Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 496: A Spring Feast of Watermelon

"Mew~~"

As he walked out of the classroom, Johan heard Mew's yawning right by his ear.

Johan couldn't help but chuckle wryly.

Did his class actually bore Mew to sleep?

Well, that's not the students' fault—it's on him as a teacher. He was imparting knowledge, instilling values! If someone fell asleep, clearly, they just didn't have the talent!

Definitely not because his class was too boring.

"I told you to go play with Ninetales and the others, but you insisted on following me," Johan said, immediately shifting the blame.

"Mew~"

Mew drooped its head, eyes brimming with two tiny crystalline tears.

But only Johan could see this pitiful look.

Class was over, training was done—Johan got off work early today.

After all, Mew rarely visited. He had to take it out for a bit. Luckily, after yesterday's "family meeting," the little ones had become way more self-disciplined with their training—everyone looked like they were aiming to shine in the upcoming matches.

Even Rotom.

Rotom: I didn't, I'm not, stop making stuff up! (﹏) I just don't want to get sent into battle and end up getting beaten up!

After leaving the academy, Johan hopped on his bicycle and pedaled down the street.

"By the way, it's almost time for the 'Spring Festival' at the academy, isn't it? If you come again then, it'll be even more fun."

The streets weren't too crowded, but many stores and stalls were clearly already preparing for the upcoming festival, so Johan told Mew.

"Mew?"

Spring Festival?

Mew blinked twice, nodded, and made a mental note to come back for it!

Then it transformed into a chubby Eevee and plopped down in the bike basket, lying right on top of Yoji the Larvitar's head.

"Yoji."

Yoji only felt a sudden weight on its head, but it didn't mind. It continued looking around curiously alongside Mew.

"First, let's buy some seeds, then I'll take you two to have some fun."

Riding his bike, Johan arrived at a seed shop on the street.

Though it was just a seed shop, it had quite the variety—nearly every type of berry seed and tons of regular plant seeds were available.

Though Johan's yard was clean, aside from a few trees, it was just uneven grass. He decided it was time to spruce it up a bit.

The flowerbeds at the entrance had also been neglected for a while. Planting seeds now might result in blooms in just over two weeks.

The flora of the Pokémon world differed quite a bit from Johan's original world. Flowering seasons were totally different, and lush greenery was common even in autumn and winter.

If you had Grass-type Pokémon, many plants could even grow out of season—so long as conditions were right.

After all, pseudo-ecoregions were pretty common in the Pokémon world.

"Let's grab some sunflower seeds. We can plant them by the river," Johan muttered to himself.

That way, Gengar wouldn't keep "bullying" those Sunflora for their seeds.

"Maybe some corn too—for popcorn."

Gengar's "Will-O-Wisp Popcorn" was something you had to try to believe.

As for berry seeds—Johan hadn't really studied how to grow them properly. Trees, after all, weren't like flowers or herbs—they took much longer to mature.

Though once they did, you could harvest several times a year, so it was worth it. Just... not now.

He figured he'd plant a row of sunflowers and some corn in the garden space behind the house near the river.

He wasn't worried about anyone—or any stray Pokémon—stealing them. In his territory, Gengar had the final say.

"Mew~!"

Suddenly—

Mew spotted a watermelon on a seed packet and smacked its lips eagerly, looking like it really wanted to eat one.

Watermelon?

Johan was momentarily stunned.

This season...

Actually, not impossible!

"You want some?"

"Mew~ Mew~!"

"Yoji Yoji!"

Mew nodded enthusiastically, and Yoji mimicked it with equal fervor—he'd never tried watermelon either.

"Easy."

After buying the seeds, Johan headed straight for the berry shop.

Watermelons weren't common this time of year, and even if you found some, they might not taste great due to being out of season—but in the berry world, there was one that was nearly identical to a watermelon: the Guashi Berry.

Johan had tried it before—it tasted almost exactly the same as watermelon.

Only the outer skin looked a bit different.

There were a lot of similar examples: the Pomeg Berry resembled a pomegranate, the Tamato Berry looked like a tomato, and the Hondew Berry resembled a melon.

The main difference? They all grew on trees and had unique effects.

Still, Guashi Berries, along with Durin and Coconut berries, didn't have much effect when eaten directly. But in Pokéblocks, they enhanced appearance—perfect for Contest Pokémon.

So Johan rarely used them.

And they weren't cheap. Not very effective, hard to grow—lots of reasons.

But for this season, they were the perfect watermelon stand-in.

Considering the size of his household, Johan bought five in one go—Gengar could carry them all anyway.

He also picked up a bunch of seasonal fruits and ingredients.

Mew and Yoji were eager to get home and eat Guashi Berries, so they didn't linger outside.

Besides—

Spring Festival wasn't far off. When Mew came back, it'd definitely be even more fun.

So, Johan pedaled his bike around the block a couple of times and headed home.

Backyard.

"Ninetales, take care of these two Guashi Berries—chill them, but don't freeze them."

Johan handed two berries to his Ice-type Ninetales.

If you were going to eat watermelon, chilled was the only way—chilling it brought out the perfect flavor.

And no worries about them getting stomachaches—it was Pokémon we're talking about here.

Ice Ninetales was lightning fast with chilling. No fridge needed—just a few icy exhales and done.

Of course, this required extremely precise control over Ice-type energy.

Too cold? The berry would freeze solid. Too long? The flesh would shrivel. Too little? It'd just be cold on the outside.

But Ninetales nailed it effortlessly.

It even took time to run over to the front store and replenish their ice supply.

"This one's for making juice."

Johan sliced open one of the chilled berries, removed the seeds, dropped it into the juicer (stuffed inside Rotom), and let it spin.

Soon, crimson-red juice scented with watermelon and carrying a hint of chill was served.

"Mew~!"

"Ka-kaah~!"

"Yoji~!"

Everyone grabbed a cup and chugged it down eagerly.

Their eyes squinted—either from joy or cold-induced brain freeze. Mew especially loved it—downed one cup and wanted more.

Seeing their delight, Johan smiled gently.

And that was just the start.

"This one's for eating straight."

Johan sliced the other chilled berry.

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar took a bite—crisp, sweet, bursting with juice, and perfectly chilled. It was pure bliss.

"Cha~!"

Tinkaton took a big bite and, delighted, patted Dragonite's knee—then went:

do-do-do-do—

Mouth mimicking Bullet Seed!

"Garruu~!"

Dragonite, pelted with seeds, retaliated with its own round of Bullet Seed.

In moments, the garden turned into a full-blown "Seed Machine Gun" showdown.

"Mew!!"

Mew joined in—gulped down watermelon, and fired seeds at Yoji's head with a tap-tap-tap-tap sound.

"Yo...Yoji! (︿)"

Yoji looked utterly devastated.

Not from being pelted, but because—

Wait, you're supposed to spit the seeds?!

He had no idea!

He only knew it tasted amazing and juicy—and that was it.

Johan couldn't help laughing.

"That's what you get for sneakily eating my Ginseng Berry."

Ginseng Berry?

Yoji tilted his head. What even was that?

"Here, taste this properly." Johan gave him another slice.

This time Yoji caught on and joined the seed-spitting war.

Tinkaton wore a hollowed-out watermelon rind on its head and waved its hammer.

"Cha!" (I am the Watermelon Knight!)

"Garruu!" (I am the Watermelon Vanguard!)

Urshifu also donned a watermelon helmet.

Tinkaton respectfully bowed.

"Cha~~" (Honored to meet you~)

Urshifu returned the gesture.

"Garruu~~" (Dog-nored to meet you~~)

Johan: "..."

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar tried to join in, but... its head was too big for the rind.

Meanwhile, Mew and Yoji each had their own.

Yoji's dull horn poked through the rind—its color made the whole look somehow just right.

Looked kinda like... Watermelon Boy.

You guys really know how to have fun, Johan thought with a smirk.

"Don't play with them all—I still need them to cook!"

Watermelon rind was valuable!

"Salt King, hit me with some salt," Johan called.

"Gonnn~"

Garganacl tossed a generous handful—pure luxury.

Pickled watermelon rind was surprisingly delicious, especially with Garganacl's salt—enhanced flavor and faster pickling time.

After all, Salt King's specialty was curing with salt.

"Watermelon jelly!" While the rind was pickling, Johan got started on more treats.

Hearing jelly, the little ones all paused their seed wars and crowded around.

Soon after—

Watermelon shaved ice, watermelon popsicles, stir-fried watermelon rind...

Even the seeds weren't wasted. With Ceruledge's help, they became roasted watermelon seeds.

The Spring Watermelon Feast was truly one of a kind.

Night fell.

Ceruledge lit a bonfire. Gengar brought the TV down from upstairs and hooked it up to Rotom.

Everyone had a handful of roasted seeds—some homemade, some store-bought (because there just weren't enough home-grown ones to feed them all).

Amid the sound of cracking seeds, they watched TV together.

Laughing at funny scenes, huddling at scary ones, smiling warmly at touching moments.

Honestly—

When Johan first came to the Pokémon world, he didn't have grand dreams of becoming a Trainer or an Elite Four member.

Just spending quiet, happy days with his Pokémon was enough.

Of course—

Now that they were striving to grow stronger together, that too had become a different kind of joy.

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Powerstones?

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