Pokemon: Spiritual Master

"The first contestant to advance to the finals of the Pokémon World Master Tournament has been born!"

"That is our Teacher Johan!!"

The commentator's somewhat hoarse voice spread throughout the venue.

Although there had been some "cursing" earlier, when the final result was announced, the audience immediately burst into tsunami-like cheers.

"Teacher Johan is awesome!!"

"Teacher Johan even 'cut down' Miss Cynthia—if he doesn't take the championship, it won't make sense, right?"

"Johan-bao, charge!!"

In the contestant viewing area.

After a brief silence, everyone still offered cheers and applause.

Flint clapped while smacking his lips, "Big sister lost, but Teacher Johan is still amazing..."

Lucian looked somewhat relieved, "No matter what... losing to Teacher Johan is much better than losing to others."

Aaron's ahoge suddenly stood up as he sighed deeply, "What a pity..."

Flint and Lucian were already used to Aaron's reactions being several beats slow.

"However, big sister still showed the spirit of our Sinnoh League," Lucian said, ignoring Aaron.

Although she was beaten 6-1, obviously, Cynthia's 6-1 against Johan was much more difficult than Nemona's 6-1 against Johan.

Not only did ace Gengar and Ninetales both appear, but the Mega was also used on ace Gengar.

Teacher Johan barely held back at all.

Flint shrank his neck and suddenly felt somewhat afraid, "It's just that... Teacher Johan seemed a bit 'ruthless,' things might get bad..."

Gengar's final tactics made even Flint feel suffocated watching.

Lucian glanced at him sideways, "Don't 'might get bad'—do you think Teacher Johan and big sister could actually have a falling out? Instead of worrying about this, you should worry about yourself."

"Worry about myself?" Flint was stunned.

"Big sister and Teacher Johan will definitely be fine, but if big sister feels uncomfortable, among all of us, who do you think is most likely to..."

Flint: Σ(дlll)

The match came to an end. Amid cheers, under falling confetti and ribbons, Johan and Cynthia walked to the center of the field.

Cynthia's golden hair cascaded down as she placed her hand on her slender waist, watching Johan approach with a somewhat unnatural expression and slightly constrained movements, and smiled slightly.

She lowered her eyes, and a flash of melancholy passed, but when she looked up again, she had returned to her heroic appearance.

"Cough—"

The two shook hands. Johan coughed lightly, not knowing what to say for a moment. So Cynthia playfully blinked and said somewhat mischievously:

"How come someone who won looks like they're not very happy?"

"Haha, haha—" Johan laughed awkwardly, but seeing Cynthia's condition still made him breathe a sigh of relief.

He had really been afraid he used too much force.

"Well, there's still one more match, right? It's not easy..." Johan said.

"Mm..." Cynthia said thoughtfully, "Take the championship?"

Johan was speechless, "It's not that easy to take."

Cynthia's gaze flowed as she smiled lightly, "Including my portion?"

Johan was startled, then also smiled and nodded:

"Yes!"

Including Cynthia's portion!

"Let's go."

After the handshake ended, Johan simply didn't let go of Cynthia's hand and pulled her toward the contestant tunnel.

Cynthia's lips held a smile and she didn't resist.

Seeing this scene, the originally lively venue became silent, but the next second erupted in even more enthusiastic cheers.

Johan VS Cynthia—this much-anticipated match came to an end.

This battle became a topic of conversation for many people.

But the focus wasn't on Johan and Cynthia's battle itself—much of it was...

Full admiration for Teacher Johan.

After "brutally beating" his girlfriend, he could immediately comfort her and leave the field hand-in-hand—such an existence was truly... a model for our generation!

Of course, jokes aside, the vast majority of fans of both sent their blessings to the couple.

While joking around, many people finally realized the terrifying nature of Teacher Johan's strength.

Gengar and Ninetales—two powerful beings that had reached "legendary" level in their normal states!

Plus Mega Dragonite and Tinkaton when facing special opponents...

That was at least three Pokémon already at "legendary" level, right?

Wouldn't that mean—

Teacher Johan could actually be considered a legend that had already surpassed Champions?!

This way.

Miss Cynthia losing to Teacher Johan seemed much more acceptable.

Just—

With Teacher Johan's strength, was there still any suspense in the final?

With the thought of... finding Teacher Johan a "worthy opponent," the audience began looking forward to the upcoming semifinal from the other group.

This included Johan and Cynthia, who had just finished their match.

"Comfortable?"

On the sofa, Johan smiled while massaging Cynthia's slender, pale calves.

"Mm..." Cynthia, holding her laptop, nodded.

It had to be said—

If Johan stopped being a trainer and teacher and became a "masseur," he should be able to earn quite a bit of money.

Using aura power for massage was somewhat extravagant though.

On the other side.

Gengar had a happy expression, massaging Garchomp's shoulders from behind.

"Ka-kaah?"

Comfortable?

"Chomp!"

Garchomp crossed its arms and snorted white air from its nose.

This scene... made Johan unable to tell who had actually won the match and gained "family status."

"What do you think—Lance or Mr. Giovanni, who's more likely to advance?" Cynthia asked while browsing through contestant information and online predictions.

"Mr. Giovanni," Johan answered without thinking.

"Hm?"

Cynthia looked over the laptop screen at Johan with some surprise.

Cynthia didn't know much about Giovanni, but she had battled Lance quite a few times.

Moreover, in online predictions, those supporting Lance, or rather those who thought Lance could advance, were clearly more numerous.

Although Giovanni had been a "dark horse" in this "Pokémon World Master Tournament," surprising everyone by reaching the semifinals.

Lance had been famous early on, and everyone had witnessed his strength.

Taking a step back, Lance was at least an Elite Four of the Kanto League and Champion of the Johto League!

While Giovanni was "merely" a Gym Leader from the Kanto region.

"Why?" Cynthia couldn't help asking.

Johan shrugged.

Could he say that even Lance at peak condition wouldn't be Giovanni's match, as had been shown in the special manga?

After thinking, Johan said: "Many people know Lance's strength, but how many have seen Giovanni's true power?"

Cynthia recalled.

Back then, Johan and Giovanni had worked together during the Hoopa incident.

Giovanni had single-handedly helped Johan block the legendary ancient Pokémon Groudon.

Perhaps in the entire Pokémon world, only Johan had sufficient understanding of Giovanni's strength.

So since he said so...

"But that's just my opinion—it doesn't mean Lance has no chance," Johan quickly added.

If Giovanni didn't care about the championship, or if Lance had some explosive performance, Lance's chances of victory existed too.

Cynthia rolled her eyes at Johan.

That final addition was like saying nothing.

But overall, Johan seemed more optimistic about Giovanni?

Wyndon City, Rainbow Rocket Corporation building.

Matori stood seriously at the office door, stopping all those who wanted to report to Giovanni with an extremely serious expression.

During this time, she had to let Giovanni prepare well for battle—she would handle all matters big and small! Matori silently encouraged herself.

Inside the office...

Giovanni rarely wasn't wearing a suit, dressed in a white shirt with two buttons undone at the collar, looking relaxed.

Sitting before the large floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the prosperous city before him.

Beside him, a Beedrill rarely seen by others vibrated its wings, accompanied by slight air tremors, hovering at his side.

Giovanni smiled slightly.

"Soon," he said softly.

The steel "forest" of towering buildings ultimately wasn't quite suitable for Beedrill.

Recently, he didn't know why.

His mind kept recalling the days when he was still a "Bug Catcher" adventuring in Viridian Forest with Beedrill.

That forest was the place where he and Beedrill felt most comfortable.

"Soon..."

Giovanni repeated once more.

After battling Lance and "testing" Johan's strength, he could probably truly retire.

By then.

He could open a farm outside Viridian Forest, grow things with his Pokémon, and most importantly, work hard to gain Silver's recognition as his father.

The prerequisite was that he had to battle Johan!

Although his prestige within Team Rocket was unmatched and no one would resist his orders, but...

There were still many "troublemakers" within Team Rocket who might not fully acknowledge Johan. Once he retired, those people couldn't possibly always follow his orders without developing ulterior motives.

Consider it paving the way for Johan, letting more people within Team Rocket recognize Johan's strength.

Whether he lost or won.

Consider it a "handover ceremony" between old and new.

So...

Lance, you'll just have to be "wronged" a bit.

"Siipaa..."

Beedrill pushed a plate of small cookies to Giovanni's side with its stinger.

"Thank you."

Crunch, crunch...

Johto region, Blackthorn City, deep in the Dragon's Den at the Dragon Sanctuary.

Because there was sufficient rest and preparation time, plus Johan's Mega Dragonite appearance in the battle against Nemona, both Lance and the Dragon Clan took it extremely seriously.

Bang!!

In the Dragon Sanctuary's field, two Dragonite collided, and under the impact force, they quickly separated again.

"Let's stop here."

An elder with hands behind his back, smiling, spoke up.

"Draaa~"

"Draaa~!"

Both Dragonite stopped their movements. One landed beside Lance, while the other exhaled and flew into the flower bushes, picking up a small flower to admire carefully.

Lance still wore his blue Champion outfit with wine-red cape, patting Dragonite's arm in praise.

"How was it?" the elder asked Lance.

Lance shook his head, "Vaguely feels like there's something there, but it's too unclear."

After saying this, he sighed again, "Teacher Johan is really amazing..."

Their Dragon Clan wouldn't say Dragonite were everywhere, but each generation had at least one, yet no one had ever discovered Dragonite's Mega Evolution.

On this point, the elder was quite open-minded.

Long-established families weren't just the Dragon Clan, but before Mega Stones and Mega Evolution were confirmed, how many families possessed information about Mega Evolution?

Saying it was because there were no Mega Stones—did their Dragon Clan have Dragonite's Mega Stone?

So it wasn't that their Dragon Clan was inadequate—Teacher Johan was truly exceptional.

But Lance's mention of "having that feeling" also made the elder understand that Lance, with a specific goal and direction, also had a chance to discover Mega Evolution with his Dragonite.

Just...

This Master Tournament wouldn't be in time.

"Are you confident?" the elder asked with a smile.

"No," Lance was very straightforward.

As an Elite Four of the Kanto League and Champion of the Johto League, Lance was one of the few who knew Giovanni's identity.

But Team Rocket's changes, from a former investigator's perspective... were positive, developing in a good direction.

Hearing Lance's answer, the elder was speechless, "You little brat are quite frank."

Lance patted Dragonite and showed a smile and confidence, "But no matter who my opponent is, I'll give it my all! Not having confidence doesn't mean I don't have faith in myself and my partners!"

He swept his cape and said spiritedly:

"Now and in the future, I will defeat all opponents!"

The elder nodded slightly, "Maintain this state, Lance! When you look back at yourself now in the future, you'll be proud of this moment, just as I feel now."

It doesn't matter who the opponent is.

Run forward with everything you have, don't fear falling, don't fear setbacks—the thorns and obstacles crossed along the way are the most brilliant "medals" on the road to success!

Wyndon Stadium, brilliant fireworks decorated the night sky. Hundreds of thousands of spectators cheered freely amid incredible excitement as the host's voice rang out passionately.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Welcome once again to the Pokémon World Master Tournament, second semifinal battlefield!"

"The two sides about to battle are—"

"From the Johto League, Champion, the 'Dragon Master' Lance!!"

"And from the Kanto League, Gym Leader, known as 'Giovanni of the Earth,' Gym Leader Giovanni!!"

Although the host's voice was loud, at this moment it was still inevitably drowned in the tide-like cheers.

Under everyone's anticipation.

Spotlight beams focused on two places.

Rustle rustle—

Dressed in neat blue outfit, wine-red inch hair and black-red cape, the resolute-faced Lance walked out of the contestant tunnel.

"Lance!!"

"Dragon Master Lance!!"

"Dragon Tamer!!"

From the other contestant tunnel.

Giovanni still wore his black suit, hands in pockets, his leather shoes making crisp sounds against the smooth floor.

"Gym Leader Giovanni!!"

"Giovanni of the Earth!"

"Boss boss go! Boss boss mighty! Boss boss..."

Giovanni's "support group" was even more exaggerated than Lance's.

Seeing Giovanni approaching, Lance seemed to feel invisible pressure, and behind Giovanni, he seemed to glimpse a massive "Earth Legion"!

Looking at the spirited Lance, Giovanni also seemed to see his younger self—that momentum of charging forward regardless of everything was a symbol of youth.

Two holders of "Viridian Power" stood on the same battlefield for the first time.

"Interesting, too interesting..."

Johan watched Giovanni and Lance.

If it had been when he first came to this world, he never would have imagined that the legendary Team Rocket leader Giovanni would compete on the same field as Dragon Master Lance.

These two would actually have a match?

Street fights were their true calling!

This "Pokémon World Master Tournament" was truly interesting.

"Crunch, crunch—"

Tyranitar sat on the ground beside Johan, glanced at the field, and munched on some diamonds.

How could matches be as interesting as eating?

"Watch carefully, Tyranitar." Johan lightly patted the armor of the dark green "Godzilla" beside him, "The essence of 'Earth Mastery' might be in this match."

Earth Mastery?

Tyranitar's eating motion paused slightly.

"Tar!"

It nodded heavily.

I know! I'll watch carefully!

With that, its eating speed became even faster, and the rate at which diamonds disappeared made Johan's eye twitch wildly.

It felt like they'd need to go to Princess Diancie for "restocking" again soon.

Fortunately... they didn't need to buy from jewelry stores, or selling everything probably wouldn't be enough for Tyranitar's consumption.

Just then.

The referee's voice came from the field.

"Please, both contestants, get ready!"