Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 616: Preparing a Little ’Surprise’ for the Llama

July 1st, evening, the sun slanting westward.

Twinleaf Town.

Ding dong—Ding dong—

The towering Space-Time Towers played a melodious tune that echoed throughout Twinleaf Town, announcing the coming sunset.

At this moment, a dark figure stood atop the twin towers, casting a long shadow in the setting sun.

Darkrai's body flowed like clouds, with a faint light flickering deep in its azure eyes, carrying a trace of confusion and a hint of gravity.

Something was about to happen, something big!

As the guardian of Twinleaf Town, Darkrai, who was once the first to sense the anomalies in time and space, once again detected a disturbance in the space-time continuum.

Could those two be fighting again?

Hmm?

Just as the thought arose, Darkrai sensed a familiar aura entering the Sinnoh region.

It was all too familiar with this aura.

Although sensing this aura often accompanied some not-so-good events, the Poké Blocks that person brought were truly delicious...

Moreover, through confrontations with some powerful beings, Darkrai could feel that its strength, which hadn't changed in decades, had improved somewhat.

This was probably what that guy often said... when life encounters life, something is always born.

"Is it Dialga or Palkia this time?" Darkrai felt a subtle rise of fighting spirit within.

It was no longer the same being that had to face the Space-Time Dragon duo alone!

A black mist surged from its body as Darkrai rode the shadows of the Space-Time Towers, soaring on the evening breeze toward the direction of that aura.

Be it Dialga or Palkia...

"As long as it's not Arceus, I'll crush them all!"

With a long howl, Darkrai disappeared into the shadows of Twinleaf Town.

Night fell.

Treading on the pristine snow, Johan arrived at Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region.

Waiting for him there, besides Lucian who had come for work, were several familiar faces.

The current probationary Elite Four members of the Sinnoh region, Flint and Aaron.

"Teacher Johan!"

They were all quite familiar with each other, but having not met for over a month since parting in Unova, they appeared rather enthusiastic.

After briefly exchanging greetings, Lucian said:

"The boss is still on Mt. Coronet. She supposedly discovered some hidden mysterious ruins and should be here soon."

As he spoke, he glanced at the time.

Johan nodded, "I know."

Although one was in Sinnoh and the other in Hoenn after parting in Unova, they had maintained contact.

After returning to Sinnoh, Cynthia had taken her Pokémon to Mt. Coronet for training.

At the summit of Mt. Coronet, the coldest and harshest environment in the entire Sinnoh region, wild Pokémon were few, but whenever one appeared, it was usually extremely powerful.

Battling against nature and powerful wild Pokémon—this was Cynthia's current goal and direction.

Of course, there were rumors of ancient ruins at the mysterious summit of Mt. Coronet, which was also one of the things Cynthia, as a mythology scholar, wanted to pursue and explore.

"Let's go see Regigigas first," Johan said.

So, the group headed to Snowpoint Temple.

Although night had fallen, because Regigigas's presence was so important, Sinnoh League staff had already set up a cordon outside Snowpoint Temple under Lucian's arrangement, and brightened the lights.

From a distance, one could see the ten-meter-tall Regigigas sitting in the snow, staring blankly, motionless.

Since Regigigas hadn't shown any hostility or done anything out of line, the League didn't dare make too many moves.

Outside the cordon, Johan encountered another familiar face.

The Pyramid King of the Hoenn Battle Frontier, Brandon!

He seemed to be discussing something with the Snowpoint Temple Shrine Maiden.

"Mr. Brandon?"

"Ah, Teacher Johan, you've arrived." Brandon and the Shrine Maiden also noticed Johan.

As the owner of the three Regi titans and someone with a keen interest in ruins and historical matters, Brandon had immediately flown in on his Battle Pyramid upon learning of Regigigas's awakening in Snowpoint Temple.

The Snowpoint Temple Shrine Maiden visibly relaxed upon seeing Johan.

Last time, when Regigigas awakened, it was this Teacher Johan who had pacified it.

The Shrine Maiden said: "After awakening, Regigigas just sat there motionless. We couldn't communicate with it, so..."

She had already tried to communicate with Regigigas but to no avail.

"Is it possible," Johan glanced at the obedient giant, "that it's just awake but not fully awake?"

Hmm?

Both the Shrine Maiden and Brandon were taken aback.

"I'll go check."

Saying this, Johan walked alone toward the cordon. Just as he was about to present his "International Police Inspector" credentials, the staff had already lifted the cordon.

"Teacher Johan!" The person seemed somewhat excited.

"Thank you," Johan expressed his gratitude.

Feeling that my face is more effective than my ID, he thought as he entered the restricted area.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar floated out from the shadows, gazing up and down at the giant before them. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Regigigas."

Johan approached Regigigas, feeling a pressure entirely different from Regice, and attempted communication using his aura power.

However, Regigigas remained motionless, with only its signal lights flashing at an extremely slow pace. Otherwise, Johan would have thought it was still asleep.

After a brief contemplation, he gave Gengar a look.

Gengar immediately understood, opening its mouth to produce a box of Poké Blocks which it handed to Johan.

"Ka-kaah~~(ω`)_且~"

"Regigigas, dinner time!" Johan used his aura again.

"REGI—"

This time, Regigigas finally responded, its body trembling slightly as it bent down to look at Johan.

At the same time, the frequency of its signal lights gradually quickened a bit.

"GIGAS!!"

Regigigas scratched its head with its giant palm, seemingly finally recovering from its "frozen" state.

Indeed a "glutton."

Johan shook his head and stepped forward, placing his palm on Regigigas.

Glutton, here's some aura!

Aura, residing within the heart!

Woosh—

A bluish light emerged from Johan's body. Regigigas's current expression:

(￣▽￣)

Done.

Johan waved at Regigigas, turning to walk back to the somewhat dumbfounded Lucian and the others.

Regigigas did react, and then nothing else?

"Is-is it over?" Lucian couldn't help but ask.

Everyone else also cast puzzled looks.

"Not yet," Johan shrugged. "It's just woken up, right? Let its system fly a little longer—no, let its system operate a bit more."

Slow Start, truly the "top-tier" ability in the entire Pokémon world.

The mighty legendary beast capable of pulling continents, rendered ineffective because of "Slow Start."

But once its "Slow Start" passes, then...

Johan had once seen a "theory" suggesting that Regigigas's original ability wasn't "Slow Start." Only after completing the feat of dragging continents, which drained it greatly, was its original ability replaced by "Slow Start."

He didn't comment on this "theory" as it couldn't be verified.

But he had roughly figured out a characteristic of Regigigas's "Slow Start."

That is... the longer it rests, the more terrifying Regigigas's destructive power might be after "Slow Start" ends. In the real Pokémon world, this might not be purely a negative ability.

"Prepare some food for it, replenish... replenish its energy, speed up its 'system' recovery. We might need it for a tough battle later," Johan told the Shrine Maiden.

"Yes." The Shrine Maiden nodded and hurried to make arrangements.

"Tough battle?"

Lucian and the others, however, focused more on the "tough battle" Johan mentioned.

Not many battles could be termed "tough" by the current Teacher Johan, let alone requiring Regigigas's power.

Could it be that the Space-Time Dragon duo was at it again?

Previously, most of the incidents Johan encountered put him in passive situations, as he only learned of the events when he arrived or made contact.

But this time.

Since he knew in advance what would happen, he decided to prepare beforehand.

If events unfolded as in the movie, then he would give Arceus a little "surprise."

At this moment.

"ROAR—"

A resonant howl quickly approached from a distance.

Looking up.

A Garchomp was seen riding the snowy winds from Mt. Coronet, rapidly approaching Snowpoint Temple in the night.

On Garchomp's back was a golden-haired, black coat-wearing, stern-faced beauty—Sinnoh's Cynthia!

"Ka-kaah..."

Gengar by Johan's side looked at the Garchomp, waving while quietly muttering.

Feels like old Garci-girl's strength has gotten even stronger.

Old Garci-girl?

Hearing Gengar's new "nickname" for Garchomp, Johan's mouth twitched slightly.

He better not let Garchomp hear that, otherwise that ferocious mother dragon would blame him again.

Whoosh—

"Boss!" Flint and the others waved at the descending Cynthia.

BOOM!!

Garchomp landed heavily on the ground, raising large patches of snow dust, swirling up a misty white fog.

Undeniably, Cynthia's training of Garchomp was indeed excellent. The fact that she could adapt a Garchomp, with its quadruple weakness to ice, to an extremely cold place like Mt. Coronet, was testament to their joint efforts.

It had a similar effect to Johan feeding Larvitar branches from the Tree of Beginning.

It was a perfect alignment of heaven, earth, and human factors for them.

Stepping in leather shoes, with a spirited demeanor and one hand in her pocket, Cynthia emerged. The valiant Garchomp followed right behind her, casting a disdainful glance at Johan.

Johan: "..."

Why are you staring at me?

Upon seeing Johan, the frost on Cynthia's face quickly receded, revealing a smile.

"You're here."

"Yes."

Johan nodded.

Flint, Lucian, and Aaron exchanged glances, their eyes conveying:

Shouldn't we not be here?

"What's the situation now?" Cynthia asked, glancing at the simple-minded Regigigas sitting in the snow.

"Regigigas is fine, but other places might be in trouble."

"Other places?" Cynthia's fine eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Let's talk as we go. We need to head somewhere first," Johan said.

"Where?"

"Michina."

Speaking, Johan turned to Brandon: "Mr. Brandon, can I borrow your pyramid?"

Brandon, who was considering whether he should step aside, was startled by the question and nodded instinctively:

"Oh, sure, sure."

But then he realized, "Do you know how to pilot it?"

"I think so," Johan smiled.

Then the group entered Brandon's Battle Pyramid.

I think so?

"Rotom, Battle Pyramid mode, activate!"

"Ro-Rotom?! (_)"

PokéDex Rotom floated out from Johan's pocket, eyes wide.

"Am I really going to pilot it, Rotom?"

Without waiting for Johan's answer, Rotom directly floated out from the PokéDex, slipping into the Battle Pyramid's system through its circuits.

At the same time, excited shouts were heard.

"Battle Pyramid mode, activate!! (〇*)"

"Ka-kaah!!"

Gengar spread its arms, appearing even more excited than Rotom.

Brandon, standing in the snow, watched his Battle Pyramid slowly, wobbingly rise into the air with a "huff-puff" sound, and couldn't help but swallow.

Why... did he have a feeling... that this was the last time he would see it?

From a distance, Brandon heard voices from the Battle Pyramid's system—

"Urgent! Where's the transformation button, Rotom?"

"A-Arceus?!"

Inside the now steadily flying Battle Pyramid, Flint's exclamation was heard.

Even Cynthia, after listening to Johan's explanation, couldn't help but show a shocked expression upon hearing this name.

After a pause, Flint sat down and asked:

"So, who is Arceus?"

Slap—

Lucian slapped his forehead.

Flint, don't tell people you're from Sinnoh when you go out, we can't bear this embarrassment.

Though thinking this, Lucian still said:

"I've seen it in some ancient books."

"Before the Pokémon world appeared, in the midst of chaos and fluctuations, an egg appeared. This egg hatched into Arceus, who created the entire Pokémon universe. The fragments from creation formed plates, bestowing different powers to all things..."

This was Sinnoh's "Arceus Creation Legend," which is why Arceus is honored as the "Original One."

"The Original One..."

Flint seemed to somewhat understand the significance of the name "Arceus," murmuring.

According to Johan's account, Arceus was deceived by humans in ancient times, wounded and forced into slumber. This awakening was to vent its fury on humans.

Lucian, Flint, and Aaron exchanged glances.

This trouble... is a bit big.

"No worries, if Arceus really comes, Flint, you're up first."

Flint: Σ(дlll)

Cynthia looked at Johan and calmly said: "You must have a plan, right?"

Otherwise, he wouldn't appear so calm.

But Johan wanted to say... there's no point in being anxious, what will come will come.

Hmm? Where had he heard that before?

"Ahem, fortunately, we know about this in advance, so we still have time to prepare."

Actually, Arceus initially held goodwill toward humans, considering them one of its "creations," but unfortunately, some misunderstandings arose.

As the group nodded, Aaron's cowlick suddenly stood up, and he exclaimed:

"Arceus!"

Everyone: "..."

With this reaction speed, becoming an Elite Four member was truly...

However, to reassure everyone, Johan, while patting Larvitar's head, said with some authority:

"Just a llama. Let's prepare a little 'surprise' for it!"

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Powerstones?

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