Pokemon: Spiritual Master

Seeing the two Pokémon playing so happily, even the referee subconsciously forgot to announce the start of the battle.

Only when reminded by the commentator did he snap back to reality, realizing that it was precisely because he hadn't announced the start of the battle that the two Pokémon could play so happily.

"Ahem!" The referee coughed a few times to ease the embarrassment while hurriedly announcing:

"Halftime is over, battle begin!"

Togekiss VS Dragonite!

Hearing the referee's voice, Togekiss and Dragonite immediately ended their play, putting away the smiles on their faces and becoming serious.

Playing around in normal times was fine, but now they were on the battlefield, in battle!

This concerned their respective trainers' future "family status"!

"In terms of type matchups, Togekiss has a big advantage. It seems big sister judged that Teacher Johan would substitute Dragonite during halftime," Lucian said thoughtfully.

"Big sister is amazing!" Flint had already become Cynthia's loyal supporter.

"However, in terms of strength, Teacher's Dragonite obviously has more advantage than Cynthia's Togekiss," Steven analyzed rationally.

No one disagreed with this point.

Cynthia's Togekiss was clearly trained later than Milotic and the others. Although it had now grown to a level where it could hold its own on the Master Tournament stage, but—

The opponent was Johan after all, this person currently known to be the closest to "legendary" status!

"But if big sister's Togekiss gets into a favorable situation, Dragonite might even be controlled to death," Lucian had seen that kind of Togekiss—six consecutive Air Slash hits, even gods would have to kneel.

"Teacher's Dragonite... for some reason, also has exceptionally good luck," Steven said. He had also witnessed Teacher Johan's Dragonite's luck explosion moments.

Not just him—quite a few people present had seen it.

But...

Lucian and Steven looked at each other.

Had it become a "luck showdown"?

While they were discussing, the battle on the field had already begun.

"Togekiss, Tailwind!"

"Togepi~!"

Togekiss flapped its wings, and an airflow appeared behind it. Riding the wind made it faster and more agile, while Dragonite, facing the headwind, naturally suffered obstruction from the airflow.

"Dragonite, Thunder Wave!"

Johan waved his hand and called out.

"Draaa~!"

Fluffy golden electric currents formed between the two antennae on Dragonite's head, flickering with arcs as they flew toward Togekiss.

"Cut through it, Air Slash!" Cynthia shouted.

Hum—hum—

As Togekiss flapped its wings, two crescent-shaped pale blue blades headed toward the Thunder Wave and Dragonite.

Bang!!

The fluffy golden electric current was directly split down the middle, scattering into golden arcs in all directions.

The other Air Slash flew toward Dragonite.

"Dodge with Extreme Speed!"

White light enveloped Dragonite as it flapped its wings, avoiding Togekiss's Air Slash at extreme speed.

"Heh," Johan chuckled. "Dragonite, Ice Punch!"

Extreme Speed helped Dragonite avoid Togekiss while frost condensed on its fist.

"Togekiss, Sweet Kiss!" Cynthia's expression changed slightly.

"Togepi~ゝ)ノ"

Pink hearts were visible to the naked eye, flying toward Dragonite.

Sweet Kiss with 75% accuracy could hit our Dragonite?

A mere 75% accuracy rate—wasn't that the same as having no accuracy?

Of course, symbolic dodging was still necessary.

Johan immediately said: "Dodge, Dragonite, Ice Punch!"

Pop~

The pink balloon-like heart exploded in front of Dragonite, and Fairy-type energy wrapped in affection made Dragonite's movements suddenly stall.

Johan: "..."

Dragonite's "European luck" didn't work?

Could it be that the "European" encountered the "Emperor of Europe," and the "European luck" was suppressed?

In the audience seats.

Lucian and Steven looked at each other again, both their expressions somewhat strange.

Flint laughed heartily and said: "Facts prove that when two Pokémon both have very good luck, the trainer's luck becomes decisive!"

Only Flint dared to speak such blunt truths.

Johan on the field gritted his teeth, "Dragonite!"

Mere confusion couldn't completely restrict Dragonite. Johan, who started with Pokémon psychology, was confident about this.

The usual psychological training wasn't for nothing.

At least now when he battled, very few trainers dared to have their Pokémon use Hypnosis on his Pokémon.

But the brief stall was enough for Togekiss to create distance.

"Togekiss, once more, Air Slash!"

"Togepi~!"

While rapidly retreating, Togekiss flapped its wings and again slashed out two crescent-shaped Air Slashes.

"Draaa!"

Dragonite shook its head to clear up.

"Dragonite, Dragon Pulse!" Johan's voice came.

Hum—

Blue-purple energy condensed and scattered, dispersing the two Air Slashes.

Johan seemed somewhat unconvinced and called out again, "Dragonite, Air Slash!"

"Draaa!!"

Dragonite flapped its wings and also slashed out two pale blue air crescents toward Togekiss.

Cynthia half-closed her eyes, "Togekiss, Air Slash!"

The same two air crescents were slashed out by Togekiss.

But—

When everyone thought these Air Slashes would collide and dissipate—

The four Air Slashes actually brushed past each other!

Cynthia and Togekiss actually chose to trade Air Slash blows with Dragonite, trading luck?!

Bang bang—

Bang bang—

Four Air Slashes respectively hit Togekiss and Dragonite.

Togekiss cried out in pain, while Dragonite...

Johan: "..."

Could it really... be my problem?

Johan seemed to recall scenes of his own Air Slash missing seven times in a row...

No!

It must be the field's problem!

This field today, at a glance... at a glance it wasn't maintained very well!

And the weather!

Today's weather was really terrible, not a cloud in the sky, the sun so bright...

Cynthia smiled, "Togekiss, continue, Air Slash!"

Crescent-shaped air slashes came at tricky angles toward Dragonite.

Bang—bang—

"Togekiss, again!"

Just then.

Johan suddenly shouted loudly: "Dragonite!!"

"Draaa!"

Whether it was an illusion or not, Johan felt that Dragonite's glance toward him carried some "resentment."

"...Outrage!"

The best way to counter this kind of psychological influence was to use a more powerful and unreasonable emotion to "crush" it!

"Although Dragonite was affected by Air Slash, Teacher Johan's Dragonite obviously 'breaks free' from Air Slash's influence much faster than ordinary Pokémon," commentator Leon said.

Ordinary Pokémon might be controlled until the battle ended.

"Draaa!!"

Dark red airflow quickly rose around Dragonite, releasing violent aura wantonly.

Johan's expression was stern, not because of Dragonite's Air Slash missing, but because—

Cough.

"Dragonite, Ice Punch!"

"Draaa!!"

Taking advantage of Togekiss using Air Slash, when old strength was spent and new strength hadn't been born, it directly broke through the Air Slash and appeared before Togekiss in the blink of an eye.

The massive fist condensed with frost struck down mercilessly.

Bang!!

Togekiss was directly smashed from the air to the ground by Dragonite.

Rumble rumble—

The newly replaced field immediately cracked with numerous fissures.

When the thick smoke dispersed, Togekiss had already fallen unconscious.

The referee waved the flag, "Togekiss is unable to battle!"

The stadium shook continuously.

"Just like that, one-shot?"

"I can make countless mistakes, but you can only make one mistake!"

"No, Miss Cynthia and Togekiss didn't make any mistakes at all, right? It's clearly Teacher Johan's Dragonite being unreasonable..."

"Did he win? It seems Teacher Johan won, but actually lost quite thoroughly!"

Did he win?

Johan decided to let Dragonite "calm down" first, and let himself calm down too.

This was the first time he and Dragonite had lost to an opponent in terms of "luck" in battle...

Even if this opponent was Cynthia.

"Teacher Johan recalls Dragonite!" the commentator shouted. "He'll probably wait until Miss Cynthia's Pokémon enters before completing the substitution!"

The word "again" was used quite appropriately.

Now, Cynthia had already lost four Pokémon, with only two remaining—one of which had to be Garchomp, and the other...

Cynthia took a deep breath.

Honestly.

She felt considerable pressure.

She also clearly felt the "oppression" brought by Johan's strength.

Johan going all out... had the strength gap between them really become this large?

But thinking again.

Wasn't this exactly what she wanted to see?

So...

Give it everything, no regrets!

"Please, Gastrodon!" Cynthia threw her fifth Poké Ball, also summoning what was strictly speaking her last suspenseful Pokémon.

Bang—

The seemingly small but heavy Gastrodon landed on the field.

"Gastrodon, Stockpile!"

As soon as Gastrodon appeared, Cynthia immediately commanded, putting pressure on Johan who was switching Pokémon.

"Oowu!"

A mysterious force appeared out of thin air, then was swallowed by Gastrodon, and its physical and special defense abilities were enhanced accordingly.

Fortunately, Johan wasn't Spinel—he wouldn't hesitate much when switching Pokémon.

The combination of Water and Ground types allowed Gastrodon to avoid disadvantages when facing most type Pokémon, except when facing Grass-types...

Quadruple weakness to Grass was Gastrodon's biggest weakness.

So there wasn't much to hesitate about. Johan threw a Poké Ball and summoned Serperior!

For this battle with Cynthia, considering that Cynthia had Gastrodon, Milotic, and Ground-type Garchomp, Johan brought Serperior.

Not Glaceon, which was somewhat surprising.

But thinking carefully...

Pure Ice-type Glaceon had many weaknesses—Fighting, Rock, Steel, Fire... corresponding exactly to Urshifu, Tyranitar, Tinkaton, and Ceruledge.

Among Johan's Pokémon, only Dragonite and Serperior seemed to fear Ice-types...

Too many weaknesses, limited targeting—this was why Cynthia didn't bring Glaceon this time.

If battling Lance, then without hesitation, Glaceon would definitely be second only to Garchomp, with priority even higher than Lucario!

"Sni!"

Serperior's expression was serious.

This was a stadium, not a forest—its abilities couldn't be fully utilized.

"Serperior, Leaf Storm!"

As soon as Serperior landed, Johan immediately commanded.

"Sni!"

Emerald green leaves appeared out of thin air. Serperior's tail swayed, immediately stirring up numerous leaves like a braid dozens of times thicker, lashing toward Gastrodon.

"Gastrodon!" Cynthia's eyes flickered, seeming to guess who Johan would send to deal with her Gastrodon, so she calmly commanded: "Blizzard!"

"Oowu—"

Gastrodon's seemingly soft body bulged, and a fierce blizzard immediately surged forth.

The leaf tornado stirred up by Serperior was affected by the howling wind and snow before even touching Gastrodon—what froze froze, what scattered scattered.

Hm?

The commentator shouted in surprise: "Miss Cynthia's Gastrodon displayed quite powerful Ice-type move power!"

This power... even ordinary Ice-type Pokémon might not match Cynthia's Gastrodon.

Was Gastrodon carrying "Never-Melt Ice"?

And not ordinary "Never-Melt Ice" either...

Johan looked toward Cynthia. Cynthia's gaze also met his, with some cunning in her eyes.

On the icy Mount Coronet, when Cynthia was training there, it wasn't purely just for Garchomp's training!

"Serperior, Grassy Terrain!"

Johan changed strategy.

Setting aside the "Forest's Blessing" that Serperior possessed, having just evolved recently, its strength was only at the level of ordinary Champion main Pokémon.

But Cynthia's Gastrodon was one of the Pokémon Cynthia had captured earliest, and in terms of raw strength, it was somewhat stronger than Serperior.

"Sni!"

Serperior raised its head, and the vine-like patterns on its body seemed to come alive, constantly winding. With its position as the center, a large patch of grass quickly grew, sprouting and growing.

Even—

Small saplings were actually growing on the field, growing rapidly at a visible rate.

"Is this fucking Grassy Terrain?"

"Tell me this is Forest Terrain and I'd believe it!"

"Serperior will be rated first place for this year's 'Arbor Day'!"

Seeing the ordinary field about to transform into a forest field, the audience exclaimed in amazement.

Cynthia's eyes also showed surprise.

During the recent training, because they were in the forest, although Serperior had shown extremely strong power, perhaps because they were in the forest, Serperior's performance in this aspect wasn't obvious.

But now...

Even Johan had to sigh that Serperior had indeed absorbed considerable benefits from the "Divine Tree"...

No forest?

Then create a forest yourself!

Of course, this also consumed considerable stamina for Serperior.

"Gastrodon, Amnesia!"

While Serperior was using Grassy Terrain, Cynthia also had Gastrodon use Amnesia again, greatly boosting its special defense.

Gastrodon's eyes flashed with bewilderment, as if forgetting something, trading this for increased special defense.

"Serperior!" Johan took a slight breath, "Again, Leaf Storm!"

"Sni!!"

Serperior stirred up leaves again—leaves that appeared out of thin air, as well as leaves that fell from surrounding plants.

Bigger, stronger, more concentrated Leaf Storm formed again!

"Protect!"

A circle of emerald green energy barrier immediately appeared around Gastrodon.

Crack—

The barrier shattered, and the swirling leaves scattered accordingly.

Protect could block once, but not twice.

"The final Leaf Storm!"

Having used Leaf Storm twice already, with the "Contrary" ability's enhancement, Serperior's special attack had gained a 4-level boost. Such explosive power—

"Gastrodon, Mirror Coat!"

However, when the Protect barrier shattered, it wasn't just Johan and Serperior who moved, but also Cynthia and Gastrodon.

Hum—

As Gastrodon activated its power, a transparent barrier appeared around its body.

[Mirror Coat: Reflects received special attack moves back at the opponent with double the power!]

Because Mirror Coat was very slow to execute, to use this move, one had to predict what move the opponent would use.

Other Pokémon might be hard to predict, but Serperior—

Leaf Storm was quite easy to guess.

Moreover.

Cynthia had Gastrodon use Stockpile and Amnesia successively to boost Gastrodon's special defense, so it could withstand this Leaf Storm impact and then reflect it all back to Serperior!

Now Serperior's Leaf Storm was falling, Gastrodon's Mirror Coat was formed—the timing was perfect.

Cynthia was truly worthy of being Cynthia, her timing was excellent... Johan subconsciously thought this.

But—

Johan's eyes suddenly sharpened as he roared: "Serperior, don't hold back, maximum power!"

If Gastrodon couldn't withstand Serperior's attack, then there would be no reflection.

"Sni!!"

Serperior understood Johan's meaning and hissed lowly.

Rustle—rustle—

All the grass and trees on the field, all the plants gently swayed.

The vine-like patterns on Serperior's body completely "came alive," and the grass around it grew rapidly.

"Gastrodon, Recover!!" Seeing this, Cynthia immediately called out.

Hold on!

The audience's vision was completely obscured, only seeing numerous leaves filling the entire field.

They only heard a "boom," a emerald green glow shot skyward, shaking up airwaves that scattered in all directions before finally returning to calm.

Leaves fell in spirals like butterflies.

Among the leaves, Gastrodon was already lying there.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle!" The referee immediately announced the result.

Couldn't hold on?!

Gastrodon with three levels of special defense boost, plus Recover for healing, ultimately couldn't withstand Serperior's Leaf Storm wave?

"Is this the power of the 'forest'..." Cynthia murmured softly.

Really...

Recalling Gastrodon, she exhaled lightly and regained her calm.

Quadruple weakness to Grass, unable to hold on—this was within acceptable range.

Cynthia's slender fingers grasped her final Poké Ball.

Next.

Was her final ace!

She had been pushed to the brink by opponents multiple times, and it was always she and Garchomp who turned the tide against adversity.

She absolutely trusted Garchomp, just as Garchomp absolutely trusted her.

So.

As long as Garchomp was still there, her confidence remained!

Johan stared at Cynthia, clearly feeling the change in Cynthia's aura—that confidence in herself and absolute trust in her Pokémon... the aura of bonds!

"It's time to enter, Garchomp!"

The Poké Ball opened, and Garchomp charged skyward with great momentum, then dove down, heavily crashing onto the field, spreading its menacing scythe-like fins and roaring:

"Chomp!!!"

Its sharp claws pointed straight at Johan, face full of ferocity.

It's you!

Bullying our little Cynthia, eh?

Invincible Garchomp, enter!

Johan broke out in a cold sweat.

Garchomp had finally found its chance...

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Powerstones?

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