Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 461: Larvitar: The All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Begins!

March 7th, Saturday.

Hoenn, Slateport City.

A streak of orange-red light rose from the horizon where the sky met the sea, illuminating the sky and painting the ocean in vibrant hues. The dazzling glow was breathtaking.

Slateport City was once the largest city in Hoenn.

Situated on the easternmost side of the Hoenn mainland, it housed the second-largest port in the region, serving as the nearest major harbor to Johto.

Although it didn't have a Gym, Slateport was home to Hoenn's largest Pokémon Contest Hall.

Additionally, it boasted Hoenn TV, the Slateport Department Store, the Slateport Art Museum, and various Pokémon organizations, including the Trainer Fan Club and the Contest Fan Club.

What caught Johan's attention the most was Hoenn's largest Berry Market, where fresh berries could be purchased at significantly lower prices. Many Coordinators and Breeders even chose to settle here because of this.

However, Johan and Steven's destination today was not Slateport City itself.

After arriving in Slateport, the two boarded a Devon Corporation speedboat and set off from the city's port.

Their destination: a small island off the coast.

"Rotom, slow down. We're not in a rush."

Johan, gripping the boat's railing tightly, felt the sea breeze against his face, the water splashing, and the waves undulating. His expression was tense.

"Impossible, Roto! o(>O<;;)σ"

Behind the speedboat, sharp dorsal fins cut through the surface of the water, closely trailing them.

A pack of Sharpedo!

At the back of the boat, Gengar stood grinning, making faces at the Sharpedo.

It even wiggled its rear at them mockingly.

How could the Sharpedo tolerate that?

Originally, they had only been scouting for food, locking onto the speedboat and giving chase.

When they realized they couldn't keep up, they were about to give up.

But Gengar refused to let them leave in peace. Its provocative actions sent the Sharpedo into a rage, making them even more determined to chase the boat.

Johan: "..."

This damn Gengar...

Fortunately—

With Rotom at the helm, the boat was fast enough. Whenever the Sharpedo tried to attack, Gengar would immediately counter with a barrage of blows.

Despite their fury, the Sharpedo had no choice but to retreat in frustration.

What else could they do?

They couldn't catch up, they couldn't win a fight, and they weren't about to just keep watching Gengar taunt them.

By the time the Sharpedo gave up, the boat had already reached the waters near their destination.

"Professor?"

Johan, looking slightly pale, raised a hand to signal Steven that he was fine.

Once they set foot on the island, Johan let out a deep breath and instantly felt much better.

And then—

"Ka-kaah! (;Д｀)"

Gengar tried to back away, but Johan grabbed it and gave it a 'massage of love.'

"Professor can now deal direct damage to Ghost-types?" Steven murmured, rubbing his chin as he watched.

After "educating" Gengar, Johan and Steven finally took in their surroundings.

The island wasn't particularly large.

A dense forest bordered the coastline, while at the center of the island stood a rocky mountain, roughly 200-300 meters tall.

Because there was no space for an airstrip, they had chosen to travel by boat instead.

"I've already uploaded the coordinates to Rotom." Steven said.

Devon Corporation had used high-tech scanners to detect mineral deposits. By uploading the data to Rotom's Pokédex, they could navigate directly to the site.

"Rotom navigation, mission ready!"

Rotom chirped, seamlessly switching to navigation mode.

"Skarmory, Claydol."

Steven released two Poké Balls.

"Skreee!!"

Skarmory flapped its metallic wings, slicing through the air like blades, and soared high into the sky.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Meanwhile, Claydol hovered beside Steven, its eyes glowing faintly with psychic power, scanning the surrounding environment.

Steven had gotten much stronger.

Watching Skarmory take off, Johan nodded in approval.

He recalled the time he once commanded Steven's Skarmory to teach Lance a lesson.

Now, that same Skarmory had far surpassed its former self.

Which made sense.

Back then, Gastly had evolved into Gengar.

If anything, that was the more shocking transformation.

"Professor?"

Steven, about to step into the forest, noticed Johan standing still and called out.

Johan snapped out of his thoughts.

Steven's smooth, practiced actions were enough proof that his years of mining had not been in vain.

—

As they entered the dense jungle, sunlight filtered through the lush canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

A Wurmple clung to a tree, camouflaging itself as part of the bark.

A Caterpie, perched on a branch, took a cautious nibble of a leaf, then quickly looked around nervously.

A Pidgeotto circled above, scanning for prey, while an Ariados meticulously wove its web between the branches.

The moment Johan stepped into the forest, he could feel it—

They were being watched.

"The wild Pokémon here are fairly high level," Johan noted, unfazed.

For an ordinary Trainer, this might be dangerous.

For him and Steven?

Not even remotely threatening.

"That's because this island was previously unrecorded on any maps," Steven explained.

The vast ocean held countless islands, many of which had never been discovered or documented.

Places like Dragonite's Island and Rotom's Island were even more unique, hidden away due to their natural anomalies.

"But this island's biggest value lies in its mineral deposits." Steven added.

In other words—

The Pokémon near the rocky mountain were likely even stronger than those in the forest.

—

It wasn't long before they emerged from the jungle, arriving at the base of the mountain.

"Gurrr~~"

The moment they stepped out, they spotted a group of Graveler and Geodude near a cluster of bushes and scattered rocks, foraging for food.

Further back, a massive Onix lay camouflaged among the stones, basking in the sun.

"Professor, let's get started!"

Now that they had reached the mining site, Steven could hardly contain his excitement.

"Alright!"

Johan nodded.

Technically, this island was still unclaimed land.

However, once Devon Corporation's land purchase request was approved by the League, the island would officially belong to them.

If not for Steven, Johan wouldn't have even known about this place.

So this was essentially a "sneak peek" at free minerals.

Steven, of course, was hunting for rare, valuable stones.

Johan, on the other hand—

He just needed rocks. Any rocks.

—

"Come on out."

Steven released Aggron and Armaldo.

Claydol scanned the area with Psychic, while Aggron and Armaldo began digging.

"You too."

Johan tossed his Poké Balls, summoning Ninetales, Tinkaton, Larvitar, and Gengar, alongside Rotom, who continued navigating.

Tinkaton immediately swung its hammer, using its magnetic field to locate metallic ores.

Rotom emitted golden sparks, using electromagnetic waves to assist in the search.

Gengar scouted ahead, while Ninetales dug with precision.

But even with all that—

None of them were faster than Larvitar.

To Larvitar, this entire place was an 'all-you-can-eat buffet.'

Why waste time digging?

Just eat the rocks straight out of the ground!

"Yoji! Yoji! (^^)"

Buffet time!

The wild Onix, Graveler, and Sandslash all stared blankly at Gengar and the others.

Was this... a raid?

Especially Larvitar, chomping away without hesitation.

Even Johan was stunned.

If someone saw this, they'd think he'd been starving Larvitar for weeks.

—

Suddenly—

Johan's phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen.

His expression froze.

The message was from someone he hadn't heard from in months—

"Who Am I?"

Mewtwo.

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New fics out, one called Hogwarts: Don't Call Me a Wand Maker and another called One Piece: Farming from the Rocks Era. I will delete one based on the reception later, if both do well, I'll keep both.

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates