Pokemon: Spiritual Master

Night, Melemele Island, Pokémon School faculty housing.

After sending the Naganadel and Poipole to Melemele Island and temporarily entrusting them to Anabel, Johan returned to his residence.

"I feel like I could fall asleep the moment I close my eyes..."

Johan lying on the bed felt his eyelids fighting.

Today had truly been busy from morning to night - no, from morning to midnight.

Actually, the main issue was...

He had ridden Dragonite for too long.

It was almost 3 AM now.

However, after struggling for a while, Johan still sat up.

"Ninetales." He called softly.

"Oowoo?"

Ninetales, also lying on the bed, slightly raised its head, its azure eyes showing some questioning.

Johan fumbled in his jacket pocket and took out the freshly warmed "Fairy Plate."

The pink plate emanated a strange life aura and contained unimaginable power.

"You keep this first, explore it a bit. When we figure it out, we'll share it with Tinkaton." Johan said.

"Oowoo~"

Ninetales looked at that pure and rich Fairy-type energy, hesitated briefly, then curled its tail around the plate and put it away.

When not in battle, the changes brought by the plate wouldn't be that quick, after all Ninetales' own strength was definitely not weak.

But the benefits to Ninetales would certainly be enormous.

"When we get a chance, maybe we can have an internal ranking battle before taking on the 'Champion Road.'" Johan thought.

Seeing Gengar secretly watching Ninetales from the ceiling, Johan smiled.

Look, the purple chubby had also sensed the "threat." With the "Fairy Plate's" enhancement, Ninetales' strength would definitely see a huge improvement.

Such "pressure" might become an opportunity for Gengar to break through Champion level.

If Gengar's normal strength could surpass Champion level, then with various enhancement methods, its power... could probably steamroll through the Hoenn League.

"Keep it up, Gengar." Johan said as he lay down again.

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar playfully made an "OK" gesture.

Johan chuckled softly.

He absolutely trusted Gengar. From when he first met it as a Gastly until now, he had never needed to urge Gengar to work harder - what he just said was only a joke.

"Gengar, lights out."

"Ka-kaah~"

Speaking of which, did he forget something?

Ula'ula Island.

Guzma struck a cool pose, half-crouching at Po Town's port, enjoying the sea breeze and moonlight.

"Seriously, is that Teacher Johan guy coming today or not? Does he want his boat back or not?"

Team Skull's only officer, the delinquent girl Plumeria, shouted angrily.

A nearby Team Skull member who seemed somewhat cultured complained: "Golbat wearing pretty feathers."

"What's that supposed to mean?" everyone asked in unison.

"Really thinks it's some kind of bird!"

This earned a chorus of approval.

Guzma ignored his subordinates, feeling his phone vibrate. Taking it out, he saw it was Lusamine and immediately became serious.

Standing up and waving to have two people watch the port, he pressed the answer button while walking back to Po Town.

"It's me..."

The next day.

Akala Island.

"Teacher Johan, please try this - it's our restaurant's specialty, also my dad's proudest Pineap Berry juice."

Inside Aina's Kitchen, Mallow enthusiastically served Johan the restaurant's specialty.

Behind her, the green-haired couple smiled warmly with some anticipation.

"Mm, delicious!"

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar gave a thumbs up, not stingy with praise either.

Seeing this, Mallow's father relaxed and hurried forward: "As long as Teacher Johan likes it. Our Mallow... please take care of her."

"Dad, don't get so excited." Mallow quickly stepped forward.

Mallow's father also realized he was being a bit excessive.

But there was no helping it.

Others in the Alola region might not know much about Teacher Johan, but ever since Mallow and Lana went to Canalave City in Sinnoh and met Teacher Johan, with Mallow's influence, their whole family had paid attention to Teacher Johan.

The more they paid attention, the more they realized how amazing this Teacher Johan was!

Not only as a trainer showing extremely strong power, having even dealt with several waves of legendary Pokémon.

More importantly, he was a genuine teacher with the title "Pokémon Psychologist" and was known as a "Tactical Master" and "Soul Master."

Being strong in battle didn't necessarily make someone a good teacher.

But being both powerful and actually a teacher - there weren't many like that in the Pokémon world.

How could Mallow's parents not be excited that such an amazing teacher had come to the Alola Pokémon School?

Learning that Teacher Johan was doing home visits, they had prepared early.

However, Johan wasn't known for being a strict teacher, and he quickly got along well with Mallow's parents.

"Mallow is a very lively child, a girl full of energy..."

"Thank you so much for taking care of her, Teacher Johan..."

Akala Island, Ohana Town, Ohana Ranch.

This was Kiawe's family ranch, also the largest ranch on all of Akala Island.

On the wide plains with lush grass, light streamed through clouds creating golden waterfall-like threads scattered across the grassland, outlining distinct light and shadow boundaries.

Groups of Tauros ran freely on the grassland, fully displaying their natural talents.

In the Alola region, Tauros were not only transportation-type Pokémon but also stars of "Tauros Competitions," similar to horse racing in other regions.

Kiawe's family ranch housed over three hundred Tauros, reportedly including many "Tauros Competition" star contestants.

"The Tauros in the Alola region are much more gentle and stable in temperament compared to Tauros in other regions."

Johan walked along the ranch fence.

A dark-skinned couple followed beside him - Kiawe's parents, Sima and Amara.

Kiawe's father Sima smiled: "This is probably related to the Alola region's climate."

As a large ranch owner, Sima looked quite refined, wearing a blue shirt and narrow-framed glasses.

In contrast, Kiawe's mother Amara was robust and capable, with a "strong and powerful" yet generous and forthright appearance.

Similar to Mallow's parents, Sima and Amara also knew about Teacher Johan.

After all, as a large ranch owner, selling products to outside regions was essential.

Johan nodded: "Though every region has a history of riding Tauros, the Alola region seems to be the earliest."

"Teacher Johan knows about this too?" Sima asked with some surprise, pushing up his glasses.

"I also have the heart of a ranch owner, and I've had some exchanges with Grandpa Fuego in the Sinnoh region." Johan said with some self-deprecation.

"Teacher Johan also has a ranch?" Amara asked curiously.

"Uh, sort of." Johan rubbed his chin, joking: "If having two Gogoat counts, haha..."

Kiawe's parents Sima and Amara exchanged glances, both seeing the same meaning in each other's eyes.

Sima immediately said: "If Teacher Johan doesn't mind... we could cooperate."

Cooperate?

Amara also hurried to say: "Compared to Tauros, our ranch's Miltank and Mudbray are actually more famous, especially Miltank's Moomoo Milk - it sells out every time."

Miltank could be seen everywhere on the ranch. Johan estimated there might be over five hundred!

Keep in mind, these weren't cows - Miltank produced far more Moomoo Milk than regular cows.

This was already one of the few large Miltank ranches in the Pokémon world, second only to Whitney's "Goldenrod Ranch" in Goldenrod City in Johto.

As for Mudbray, though they didn't produce anything like Moomoo Milk, both Mudbray and their evolution Mudsdale were typical cargo-carrying Pokémon.

Mudsdale was famously slow but had exceptional endurance, load capacity, and cargo-hauling ability.

Throughout the Alola region, Mudsdale and Mudbray were among the greatest helpers for every farming household.

On ranches, having Mudbray and Mudsdale to help transport and carry goods could greatly save labor.

Ultimately.

Though Kiawe's family was in animal husbandry, in terms of actual "industry," except for Lillie, Kiawe's family was the wealthiest.

"We could first provide Teacher Johan with some Miltank and Mudbray. When your ranch is established, you can pay us back." Sima said.

This was essentially "breeding loans."

Keep in mind, Miltank were purely female Pokémon with no corresponding male counterparts, making wild ones very rare.

Johan had actually considered raising Miltank.

After all, his "big babies" consumed huge amounts of Moomoo Milk daily.

He just hadn't found a "source" for Miltank, or rather hadn't had the energy to deal with it yet - he hadn't even finished planting trees.

But...

"Maybe later, there'll definitely be opportunities in the future." Johan politely declined Kiawe's parents' good intentions.

The two were truly well-meaning.

However, Johan couldn't accept such kindness while serving as Kiawe's teacher.

Whether it was his own conscience or concerns about gossip.

Just like when he was Steven's teacher, he wouldn't accept Steven's gifts of precious metals - it was Johan's bottom line as a teacher.

Of course, after returning later, he would try to cooperate with Kiawe's family ranch in a more equal manner.

Kiawe's parents showed some disappointment.

But immediately afterward came respect.

They understood Teacher Johan's meaning.

"Gengar!"

Johan suddenly shouted.

Gengar, who was lying in the ranch, jumped.

"What are you staring at Miltank for?" Johan hurried over.

"Ka-kaah..." Gengar grinned sheepishly, poking its fingers while the nearby Miltank was already sweating nervously.

Sima and Amara exchanged glances.

Sima sighed: "Really is a good teacher..."

Amara agreed: "We must have Kiawe study hard with him!"

Akala Island, Konikoni City.

"Teacher Johan," Lana greeted politely, "good afternoon."

Behind her, two little girls with blue fluffy hair who looked eighty percent like Lana peeked out curiously at Johan.

They were Lana's sisters, Harper and Sarah.

"Teacher Johan." Lana's father was a fisherman with excellent fishing skills, but... he couldn't catch fish. He and Johan had met in Canalave City.

"Want to cast a line together?"

Lana's father laughed heartily, extending an invitation.

As fellow "fishing enthusiasts," such an invitation was equivalent to card players asking for "a game."

"Of course!"

Johan's eyes lit up slightly, but he quickly asked: "Are there many Magikarp in this area?"

"Not many!"

Lana answered.

Since Lana's father rarely caught fish, he couldn't answer this question.

"Not many is good, not many is perfect..."

Magikarp were too "domineering." In the Pokémon world's waters, except for some special places, their presence was nearly ubiquitous, which truly gave Johan headaches.

So Johan, as a teacher, and Lana's father, as fellow "fishing buddies," sat on the reef chatting casually.

They discussed both Lana's studies and personality, as well as fishing techniques.

"Ka-kaah..."

Gengar watched this scene enviously.

"If Gengar doesn't mind, you can use this fishing gear." Lana's mother smiled gently, taking out a fishing set they had prepared.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar's eyes lit up. After thanking her and taking the fishing rod, it ran off happily to find a spot away from Johan.

It didn't want to fish with those two "eyebrow pencils"!

Meanwhile, Lana took her two sisters and the visiting Mallow and Kiawe to her "secret fishing spot."

"Gengar~"

Lana waved at Gengar.

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar immediately understood her meaning and happily followed with a grin.

"Wow! Teacher Johan's having great luck today!"

Seeing Johan's tight fishing line, Lana's father couldn't help but exclaim.

But as Johan swung his "Super Rod," a large Magikarp immediately traced a beautiful arc through the air.

Finally landing with a "splat" on the reef, energetically performing "Splash" and splashing Johan's face with water droplets.

Johan wiped his face and asked expressionlessly:

"You said there weren't many Magikarp..."

Where was "not many"?

He felt like he could gather seven Magikarp to summon Gyarados if he kept fishing!

Lana's father looked envious: "Magikarp are great - they're relatively rare in the Alola region."

He still hadn't caught anything.

On the other side.

"I got one! I got one!" Mallow shouted excitedly.

"That's right Mallow, pull it up in one go!" Kiawe cheered energetically.

Mallow took a deep breath and pulled hard on the fishing rod. Soon a lively Carvanha was pulled ashore.

"It's a Carvanha! They're fierce~" Lana said.

"Ka-kaah!"

Suddenly, Gengar also pulled hard on its fishing rod, and a Sharpedo flew up.

"Whoa! Sharpedo!"

"My turn too, watch this!" Kiawe also felt his rod moving and pulled hard, but found it was very light, then...

A Wishiwashi lay flat on the shore, its eyes sparkling weakly.

"Why is mine a Wishiwashi?"

Wishiwashi were famously weak Water-type Pokémon, but supposedly had very delicious meat and were a delicacy that all carnivorous Pokémon in the sea wanted to taste.

Johan: "..."

He looked at the fat Magikarp beside him.

Indeed, people's joys and sorrows were not universal.

"Away you go!"

Johan threw the Magikarp back into the sea.

At the same time.

"Wow! What a big fish!" Mallow suddenly pointed at the sea surface and exclaimed.

In the ocean, a huge black shadow was waving its tail, appearing in the waters where they were fishing.

Roughly speaking, this "giant fish" was at least eight meters long!

Maybe even nine or ten meters!

Johan's heart skipped.

Lana, big fish, it couldn't be...

"It can't be..."

He stood up abruptly, quickly running toward Lana and the others, about to call Gengar to take the kids away from the seaside, but then gradually stopped.

He patted his forehead.

"I'm definitely overthinking this..."

"It's also Wishiwashi!" Lana said calmly, her eyes showing strong interest.

"Wishiwashi?" Kiawe looked at the palm-sized, powerless Wishiwashi at his feet with only its eyes still sparkling, then at the huge shadow in the sea.

This size difference was a bit much, right?

"Wishiwashi are schooling Pokémon." Johan slowed his pace and explained.

"Though they look weak individually, when they unite, they become very powerful."

The Rotom Pokédex floated out: "Wishiwashi, Small Fry Pokémon, Water-type. In critical moments, their eyes become moist as if crying, but it's actually a signal calling for companions. Danger! Danger, Rotom!"

"It's a Wishiwashi school - quite rare indeed." Lana's father also walked over.

Individual Wishiwashi were very weak, at most 20 centimeters long with only a pitiful base stat total of 175.

But when large numbers of Wishiwashi gathered together, using their "Schooling" ability to combine into one entity, they became a terrifying existence over eight meters long that could compete with Wailord.

After gathering into one individual, their theoretical base stat total reached a staggering 620!

This was a rare, true "group Pokémon" in the Pokémon world, also an excellent example of "Pokémon legions."

Like Elite Four Agatha's "Ghost Legion" and the "Gengar Legion" that Gengar had assembled when fighting Ultra Demon Hoopa.

Only the Wishiwashi's method of unity was more excellent and perfect than "Ghost Legion" and "Gengar Legion."

"Kiawe, quickly put the Wishiwashi back." Mallow said somewhat fearfully.

"Oh, right!"

Kiawe reacted and hurriedly put the Wishiwashi in his hand back into the sea.

After the Wishiwashi returned to the ocean, the huge shadow seemed ready to leave.

At this moment, Lana seriously picked up her fishing rod and bucket, pulling over a small boat docked nearby.

"Popplio!"

She and Popplio got on the boat together.

"Lana, what are you..." Mallow asked.

"It's a rare Wishiwashi school - I'm going to catch them!"

"Eh?!" Mallow and Kiawe exclaimed.

"Dad, Teacher Johan, please allow me to do this!" Lana said seriously to Johan and her father.

Before Johan could speak, Lana's father laughed heartily: "Go ahead! As a daughter of the sea, go bravely!"

"Yes!"

Lana immediately set off in the boat, chasing after the Wishiwashi school.

Johan looked at Lana's father with a somewhat strange expression. Are you serious about that encouragement?

But honestly, Johan was quite confident.

After all, this was the girl who could catch even Kyogre - a mere Wishiwashi school shouldn't be a problem.

But for safety, Johan still gave Gengar a look.

Gengar understood, put down its fishing rod, took a deep breath, pinched its nose, and jumped into the sea.

Gengar was also curious about how Wishiwashi schools cooperated.

If it could learn this...

Maybe it could try forming a "Gengar Gundam" in the future!

Just thinking about it was exciting.

"Lana looks gentle, but she's actually a very strong-willed girl, and she's very confident about fishing." Johan said.

So-called gentle on the outside but strong on the inside - this was probably it.

In this respect, she was somewhat like his little Cynthia, and would probably achieve great things in the future.

"Hahaha—" Lana's father laughed proudly.

"I hope Teacher Johan can guide Lana more in the future." Lana's mother also said timely.

They could tell that Teacher Johan liked or rather appreciated Lana, which was undoubtedly something to be happy about.

"I can definitely do it!"

Lana on the boat kept encouraging herself while hooking bait and casting, her movements skilled and fluid.

Underwater.

Johan used Gengar's "perspective" to see the enormous Wishiwashi school.

Underwater, Gengar grinned mischievously and rolled its eyes. Suddenly its crimson eyes flashed, and a small Wishiwashi at the tail of the school stopped in confusion, separated from the school.

Gengar immediately mimicked the appearance of a Wishiwashi, "gurgling" as it followed up, replacing that small Wishiwashi's position.

Move: Skill Swap!

Wishiwashi's exclusive ability: Schooling!

The small Wishiwashi: "???"

Question marks like Slowpoke's appeared above its head.

Johan's mouth twitched.

That's so like you, Gengar.

Successfully infiltrating the "enemy" and going undetected.

It's just...

From the sea surface, the originally perfect form of the Wishiwashi school suddenly had a swollen part of its tail, as if something foreign had mixed in.

Unfortunately, Gengar only "replaced" a Wishiwashi at the tail. If it had replaced one at the head, it might have been able to help bite the hook.

"Ka-kaah~"

I'm a fish~ I'm a fish~

At the same time.

Deep in certain waters of the Alola region, around Akala Island, a tremendously huge Pokémon that had become the ocean overlord of this area, a big guy, opened its eyes.

Thinking back to swimming all the way from Lavaridge Town to the Alola region.

It had originally thought it was temporarily avoiding "trouble" by coming to some backwater place.

After arriving, it discovered...

This wasn't a backwater place at all - it was paradise!

Rich resources, abundant seafood, delicious food, no opponents that could challenge its position!

This was so pleasant, it didn't want to return to Hoenn!

That's right.

This awakened ocean overlord was none other than the legendary Sea Basin Pokémon, super-ancient Pokémon - Kyogre!

What kind of terrible place was Hoenn? Not going back! Not even dogs would go back!

Just now, the awakened Kyogre caught the delicious scent of Wishiwashi, and they had very "considerately" gathered together.

Waiting for it to come feast!

The happy Kyogre swayed its body, which had grown a size rounder, swimming toward the Wishiwashi school.

"Dark clouds! It's going to rain!"

Sharp-eyed Mallow noticed dark clouds gathering on the distant sea surface, apparently moving toward them.

"Another Wishiwashi school!"

Kiawe also noticed another huge black shadow appearing on the sea surface.

It also seemed to be approaching Lana, or rather, approaching the hooked Wishiwashi school.

"The shape seems a bit different..." Kiawe added.

Hm?

Johan, who had just sat down and was about to try his luck at Lana's "secret fishing spot," looked in the direction they indicated and was slightly stunned.

Why did this second "Wishiwashi school's" silhouette look so familiar?

A bit like his old friend Kyogre?

The first thing that came to Johan's mind was an image of Wishiwashi schools forming into Kyogre's shape.

This actually wasn't uncommon.

Forget "Wishiwashi Kyogre" - there were also "Wishiwashi Rayquaza," "Wishiwashi Groudon," "Wishiwashi Zygarde," and even Necrozma and Arceus had Wishiwashi versions.

They could form anything.

The second thought was...

Lana's bait was really effective - caught one school and attracted another.

It wasn't until the third thought that he suddenly realized.

Wait!

Could this actually be the real Kyogre?

"Gengar!"

Using aura to connect with Gengar, through Gengar's "vision," Johan actually "saw" the Sea Basin Pokémon speeding through the ocean depths - Kyogre!

It really is you, fathead fish!

Also sensing the aura from Kyogre was the Wishiwashi school that had just taken the bait.

You could have Wishiwashi schools unite and show tough attitudes when facing other Pokémon, but having them unite to directly face Kyogre...

Didn't Kyogre need to save face?

Splash splash—

The massive Wishiwashi school quickly scattered.

Lana, feeling the fishing rod's weight lighten, was stunned and blinked twice.

"Eh?"

Seeing this, Kyogre couldn't let the "buffet" escape and immediately opened its mouth to bite.

"Gengar!"

Johan stood up abruptly. Under the confused gazes of the others nearby, he immediately threw out a Poké Ball, summoning Dragonite.

While climbing on, he used aura to command Gengar.

"Sludge Bomb!"

With such a wide-open mouth, it would be rude not to give it some poison.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar was having fun when Kyogre suddenly came to cause trouble. It was also unhappy. Seeing the scattered fish school, the annoyed Gengar immediately threw a glob of thick purple poison into Kyogre's mouth.

Hm?

Kyogre was about to quickly swallow the remaining Wishiwashi when it got a mouthful of poison, nearly making it vomit.

Inertia prevented it from eating the Wishiwashi, but instead it ended up biting the fishing hook the Wishiwashi school had spit out.

Lana on the boat was still regretting the Wishiwashi school's escape when she suddenly felt an even more terrifying force from her fishing rod, startling her into gripping it tighter.

"Big one!"

Johan, arriving on Dragonite, had a strange expression.

How was it...

That Kyogre was destined to never escape the fate of being caught?

"Rotom." Johan called.

"Rotom?"

"Ahem." Clearing his throat, Johan adjusted his glasses: "Start filming, prepare to record."

If it really got caught, this footage could be used to manipulate the fathead fish for life!

Fathead fish, you wouldn't want Groudon to see this recording, would you?

"Understood, Rotom! Beginning filming, Rotom!" The Rotom Pokédex didn't understand but still activated its camera function.

At this moment.

On the sea floor.

Kyogre was staring at Gengar, big eyes meeting small eyes.

Gengar was picking its nose with an annoyed expression.

Kyogre's eyes were full of suspicion and uncertainty.

What did this mean?

It had already hidden in the Alola region, yet they were still pursuing relentlessly?

Was it really necessary to hunt it down?

Even deliberately using a school of Wishiwashi to lure it?

How many legendary Pokémon had been called this time?

Kyogre's body slightly surfaced, its eyes appearing above water. If it saw even a shadow of Groudon or Rayquaza, it would turn and run immediately.

But what puzzled Kyogre was.

There weren't any!

No Groudon, no Rayquaza, not even Darkrai!

Hm?

None?!

Now I'm getting excited!

"Ky-Kyogre?!"

Lana finally realized that what had taken the bait wasn't a Wishiwashi school, but the Kyogre she had dreamed of catching!

The others on shore also reacted at this moment.

"Kyogre!?"

"How could Kyogre appear here?"

Anyone who followed Teacher Johan knew about the Sea Basin Pokémon Kyogre.

After all, it had nearly destroyed all of Hoenn along with Groudon.

But no one expected the legendary Pokémon Kyogre from the Hoenn region to appear in the Alola region.

Mainly because the legendary Pokémon of the Alola region - whether the Sun God Solgaleo, Moon God Lunala, or even Necrozma - were all absent from Alola.

Nothing existed that could threaten it, nothing that could drive it away.

"Lana!"

Johan threw out another Poké Ball, and Ninetales gracefully landed from the air, immediately freezing the sea surface for them to stand on.

Dragonite then also landed.

"Teacher Johan!" Seeing Johan appear beside her, the somewhat panicked and nervous Lana immediately felt reassured, her tension and pressure greatly reduced.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Johan comforted her.

"Yes!!"

Lana nodded vigorously.

After the brief nervousness and fear passed, came thick excitement - intense excitement.

Kyogre!

"I'll definitely use all my strength to catch it!"

Johan was somewhat surprised by Lana's condition.

This little girl really was a fearless calf unafraid of tigers.

Johan looked at Kyogre on the sea surface not far away, still biting the fishing hook, and suddenly smiled with some curiosity:

"Kyogre, you've gotten fat, hey."

Kyogre: "???"

"Whaaale—!!!"

Instantly, the sea surface began surging. Its body swayed lightly, immediately raising towering waves, and the rain in the sky turned into a downpour in moments.

Though Johan was "provoking" Kyogre, he didn't underestimate it.

Fathead fish...

Perfect for testing Gengar and Ninetales' progress during this time!

As a "touchstone," perhaps it could serve as an opportunity.

Also to see how Ninetales would perform after gaining the "Fairy Plate."

Johan himself didn't realize.

For the first time, facing the first-tier legendary Sea Basin Pokémon Kyogre alone without help or protection from legendary friends, he actually felt little fear and instead developed thoughts of challenging and battling it.

This was perhaps a change in inner, subconscious confidence that came from his and his Pokémon's efforts and growth.

Kyogre?

Come and fight!

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Powerstones?

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