Pokemon: Spiritual Master

Bang!!

Dragonite was punched flying, its sturdy body feeling particular pain in the arm that had made contact.

More importantly—

Pure strength was one thing, but Red's Snorlax's strike just now was definitely legendary level!

A legendary-level opponent right from the start?

This was—

Too exciting!

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite flapped its small wings, gradually steadying its flying form before quickly moving forward.

According to wild battle rules, after Snorlax knocked it back, it could directly launch a fierce attack on Johan. Once Johan was defeated, the battle would end.

So under wild battle conditions, victory didn't necessarily require defeating the opponent's Pokémon—this differed significantly from normal Pokémon battles.

"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"

Johan naturally understood this point, so compared to normal Pokémon battles, he also accelerated his battle command rhythm.

"Draaa—!!"

Dragonite, wrapped in a blue-purple dragon coat, roared ferociously as the dragon stirred up large amounts of sand and dust, charging at Snorlax again.

Sand flew across the desert as Dragonite passed, sweeping the ground clean of sand particles and debris.

"Lax!"

Snorlax grinned, squinting its eyes and bending forward. Under its seemingly fat body, muscle definition was faintly visible as it faced the charging Dragonite head-on without dodging.

Clearly choosing direct confrontation.

Boom!!!

The ground rumbled and shook as debris flew wildly. Snorlax's eyes sharpened as its feet carved deep furrows in the ground, using pure strength to forcibly stop the charging Dragonite!

Just like when it had once used strength to forcibly stop a speeding train.

The dragon coat dissipated.

"Lax!"

Snorlax's expression turned fierce as it roared lowly. Gripping Dragonite's arms tightly, it suddenly exerted force. The ground beneath its feet collapsed as it unleashed its full strength, forcibly lifting Dragonite overhead and throwing it with an over-the-shoulder slam.

"Draaa—"

Dragonite drew an arc through the air, flapping its wings to minimize the damage from hitting the ground.

So fierce!

This scene made Flint and others watching from the side gasp inwardly.

"Our turn!" Red showed a smile, then became serious again. "Lax, Ice Punch!"

"Lax!"

Snorlax again displayed speed completely inconsistent with its size. Clenching its fist, ice crystals suddenly formed on its fist as it chased after the thrown Dragonite to strike.

Seeing this, Johan's expression changed slightly as he called sternly: "Dragonite, dodge with Extreme Speed!"

White light flashed.

Dragonite's form flickered, dodging away before Snorlax's fist could land.

Boom!!

Snorlax's heavy punch struck the ground, accompanied by tremendous rumbling as ice crystals rapidly formed on the ground, blooming into an ice flower of crystalline spikes.

This way, Dragonite couldn't possibly match Snorlax. There was a pure strength gap.

Red's Snorlax was clearly not an ordinary legendary Pokémon.

Taking a slight breath—

Making a quick decision—

"Dragonite—" Johan shouted loudly. "Mega Evolution!!"

"Draaa—!!"

Brilliant light immediately burst from Dragonite's body. Evolution light rose accordingly, and in the interplay of light and shadow, its form visibly changed.

"Dragonite? Mega Evolution?"

Seeing this, Red was stunned.

Dragonite could Mega Evolve?

How didn't he know?

He'd never seen this before...

If Dragonite could Mega Evolve, why hadn't Mr. Lance used it earlier?

Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Battle instinct made Red and Snorlax aware of danger as he immediately called out:

"Snorlax, once more, Ice Punch!"

When Mega Dragonite revealed its form, Snorlax's Ice Punch was once again approaching it!

But this time—

Dragonite and Johan appeared much more composed.

After Mega Evolution, Dragonite's strength even surpassed Snorlax to some degree.

"Dragonite, dodge and use Dragon Claw!"

Mega Dragonite's massive white wings flapped once, immediately increasing its speed as it skillfully avoided Snorlax's falling Ice Punch.

No matter how much speed Snorlax displayed that didn't match its body type, speed was ultimately its weakness.

Conversely, speed was Dragonite's strength, especially for Mega Dragonite.

It was just that in close-range collisions, Dragonite's advantage wasn't very obvious, but after Mega Evolution, Dragonite held absolute advantage in this aspect.

"Draaa!!"

Dragon Claw struck down.

Snorlax staggered backward.

"Lax!" Red reacted at this point, realizing Dragonite's improvement and quickly making a decision. "Belly Drum!"

Belly Drum!

Snorlax violently slapped its own belly with both hands. Its aura immediately began climbing frantically at a terrifying speed, its originally steady breath becoming violent.

"Lax! Lax!"

Bang! Bang! Bang—

Like a heart beating violently and powerfully, all the blood in its body compressed at high speed as if boiling, like Olaf activating "Ragnarok."

"Really fierce..." Flint clicked his tongue.

Red's fighting style was fierce, very fierce.

Everyone had already felt this when Flint and Lance battled Red.

But using Belly Drum was somewhat desperate.

[Belly Drum: Consume half one's HP to maximize attack power!]

Trading half its HP to directly max out Snorlax's physical attack!

Attack +6!

With Snorlax's already exaggerated strength, even if Dragonite had Mega Evolved... it might not withstand a single hit, right?

"Snorlax, Body Slam!"

Snorlax's legs exerted force, its massive body shooting up like a cannonball, flying toward mid-air.

Comparing enhancements?

Johan's eyes flashed.

"Dragonite, Outrage!"

"Draaa!!"

Facing the violently aura-ed Snorlax, Mega Dragonite also emanated fierce violent aura. Dark red airflow surged as its momentum climbed frantically.

Johan waved his hand: "Dragon Ascent!"

Dragon Ascent?!

Astonishment flashed across Red's face.

Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent?

Moreover—

How could it still use moves in Outrage state?

Honestly—

Although this was only the first battle with Teacher Johan, Red found his understanding being refreshed, as if a door to a new world was opening before him.

"Draaa—"

Dragonite's massive wings flapped, afterimages dissipating like bubbles. A streak of blue light rapidly swept toward the sky, arrow-like directly colliding with Snorlax that had leaped to high altitude.

"Lax!!" Red shouted loudly.

Snorlax immediately changed direction in mid-air, pressing toward the incoming Mega Dragonite.

Bang!!

In mid-air—

The two Pokémon produced an extremely violent collision, like a missile exploding directly in the air.

"Lax!"

Snorlax fell toward the ground like an earthquake erupting, rumbling continuously.

Mega Dragonite also quickly stabilized its form in the air, grimacing in pain.

"Dragonite!"

Seeing the fallen Snorlax about to move again, Johan couldn't help but want to complain inwardly. It had used Belly Drum and still wasn't one-shotted—how exaggerated was its HP?

But if so—

"Outrage!"

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite, already in "Outrage state," activated Outrage again!

Double Outrage!

"Dragon Ascent!"

Violent aura surged. In the originally clear sky, a fierce dragon's silhouette seemed to appear, coiled in the heights overlooking the Snorlax below.

The next second—

The "dragon" roared once. Mega Dragonite fell vertically as red and blue airstreams wove into a sharp arrow shape, crashing down thunderously.

Rumble rumble—

Tremendous momentum swept through all of Poni Canyon.

The Kommo-o clan originally dwelling in the canyon felt Mega Dragonite's terrifying aura and curled up in their caves.

"Draaa..."

Having exited "Outrage state" and Mega form, Dragonite gasped heavily as it slowly landed on the devastated ground.

So tired...

Snorlax lay on the broken ground with its big belly, having lost battle ability.

"You worked hard, Lax."

Red solemnly recalled Snorlax.

Teacher Johan had taken the first victory, but Red felt no loss or discouragement—instead becoming excited.

Although his earlier battles with Flint and Lance had made Red happy and invigorated, that feeling was different from facing Teacher Johan!

This current excitement he only felt when facing Blue, Giovanni, or Pryce.

The feeling that he might lose, so he had to give everything, bringing out 120% or even more of his strength.

"Work harder, Red!" Red encouraged himself mentally, then took out a Poké Ball and threw it.

"I'm counting on you next, Vee!"

A Pokémon resembling a cat with soft lavender fur and a tail split into two at the end—Espeon—landed before Red.

"Espe~"

Espeon stepped gracefully, its ruby-like eyes gazing at the gasping Dragonite.

Red's Espeon had quite a background.

When Red first caught it, it was actually just a small Eevee, but not an ordinary Eevee—it was a product of Team Rocket's research and modification.

Even without evolution stones, this Eevee could independently evolve into Fire, Water, or Thunder-type Eeveelutions, and could not only evolve but also devolve!

This was somewhat similar to Johan's Ceruledge.

However, Ceruledge relied on its armor and Celebi's "time power," while Eevee depended on genes modified by Team Rocket.

But whether evolving or devolving, it caused Eevee tremendous pain.

So finally, to prevent Eevee from continuing to suffer, Red chose to let it evolve into Espeon.

Even evolved into Espeon, it still possessed special abilities different from ordinary Espeon.

Especially—

When it carried an "Everstone."

Legendary!

Undoubtedly, Red's Espeon had also reached legendary level!

"Espeon..."

Johan took out a Poké Ball and recalled the weakened Dragonite.

"Leave it to your companion." While speaking to Dragonite, he threw another Poké Ball.

Psychic-type Pokémon were somewhat special in wild battles.

Because psychic attacks were intangible, if psychic attacks were used directly on trainers, they were hard to defend against.

Considering this, Johan's second Pokémon was—

Ninetales!

"Oowoo~"

The snow-white elegant spirit came treading on falling snow, its snowy eyes meeting Espeon's ruby eyes in a gaze exchange.

In terms of protection, none of Johan's Pokémon were stronger than Ninetales.

However, taking advantage of Johan switching Pokémon, Espeon had already moved.

Mysterious psychic power flickered in its eyes.

Calm Mind!

Silently, Espeon's psychic power rapidly climbed during Calm Mind.

But when it came to enhancement, Ninetales never feared anyone.

Moreover, this was the Alola region!

"Ninetales, Earth Control!" Johan raised his hand to command.

"Oowoo!"

Ninetales crouched on all fours. In the continuously accumulating snow on the ground, Fairy power resonated with Poni Island's aura power.

"Tapu..."

The four Island Guardians nearby felt the aura change and looked at each other.

Why did it feel like—

This guy could command aura power no worse than theirs?

Ninetales using Earth Control in the Alola region gained much more benefit than in other regions.

Red and Espeon also realized this.

No way—

Teacher Johan's Ninetales' move was clearly unreasonable!

No, wait—

Not just Ninetales' Earth Control—Dragonite's earlier Dragon Ascent and "Outrage state" were already unreasonable.

Red actually considered his own Pokémon unreasonable enough.

Snorlax's speed and strength, Vee's independent evolution/devolution and "Everstone," etc.

But—

It seemed Teacher Johan's Pokémon were even more unreasonable than his!

If he remembered correctly, Carlos's X had mentioned that Earth Control was the exclusive move of "Life God" Xerneas.

Could all of Teacher Johan's Pokémon master legendary Pokémon's exclusive moves?

This made Red somewhat understand why Teacher Johan could summon so many legendary Pokémon...

Though his thoughts ran this way, Red still seized the gap when Espeon completed enhancement before Ninetales.

"Vee, Psychic!"

Invisible psychic power formed countless threads, converging toward Johan from all directions.

Powerful mental force pressed down like substance.

Direct attack on the trainer!

"Oowoo!" Ninetales' snowy eyes flashed.

Espeon's mental force seemed blocked by something.

Aurora Veil!

But with Espeon's low roar, powerful mental force still broke through Ninetales' Aurora Veil, attacking Johan.

Hum—

Suddenly—

Light blue power burst from Johan's body. Though not as strong as Espeon's mental force, it was enough that the already weakened mental force couldn't substantially harm Johan.

"Aura power?" Red recognized the power on Johan's body.

"Oowoo!!"

At this moment—

Ninetales' eyes became extremely unfriendly.

Bypassing itself to attack Johan?

Attack Johan under its protection?

That was the "reverse scale" of itself and its companions!

Ninetales, who rarely got angry, was angry.

With its cry, the wind and snow suddenly became more violent as a palm-sized pink stone plate slowly floated from its body.

"Fa-Fairy... Plate?!"

This time Red couldn't hold back his shocked exclamation.

He looked at his Vee's "Everstone," then at the "Fairy Plate" floating from Ninetales.

Red: "..."

At this moment, Red suddenly understood why Teacher Johan could become this world's Master Tournament champion.

Even the "Fairy Plate" was on Ninetales!

What about Arceus?

It couldn't have been... defeated, could it?

As the ice and snow continued raging, feeling the chill, Red couldn't help shivering as if some old injury was triggered.

"Espe!!"

Whoosh!!

Flames actually rose from Espeon's body, dispersing the surrounding ice and snow while quickly warming the temperature around Red, bringing him back from his shock.

Excitement gradually intensified.

He understood!

The reason he inexplicably came to this world was to battle this Teacher Johan!

Wasn't this exactly the powerful opponent he had always longed for?

Now that he appeared before him, how could he show any cowardice or retreat?

"Vee!" Red shouted loudly.

"Espe!!"

Facing Ninetales directly, Espeon responded loudly. Fire, water, and lightning—three-colored light fluctuated on its body as the "Everstone" flickered.

"Tri Attack!!" Red waved his hand, calling out powerfully.