Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 475: Charizard-Level Cooking and the Power of Food!

One single candy.

With so many of his beloved Pokémon, there was no way one piece of candy would be enough to go around. And it probably wouldn't last long either.

Chances were, one of them would end up mistaking it for regular candy and "accidentally" eating it in the middle of the night.

"Maybe I should just eat it myself," Johan joked to himself.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar, who had been scheming about how to sneak a taste of the candy, froze upon hearing Johan's words.

Are you serious?!

Snatching milk, berries, and Pokéblocks was one thing... but now even "Rare Candy" was up for grabs?!

Johan smirked but said nothing.

"Well... if you can do me a favor, I might be able to get you another one," Glacia said, her smile carrying a hint of mystery.

"Hmm?"

A League mission?

Or was this another case of "personal favors" and "abuse of power"?

"It's not particularly difficult or troublesome, but without enough strength, it'd be impossible. And right now..."

Glacia sighed and shook her head. "As you saw, we're short on manpower."

Once the meeting ended, most of the people had already left.

Not to mention Drake, who hadn't shown up in the first place—Sidney and Phoebe had also left to focus on investigating Team Magma and Team Aqua.

Come to think of it... there's never a League that isn't short on manpower.

Johan silently mused.

"So, can I take a look first and decide later?"

Just to be safe, Johan wanted to understand the situation before agreeing.

After all, he didn't want to get dragged into something unexpected again.

"Of course."

Glacia smiled and handed him a card.

"It's up to you. It's not urgent, and if you don't take it, I can handle it myself in a couple of days."

Handle it herself?

"But given your abilities, you might be more suited for this task than I am."

Johan gave her a glance, then took the card and got up to leave.

'Hoenn Sea'...?

"Ka-kaah?"

As soon as Johan stepped out of the office, Gengar popped its head over his shoulder, reading the contents of the card along with him.

According to the report, a League surveillance officer monitoring the Hoenn Sea had noticed unusual activity recently—something had surfaced but was quickly taken away by wild Pokémon before they could get a good look.

Given that the disturbance had caused a brief but significant commotion in the area, the League wanted Johan to investigate.

The Hoenn Sea was an important region for the League.

However, since the chaos had subsided rather quickly and things returned to normal, it wasn't an urgent matter.

"Hoenn Sea..."

Johan muttered as he made his way out of the League building.

To be honest, he was a little curious about this place.

After all, whether it was in the games, the anime, or even the manga, there didn't seem to be any mention of such a location.

Standing at the three-way intersection once again, Johan waved the card at Gengar and asked,

"What do you think?"

At some point, Gengar had put on a pair of glasses, rubbing its chin in deep thought like a detective or a grim reaper's apprentice.

Johan twitched at the sight.

"Forget it, let's just go check it out."

Looking didn't mean committing.

If the task was reasonable, he'd complete it and get another Rare Candy.

If it wasn't, then he'd just... treat it as a spring outing.

With that, Johan presented his identification, and the staff overseeing the Hoenn Sea's entrance granted him access after a brief report.

Before he went in, they handed him a Hoenn Sea guidebook.

The booklet contained a map, marked hazardous zones, and potential treasure locations.

Compared to the deep mysteries of Mt. Silver, the Hoenn Sea seemed mostly explored.

"Ka-kaah~~ (ˊˋ)"

Spring break!

Gengar, now wearing a blue Alolan-style beach outfit, swaggered behind Johan.

The entrance led to a long passageway.

The first half was paved with bricks, while the latter portion seemed to tunnel through a mountain.

Wild Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon occasionally appeared along the rocky walls.

Larvitar, having let itself out of its Poké Ball, walked beside Johan—drooling at the sight of the edible rock formations.

So many snacks...

At the end of the tunnel, dazzling white light dispelled the dim yellow glow inside.

When Johan stepped out—

He was met with a breathtaking sight.

The sun was blindingly bright.

The sky was an endless blue.

The sea shimmered with glimmering waves.

The sand was soft and warm.

A salty sea breeze gently brushed his face.

And—

A crescent-shaped island connected to the mainland, lush and green, dividing the Hoenn Sea from the vast ocean beyond.

This "secluded sea" was known as the Hoenn Sea.

A flock of Pelipper soared low over the water, while Krabby and Kingler stared blankly with wide eyes.

Cloyster basked lazily in the sun on the beach, while Slowpoke sat on rocky outcrops, dipping their tails into the water—completely indifferent to the Cloyster nearby.

Though the surface seemed tranquil, the depths were a different story.

The fins of Gyarados and Sharpedo sliced through the water.

Mantine occasionally leaped into the air, while Crawdaunt half-buried themselves among the rocks.

Beautiful scenery, but definitely not a place for careless tourists.

According to the guidebook, the deeper parts of the Hoenn Sea housed wild Pokémon as powerful as an Elite Four member's ace Pokémon.

It was believed that beneath the crescent island, somewhere deep in the abyss, there was an unknown ocean trench.

In the Pokémon world—

The land was not fully explored, but at least 60-70% of it had been mapped.

However, the vast oceans?

Humanity had explored less than 10%.

The dangers of the sea were self-evident.

Some areas were so treacherous that even without wild Pokémon, their natural environments alone made them impossible to approach.

This was exactly why Drake was obsessed with "conquering the ocean."

The Hoenn Sea existed precisely because of that mysterious trench.

Nobody knew where it led.

It wasn't that people hadn't tried exploring it—

But the complex underwater currents, hidden caves, and countless unknown pathways made it nearly impossible.

Without durable equipment and unlimited energy, exploration was an extreme challenge.

Still, all of this had nothing to do with Johan.

He wasn't here to explore the trench.

If he could complete the mission, great—more Rare Candy.

If not, well... it was just a casual spring outing with his Pokémon.

"Alright, everyone—come on out!"

With a toss of Poké Balls—

"Garrr~~!"

Dragonite was the first to shoot into the sky.

They had left in a rush this morning, and Gengar hadn't taken Dragonite for a warm-up. The energy was overflowing.

But this wasn't Rustboro City.

The moment Dragonite took off—

"Garrr!!"

From the crescent island's palm tree forest, a Tropius burst into the sky, its emerald body glowing under the sunlight.

Fueled by its Chlorophyll ability, it wasn't slow at all.

"Garrr?"

Dragonite blinked at the sight, intrigued rather than alarmed.

"Garrr—!!"

It let out a joyful roar and beckoned Tropius over with a taunting gesture.

You. Come here.

Tropius' eyes narrowed—

It flapped its leafy wings furiously, giving chase.

And then—

It just kept chasing.

Johan rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"That island... might be interesting."

According to Glacia's intel—

The object that had surfaced from the deep was last seen taken by a Pokémon on that island.

Johan called out, "Rotom."

"Here, Roto!"

"Set everything up."

"Eh? Oh! Understood, Roto!"

Whoosh—

The picnic setup was swiftly assembled on the soft sand.

A large picnic table was secured, covered with a tablecloth, a sunshade umbrella was opened, and reclining chairs were arranged neatly.

Portable coffee machines, barbecue grills, electric stoves—everything was ready to go.

Task or no task—lunch comes first.

Johan had sat through an entire morning of meetings, and they didn't even serve food.

Good thing he came prepared.

From Gengar's dimensional storage, he pulled out an assortment of pre-made sandwiches, desserts, macarons, Poffins, Pokéblocks, and more—all in one go.

Shedding his formal suit, Johan, with Rotom's assistance, changed into a light blue beach outfit.

Sunglasses, a straw hat, and an apron—all set.

Then, he called over Ceruledge and began preparing lunch.

"Honestly, I might be the first person to treat the Hoenn Sea as a picnic site."

Meanwhile, on the beach—

Dragonite was casually hovering a few feet above the ground, scratching its head.

"You can't keep up?"

Across from it, Tropius was panting heavily, drenched in sweat.

Despite their similar size, and Chlorophyll boost, Tropius couldn't keep up at all.

It wasn't just losing—

Dragonite had led it on an aerial tour around the entire Hoenn Sea.

Over and over again.

"Ugh—"

Tropius' stomach churned.

"Garrr~ Garrr~"

"Come on, let's go for a few more rounds!"

Dragonite motioned for Tropius to keep going.

Tropius froze, took two steps back, and shook its head violently.

No way.

Big bro, I surrender.

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With a forced smile, Tropius plucked one of its banana-like fruits and handed it to Dragonite.

On the other side—

Gengar was up to its usual tricks.

Instead of swimming, it had gathered a bunch of Kingler and Krabby on the beach for...

A game of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar grinned mischievously and threw out a fist.

Kingler blinked at its massive pincers, looked at Gengar's hand, then back at its own claws—

Completely confused.

"Ka-kaah~!"

"You lost. Pay up!"

Then, without hesitation, Gengar pried a pearl out of Kingler's claw.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar stood proudly, hands on its hips, waving for the next challenger.

Larvitar, watching from the side, was fascinated.

"This... this is genius!"

Its small eyes darted around—quickly locking onto a Crawdaunt waiting to ambush prey near a reef.

Thud-thud-thud—

Larvitar ran up, knocked on Crawdaunt's shell, and challenged it to Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Not even waiting for a response, Larvitar threw a fist.

"Yoji! (I win!)"

Then, before Crawdaunt could react, Larvitar stuck its hand into its claw.

"Yoji!"

Larvitar's eyes lit up.

Pulling out the treasure hidden inside, it gasped—

A shimmering golden coin!

Jackpot!

Larvitar leaped with excitement.

But before it could celebrate too long, its body froze.

Slowly, it turned its head—

Crawdaunt was glaring at it.

Eyes dark. Expression menacing.

Its massive pincers clicked open and shut ominously.

Today's lunch... would be this little brat.

Boom!!

Crawdaunt's claw slammed down, sending sand flying.

"Y-Yoji!! Σ(дlll)"

Larvitar barely dodged in time—

And then...

The "chase of death" began.

Larvitar ran for its life across the sand until it finally found its "bodyguard"—Ninetales.

"Lunch is ready!"

Johan, knowing exactly what his Pokémon were like, wasn't surprised.

With Ninetales keeping an eye on things, he didn't need to worry.

And today's "star dish" was none other than—

Curry rice!

This wasn't just any curry.

In addition to premium ingredients, berries, and seasonings—

Johan had flawlessly infused an entire Rare Candy into the dish.

The result?

Visually, aromatically, and taste-wise—it was his finest culinary creation yet.

"Even if it's not quite Charizard-level, it should at least be Copperajah-tier."

"As for the boosts... should be Encounter Power, Exp. Power, and Catching Power?"

The moment "lunch is ready" was announced, every Pokémon dropped whatever they were doing and swarmed the table.

Unsurprisingly, their eyes locked onto the pot of curry.

The delicious scent was irresistible—

But even more than that, the Rare Candy's energy was drawing them in.

Johan evenly served eight bowls, including one for Rotom.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar, the most impatient, immediately scooped a mouthful with its tongue.

The moment it tasted the curry—

Its face melted into pure bliss.

The perfect balance of spice and sweetness—

The flavors bloomed like a flower on its tongue.

The rich aroma filled its senses, making it want more, more, more.

Seeing Gengar so utterly captivated, the rest of the Pokémon couldn't wait any longer.

"Oowoo..."

Ninetales' cheeks turned slightly red.

"Garruu..."

Urshifu seemed half-awake, half-asleep, as if its two personalities were fighting for control.

"Yoji!"

Larvitar shivered, then—

A faint glow enveloped its body.

It leveled up!

"I think... I think... I just saw Raikou... Roto..."

Rotom crackled with electricity.

It leveled up too!

Damn.

Johan was genuinely surprised.

At least two Pokémon had leveled up—who knew how many levels they gained?

Yep.

The best way to use Rare Candy was definitely cooking it into food.

Whoosh—

Suddenly—

The sea stirred violently.

Johan's expression shifted.

Damn it.

A Charizard-tier dish combined with Encounter Power and Exp. Power...

This was bound to attract something big.

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Powerstones?

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