Pokemon: Psychic Master

After settling Charcadet into his team—well, not that it really needed much from him—Johan suddenly received a call from Matori.

"Johan, the first batch of ad revenue and sponsorship money has been transferred to your account."

His phone buzzed right after.

[Account Notification: 7,000,000 Pokédollars deposited. Remaining balance: 7,126,723 Pokédollars.]

"Seven million?! And that's just the first payment?"

Johan's eyes widened in disbelief.

All this from just a TV series?

And the show had only aired a few episodes so far!

Even more exciting, future profits from merchandise and games based on 'Eevee Eats Cabbage' could bring in even more revenue.

Regardless, this payment greatly eased Johan's current financial strain.

Without hesitation, he called Flannery.

"Hello? Teacher?" Flannery, who had just finished an exam, sounded surprised to hear from Johan.

"Flannery, your family should have connections to get firewood and charcoal at reasonable prices, right?"

"Charcoal? Umm, yeah, we do… why do you ask?"

"How much per batch?"

"For regular use… somewhere around 1.5 to 2 million Pokédollars per batch, I think."

"Good. Get me two batches." Johan took a deep breath and said with determination, "I'll transfer you the money later."

"Teacher, did you strike gold or something?" Flannery asked in shock.

"Yes," Johan sighed dramatically, "I'm rolling in cash… so much that I can't even afford dinner anymore."

"Hahaha—" Flannery laughed before hanging up.

Charcoal was a necessary expense for Charcadet. Johan knew that if he committed to this Pokémon, he couldn't let it go without the resources it needed.

Fortunately, the Fire Feather from Moltres seemed to help reduce Charcadet's reliance on charcoal. At least, he wasn't burning through it as quickly as Johan had feared.

Still, this only bought him time.

"Alright, let's head out and buy ingredients. Tonight, we celebrate Charcadet joining our team with a feast!"

"Goka!" Charcadet's fiery spirit lit up, and the rest of the Pokémon cheered along.

Meanwhile, at the Cameran Academy, Fitzwilliam was in the principal's office.

"So, Johan picked Charcadet, did he?" asked the Principal, a smile spreading across his bruised face.

"You knew?" Fitzwilliam was confused.

"That Charcadet… it's quite the special one." The principal's eyes gleamed with a hint of nostalgia.

Fitzwilliam raised a brow. "How special are we talking?"

The principal leaned back and sighed, "I pulled a lot of strings to bring that Charcadet from Paldea to Hoenn. It's the offspring of a certain Pokémon… one that belonged to an old friend of mine."

"An old friend?"

"Yes, someone from the Explorers of Dreams… That Charcadet has an unusual heritage."

Fitzwilliam nodded slowly.

"Well, if it's with Johan, that's reassuring."

Indeed, everyone who met Johan and his Pokémon could sense the strong bond they shared—a warmth and trust that radiated from them.

The Next Morning

Johan stretched with a yawn, his arms wrapping around Vulpix.

But it wasn't the same as holding Little Growlithe.

Vulpix was much bigger now, and her nine tails made her heavier.

"Oowoo?"

Vulpix peeked out from the blankets, her big blue eyes blinking drowsily. Her tails stretched lazily before curling back around Johan's arm and neck.

The soft fur felt soothing… but Johan couldn't help but remember how he woke up gasping for air last night.

He had dreamt of being crushed by a Dynamax Snorlax.

It wasn't a nightmare. It was Vulpix's tails.

At some point during the night, her tails had wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air.

He thought for a moment that he might be carbon monoxide poisoned, considering that Charcadet was a walking furnace.

But no—Charcadet's flames burned cleanly. There was no chance of incomplete combustion.

Finally, he realized the truth:

It wasn't the fire. It was Vulpix's tail-choke hold that nearly sent him to the afterlife.

"…I should've named you Snorlax Junior instead," Johan muttered, giving her a gentle pat.

On the floor beside his bed, Charcadet sat motionless in his usual meditative posture.

"Goka?"

Sensing Johan's gaze, Charcadet opened his eyes.

For a fleeting moment, his blue flames flickered in his eyes before shifting back to orange.

Johan frowned.

"Are you a shiny or not? Make up your mind!"

Charcadet stood, stretching his small arms and legs. He looked fully rested.

"Goka~!"

He yawned, his fiery body emitting a comforting warmth.

Then Johan noticed the floor beneath Charcadet—burned black and sunken in.

"…Great," Johan sighed.

"Tinkaton!"

At once, Tinkaton marched in with her hammer and a stack of wooden planks.

"I leave the repairs to you."

With a cheeky grin, Tinkaton gave Johan a thumbs-up and set to work.

"Just… be gentle, okay? I don't want you breaking the entire house."

Later that morning, Johan took his team to the Academy's Fire Training Grounds, a facility designed to handle even the most powerful fire-type moves.

Charcadet's first real training session was about to begin.

Standing in front of the target dummies, Charcadet looked around curiously.

"Draaa~"

Dragonair hovered nearby, explaining how the training targets worked.

"Goka!" Charcadet nodded in understanding.

A test, huh?

So this was to see what he could do.

"Alright, Charcadet, start with a Fire Spin," Johan instructed.

Charcadet's body glowed red-hot as flames danced around him.

Then, without warning, he raised both hands, summoning a massive column of fire.

BOOM!

The flames roared, engulfing the target and leaving behind charred, smoking remains.

"…What was that?!" Johan's eyes widened.

That wasn't Fire Spin. That was more like Inferno!

"Okay… How about Flamethrower?" Johan cautiously tested again.

"GOKA!!"

Flames erupted once more—thicker, hotter, and more intense than they had any right to be.

The blast hit the reinforced walls of the training room with a deafening crash, leaving a deep dent in the supposedly indestructible barrier.

"…That's supposed to be Flamethrower?!"

Sweat dripped down Johan's face.

At this rate, if Charcadet learned Blast Burn, the entire training facility might be reduced to rubble!

"Dragonair, no!" Johan shouted as he saw Dragonair charging up a Blast Burn of its own.

But it was too late.

The fire roared, consuming everything in its path.

In the aftermath, Charcadet watched intently.

"Goka~?"

That move… didn't seem too hard.

Maybe he could try it next.

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Powerstones?

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