examined his other two items.
Black Belt: A belt that boosts determination. When held by a Pokémon, it increases the power of Fighting-type moves by 30%.
Soothe Bell: A bell with a comforting chime. The Pokémon that holds this item is calmed, and becomes friendlier to its Trainer more quickly. A Pokémon holding this item gains a 1.5x multiplier to friendship increases.
"Hmm, the Black Belt increases Fighting-type move damage, while the Soothe Bell increases friendship growth. Both are useful for Riolu. Which one should I equip?"
Eddie contemplated the two items, finding both extremely valuable.
The Black Belt's function was straightforward—increased battle power. The Soothe Bell, on the other hand, would accelerate Riolu's evolution.
Once Riolu's friendship reached 220, it could evolve into Lucario during the daytime.
"Why can Pokémon only hold one item in the games? Why not two simultaneously?"
Eddie was genuinely conflicted, though also quite pleased with his predicament.
In his previous life, items had been extremely rare, requiring significant effort to obtain even one.
He'd only possessed two or three items total throughout his journey, nothing like his current situation.
This was the pleasant dilemma of having too many good options.
"Wait a minute... who decided that Pokémon can carry only one item? Isn't that just a limitation from the games before I arrived in this world? There's no reason 'Pokémon Generations' would have the same restrictions."
"Furthermore, I'm in 'Pokémon Generations Alpha' now—maybe Pokémon can hold multiple items here."
Eddie realized that his assumptions might be limiting his thinking.
Before his rebirth, he'd never tried equipping multiple items because he'd barely had enough to go around. With only two or three items total, each Pokémon could barely hold one, let alone two.
So he'd never actually tested whether Pokémon could hold multiple items simultaneously.
"It's worth trying. Nothing to lose if it fails."
Eddie picked up the Soothe Bell, called Riolu over, and handed it the item.
The bell naturally merged with Riolu's form.
Then, Eddie took the Black Belt and offered it to Riolu as well.
To his surprise, the Black Belt also merged with Riolu without any issues.
Name: Riolu
Held items : Black Belt, Soothe Bell
"Wow! It worked! This is amazing!"
Eddie was ecstatic at this discovery, a wave of satisfaction washing over him.
"Wait, maybe I can add yet another item. Could Pokémon actually hold more than two items?"
Eddie acted on this thought immediately. He handed the Lucarionite—the Mega Evolution stone for Lucario—to Riolu.
The Mega Stone also seemed cooperative, merging into Riolu's body just like the other items.
Seeing this success, Eddie decided to push the limits further.
He was now determined to discover the maximum number of items a Pokémon could carry.