Pokemon: Spiritual Master

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the live 'Pokémon World Championships' main tournament!!"

The long-awaited Master Tournament officially began. Sixteen "Master Ball Tier" contestants would compete in elimination rounds to determine the top eight.

The top eight would be crowned with the title "Eight Masters" by the League!

So while championship hopes might be slim, the "Eight Masters" title... was still worth competing for.

Accompanied by passionate commentary, cheers from the audience echoed throughout Wyndon Stadium.

"Without further ado, let's welcome the contestants for the Master Tournament's first battle! They are—"

"From Hoenn region, Hoenn League Champion, holder of titles including Person of Truth, Heart Master, Tactical Master, and many others—our great Teacher Johan!"

Boom—

The arena immediately erupted in intense cheers.

Though previous "double elimination" and "Master Replacement Battle" excitement had been high, now in the main tournament, audience enthusiasm had clearly reached new heights.

Especially since this was the Master Tournament's first match.

"And—" The excited, flushed host took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Gibeon!"

Hm?

Standing in the contestant tunnel, Spinel heard the host introduce Teacher Johan with so many titles and words, wondering how he'd be introduced himself, but...

That's it?!

No titles, no achievements, not even mentioning his homeland?

Moreover, audience cheers were obviously much quieter.

Spinel was internally proud, so hearing this inevitably sparked some resentment.

Fine, fine, targeting me, are you?

But Spinel quickly suppressed his anger.

He considered himself very calm, skilled at thinking and planning—a strategic mastermind, not some hothead who acted rashly.

Don't get angry, don't get angry...

Once I make this "great" Teacher Johan you're talking about look foolish, you'll see how capable I am.

Besides... they said Gibeon, what does that have to do with me, Spinel?

He was competing just to achieve several goals.

Thinking this, Spinel's mood improved considerably. Following staff signals, he emerged from the contestant tunnel into the spotlight...

Across from him, Johan still wore his black fitted suit, smiling as he and Gengar waved to the audience.

"Feels like... Teacher Johan is a bit different today," Flint whispered quietly.

Hearing this, Lucian startled and quickly distanced himself, afraid Flint would say something shocking again and drag him down.

But this time Flint's words gained agreement.

Steven nodded: "Teacher is indeed a bit different today."

How different?

Several people cast puzzled glances, looking again at Teacher Johan on the field.

Seemed the same...

Both Flint and Steven couldn't quite articulate it.

Cynthia held little Jirachi, gently rubbing its soft, dough-like cheeks, and said:

"Mm, more killing intent."

"Killing intent?" Everyone was stunned.

Murderous aura?

Teacher Johan wanted to silence someone?

Who?

Flint?

Flint: "?"

"Probably the opponent's behavior made Teacher unhappy," N said.

Days ago, Spinel and Janine's battle had caused quite an online stir, with many suspecting Spinel's Pokémon used special enhancement methods.

Since the League gave no answers, audiences could only speculate.

Some felt "Gibeon" used improper methods, while others believed in presumption of innocence—perhaps "Gibeon" discovered some special, positive approach?

Anyway, it caused considerable commotion.

But seeing Johan's current reaction and state... Johan probably knew what methods the opponent used and confirmed they were unfriendly to Pokémon, otherwise Teacher Johan wouldn't have changed.

Those who knew Johan understood: if he normally appeared very angry, he probably wasn't truly furious, but if he smiled while showing coldness, then probably...

Flint had considerable authority on this matter.

"Yes," Cynthia confirmed N's speculation.

She and Johan were among the few who knew about "Rakua elements" and their harm.

Trading temporary strength boosts for accelerated Pokémon cell division and reduced lifespan was little different from murdering Pokémon.

Both contestants positioned themselves on opposite sides of the field.

"Teacher Johan, we meet again..." Spinel smiled, following "convention"—openings usually involved pleasantries or trash talk.

Johan smiled and nodded slightly at Spinel, then turned to the referee:

"Referee, we're both ready."

Spinel: "?"

"Ah? Oh, oh right, okay."

The referee had been leisurely waiting for both contestants to finish pleasantries but was suddenly stunned by Johan's words.

He immediately raised his flags.

"Please summon your Pokémon!"

Spinel suddenly felt breathless, like he had something stuck in his throat.

A shadow of irritation flashed across his seemingly gentle expression, anger passing through his eyes.

Really think being Champion means everyone has to call you teacher respectfully, that any random person or ghost can become a teacher?

Spinel flicked his wrist, producing a Poké Ball and throwing it.

"Go, Beheeyem!"

Beheeyem looked like several stones stacked together, a Psychic-type classified as the Cerebral Pokémon.

Supposedly from space, Beheeyem possessed very powerful psychic abilities. Communication between Beheeyem remained undecipherable by humans, like cosmic "code."

Moreover, Beheeyem excelled at manipulating others, even controlling opponents' brains and altering memories.

Simultaneously, Johan threw his Poké Ball.

"Tyranitar."

"Bangi!!"

Excited Tyranitar spread its arms and roared, voice shaking the entire arena.

Fine sand swirled up with "rustling" sounds, quickly forming a terrifying sandstorm enveloping the field.

"Contestant 'Gibeon's' first Pokémon is Beheeyem, while Teacher Johan's first Pokémon is—'Desert Tyrant' Tyranitar!!"

Seeing such domineering Tyranitar, audiences seemed emotionally stirred, shouting loudly.

Seeing both had summoned Pokémon, the referee's flags immediately fell as he announced:

"Battle begin!"

"Pokémon World Championships" main tournament first match: Johan VS Spinel!

"Beheeyem, Trick Room!" Spinel unhesitatingly seized the initiative.

For his prepared team, Trick Room was crucial, even though Tyranitar wasn't particularly fast, even though Tyranitar's sandstorm posed significant threat.

Spinel and his backing team had specifically researched Johan, his Pokémon, tactical styles, etc.

First confirmed point: among Johan's Pokémon, even including rarely-appearing Rotom and Oranguru, none were very slow.

Like Gengar, Ninetales, Dragonite, Ceruledge, Serperior, etc.—all were very fast, using speed and agility for advantage.

Even Tinkaton and Urshifu weren't slow, and relatively slowest Tyranitar was actually quite agile.

This was one reason Johan rarely seized initiative in most battles.

Facing an all-fast lineup, Trick Room became especially crucial.

Teacher Johan didn't seize initiative—once Trick Room opened, they'd gain some control.

As for Psychic-type facing Dark-type Tyranitar being severely disadvantaged... this could be minimized through Pokémon switching.

Clearly, though Johan disliked Spinel, his ability to gain Gibeon's attention, stand out among Outstanding Inc. researchers, and hold sufficient authority in the Explorers showed his capability and skill.

Hum—

Psychic fluctuations appeared around Beheeyem as transparent black barriers rapidly expanded from its center.

Trick Room!

But... just as Beheeyem's Trick Room opened, a ferocious beast had already appeared before it through the flying sandstorm!

"When?!" Spinel was stunned.

Beheeyem's green eyes showed some confusion.

So fast...

Wait!

Didn't Teacher Johan usually not seize initiative?

Didn't he say he preferred being passive?

The next second, Johan's indifferent voice came from across the battlefield:

"Tyranitar, Crunch!"

"Bangi!!"

Tyranitar roared ferociously, its vicious appearance embodying the "Desert Tyrant." Its evil maw wrapped in dark energy immediately bit toward Beheeyem.

Terrifying bite force from Tyranitar that could even gnaw stone slabs—this bite...

Bang!!!

A considerable explosion erupted.

In the shadows, they saw... a crater had appeared in the rock field, with Beheeyem lying motionless inside.

For a moment, the noisy arena fell silent. All spectators stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

Even the referee was stunned for three seconds before finally reacting.

He immediately waved the flag representing Spinel's side, announcing somewhat hoarsely:

"Be-Beheeyem, unable to battle!"

Whoosh—!!

The entire venue erupted.

Massive noise exploded.

"No way, that's it? One-shot?"

"One move, direct KO?!"

"Even with type advantage, this is too sudden! Completely unlike Teacher Johan's previous battle style..."

"Looks like Teacher Johan has urgent business today."

"See! See! I told you, what Master Tournament—it's all baby cup!"

Audiences never expected to see such clean one-shot elimination in the Master Tournament main stage.

Flint in the contestant viewing area shrank his neck.

His premonition was right—today's Teacher Johan was quite irritable.

Lucian couldn't help glancing at Flint.

Had to admit, Flint constantly dancing on death's edge yet "surviving" until now showed keen instincts for real danger.

Today Flint had said few wrong things and been very well-behaved, not giving little Jirachi any ammunition.

Flint: I'm reckless, not suicidal.

"This doesn't even give the opponent a chance to use those enhancement methods..." Steven said quietly.

Even he felt a bit scared of angry Teacher...

Spinel also stared blankly at the fallen Beheeyem, not expecting this one-shot elimination.

Teacher Johan completely ignored their team's previous analysis and methods.

Caught him completely off-guard.

Spinel took a deep breath.

The only fortunate thing was Beheeyem had successfully activated Trick Room before defeat.

After looking deeply at Johan, Spinel recalled Beheeyem.

Looking at the churning sandstorm and fierce Tyranitar, feeling Johan's changed tactics, he suddenly didn't know which Pokémon to send.

While Spinel hesitated...

"Tyranitar, Dragon Dance!"

Johan's voice came again.

Spinel: "?!"

According to battle rules, when an opponent's Pokémon was defeated, there was a fifteen-second period where Pokémon couldn't use moves, with a countdown displayed on screen.

Once fifteen seconds passed, no such restrictions existed.

This rule prevented battle rhythm interruption while adding urgency—adaptability was also required of trainers.

But Spinel, surprised by Johan's tactical change and Beheeyem's instant defeat, plus his own hesitation, considered too long...

Teacher Johan really wasn't showing any mercy today.

Of course, if switching Pokémon mid-battle, no such time restrictions existed.

The longer the switching time, the greater advantages opponents might gain.

Spinel increasingly felt things exceeding his control.

He immediately threw a Poké Ball.

"Go, Annihilape!"

The appearing Pokémon resembled Primeape but with gray-white fur, dark gray body, and red eyes.

Annihilape—Fighting and Ghost-type Rage Monkey Pokémon, indeed related to Primeape as its evolution!

When Primeape used Rage Fist twenty times, was completely ignited by inner fury, and awakened that rage, it evolved into Annihilape!

In Pokédex terms: when inner fury broke through physical limitations, Primeape could possibly evolve into Annihilape.

This evolution difficulty wasn't easier than Farfetch'd evolving into Sirfetch'd.

As Fighting and Ghost-type, its typing was quite excellent, more importantly having 4x advantage over Tyranitar.

Annihilape was indeed suitable for "Trick Room teams."

Purely by base stats, Annihilape's Speed was considerably higher than Tyranitar's.

But base stats only represented part—trainer cultivation direction was key to influencing Pokémon speed, strength, etc.

Additionally, Annihilape wore black metal-like restraints on its left wrist and both ankles—important factors limiting its speed.

"Puchaa!!"

Upon appearing, Annihilape's eyes turned red, fur floating upright, showing extreme fury.

Its entire body radiated eerie pressure.

"Annihilape..." Johan's eyes glinted.

Logically, Annihilape suited Trick Room teams, could serve as physical attacker, and Fighting-type had 4x advantage over Tyranitar.

So... why had Spinel hesitated so long before?

Johan suddenly realized, while Spinel, after summoning Annihilape, faced Tyranitar's nearly-finished Dragon Dance and commanded without hesitation:

"Annihilape, Rage Fist!"

"Puchaa!!"

Annihilape roared as if screaming, fists manifesting extremely dense Ghost-type energy like solid matter, wrapped in boundless fury.

"Using Ghost-type Rage Fist against Dark-type Tyranitar?"

"But... this punch seems unusually powerful..."

"And this Annihilape's condition..."

Rumble—

Annihilape's punch created continuous rumbling before even touching Tyranitar.

[Rage Fist: Converts anger into power. The more attacks received, the higher this move's power. Base power 50, maximum 350!]

Spinel's Annihilape's current Rage Fist...

Yes, no doubt—this was the 350-power move!

Because Rage Fist had another characteristic: its power wouldn't reset due to Pokémon switching or fainting!

As widely known, in Pokémon battles, most stat boosts and enhancements reset after switching—like Serperior's "Contrary" with Leaf Storm's Special Attack boost, or Tyranitar's Dragon Dance Speed and Attack boosts.

Once Pokémon were recalled, stats reset.

Hence moves like Baton Pass to transfer stats.

But Rage Fist was different.

Its power only related to how many attacks Annihilape had endured and fury accumulated.

And fury... wouldn't disappear from being switched out, or even from fainting.

Last night, Spinel had maximized Annihilape's fury—this Rage Fist was at maximum 350 power!

This was why Spinel had hesitated.

Beheeyem's sudden elimination disrupted his original plan and rhythm.

According to his arrangement, Annihilape's Rage Fist should have targeted Gengar, or at least Ceruledge!

Now forced to use it on Tyranitar, which resisted Ghost-type 2x.

However, Spinel felt that though not used on the ideal opponent, it should suffice.

Maximum-power Rage Fist plus "Rakua elements" not only enhanced Annihilape's abilities but amplified its fury.

Though this move was resisted 2x by Tyranitar... accounting for "Rakua elements" influence, it should at least deal normal damage!

Regarding Spinel's "schemes," after seeing his hesitation before sending Annihilape, Johan had roughly guessed.

Others stored electricity in balls—Spinel stored rage.

But... if you're playing dirty, don't blame us for being unreasonable.

"Bangi!!"

Surrounding sand continuously gathered toward Tyranitar, blocking Annihilape's path under Tyranitar's control, obstructing its vision while slightly hindering Rage Fist's advance.

Through commentary explanation, audiences finally understood why Annihilape used Ghost-type moves against Tyranitar.

They also grasped how exaggerated this punch's power would be.

"Damn, isn't pre-accumulating rage cheating?"

"Tournament rules don't have that clause..."

"Honestly, though sneaky, this is the Pokémon and move's inherent trait—hard to judge."

"I get it! I'll catch an Annihilape and play this way in competitions!"

"Catch one? You make it sound easy—are Annihilape that easy to catch?"

Primeape were notoriously difficult, with violent temperaments often uncontrollable even toward trainers.

Only martial artists with sufficient ability and charisma could make Primeape submit.

Let alone Primeape's evolution Annihilape.

"Annihilape" itself indicated many problems.

Moreover, having Annihilape pre-accumulate rage—could you ensure it wouldn't attack the trainer first before calming down?

"What about Teacher Johan and Tyranitar? Could it be..."

"Though sandstorm is large, it only blocks vision—sandstorm can't stop Rage Fist."

"Protect—can Protect block this punch?"

Protect also had defensive limits.

Soon, Johan provided the best "answer."

"Tyranitar!" Johan's eyes flickered with light blue as he shouted loudly.

Forcefully swinging his arm:

"Precipice Blades!"

"Bangi—!!"

Tyranitar roared skyward like Godzilla, lifting its foot and stomping heavily.

The next second—

Rumble—

The entire Wyndon Stadium field shook, temperature suddenly rising. The center cracked open massively as a molten lava-wrapped spike like red-hot iron erupted from the ground.

The venue exploded, livestream chat erupted, forums nearly crashed.

Precipice Blades!

Wasn't this Groudon's signature move?!

Angry Annihilape instinctively looked down as rumbling shook and the entire earth seemed to boil.

Suddenly, a sharp rock blade erupted beneath it. Annihilape's red eyes flashed with shock as the scorching blade struck its abdomen, shooting skyward in violent explosion!

Boom!!

Spinel looked up blankly, mouth agape.

Really, really Precipice Blades?!

Only because Wyndon Stadium was prepared for Dynamax battles did Precipice Blades not pierce the arena's energy barrier.

But even so... the field was completely shattered and chaotic.

The referee pressed against the arena's edge wall, trembling Aegislash held before him...

Johan's coat fluttered, expression stern.

Defense?

Our old Tyranitar never knew what defense meant!

Attack was the best defense!

Your Rage Fist still had to charge over—our Precipice Blades locked on directly!

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 or 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates