Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 346: Matori—The Gift Is Ready!

5 bonus Chapter's coming out at 11 AM EST. So I ask that you save you're powerstones until then.

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"No problem, right?"

On a seaside island near Canalave City, Officer Jenny glanced at her watch.

Johan had been chasing for quite some time now.

"It'll be fine," Cynthia said softly, her gaze drifting toward the ocean.

"With Johan's strength, ordinary Pokémon hunters wouldn't even get a chance to fight back. This one shouldn't be much of a problem either," Anabel added.

All the other Pokémon hunters had already been apprehended, leaving only the last major target.

"He's coming."

Looker closed his book, adjusted his glasses, and spoke.

They looked up—

On the water's surface, a path of ice slowly extended outward. Johan, leading with his Alolan Ninetales and Gengar, walked steadily along the frozen path. Behind him, the Pokémon hunter leader trailed lifelessly, drooling slightly from his slackened mouth.

"He seems... very cooperative?" Aaron remarked in surprise.

Looker shot him a glance.

Cooperative?

More like his soul had been drained!

Johan, walking on the ice, muttered to himself:

"I really should get a bike..."

Riding a bike on water—how cool would that be?

Wherever he pedaled, the ice path would extend.

Much flashier than flying on a Dragonite.

And safer, too.

"Speaking of which, they should have Rotom Bikes by now, right?"

"Ro...Rotom?"

Rotom froze for a moment.

Wait—was he about to ride me?

As Johan neared the shore, he noticed three women waiting expectantly. He quickly straightened his expression.

When there are three women together, trouble is bound to follow. Better tread carefully.

The ice path extended to the shore.

Before Anabel or the International Police could react, the hunter leader suddenly shivered, then burst into tears as he lunged at one of the officers.

"Quick! Arrest me! Arrest me now!"

A collective question mark hovered over everyone's heads.

They exchanged bewildered glances.

What... just happened?

Johan chuckled dryly. "Well, at least he's got a good attitude about it."

Good attitude?

Was that the issue here?

"No injuries?" Cynthia asked.

Johan shook his head. "No injuries."

As he spoke, he returned the Poké Ball containing Milotic to Cynthia.

"Oh, right." He turned to Anabel. "He knows some things about other Pokémon hunter groups—"

Before he could finish, the hunter leader blurted out,

"I'll confess! I'll confess to everything!"

Anabel gave Johan an odd look.

Maybe he was better suited for interrogation work?

She had never seen a criminal so eager to cooperate.

Officer Jenny had the same thought.

In fact, Johan seemed like he'd fit in well with their family—great at tactical planning, helpful in investigations, and even had interrogation skills.

Wasn't this the perfect "Jenny Son-in-Law" template?

Feeling something was off, Johan quickly changed the subject:

"Alright, let's go. We've still got a competition to finish."

With that, he took Cynthia and Aaron back to the fishing tournament, leaving Anabel and Officer Jenny to handle the situation.

They, in turn, decided to report everything truthfully—Johan would surely receive a nice reward.

—

On the way back.

Johan suddenly frowned.

"Are we forgetting something?"

Meanwhile—

Flint was still rowing toward the island.

"Let's congratulate the winner of this year's fishing tournament—Lana from Alola!"

In the end, the champion of the tournament was Lana.

No surprise there.

She even caught a wild Milotic in the final round, earning the legendary fishing set as her prize.

Johan, on the other hand, managed to take second place thanks to a massive Gyarados and some "connections," winning the Shell Bell item.

[Shell Bell: When a Pokémon holding this item successfully lands an attack, it restores HP equal to 1/8th of the damage dealt.]

In short, a lifesteal item.

Johan thought for a moment.

Any of his Pokémon could use it, but the one it suited best...

Probably Kubfu.

The little guy hadn't gotten a new "toy" in a while.

And the Shell Bell fit perfectly with both Kubfu's single-strike and multi-strike techniques.

"If I equip eight Shell Bells, does that mean I can achieve perfect lifesteal?"

—

After the award ceremony.

Johan returned the Kyogre Fishing Rod to Lana.

Lana and Mallow then invited him to visit Alola.

"If you come to Alola, stop by my family's Aina Kitchen! I'll treat you to a meal!" Mallow said enthusiastically.

She had no idea what kind of massive expense that invitation might bring—especially if Gengar came along.

"I-I..."

Shy and soft-spoken, Lana hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out:

"I'll show you my technique for fishing up Kyogre!"

She was completely serious.

Johan: "..."

Please, keep your divine fishing skills to yourself.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

Somewhere, Archie was probably crying in a corner.

—

Back at Looker's mansion, Johan got a call.

"Hey, Johan! Where are you guys?"

Huh?

Johan checked the caller ID.

Oh.

So that's what he'd forgotten—Flint!

"Ahem, we changed locations. I'll send you the coordinates."

"Awesome! Leave the strongest one for me!"

Before Flint could finish, Johan hung up and sent the location.

Out at sea, rowing his small boat, Flint stared at the GPS coordinates.

Something felt off.

"...Wait, isn't this Looker's place?"

—

Rocket HQ, Viridian City.

"Boss, we're heading to Sinnoh."

Matori's expression was a bit downcast as she spoke to Giovanni through the large screen.

Giovanni swirled the red wine in his glass indifferently.

"...Boss, while I'm away, please take care of yourself. Don't forget to eat on time."

Giovanni: "..."

Meowth: Are you trying to steal my job?!

The feline Pokémon shot Matori a hostile glare.

C'mon, is she trying to replace me?!

"Ahem." Giovanni patted Meowth's back and asked, "You're stationed in Sinnoh now?"

"No, just a seven-day business trip."

Then why do you sound like you're saying goodbye forever?

"I heard Johan's in Sinnoh too?" Giovanni changed the subject.

"Yes!"

Matori's energy instantly returned.

Seeing Johan again was always good news—exciting!

"Oh, right."

Matori suddenly remembered something.

"Lately, some people have been looking into Johan's identity again."

"The usual," Giovanni waved dismissively.

"Understood!"

Matori nodded.

Rocket's latest operation had wiped out the "Collectors" group. With their newly acquired mining resources, they were about to open a new excavation site. A little extra manpower wouldn't hurt.

"...And Johan's year-end bonus and gift—are they ready?" Giovanni asked.

"All set!"

Matori beamed.

"No way Johan will be disappointed!"

After all, the gift was personally selected by Giovanni himself.

No problems there.

Giovanni nodded.

"Go, then. And be quick."

"Yes, sir!! ((//Д//))"

—

That night.

Johan learned from Cynthia that their next destination was Iron Island.

Located off Sinnoh's western coast, Iron Island was once rich in mineral resources like Oreburgh City.

However, over-mining had left it depleted.

To protect the wild Pokémon living there, most of the island had been closed off. Only one ferry route—Canalave City to Iron Island—remained open.

"There's an ancient site there—Iron Ruins," Cynthia said.

Iron Ruins?

Johan vaguely recalled something from the games...

Wasn't Registeel supposed to be sleeping there?

In reality, that probably wasn't the case.

But Iron Ruins did exist.

Also...

Canalave City's Gym Leader, Byron, was said to be training on Iron Island.

Yet, he hadn't shown up during the Pokémon hunter incident.

That was definitely going to get him written up.

—

The next morning.

Johan and the others boarded a ferry to Iron Island.

As they sailed, Looker recounted the events of the previous day to Flint.

Flint, devastated, lamented:

"...How did I miss out on such an epic moment?!"

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