Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 447: Forging Concepts and the Start of a New Semester!

5 bonus Chapter's coming out at 11 AM EST. So I ask that you save you're powerstones until then.

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Peony took Tinkaton to teach it some blacksmithing techniques, with Sonia and the others following along. Johan, however, stayed behind.

Since the battlefield was already destroyed, there was no point letting it go to waste.

Johan called out Larvitar and Dragonite to train their Ground-type moves.

The ground was already in ruins—what more damage could they possibly do?

"Larvitar, watch carefully how Dragonite uses Earthquake."

Johan crouched down and lightly patted Larvitar's small, rough head.

"Yoji!"

Larvitar swallowed nervously and nodded obediently.

"Dragonite," Johan signaled.

"Draaa~~"

Dragonite, who had landed on the ground, flapped its wings twice, scattering some of the dust and debris in the air. Then, it lifted its foot—

And stomped down hard.

BOOOOM—

A massive shockwave rippled outward from Dragonite's foot, sending tremors through the ground. Rocks and earth surged like ocean waves.

Johan nodded slightly.

Dragonite's Earthquake was already powerful, though compared to its Water and Electric moves, it was still a bit weaker.

After all, Dragonite was a Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon—it made sense that Ground-type moves weren't its forte.

But with Giovanni's teachings from "Secrets of the Earth", this weakness could be compensated for. All it needed was time and training.

The goal was to expand Dragonite's offensive options and improve its synergy with other moves.

For example—

If Dragonite used Roost to heal itself, it could temporarily lose its Flying typing. This would let it combo into Earthquake, catching opponents off guard.

"Dragonite," Johan called again, motioning it over.

"Draaa~~"

Dragonite cheerfully hummed, flapping over and landing beside Johan.

"When using Earthquake, we can..."

Johan started explaining Dragonite's shortcomings in execution and how to refine its technique.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

By adjusting small details, they could improve:

Move execution speed Power output Overall effectiveness

"Yoji?"

Seeing Johan teaching Dragonite, Larvitar tilted its head—

Then quietly scurried into the ruined battlefield.

It stood exactly where Dragonite had just used Earthquake.

Larvitar first looked down at its small feet—

Then, mimicked Dragonite's movements—twisting, shifting, and loosening its body.

And then—

In a flash, Larvitar snatched a rock from the ground—

And shoved it into its mouth.

"Yoji! (≧▽≦)"

Its cheeks bulged like a squirrel's, chomping noisily.

As it crunched on the rock, it glanced nervously at Johan.

Seeing Johan was still focused on Dragonite, Larvitar quickly gulped it down—

Then grabbed another and stuffed it into its mouth.

Hmm?

Johan finally noticed something, turning toward Larvitar.

The little Pokémon immediately froze—

Then quickly resumed stretching its legs like it had been training all along.

"...To truly master Earthquake, you need to sense the earth's pulse," Johan continued, not thinking much of it.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

Larvitar snickered quietly while chewing.

But soon, it realized—

Eating one rock at a time wasn't fast enough.

Its eyes gleamed mischievously.

Larvitar lifted its foot—

And slammed it down.

BOOOOM!!

The entire battlefield shook violently.

A large crack split open beneath its feet, extending all the way to the field's edge.

At the same time—

Chunks of rock erupted from the ground.

Without hesitation—

Larvitar leaped forward, mouth open wide—

And started devouring the flying debris like a vacuum cleaner.

It was like a Pixel World bean-eating competition.

After stuffing its cheeks full, Larvitar landed back down, looking comically bloated.

Then—

Its small body stiffened.

It could feel two sets of eyes staring at it.

Slowly, it turned its head—

Only to see Johan and Dragonite watching it in shock.

"Y-Yoji! Σ(дlll)"

Johan glanced at the massive crack in the ground, then at the tiny dinosaur responsible for it.

His Pokédex updated.

Under "Moves Learned", a new move had appeared—

STOMP.

Johan: "...That was Stomp?"

That was definitely Earthquake.

How could the system call that "Stomp"?!

This wasn't a footstep attack.

That was a literal ground rupture!

And Stomp was supposed to double in power if it missed—

But Larvitar's version seemed to double in power based on hunger.

More importantly—

Johan had been teaching Earthquake.

So why had Larvitarlearned Stomp instead?!

"Draaa? (・・)?"

Even Dragonite was confused.

Had it accidentally taught the wrong move?

The last time it demonstrated Earthquake, Larvitar had learned Heavy Slam.

This time, it used Earthquake again—

And Larvitar learned Stomp?!

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite clenched its chubby fists and pumped itself up.

No!

It had to properly master Earthquake.

Otherwise, it would keep teaching Larvitar weird moves!

"Y-Yoji..."

Larvitar knew it couldn't escape.

It hid its hands behind its back, poking at the dirt with its toes.

Then, it flashed a big, toothy smile—

Trying to look as innocent as possible.

If only it didn't have rock crumbs falling out of its mouth.

Johan sighed.

"Forget it. The battlefield needs to be replaced anyway..."

Might as well let Larvitar have its feast.

After all—

The academy's training ground was built with special, carefully selected minerals.

Not just random rocks from the wild.

They were nutritionally dense—

So technically, Larvitar was getting a high-quality meal.

"Yoji!" ψ(`∇´)ψ

With Johan's approval, Larvitar didn't hold back.

Somehow—

It pulled out a white napkin, tied it around its neck...

And even held a fork and knife.

Johan: "..."

Was the silverware really necessary?

"Yoji!"

Larvitar's eyes gleamed.

Time to feast!

That evening...

Since there was no school today, Johan decided—

It was time for a barbecue party.

"Charcadet, keep the fire controlled."

"Goka!"

Charcadet sat cross-legged, arms folded, with a serious expression.

Above its head, a grill rack had been set up—

Where Johan, Rotom, and the Indeedee siblings were busy cooking.

Every time they had a barbecue, Johan couldn't help but think—

Fire-type Pokémon are the best.

Especially coal-based Fire-types.

They saved so much charcoal.

Of course, Rotom was equally invaluable.

"Rotom, Fan Form!"

"Got it, Rotom!"

Rotom dove into an electric fan, transforming into Fan Rotom.

"Urshifu, be careful not to cut it too thick."

"Garruu! (●｀益´●)"

Urshifu nodded seriously—

Then proceeded to shove the entire slab of meat into Fan Rotom's spinning blades.

The result?

Perfectly sliced meat.

Johan: "..."

At that moment—

He noticed something strange.

"Why is Gengar being so quiet today?"

Usually, Gengar was the first to steal food.

But today?

It was strangely well-behaved.

Johan turned around—

And saw Gengar squatting in a corner with Tinkaton.

They were... plotting something.

Johan wiped his hands.

"Indeedee, keep an eye on things. I'm going to check this out."

"Indeedee~"

As Johan approached—

Gengar and Tinkaton were staring intently at a charred black object.

Johan recognized it instantly.

It was a chunk of wood from the Burned Tower—

One of the key materials for forging the "Cursed Armor."

He crouched beside them.

"What are you two scheming?"

Johan crouched down between Gengar and Tinkaton.

"Ka-kaah?"

"Cha?"

"What are you two up to?"

Tinkaton, hammer resting on its shoulder, picked up the charred wood and tapped it lightly with its hammer's handle.

BOOM!

A muffled sound echoed as cracks spread across the surface of the wood.

However—

Johan noticed something unusual.

The cracks... were repairing themselves.

At first, he thought it was just an illusion. But upon closer inspection—

The cracks were indeed shrinking.

"...Self-repair?"

Johan narrowed his eyes.

He concentrated his Aura—

And quickly sensed something.

Not Life Energy—

But Time Energy.

"Time energy?"

Tinkaton's hammer had absorbed Dialga's scales—

And just now, when it struck the wood, a trace of that energy had been transferred over.

Though weak and unstable, the energy reversed time slightly, causing the wood to repair itself.

Johan suddenly felt an idea forming.

He turned to Gengar—

And saw the mischievous ghost grinning as it stretched out its purple claws.

With its fingers spread wide, it made a slow, counterclockwise motion, as if spinning an invisible wheel.

Then—

The cracks on the wood repaired even further.

Johan was stunned.

Gengar was using Time Reversal?!

That was a Dialga-exclusive ability!

Gengar stuck out its tongue, revealing a small glowing orb spinning at the tip.

A miniature Time-Space Jewel.

Johan: "..."

This sneaky little thing had stolen some of Dialga's power and figured out how to rewind time?

Even if the effect was small, it was still ridiculous.

But now—

Johan understood what Gengar and Tinkaton were thinking.

"You two want to forge Charcadet's armor using this technique, so it can be put on and taken off freely?"

"Cha! Cha!"

Tinkaton nodded excitedly.

That was exactly the plan!

Charcadet's evolution armor was permanent once worn.

But if they could apply Time Reversal to the armor, then—

It could be removed and re-equipped at will.

Like Slowking's crown.

However—

Johan wasn't entirely convinced it would work.

Slowking's crown wasn't fused to the body like Charcadet's armor.

Also—

Even if Gengar had learned a basic form of Time Reversal, it wasn't nearly as refined as Dialga's control over time.

"...We'd need Dialga's help."

That thought alone made Johan hesitate.

Messing with Dialga and Palkia again?

That was dangerous.

They were already irritated after the last incident.

If he went back, he might accidentally summon Arceus.

No.

Too risky.

"Don't rush it," Johan said, patting both of them on the head.

"We'll research it slowly. There's no hurry."

For now, the priority was honing Gengar's control over Time Reversal.

Then—

They'd figure out how to apply it to the armor.

"Let's eat first!"

At Johan's words, Gengar and Tinkaton immediately cheered and rushed toward the barbecue.

Johan's face changed slightly.

Oh no.

He forgot to grab food first!

"Wait!"

Johan darted forward.

"If I don't get food, I'll show you my advanced salt-sprinkling technique!"

But his trick didn't work twice.

The Pokémon ignored him and stole all the meat.

Johan: "..."

Damn it.

That night, Johan lay on the soft grass, staring up at the starry sky.

He half-sat on Ninetales' fluffy tails, using them as a cushion.

So soft. So comfortable.

Gengar sat cross-legged beside him, picking its teeth and smacking its lips.

"Ka-kaah~"

Still savoring the meal.

Johan suddenly had a thought.

"...Should we recruit a Pokémon that produces salt?"

"Ka-kaah?"

"Lovee?"

"Yoji?"

The Pokémon all turned to him in confusion.

A Pokémon that produces salt?

"Are there any Pokémon like that?"

Johan immediately thought of Naclstack and Garganacl from the Paldea region.

If his café already had Alcremie producing cream, then—

Why not get a Garganacl to produce salt?

Not only would it solve their seasoning problems, but they could even sell the salt for money.

Plus—

Garganacl's salt could heal injuries.

It was practically a walking salt factory and a healer in one.

After hearing Johan's explanation, the Pokémon nodded in agreement.

Having a Garganacl around would be pretty convenient.

The problem was—

"Garganacl only exists in Paldea," Johan muttered.

There were no sightings of it in Hoenn or Sinnoh.

If he wanted one—

He'd have to go to Paldea himself.

That might be a good idea.

Paldea had Tera Pokémon, and he still wanted to research Terastallization.

Also—

Tinkaton's species was native to Paldea.

It might be interesting to take it back home.

Tinkaton's eyes sparkled.

Paldea?

Its birthplace?

That sounded exciting.

February 1st.

The new semester officially began at Rustboro Pokémon Academy.

This time—

Johan wasn't assigned any registration duties.

It was just the second semester, so only a few transfer students were arriving.

Sitting in his familiar office, Johan made himself a cup of coffee.

When he first started working here, the office felt big—

Ghost had plenty of room to float around.

But now?

With Dragonite and Urshifu standing inside, the space felt tiny.

Johan turned on his computer.

Super Evolution and the Time-Space Dragon Incident had finally died down in the news.

So it should be safe to log into his account again.

The moment he did—

DING! DING! DING!

An endless flood of notifications.

Friend requests. Messages. Emails.

His entire screen was filled.

Johan: "..."

The notifications lasted for fifteen minutes straight.

At this rate, his computer might explode.

Even Rotom was nervous.

"Rotom, should I jump inside?"

"Not yet..."

Johan sighed.

With this many messages, how was he supposed to do online Pokémon psychology consultations?

It was impossible to filter through all of them alone.

KNOCK KNOCK.

A soft knock on the door.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar jumped up from its beanbag chair and floated to the door.

When it opened—

Standing outside was Briar.

Today, she looked a little braver.

At the very least, she was lifting her head slightly.

"Ka-kaah~ (●''●)"

Gengar greeted her cheerfully.

Briar hesitated—

Then raised a small hand and waved back.

A faint, shy smile appeared on her lips.

"Briar, you're here," Johan said with a smile.

"Teacher..."

She nodded slightly.

"Perfect timing. I need you to help me sort through some messages."

"...Huh?"

Briar blinked in surprise.

She had expected some formal counseling.

Maybe even an awkward conversation.

But instead—

Johan was treating her like an old friend.

"Come in," Johan said.

Briar hesitated—

Then sat across from him, pulled out her laptop, and started typing.

"Want some coffee?"

"...Okay."

"Oh, and a question—"

Johan handed her a cup.

"Can you hack into the League system?"

Briar froze.

Then, cautiously, she whispered—

"Do you want me to... transfer money?"

Johan: "..."

He almost choked on his coffee.

"Cough... I'm a teacher. I'd never do something like that."

"Okay."

Briar nodded.

"...But I can transfer money. I'd probably leave a trace, though."

Johan: "..."

The room went silent.

Then—

"Teacher."

Briar adjusted her glasses.

"I found something."

She turned the laptop toward him.

On the screen—

Was a blurry photograph.

A silhouette of a person.

Johan's eyes narrowed.

That figure was...

Silver.

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