Pokemon: Spiritual Master

"Johan, don't hold back—crush him!"

Among everyone, Flint was undoubtedly the most excited about Johan facing Guzma.

Early in the morning, he banged on Johan's door, fully displaying the unyielding spirit of a Fire-type Trainer.

"Gengar, put him back to sleep."

Johan, rubbing his temples and yawning, was already covered in exhaustion lines.

Yesterday, helping Urshifu evolve had drained a lot of his Aura energy.

Since his match was scheduled for the afternoon, he had planned to sleep in.

But then this idiot Flint…

"Ka-kah~"

Gengar cackled and suddenly popped up in front of Flint.

Flint's face drained of color. "Wait, no—"

BAM—

He collapsed onto the floor, fast asleep.

Luckily, Gengar knew its limits and only used a standard Hypnosis, not a nightmare.

Then, Gengar casually tapped the Poké Ball on Flint's waist.

With a flash of red light, Infernape emerged, yawning.

It looked at Gengar.

Then at Flint's unconscious body.

And instantly understood.

Without hesitation, Infernape picked up Flint, yawned again, waved at Gengar, and carried him back to his room.

The whole sequence was so smooth and practiced that it was heartbreaking.

After all that noise, Johan was fully awake.

His Gallade and the others had already left for work, so he could only make himself a cup of coffee, grab a chair, and sit in the courtyard reading.

Lately, he had been focused on reading "The Secrets of the Earth", occasionally imparting some knowledge to Larvitar.

After all, among his Pokémon, the only Ground-type move they really used was Dig.

…Well, not exactly.

There was one Pokémon that knew Ground-type moves—

Dragonite.

If Giovanni ever found out that Johan's "Secrets of the Earth" had been studied the most by a Flying-type Pokémon, he might just show up at his door.

In the courtyard, Dragonite and Larvitar—two Pokémon with the biggest height difference—were having a training session.

Dragonite raised its foot, about to stomp down, when it noticed Johan watching.

It chuckled awkwardly and gently set its foot down.

"Draaa~"

That was Earthquake.

"Yoji?"

Larvitar scratched the small horn on its head.

Then, Dragonite raised its foot again and lightly stomped down.

"Draaa~"

That was Stomp.

"Yoji? (O_O)?"

Larvitar's tiny head filled with question marks.

Was there even a difference?

Just pay attention.

Dragonite gently patted Larvitar on the head.

"Yoji…"

Larvitar chewed on its finger, looked at its tiny feet, and wobbled them a little.

Forget it.

It was all just stomping anyway.

Oh, right—

Johan had said to "feel the pulse and breath of the earth."

So, Larvitar mimicked Dragonite, slowly raised its foot… and stomped down.

BOOM!!

A thunderous crash erupted.

Johan's head snapped up.

The other Pokémon all turned to look.

And then—

From Larvitar's foot, a thin crack spread outward.

The farther it went, the larger the fissure became.

It extended all the way to the house—

and collapsed an entire section of the building.

Johan: "???"

No way.

After all the precautions he took against Gengar and the others…

It was Larvitar who got the first demolition?!

Who would have thought that a Pokémon that just hatched days ago could cause such destruction?

At the same time, in Johan's Pokédex, Larvitar's move list updated.

A new move appeared—High Horsepower!

??

Now Johan was completely confused.

He had been watching Dragonite teach Larvitar.

He had even warned Dragonite not to destroy anything.

But Dragonite only knew Earthquake and Stomp.

So how did Larvitar learn High Horsepower?!

"Yoji."

Larvitar flashed a cute smile.

Johan's frustration melted away.

How was he supposed to be mad at that?

At least…

"It's a player village house."

Maybe the Sinnoh League would cover the damage?

Johan snapped out of his thoughts just in time to see Larvitar happily running toward the collapsed house.

"What are you doing?"

"Yoji~!"

Don't waste it, duh!

—

That afternoon, the sky was slightly overcast.

Since he had nowhere to go, Johan spent the morning lounging at Cynthia's place.

According to the news, Tobias had already made it to the finals—

with zero suspense.

His opponent had been lucky just to make it to the semifinals.

Their bragging rights would probably be more valuable than an actual championship.

…Though, of course, not as valuable as Guderian's runner-up title from the Indigo Conference.

Now, the second semifinal match was about to begin.

The massive main stadium was packed.

Even outside, the square was overflowing with people watching the giant screen.

The cheers never stopped—and Johan was by far the crowd favorite.

"Johan's popularity keeps growing…"

Even Lucian couldn't help but comment.

Among their entire group, only Cynthia might be able to compete with that level of fame.

"Only one spot in the finals remains. Who will claim it? Let's find out!"

The host's voice echoed throughout the stadium.

Johan and Guzma walked onto the field.

The two were stark contrasts.

Johan yawned loudly, adjusted his glasses, and looked half-asleep.

Guzma, hands shoved into his pockets, walked with a slouch.

His messy white hair and skull-patterned clothes made him look as delinquent as ever.

When Guzma saw Johan's sleepy look, he frowned.

Was this a provocation?

Johan smiled at every other opponent, but against him, he was constantly yawning?

Did he think Guzma wasn't even a threat?

As soon as they reached their positions, Guzma spoke first.

"So you're Johan, huh?" He gave a disdainful glare.

"Hmm? Mm."

Johan yawned again and mentally cursed Flint one more time.

Their "grudge" was only getting deeper.

Guzma's face darkened.

He scoffed.

"So you're the 'teacher' Kukui keeps praising? I'm going to crush you today."

Guzma's history with Kukui was… complicated.

To put it simply—

It was the classic shonen protagonist vs. edgy rival dynamic.

If you wanted a reference, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be too far off.

"Oh, okay." Johan nodded.

Guzma: "…"

His forehead twitched.

Johan yawned again.

Finally, as the referee stepped forward, Johan pushed up his glasses and looked at Guzma.

His tone was calm.

"So… Guzma, right?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't even call me 'Teacher'?"

Now this…

This was personal.

"…?"

Before Guzma could respond, the referee cleared his throat and raised his flag.

"Both trainers, send out your Pokémon!"

Johan tossed his Poké Ball.

"You're up, Dragonite."

A beam of red light shot out.

A chubby orange figure flapped its tiny wings, stretched its neck, and let out a deep roar.

"Draaa~! (ˊˋ)"

It looked harmless.

But everyone knew—this was a pseudo-legendary.

Guzma smirked when he saw Dragonite.

"Going all out from the start, huh? Fine by me."

He grabbed a Poké Ball and tossed it forward.

"Rain Moth, let's put it in its place."

With a flash of red light, Masquerain appeared on the battlefield.

It had two pairs of wings, but what stood out were the large, eye-patterned antennae, giving it the eerie appearance of a floating face.

Masquerain, the Eyeball Pokémon. A Bug/Flying-type that uses the eye patterns on its feelers to intimidate foes.

The longer you stare at it, the creepier it gets.

Intimidate Ability, activated!

This was the only Bug-type Pokémon with the Intimidate Ability.

One of the "Big Three" intimidators in competitive battles.

"Draaa~"

Dragonite flinched slightly, caught off guard by Masquerain's unsettling gaze.

Had the battle already started, it might have had time to counter the effect.

But the pre-battle activation meant it lost one stage of Attack.

This was also why Guzma smirked in satisfaction.

Johan had clearly expected him to lead with Golisopod, the Pokémon he usually used to overwhelm opponents.

Instead, he threw out Masquerain first—a Pokémon he hadn't used in the tournament before.

Johan's pre-match strategy had been disrupted.

And Guzma loved catching opponents off guard.

"Battle, begin!" The referee dropped his flag.

The entire stadium fell silent.

Guzma wore his usual cocky grin and stayed quiet.

He was confident in his ability to read opponents, so he wanted Johan to move first.

Against Lana's Primarina back in Sun & Moon, he had used this same strategy, forcing opponents to attack first while he countered with devastating precision.

But against Johan…

Johan smiled slightly and said, "Dragon Dance."

Guzma's smirk froze.

Crap.

He had just handed Johan a free setup.

"Draaa!"

Dragonite flapped its wings, power surging through its body.

Its Attack and Speed both increased!

Guzma: "…"

He realized something very stupid.

Trying psychological warfare against a trained psychologist was… not the smartest move.

"Masquerain, U-turn!"

From the very first move of the battle, Guzma had already decided to switch out.

This caught the audience off guard.

"Wait, the battle just started, and he's already U-turning?"

Dragonite, despite its round, chubby body, was remarkably agile.

It smoothly dodged Masquerain's attack as the Bug-type retreated into its Poké Ball.

Johan rubbed his face to wake up a little.

That was close.

He nearly fell behind right away.

If Guzma hadn't overthought things, this opening would have been a lot rougher.

Or, as Gengar would put it—

"You're actually kind of nice, huh?"

Guzma: "…"

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Powerstones?

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