Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 484: The Goal is to Become a Pokémon Master

"That place seems to be a shrine built by the ancient 'People of the Water'—it appears to have been dedicated to Lugia."

Cynthia sat on the beach hugging her knees, recounting the information she had gathered.

"The People of the Water worshipped Lugia?"

Johan's voice was tinged with doubt.

There was no question the shrine was connected to Lugia—otherwise, there wouldn't be a perfect groove for the Silver Feather, or coordinates pointing to Lugia's location.

But wasn't it odd for the People of the Water to build a shrine for Lugia?

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Lugia wasn't exactly the Sea God...

But then again, it was indeed a deity closely tied to the sea.

Lugia could control ocean currents—and from one perspective, ocean currents were even more dangerous to the Pokémon world than volcanic eruptions.

Just like in The Power of One, when the disrupted currents nearly drove the entire Pokémon ecosystem to collapse.

So it wasn't unreasonable for the People of the Water to revere Lugia.

"If we think of the 'Sea God' as the sea itself, then it makes more sense."

Cynthia rested her chin on her knees, her brows relaxing as she spoke.

Think of the Sea God as the sea itself?

So the People of the Water didn't necessarily worship a specific sea deity—but rather any and all divine beings connected to the ocean?

Or maybe their worship wasn't aimed at a single entity—but toward the vast, boundless sea itself.

Johan felt a flash of clarity.

"Makes sense."

"And what about you? What did Slowking show you?" Cynthia tilted her head and asked.

"This." Johan shook Rotom lightly.

"Accurate coordinates? But why two?"

"That's what's been bugging me."

Johan gave a helpless smile—receiving coordinates from Slowking was undoubtedly a good thing.

The Silver Feather allowed them to sense Lugia's presence, but it was always vague.

Otherwise, the Kanto League wouldn't have just handed it to him as a prize.

To connect with a real legendary Pokémon—whether for searching or communicating—it had incredible value.

But two coordinates? That was strange.

Could there be two Lugias?

"Actually, that might be it," Johan suddenly said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He shook his head, unwilling to voice something he couldn't yet confirm.

But who said there could only be one Lugia?

Right now, there was already a baby Lugia with them—and when it grew up, wouldn't that be another Lugia?

And...

In his memory, wasn't there also a Shadow Lugia?

"Two coordinates—one stationary, one seems... to be moving." Cynthia had noticed something on the map. One of the locations was shifting.

"Rotom," Johan called.

"Ro-Roto?" Rotom blinked, still dazed from the experience of being "uploaded to" by Slowking.

"Is one of the coordinates moving?"

It was Cynthia who had first noticed the change.

"Y-Yes, Roto... seems so."

"So the coordinate that Slowking helped lock on is actually real-time tracking?" Johan was surprised—was it Slowking's power or the altar's?

Interesting.

"The path is showing up now, Roto."

Now fully alert, Rotom drew the route of the moving coordinate.

"From the looks of it, it's heading toward us?" Johan spotted the trajectory.

"But the speed's quite slow," Cynthia noted.

Indeed.

It was even slower than most Water-type Pokémon.

But from the path, it looked like it might be Lugia coming for baby Lugia—

Just unable to move fast for some reason.

"So, what do we do?"

Johan thought for a moment before deciding,

"Let's stay on the island and rest a bit—see if it really is coming our way."

If the route kept coming closer, it was highly likely to be Lugia.

A brief rest would help confirm which coordinate was legit, so they wouldn't waste time chasing shadows.

And it would also let Lugia pinpoint baby Lugia's location—bringing about a "reunion."

"Sounds good."

Cynthia nodded slightly.

After all, they'd been trailing behind Slowking all afternoon, and then spent even more time studying the altar. It was nearly night, and their lunch had just been bread.

As the tide retreated, revealing the full beach, some reefs and coral began to emerge.

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar carried a bucket in one hand and wielded a freshly-forged clamp from Tinkaton in the other—full tidepooling gear.

He led the little ones along the beach, happily tidepooling.

Near the shoreline—

Rotom had transformed into a speaker and began playing the song The Goal is to Become a Pokémon Master.

♪ Whether it's fire, water, grass, forest, dirt, clouds, or under that girl's skirt... ♪

"Cha~~"

Tinkaton had a metal bucket hanging from the tip of her hammer. She picked up a shellfish with her pliers, excitedly held it up to show off, then dropped it into the bucket.

Then everyone raised their tools together to show off their catch.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar suddenly raised his hand—with a Shellder latched onto it.

The others quickly gathered around.

Did Gengar catch a Shellder?! Was he about to "evolve"?

But to everyone's disappointment, the Shellder barely bit Gengar before its whole body trembled. The moment it tried to inject poison, it stiffened up, lost all strength, and collapsed onto the sand, foaming at the mouth.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar nudged it—no response.

Clearly, Shellder's toxin was no match for the overwhelming venom Gengar naturally carried.

But Gengar, sharp-eyed as ever, quickly noticed the pearl inside Shellder's shell.

"Bwooo~!!"

Baby Lugia splashed out of the water, proudly carrying a fish in its mouth, running toward Larvitar—

Only to slip and fall, sending the fish flying.

"Yoji~~()σ"

Larvitar, half-buried in the water, pointed at Baby Lugia and chuckled—then raised its own catch.

A Remoraid!

"Bwooo..."

Just as Baby Lugia looked down, disheartened—

The Remoraid in Larvitar's hand glowed white and rapidly evolved into an Octillery.

After a brief stare-down—

SPLAT

Octillery blasted thick ink all over Larvitar and slipped back into the sea.

"Y-Yoji..."

Completely ink-black Larvitar blinked—only his eyes visible.

Baby Lugia immediately burst out laughing, clutching its belly.

Gengar, Ninetales, Dragonite—all of them burst into laughter.

"Yoji!!"

Larvitar puffed up his cheeks and pounced on Baby Lugia.

Next second—

One black blob became two.

"Bwooo?"

Now completely blackened, Baby Lugia blinked blankly—only its eyes visible too.

"Yoji~~"

Larvitar started laughing, and the two began chuckling together.

A wave suddenly crashed into them—knocking them back into the water.

But they weren't mad. Even as the tide receded, they kept laughing.

Not just them—

All the little ones playing on the beach were filled with joy.

♪ ...Our dream of becoming a Pokémon Master must—will—absolutely come true! ♪

Rotom seemed moved by the lyrics. It quietly turned to look at Johan.

Become a Pokémon Master?

This song was saved in Johan's phone.

If he truly wanted it, then even Rotom would give everything to help him reach that dream.

And it wouldn't be alone.

Rotom's gaze swept the beach—

Gengar, Ninetales, Tinkaton, Dragonite, Urshifu, Ceruledge, even Larvitar...

Everyone would strive toward the same goal—together!

"That's a beautiful song," Cynthia said.

"Mm-hmm!"

Even Caitlin, usually Johan's contrarian, nodded in agreement.

That song...

For some reason, the first things Johan thought of were the Butterfree he released, the Pidgeot still waiting.

"Ceruledge, make it hotter—we're having seafood hotpot tonight!"

Maybe it was the song, or maybe just the moment, but Johan's spirits were high.

A Pokémon Master, huh?

Honestly, as long as they could all be happy together, that was enough for him.

But—

If everyone shared that same dream, then why not give it their all?

The result didn't matter. What would stay with them forever was the journey.

Memories are radiant pearls; bonds, eternal diamonds.

"Goka!"

Ceruledge nodded solemnly.

Every meal—

Every control of flame and heat—

Was a way to train its mastery of its own power.

"The coordinate's speed just increased, Roto~" Rotom suddenly said.

But not by much.

"Good." Johan wasn't worried.

"We'll head out after dinner."

A little later—

Campfire flames glowed on the beach.

Laughter echoed.

The smell of food filled the air.

"Gengar, go call Slowking."

But before Johan could finish—

"Yadong."

Slowking, hands clasped behind his back, waddled over—already drawn by the smell.

He was really good at following the scent.

"Dinner's ready!"

Johan raised his coconut.

"Cheers~~"

Far beneath the ocean—

A massive submarine cruised through the deep.

It was so large, even a Wailord seemed small beside it.

Inside the sub, humans and Pokémon bustled about.

"Captain, we've locked on! It's in the current!"

At the main control seat, a bearded man laughed heartily.

"What are you waiting for? Catch it!"

"Catch it!"

A Chatot on his shoulder flapped its wings, mimicking his words.

BOOM—

The movement of the colossal machine devastated the ocean floor.

And faced with something so massive, the wild Pokémon in the sea had no choice but to flee.

They had no hope of resisting.

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Powerstones?

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