Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 442: Don’t Make Me Beg You to Learn!

Giratina!

It appeared directly on Johan's phone screen.

With Arceus awakening and after the chaos caused by Dialga and Palkia, Giratina had become even more active.

It no longer needed to communicate through text.

To be honest...

Seeing a giant, blood-red eye suddenly pop up on his phone screen was a little creepy.

But Johan was used to it by now.

And perhaps because of Gengar's influence...

The way Giratina appeared on the screen looked strangely cute.

It really was starting to feel like a digital pet.

Communicating with it had also become easier.

At least now, he didn't have to type anymore—just using Aura was enough.

[So... do you truly have a way to free me from my seal?]

Giratina's impatience was clear.

If before, it still had doubts about Johan's identity—

After what happened with Dialga and Palkia, those doubts were completely gone.

It was laughable to even question it.

Someone who could bind both Dialga and Palkia—

How could they be ordinary?

Its tone had shifted to one of equals.

"Speak normally."

[Ahem. Can you help me break the seal?] Giratina corrected itself with a cough.

"There should be a way." Johan rubbed his chin.

After all, in the movie Giratina and the Sky Warrior, Giratina's seal was weakened by Shaymin's Seed Flare.

And Shaymin was known to inhabit a place in Sinnoh—the Gracidea Fields.

The problem was...

Shaymin is the Gratitude Pokémon.

Without a genuine heart of gratitude, one couldn't see it.

Even though Shaymin had a population, that didn't mean you could just find one whenever you wanted.

Unless, of course—

You had a Gracidea Flower, which could lure Shaymin out.

As for a heart of gratitude...

Johan was self-aware enough to know he probably didn't have one.

A greedy heart, a love-for-money heart, a narcissistic heart—sure, those were fine.

For some reason...

Johan's mind flashed with certain "artistic" fan interpretations of Giratina & Shaymin.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside.

[Then hurry up and help me get out!] Giratina urged.

"It's not that simple." Johan sighed, explaining the situation.

Then, he added: "Besides, don't you think this isn't the best time for you to come out?"

[What do you mean?]

Johan pointed upward.

"That one is about to wake up."

That one...

Giratina's expression hardened.

[Pfft! I'm not afraid of it! Let it wake up!]

Johan's expression turned strange.

I didn't say you were scared, buddy...

Everyone knew—

Giratina had a rebellious streak.

And that rebellion was directed only at Arceus.

"Don't forget what you said before."

Johan's face turned serious.

"Those who achieve great things don't fuss over small details. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment!"

Great things...

"Are you telling me Adventures of Popplio wasn't good? Or that Meowth & Pichu wasn't entertaining?"

[...]

Giratina glanced at Johan before muttering:

[I already finished watching those.]

Johan: "..."

So, you're here to ask for new episodes?

Johan sighed, scanning the area.

His gaze landed on Darkrai, and his eyes lit up.

"Relax. There will be new movies soon. Just be patient."

After a pause, he added:

"You need to learn patience. Wait for the right moment, then strike when the time is right."

"If you really can't wait... I'll have Gengar send you some audio recordings in a few days."

Johan had recorded plenty of stories while narrating to Gengar and Rotom.

Things like Three Kingdoms, for example.

That should be enough to keep Giratina occupied for a while.

Right now, letting it out wouldn't be a good idea.

For one—

Johan wasn't sure he could control it.

If Giratina went to pick another fight with Dialga and Palkia, another town might get destroyed.

For another—

Arceus.

Just thinking about Arceus waking up gave Johan a headache.

Would Arceus be able to "wait" until Ash made his debut?

Or maybe Red, Blue, or Ethan?

For now—

Giratina needed to stay put.

After soothing Giratina with the promise of future updates, Johan collapsed back onto the grass with a sigh of relief.

Finally...

This whole mess was truly over.

...Wait!

Johan bolted upright.

Besides Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—

There was one more problem.

Team Galactic.

Cyrus.

Now that they had seen the Twin Dragons in action, Team Galactic wouldn't sit still.

That meant Pokémon Hunter J and her group of mercenary hunters would also become more active.

Johan rubbed his temples.

Why did I end up getting pulled into this whole "Special Task Force" nonsense?

The only good thing was—

"At least there's Looker."

"Is it over?" Cynthia, who had been sitting nearby, finally asked softly.

Johan massaged his temples, smiling wryly. "Not even close. But... for now, things have settled."

"I'll help you." Cynthia smiled slightly.

Her golden hair shimmered like a waterfall under the light.

Her flawless face, those crescent-moon eyes, her delicate nose, and cherry lips—

Johan's heart skipped a beat.

Their gazes met.

He saw his reflection in her eyes.

"Ahem—s-sure!"

Johan quickly turned his head, stumbling over his words.

Not far away, Darkrai watched this unfold and rolled its eyes.

"Tch. Pathetic. I was ready to hold Garchomp down for you, and this is all you do?"

The celebrations continued in Twinleaf Town.

Fireworks lit up the sky.

But now, it wasn't just for the festival.

It was a celebration of survival—

And of Johan's heroism.

Baron Albert even suggested—

Building a statue of Johan in the town square.

The townspeople all agreed immediately.

Although, in private—

They wanted to rename Albert's statue as "Lickitung Baron", since that better suited the actual events.

Meanwhile—

As Johan, Cynthia, and the Pokémon wandered through town, the townspeople refused to take any of their money.

Words couldn't fully express their gratitude.

So instead—

They showed it by covering everything.

As they walked, Johan took out his latest "gains."

Or rather—

Dialga and Palkia's "compensation" out of guilt.

A small, glowing orb, about half the size of his palm.

[Time-Space Orb: Formed from condensed temporal and spatial energy. Grants some control over enclosed time-space, excels at breaking seals, and allows Pokémon to gradually adapt to time and space energy.]

Time and space energy?

Johan didn't have much experience with time energy.

After all—

Time couldn't be seen or touched, yet it was real.

Very few Pokémon could interact with it.

Aside from Roar of Time, there weren't many moves that dealt with time...

Oh, wait.

There was one—

Celebi.

Celebi could travel through time and had even rewound time to resurrect Steven and the others.

Rumor had it that Celebi's species existed as infinite versions of itself across time.

As for spatial energy...

That could be useful.

Moves like Teleport, Phantom Force, and Shadow Sneak all manipulated space.

But more importantly—

There was one Pokémon that truly humiliated Palkia's authority over space...

Hoopa.

The Ultra Hoopa incident had seriously tarnished Palkia's reputation.

So much so that it was now called "Little Jawfish Dragon".

Johan smirked.

"This thing is perfect for Gengar."

Gengar could become even more elusive with this, and combined with its battle style and tactics, its strength would improve significantly.

As for time energy... Johan figured Gengar could figure that out on its own.

Whatever it ended up mastering—

That would be up to its own abilities.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar was delighted, immediately swallowing the Time-Space Orb into its stomach.

It wasn't too concerned about spatial energy—

But time energy?

That was important.

If it could grasp even a little of time's power...

Maybe—

Maybe it could make sure Johan lived forever.

Yes!

It had to study this carefully!

Aside from the Time-Space Orb, there were also the dragon scales from Dialga and Palkia.

These were much easier to handle.

Palkia's Dragon-Water scale would go to Dragonite.

Dragonite had strong talent in Water-type moves.

Even before evolving, it had already mastered Hydro Pump.

This scale would definitely benefit it.

As for Dialga's Dragon-Steel scale—

That was perfect for Tinkaton.

Even though Dragon-type and Fairy-type normally conflicted...

Knowing Tinkaton's personality, that scale was definitely going to become part of its hammer.

Tinkaton's body was Fairy-type, but its hammer was Steel-type.

So forging the scale into the hammer wouldn't cause any issues.

More importantly—

Tinkaton had already absorbed traces of Adamant Orb powder into its hammer before, and nothing bad had happened.

That meant the compatibility was fine.

Now the real question was—

If Tinkaton smashed a Dragon-type Pokémon with this hammer...

Would it count as quadruple damage?

After all, Fairy was x2 against Dragon, and now Dragon would be x2 against itself...

Well, that was something for later.

Johan was satisfied with the distribution.

Gengar, Dragonite, and Tinkaton had contributed the most in the battle—

It was only fair they got the best rewards.

Besides—

Tinkaton had truly proven its forging abilities.

Maybe, if they found the right materials, it could enhance the Red Chain even further.

Watching his Pokémon excitedly bounce around, Johan felt his mood brighten.

But then—

He frowned.

With the Time-Space Orb in his possession...

That meant his Pokémon's maintenance costs were probably about to skyrocket again.

Night fell.

Twinleaf Town was still brightly lit, laughter filling the streets.

At the top of the Space-Time Tower—

Darkrai stood at the highest point, overlooking the celebrating town below.

The night breeze rippled through its mist-like form.

Despite its constant flowing body, its heart was calm.

Twinleaf Town had been saved.

And its promise to Alicia had been fulfilled.

Darkrai let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"You Pokémon are really something. Always meeting on rooftops like this."

A voice drifted up from below.

Dressed in black, one hand adjusting his hat, Johan gazed over Twinleaf Town with a small smile on his face.

Darkrai looked at Johan and said softly, "Unlike you, I've always lived in darkness."

Then, it asked, "Where's my payment?"

Johan rolled his eyes.

"You think my stock is infinite? Energy Pokéblocks take time to make, you know."

Darkrai turned away, scoffing.

"Then why are you here? Stargazing?"

Johan simply grinned.

"I'm here to give you an opportunity."

Darkrai blinked. "An opportunity?"

"An opportunity to do good."

Darkrai paused, then—

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

"I never had a choice before. Now... I want to try being good."

Johan froze.

...Wait a second.

Darkrai's response timing...

Its phrasing...

Was it quoting a movie?!

Was this... Pokémon Infernal Affairs?!

Hold on—

That's MY line!

Did they just swap roles?!

Johan tested it:

"Sorry. I'm with the International Police."

Darkrai shrugged. "So? What difference does that make?"

Johan immediately snapped his fingers.

"You're hired."

Darkrai stiffened.

"Hired?"

"Yep. If you're willing, I can help you go mainstream."

Darkrai's face darkened.

So after all this buildup...

Johan was trying to make it a celebrity?!

"Who wants to be an actor?!" Darkrai growled.

"Oh?" Johan raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not!"

"You'll get lots of fans."

"What's the point?"

"You'll be known as the beloved Darkrai, not a shadow lurking in fear."

Darkrai's eyes flickered.

Johan smirked.

"You'll also get attention from a lot of cute girls."

Darkrai: "..."

"And you'll make tons of money."

"Hah! What do I need money for? Money is meaningless—"

"With money, you can buy all the Energy Pokéblocks you want."

Darkrai's breathing hitched.

Johan pushed further.

"And for convenience, I'll have your paycheck deposited directly into my account, and I'll buy you Pokéblocks myself. Easy, right?"

Darkrai nodded instinctively. "That's... actually quite—"

Wait a minute.

Darkrai's eyes sharpened.

"I need time to think about this."

Johan nodded. He wasn't in a hurry.

Before leaving, he left one final sentence:

"Alicia wanted you to be happy. But she wouldn't want you to be stuck in one place, either."

Then, he turned and headed down the stairs.

As he descended, he muttered:

"Why do we always have these deep talks at the top of a tower? Do you know how many stairs this thing has?!"

Darkrai's eye twitched.

...Why not just fly up with Dragonite?!

After Johan left, Darkrai gazed at the moon.

It took a deep breath and murmured—

"To be happy, huh...?"

A strange, awkward smile tugged at its lips.

Not quite right.

But not quite wrong.

"Either way... I owe him one. And I'll repay it."

It had already decided how.

Midnight.

Near the Pokémon Center, at an empty lot—

Gengar squatted on a power pole, swinging its feet lazily.

Down below, Darkrai looked up at the overloaded pole and sighed.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar grinned. Why'd you call me out here?

Darkrai rubbed its claws together—

And formed a swirling black sphere in its palm.

Dark Void!

"Do you want to learn this?" Darkrai asked.

Gengar scratched its head.

"Ka-kaah?"

You dragged me out here this late at night just for this?

"What else?"

Gengar rolled its eyes and hopped down.

"Ka-kaah."

No thanks. Not interested.

If that was all, I'm going to bed.

It had been a long day.

It fought Bruno's Machamp.

It punched Palkia in the face.

It was exhausted.

Seeing this, Darkrai's face twitched.

Since when did Dark Void have so little respect?!

It vanished—

And reappeared right in front of Gengar, holding an even bigger Dark Void.

Gengar's eyes narrowed.

It grinned and licked its lips.

"Ka-kaah!"

Oh? You wanna fight?

Darkrai's tone was dead serious.

"Don't make me beg you to learn this."

Gengar froze.

Whoa.

That serious, huh?

"Ka-kaah..."

Fine, fine. I'll try it.

Darkrai took a deep breath.

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates