Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 446: Johan vs. Peony! A Battle Against a Champion?

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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Hoenn, Rustboro Pokémon Academy.

"Johan? Peony? What are you two doing here?"

Director Martin looked surprised to see them at the academy out of the blue.

He even glanced down at his phone to double-check the date.

Today was the 31st, meaning school didn't start until tomorrow.

"Director, we'd like to borrow the training field," Johan said with a smile.

After Peony confirmed his intentions, he had immediately planned to demonstrate his blacksmithing skills for Tinkaton.

Fortunately, Johan had reacted quickly enough to stop him.

His house had already barely survived Tinkaton's hammer—he didn't even want to imagine what would happen with Peony, a Champion, at work.

For safety's sake, the academy's training grounds were the best choice.

At least it wasn't Johan's house.

Besides, he hadn't yet taken his Pokémon to the newly renovated training grounds.

Might as well use this chance to get familiar with them.

"Th-The training field?"

Martin gulped as he watched them walk toward the brand-new facility.

This was bad.

Among Johan's many nicknames, one of the most famous was "Field Tester."

Not long ago, during the Lily of the Valley Conference, he had nearly torn down the entire arena.

And Peony?

Back when Peony was a Gym Leader, he had a reputation for wrecking his own Gym.

He was infamously known as "Iron Bro."

And now?

Both of them together?!

If these two actually battled—

Martin immediately turned and sprinted toward the headmaster's office.

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"Headmaster! Stop them!!"

He slammed the office door open—

Only to see a Pangoro pinning the headmaster against the wall.

The elderly headmaster struggled to turn his head and managed to say,

"What's wrong? Hold on... I'm about to take it down..."

Pangoro, chewing on a bamboo twig, snorted in disdain and pressed harder.

Martin was unfazed by the sight.

Instead, he simply said,

"Johan and Peony are about to fight in the training field."

"Mm... Mm—" The headmaster, face turning red, could only let out muffled grunts.

Martin's eyelid twitched.

If he hadn't seen worse, he'd honestly be worried the headmaster was about to pass out.

"Come on, then."

Inside the training field, Peony stood on one side and took out a Poké Ball, gesturing for Johan to step up.

Johan blinked in confusion.

Wait.

What?

What was happening?

Wasn't this supposed to be a blacksmithing lesson?

Why did Peony look ready for battle?!

Peony grinned. "Let's battle first. I need to see Tinkaton's strength before I start teaching."

Johan: "..."

The sudden shift in tone left him momentarily speechless.

"Ahem... Peony, Tinkaton just wants to learn blacksmithing."

"I know," Peony said. "But Pokémon that forge weapons usually don't battle often—so this is just a simple sparring match."

After all, if he didn't assess Tinkaton's strength first, how could he know how to train it properly?

As a Champion, Peony had spent years traveling the world and investigating various Pokémon.

Although he knew of Johan, he hadn't actually seen many of his battles.

He had only heard the rumors.

But from what he gathered—

Johan had managed to raise a Tinkaton to this level, meaning his skills were on par with a Champion.

No wonder people online claimed Johan could stand alongside Champions.

After all, this was the guy who defeated Master Mustard.

And Peony knew Mustard well.

Hearing Peony's explanation, Johan couldn't refuse anymore.

But if there was one thing Johan was confident in—

It was Tinkaton's raw power.

It might not have the explosive bursts of Dragonite in Outrage mode.

Nor was it as deadly as Urshifu in one-hit K.O. style.

But in pure, raw strength?

Tinkaton was number one.

Johan exhaled, his expression turning serious.

"Alright then—let's give it a shot. Tinkaton!"

"Cha! (≧▽≦)"

A burst of red light revealed Tinkaton, hammer resting on its shoulder, twin tails swaying slightly, standing tall with graceful steps.

Seeing this, Peony smirked and tossed his own Poké Ball.

His choice was a Perrserker.

A steel-type Viking cat.

"Perrserker, the Viking Pokémon. Steel-type. The Galarian evolution of Meowth. It has an extremely combative nature. Its claws grow long and hard like short swords, which it wields in battle—Rotom!"

Rotom Dex immediately provided info.

Perrserker?

Johan recalled that when casting for Meowth and Pichu, his original choice was a Perrserker—

But Pichu was too feisty, so he had chosen a regular Meowth instead.

Still, he knew this species well.

Whether it was Max Raid Battles in Sword & Shield or Tera Raids in Scarlet & Violet, Perrserker was an excellent Pokémon.

It had solid attack power and defensive bulk while also supporting the team with Metal Sound, Screech, and Helping Hand.

But its real strength?

The ability "Steely Spirit."

[Steely Spirit: Boosts the power of all Steel-type moves for itself and allies by 1.5×.]

And the best part?

The boost stacks.

Meaning the more Perrserkers with Steely Spirit in play, the stronger Steel moves became.

And if it wasn't using that?

With Tough Claws + Swords Dance, Perrserker could go full offense and become an absolute menace.

Sonia, Peonia, and Briar took seats in the stands.

"Who do you think will win?" Sonia whispered.

"My dad's gonna lose," Peonia replied flatly.

Briar silently opened her laptop and began typing, comparing both Pokémon's stats and abilities.

But she didn't say anything aloud.

After all, this wasn't just a normal battle.

Johan's Tinkaton was a blacksmith Pokémon.

And Peony's Perrserker was also a smithing Pokémon.

Just from basic data alone, it was hard to tell who had the advantage.

"Battle start!"

With the academy's new renovations, the training field now had automated referee robots.

"Begin!"

"Perrserker, Fake Out!" Peony called out instantly.

As soon as the battle began, his entire demeanor shifted.

"Meow!"

Perrserker let out a gruff growl and lunged forward with lightning speed.

Johan raised an eyebrow.

A Fake Out to start things off?

So much for this being "just a sparring match."

Classic Peony.

But Johan wasn't about to fall for it.

"Tinkaton, Fake Out!"

Fake Out vs. Fake Out!

In theory, the faster Pokémon would land the hit first.

But—

CLANG!

A sharp metallic clang echoed through the field as Perrserker's claws met Tinkaton's hammer head-on.

Sparks flew.

"Meow!"

"Cha!"

The two Pokémon locked eyes.

Both could see the battle hunger in each other's gaze—

As well as mutual surprise.

Perrserker was shocked at Tinkaton's raw power.

It had used all its strength—but Tinkaton barely looked fazed.

Meanwhile, Tinkaton was equally amazed—

At how hard Perrserker's claws were!

This was fun.

Peony, momentarily surprised, quickly recovered.

"Iron Head!"

"Meow!"

Perrserker's horned helmet gleamed silver, its head lowering as it charged forward.

Johan smirked.

"Tinkaton, Rock Smash!"

BOOM!

Perrserker's Iron Head landed squarely against Tinkaton's chest, sending it flying.

But—

While airborne, Tinkaton swung its hammer.

And struck Perrserker right on the head.

CRACK!

A faint fracture line appeared on Perrserker's helmet-like skull.

Peony's eyes narrowed.

It broke through...?

"Tinkaton, Giga Impact!"

Wait—

Perrserker barely had time to react as Tinkaton hurled its hammer like a meteor.

"Perrserker, Protect!"

"Meow!"

Perrserker crossed its arms, summoning a thin green barrier around itself.

But the moment Tinkaton's hammer hit—

The Protect shattered instantly.

"Huh?!" Sonia gasped. "Shouldn't Protect block that?!"

Peonia quickly realized what had happened. But before she could explain—

"It was Feint," Briar muttered.

Feint?

But Johan had called for Giga Impact...

Sonia opened her mouth in shock.

So this was Johan's battle style.

She had often seen online comments about Johan's "dirty" tactics, but she had never fully understood what that meant.

Now she did.

Even a Champion like Peony had been caught off guard.

Peony, however, wasn't just shocked—he was impressed.

This level of strategy wasn't just about tricking opponents.

It required an absurd level of trust between trainer and Pokémon.

Otherwise, the only one getting tricked would be the trainer themselves.

But to Johan—

This was just common sense.

Feint was a fake-out attack, designed to bypass defensive moves like Protect.

But because Johan had called for Giga Impact instead, Peony had been lured into defending.

And that had cost him.

Because of this one moment of miscalculation—

Johan had seized complete control of the battle.

BOOM!

The moment Tinkaton's hammer hit, Perrserker was launched backward.

At the same time—

Tinkaton planted its feet and dashed forward, reaching for its hammer.

Peony, despite being caught off guard, reacted instantly.

"Perrserker, slash the hammer away!"

When a Pokémon was separated from its weapon, it became vulnerable.

If Perrserker could knock the hammer aside, Tinkaton would struggle to retrieve it.

"Meow!"

Perrserker raised its claws and swung down hard at the hammer's hilt.

But—

CLANG!

The moment its claws met the hammer—

Perrserker's expression changed.

It was too heavy.

Now Perrserker understood why Feint had hurt so much.

This wasn't just a heavy hammer.

It was insanely heavy.

Even though Perrserker wasn't weak, the hammer barely budged.

Peony's eyes widened.

He had expected Tinkaton's hammer to be heavy.

But this?

How much rare metal had been melted into that thing?!

Tinkaton, meanwhile, smirked.

"Cha!"

With a quick motion, it grabbed the hammer's hilt.

In Perrserker's eyes—

That smirk looked terrifying.

Like it was staring at a pink devil.

Johan clenched his fist.

"Gigaton Hammer!"

Tinkaton leaped into the air, spinning its hammer in a full arc before slamming it down.

Perrserker's eyes widened in horror.

There was no way it could dodge—

BOOOOM!

The ground let out a deep, shuddering groan as it cracked apart.

Dust exploded into the air as shockwaves rippled across the field.

Fragments of stone and debris slammed into the training facility's reinforced barriers.

Sonia, Peonia, and Briar stumbled back from the sheer force.

"WARNING! WARNING!"

The referee bot's eyes flashed red as it activated emergency alerts.

Rotom Dex floated over and lightly smacked the robot.

"All clear! All clear!"

The alarms instantly stopped.

As the dust settled—

Perrserker lay on the shattered battlefield, a large crack splitting its helmet.

Its horns were bent, and its eyes were spinning.

"Cha~!"

Tinkaton rested its hammer on its shoulder, flashing a toothy grin.

Then—

It let out a small whimper, clutching its chest.

That Iron Head hurt.

(>д<)

Johan immediately pulled out a healing spray and began massaging Tinkaton's chest.

"Nicely done."

Peonia clapped. "That was awesome!"

Sonia looked at her, surprised.

Her father had just lost, but she seemed genuinely excited.

Even Briar—

For the first time, she lifted her head fully, watching Tinkaton closely.

Her eyes gleamed behind her glasses.

Sonia shook her head.

Peony... you just lost in front of your own daughters.

How embarrassing.

Peony, however, wasn't disappointed.

Instead, he grinned.

"That was... one hell of a hammer."

After briefly treating Perrserker's wounds, he recalled it to its Poké Ball.

This battle had taught him a lot.

That was the whole point.

Without seeing Tinkaton's true strength, he wouldn't have been able to train it properly.

Now?

Now, he knew exactly what it needed.

Tinkaton, standing proudly, lifted its chin.

Impressed yet?

Johan chuckled, patting its head.

"Yeah, yeah. You're amazing."

Tinkaton's hammer had already absorbed some of Dialga's scales.

And judging by this battle—

The improvement was massive.

Johan had thought his team had reached their limits.

But this battle proved—

They weren't even close.

"The sheer strength behind that hammer..." Peony muttered.

Then he reached into his pocket—

And pulled out a scroll.

"Here," he said, handing it to Johan. "These are my blacksmithing notes. You and Tinkaton should take a look."

Tinkaton snatched it up immediately.

Its eyes sparkled with excitement.

But Peony wasn't done.

"That said," he continued, "since you're already so strong, I'll teach you some advanced techniques too."

"Cha-cha!"

Tinkaton nodded enthusiastically.

This guy's actually pretty nice.

"HAHAHAHA!" Peony laughed heartily.

At that moment—

BANG!

The training field doors burst open.

Martin and the bruised headmaster stood in the doorway.

Martin took one look at the devastated battlefield—

And went pale.

"J-Just as I feared..."

Luckily, the special reinforced barriers had held up.

So the damage... wasn't too bad.

The headmaster, however, seemed unfazed.

Hands behind his back, he strolled forward with a smile.

"Looks like we arrived too late. The battle's already over."

Both Johan and Peony greeted him respectfully.

Peony, in particular, seemed to hold the headmaster in high regard.

"So?" The headmaster asked. "Who won?"

Johan was about to answer, but—

Peony scratched his head and grinned.

"HAHAHA—I lost."

It had all come down to that Feint trick.

Johan had seen an opening—

And took full advantage of it.

Just like that, the battle was over.

At that moment—

Martin's eyes lit up.

Johan... had beaten a Champion?!

Not a former Champion like Master Mustard.

Not a tournament Champion.

A real, active, full-fledged Pokémon League Champion.

The implications were massive.

Martin clenched his fists.

A simple training field?

Not enough.

They needed more funding.

More equipment.

Smash it all.

Rebuild it.

This school had limitless money.

And as long as Johan was here—

They were going to spend it.

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