Pokemon: Spiritual Master

January 11th, Early Morning.

Cynthia sat in Johan's lounge chair in the courtyard, legs crossed, flipping through the book in her hands with a focused expression.

This was something Johan had written—wait, no, copied.

After all, being a "literary copycat" was actually a rather lucrative profession.

Especially in the Pokémon world, where because of Pokémon, not only was the technological tree skewed, but so were the cultural and entertainment industries.

"Hmm..."

Reaching the end, Cynthia flipped back to the first page, as if confirming the title of the book.

"About... Being Sealed for 500 Years Despite Being Overpowered from the Start?"

Johan took the cup of coffee handed to him by the younger Gallade, petting the Ninetales curled in his lap. He took a small sip and asked with a smile:

"What do you think?"

Cynthia nodded seriously, "It's quite good. I think... if Iris knew about this, she'd be eager to discuss it with you."

Iris, Cynthia's close friend and a future member of the Unova Elite Four, was also a novelist.

Johan's face stiffened. "I don't know her."

Cynthia smiled knowingly and returned to the book's topic.

"But... it doesn't seem finished?"

Johan subtly exhaled in relief before chuckling, "Yeah, the full title should actually be 'About Being Sealed for 500 Years Despite Being Overpowered from the Start, Only to End Up Babysitting My Weakling Master While Gathering an Army on Our Travels.'"

"...Huh?"

Cynthia tilted her head.

That title...

It sounded like quite a story.

She gently rubbed her chin.

"What?"

Cynthia handed the book back to Johan, flashed a bright smile, and said two words:

"Update it."

Johan: "..."

"Ku~ Kukuku~! zzZ"

Cynthia's gaze shifted to Kubfu, who was in the courtyard.

"Kubfu is so hardworking! I saw it practicing punches last night, and now it's still at it."

Johan scratched his head. "Yeah... our little Kubfu is just like that, very diligent."

He didn't know how to explain this "sleep-punching" thing to Cynthia.

Dream-Drunken Kung Fu?

Cynthia nodded thoughtfully.

"No wonder Lucario said that when it comes to pure punching technique, it might not even be able to beat Kubfu."

Pop!

Kubfu's snot bubble suddenly burst. It plopped onto the ground, rubbed its eyes, let out a long yawn, and stood up.

After dusting off its tiny black tail, it looked at Johan, rubbed its stomach, and smiled.

There was only one meaning behind this look—

Hungry.

Johan sighed with amusement.

Another "downside" of training in its sleep—Kubfu got hungry faster than anyone else.

After all, it was constantly exerting itself 24/7.

"Oh right, the Sinnoh League has prepared your reward. The next time you visit Sinnoh, it'll be delivered to you." Cynthia mentioned.

"Reward?" Johan was momentarily confused. "For pacifying Regigigas?"

Why did they make it so complicated?

He had to wait until he visited Sinnoh to receive it?

"What is it?" Johan asked curiously.

"I don't know the exact details, but from what I saw, it should be something quite valuable."

Why make it so valuable?

Johan rubbed his temple.

Cynthia chuckled. "Oh, and the research grant from our last investigation has also been processed."

"...Wait."

Johan's eyes lit up.

That meant—

"I already had my grandmother wire it to your account."

Johan quickly pulled out his phone and checked.

Sure enough—

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

10 million Pokédollars deposited!

After deducting the 1 million Pokédollars he had overspent on New Year's gifts for his Pokémon, he still had 9 million left!

Most importantly—

This was a grant, meaning no taxes!

"Alright! I'm treating you to a feast today!" Johan declared, waving his hand.

He still had an unused voucher from that seven-star restaurant he won earlier—time to see if it worked in Kanaz City.

January 13th, Monday Morning, Clear Skies.

Cynthia's short vacation came to an end. She rode on Garchomp's back, preparing to fly straight back to Sinnoh.

Unlike Johan, who got long holiday breaks as a teacher, she still had numerous research projects and field studies to complete.

Flying on her own was much more convenient.

"Well then, I'll be waiting for you in Sinnoh."

Cynthia smiled down at Johan from atop Garchomp.

The Lily of the Valley Conference was starting soon. Johan had already registered with Professor Yamanashi.

"Alright!"

Cynthia gave a gentle smile and patted Garchomp's back.

"Gaaaarrr!!"

Garchomp let out a roar and shot into the sky, leaving behind two streaks of vapor trails.

Johan watched her silhouette shrink in the distance.

"Feels like... I'm forgetting something..."

He furrowed his brow.

"...Oh well."

It probably wasn't important.

Meanwhile, deep in the Fortree City forests.

Standing on the highest tree branch, Flint kept raising and shaking his phone, trying to get a better signal.

"What, just got a little wet and the signal's completely dead?"

Earlier, during their battle against the Pokémon hunters, he had gotten blasted by a Water Gun.

"Ku..."

Flint's Infernape held his ankles steady, growling softly.

Maybe we should've left with Lance and the others...

Plop—

Flint climbed down from Infernape's shoulders and confidently stood on the branch, clenching his fist.

"No worries! Johan and Clair will definitely come pick us up."

They had come to his rescue before—surely a little getting lost wouldn't be a big deal.

"Ku?"

Infernape scratched its head.

Are you sure?

They don't even know where we are...

Flint thumped his chest.

"They'll find us with this—"

A determined, battle-hungry heart!

Noon, Cold Weather.

Johan, in full lazy mode, lounged on his sofa, reading a book.

If the Pokémon egg hatched into a Ground-type, Giovanni's Secrets of the Earth would be extremely useful.

To be honest, he had read Secrets of the Earth multiple times, but every time, he found new insights.

It was no exaggeration—when it came to raising Ground-type Pokémon, Giovanni was among the world's best.

No wonder in Pokémon Adventures, Blue built a whole new team in just a year after receiving this book.

Ninetales curled up on Johan's chest, leaning back against him, reading along.

Johan was impressed with his Pokémon's literacy skills, but—

"You only learned Dig from this, why take it so seriously?"

"Oowoo~"

Turn the page already!

Johan smirked and decided to mess with it by pretending not to hear.

"Oowoo~!"

Ninetales puffed its cheeks and pawed at Johan's arm.

Seeing no response, it realized—this was on purpose.

"Oowoo~"

Irritated, it leaped onto his chest—

And started digging at him with its paws!

"Oof—"

Johan winced.

Ninetales froze, nervously glancing at him. Its deep blue eyes blinked twice.

Did... did it step too hard?

"I'm not soil for you to dig through." Johan chuckled.

"Oowoo~!"

Ninetales rolled its eyes—fooled again.

Johan pulled it into a tight hug and gave it a thorough petting until its fur puffed up, finally letting go with satisfaction.

No matter how much it grew, it was still adorable.

"Call incoming, Rotom!"

Rotom hovered over, carrying Johan's phone.

Caller ID—

Flannery?

Johan blinked.

"She should still be in Lavaridge Town for New Year's, right?"

Answering the call, he said:

"It's me."

Flannery, familiar as always, cut straight to the chase:

"Professor, I think something weird is happening at Mt. Chimney. Can you come over?"

"Mt. Chimney? Weird?"

Johan sat up straight.

"Flannery, this isn't a joke."

"Huh?"

In this world, Groudon's exact resting place was still uncertain.

The two most likely locations were either the Seafloor Cavern or Mt. Chimney.

Most scholars leaned toward Seafloor Cavern since Groudon, in its non-Primal form, was still part Ground-type, and it made little sense for it to rest in an underwater cave, which seemed more like Kyogre's domain.

But there was still a possibility—what if this world's Groudon actually preferred Mt. Chimney?

Just the thought of it made Johan feel a headache coming.

If that massive creature was really buried somewhere in Mt. Chimney...

"Professor, it's me, Steven."

At that moment, Steven's voice came through the phone.

Johan's eyebrows raised slightly.

Steven's at Mt. Chimney too?

He hadn't seen him in Fortree City recently—so he had been in Lavaridge digging for stones?

"I think this situation is similar to what we encountered last time," Steven continued.

Johan frowned. "The Camerupt incident?"

Back when they had last visited Mt. Chimney, they had encountered a berserk Camerupt. It had taken quite an effort to calm it down and capture it.

"Yes, something like that."

Berserk Pokémon had once been a frequent problem in Hoenn, keeping Johan busy for quite some time.

Lately, however, these incidents had subsided.

Now, out of nowhere, it was happening again?

"I understand."

Johan glanced at the glass window, where tiny water droplets had formed from the cold.

As long as this has nothing to do with Groudon, it should be fine.

Besides, Steven was there.

And the Lavaridge Gym Leader at this time was still Flannery's grandfather, the previous Fire-type Elite Four.

Though retired, his strength shouldn't have diminished too much.

"I'll get ready. I should be there before dinner."

Johan stood up, stretching slightly.

If nothing else, this could be a good training opportunity for his Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Cynthia had just left in the morning. Otherwise, the hot springs in Lavaridge Town would have been a nice bonus...

"Professor, the plane is already hovering over your house."

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Powerstones?

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