Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 403: Pokémon Egg: I’m Blowing Up!

January 17th, early morning.

Johan reluctantly woke from his dream.

Last night, he had dreamed of Cynthia wearing a school uniform, sweetly calling him "Teacher Johan"...

Who could possibly resist that?!

"Seems like the Feather of the New Moon really works. Even sleeping feels better now..."

Swish—

Gengar yanked open the curtains and cracked the window, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Unlike Johan, Gengar had barely slept last night. The newly obtained Great Platinum Pearl fragment had it completely hyped up and brimming with energy.

Now, it was showing off by flipping the pearl fragment in and out of its mouth like candy.

"Enough playing around. Take Dragonite out for a spin."

"Ka-kaah!" Gengar saluted and flew off.

"Cha~!"

Take me with you!

Tinkaton jolted awake, grabbed its hammer, and ran after them.

Meanwhile, Kubfu was still in the corner practicing its punches. Ever since getting the knuckle dusters, its fists were basically lethal weapons.

One punch—KO.

A true warrior!

After Breakfast

Flint headed to the training grounds in the players' village to find sparring partners.

Since the tournament hadn't started yet, the place was packed. All it took was a quick shout, and challengers flocked in.

A dream come true for someone like Flint.

Meanwhile, Johan, at Cynthia's invitation, boarded a boat with her to Dandelion Island.

Since the Lily of the Valley Conference hadn't begun yet, it was the perfect time to explore.

"Draaa~"

"Garrr~"

Dragonite and Garchomp flew alongside the boat, cutting through the air and leaving shimmering ripples on the ocean's surface.

"Rotom, slow down!"

Johan, looking a little pale, patted the dashboard.

This speedboat felt way too close to flying.

"Trying to race Dragonite and Garchomp?"

"A-Alright, alright, Rotom..."

At Johan's plea, the Rotom controlling the boat finally eased off the throttle, and Johan let out a breath of relief.

Honestly...

Flying, speedboats, racecars... None of that suited him.

Give him a good old-fashioned bicycle any day.

"Wonder when I'll finally be able to freely bike across water..." Johan sighed.

"Hm?"

Cynthia, petting both Ninetales and Glaceon at the same time, tilted her head in curiosity.

"Nothing. Just thought of a certain lazy person."

"Oh." Cynthia nodded cutely, not pressing further.

Before long, thanks to Rotom's initial reckless speed, they arrived at Dandelion Island much earlier than expected.

A lush, green island—most of it was covered in dense vegetation.

Ancient, towering trees dotted the landscape, their roots deep with history.

Few people knew about this island, leaving it mostly untouched. The natural environment was pristine.

And naturally, wild Pokémon thrived here.

That said...

For Johan and Cynthia, this was basically just a winter sightseeing trip.

Of course, there were still some minor inconveniences—like...

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar suddenly opened its mouth wide and swallowed a Voltorb just as it was about to Self-Destruct.

Then—

BOOM!

Gengar's body briefly expanded like a balloon before it casually spit out the Voltorb, now dazed and spiraling with swirly eyes.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar grinned.

Tingly~!

...Are you treating Voltorb like spicy peppercorns now?!

"I get why wild islands have Pineco that use Self-Destruct, but this many Voltorb... That's a first," Johan muttered.

Cynthia chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Perhaps, long ago, this island was inhabited."

"Could be."

That would explain the ruins.

"Battery at 300 percent, Rotom!"

Thanks to the generous Voltorb-powered recharging session, Rotom's energy reserves had soared past its normal limit.

Now, it was glowing so brightly that it looked downright holy.

Seeing this, the exhausted Voltorb all Self-Destructed in shame.

For a while—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions echoed nonstop across the island.

"Are all the Pokémon here obsessed with Self-Destruct?"

First Pineco in the forest, now Voltorb in the clearing...

"Goka~"

Charcadet called out to Johan.

The Pokémon Egg in its arms was trembling with excitement at every explosion.

For the first time, it was shaking so much it was visible.

"It's about to hatch?" Cynthia asked, surprised.

Johan's expression turned odd.

...You're not planning to avoid becoming a hot spring egg by turning into a bomb egg, are you?

As the Voltorb explosions finally settled, the egg stopped shaking.

But both Johan and Charcadet knew—hatching was only a matter of time now.

Charcadet could even feel something hard inside the egg gently tapping against the shell.

At least it hadn't hatched yet.

Johan sighed in relief.

"Dragonite, fall back a bit. Let Kubfu take point."

At this rate, Dragonite was turning into a walking mine detector.

"Draaa~"

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Dragonite drooped its head but obediently stepped back.

As they ventured deeper into the island, the wild Pokémon clearly grew stronger.

Kubfu, on the other hand, loved it.

It was practically level grinding in real-time.

Passing through the forest, they reached a rocky area.

"This is..."

Cynthia spotted a broken stone tablet embedded in the rock.

Brushing away the dust, she revealed faded, ancient inscriptions.

Johan couldn't read them, but Cynthia quickly translated:

"The great hero... the people of Shinjo... ten kings..."

Cynthia spoke without much reaction, but Johan's mind immediately jumped.

The great hero... the people of Shinjo... the legend of the ten kings...

This sounds a lot like the Hisui-era myths!

Did the people of Shinjo once live on Dandelion Island?!

"It's too damaged to read more," Cynthia murmured, frowning.

Garchomp carefully dug the stone tablet out, and Cynthia packed it up to bring back to Celestic Town.

"Ku!!"

Kubfu suddenly knocked a Graveler away and called out to them.

A cave entrance.

"Rotom, lights."

"On it, Rotom!"

Bzzz—

Soft electric light illuminated the dark cave, revealing winding tunnels filled with Rock-type Pokémon.

But none of them posed much of a threat.

With Kubfu and Lucario leading the way, and the sound of shattering rocks echoing now and then, they advanced deeper into the cave.

Eventually, they emerged into a basin at the island's core.

Before them stood...

A pyramid-like ancient ruin.

"There really is a ruin here..."

Johan's eyes flickered with recognition.

Hadn't he seen something about Dandelion Island's ruins in the anime?

Though, the way it looked in the show and what they were experiencing now were... quite different.

Dense vegetation covered the cliffs around the basin, and moss and small plants clung to the ruin itself.

Even if someone flew over the island, they'd barely notice it.

But Cynthia didn't rush forward immediately.

Years of archaeological experience told her—most ruins were not safe.

And...

"Johan, doesn't this ruin look a lot like the Solaceon Ruins? Just... smaller."

Hearing this, Johan's mind clicked.

Solaceon Ruins in Celestic Town, Snowpoint Temple in Snowpoint City, and even the Spear Pillar atop Mount Coronet—

All were built by ancient Sinnoh people who worshiped Arceus.

Celestic Town itself was originally Shinjo Village in the Hisui era. The people of Shinjo were the ancestors of ancient Sinnoh's civilization.

But Shinjo Village eventually fell, and its people dispersed.

Maybe... some of them had fled here, to this remote island, and built a miniature version of the Solaceon Ruins.

Could Cynthia's research topic be the Hisui era?

Or... the ancient people of Sinnoh?

Just as they were pondering—

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

The trees above the basin began to shake.

"Ka-kaah!"

"Lucario!"

Gengar and Lucario immediately tensed up, turning toward the source.

Shhhhaaah!!

A raspy roar echoed through the forest.

Then—

RUMBLE—!

A swarm of Golem tumbled down the cliffs—like an ancient rolling boulder trap!

Johan and Cynthia's faces both darkened.

And before they could react—

BOOM!!

The leading Golem Self-Destructed.

The entire basin shook.

Johan wiped away a cold sweat.

Egg: Explosions look fun! Should I try one too?

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Powerstones?

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