Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 590: Redeem! Spend!

Clang clang clang——

Early in the morning, Johan's residence was filled with the "melodious" sound of metalworking.

Gengar floated to the floor-to-ceiling window and "whoosh" pulled open the curtains. Golden sunlight immediately shone in, then it floated to Johan's side with a mischievous grin, sticking out its tongue to lick his face.

But Johan, with his eyes closed, grabbed the blanket and blocked Gengar's tongue.

The purple little fatty wasn't about to give up, trying again from a different angle, but Johan dodged and blocked each attempt by rolling left and right and pulling up the blanket.

Despite having his eyes closed, he managed to dodge and block all of Gengar's attempts, which would surely make the Pokémon that battled Johan on the field feel ashamed if they saw it.

His movements were practiced to a heartbreaking degree.

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar puffed its cheeks, hands on hips, looking disgruntled.

Johan, you've changed. Before, I could lick you freely, but now you dodge everything.

Johan, still wrapped in his blanket with his eyes closed, let out a long yawn.

Regarding Ghost-Ghost's complaints, he just wanted to say: Ghost-Ghost, we don't have many Cheri Berries left, need to use them sparingly.

"Rotom, what time is it?" a lazy voice came from under the blanket.

"Eight o'clock sharp, Roto!"

The Rotom disguised as a bedside clock floated up.

"Hmm, it's already eight?"

Johan stretched out lazily and sat up.

Getting up, washing up, having breakfast...

Crunch crunch——

Larvitar sat at the dining table, munching on minerals in large bites.

To be fair.

Although it ate noisily and the minerals were in large chunks, surprisingly, it didn't leave a single crumb or speck of dust on the table.

This little one's appetite... was truly becoming more and more outrageous.

Johan shifted his gaze away.

He couldn't bear to watch anymore. It hurt his heart, feeling like Larvitar wasn't just eating minerals but literally eating money.

"Cha!"

Tinkaton "clatter clatter" finished breakfast, hopped down from the table, put the dishes in the kitchen, and immediately grabbed its hammer to resume "clang clang clang" hammering away.

Ceruledge's armor had already been repaired, but the marks on its hammer... would still take some time and resources to fix.

"Ka-kaah?"

"Garruu..."

Gengar and Urshifu's big heads huddled together, whispering something.

"Ka-kaah?" (Bear Coach, do you think it removes its mask when eating?)

"Garruu..." (Don't know, it moves too fast... couldn't see clearly)

"Ka-kaah?" (What do you think is under its mask? Could it have big buck teeth?)

"Garr-Garruu?" (Re-really?)

"Ka-kaah..." (Bear Coach, go bring it some energy cubes and see how it eats)

Following their line of sight, Johan looked at Ceruledge sitting nearby with its head lowered.

It was eating charcoal.

But the thing is.

The charcoal was decreasing, yet one couldn't clearly see how Ceruledge was eating it. It just seemed like a layer of faint black mist covered its face, making it impossible to see clearly.

Then Bear Coach, at Gengar's "instigation," went to offer Ceruledge some energy cubes...

Johan didn't pay attention to what happened next, but couldn't help tilting his head back.

It's too hard.

This life... is really too difficult.

From the moment he opens his eyes each day, he has to spend so much money.

Larvitar is growing and needs minerals.

Though Tinkaton's metal needs don't need immediate attention, it'll probably be soon.

Gengar, Dragonite, and Urshifu are all big eaters, Ceruledge needs charcoal, Ninetales needs never-melting ice...

Johan took a deep breath.

It's alright, I'll receive the prize money soon.

As the champion, 50 million in prize money should be enough to splurge for a while, right?

After breakfast, at the Castelia arena.

"Teacher Johan, here's your prize money."

A staff member brought a document for Johan to sign, after which the bank transfer record appeared on his phone.

[Your account... received 50,000,000 Pokédollars, remaining balance: 55,440,992 Pokédollars]

"Phew——"

Johan let out a long breath.

Revived.

"Oh, Teacher Johan, you're just like me," Flint secretly peeked at Johan's message.

"Like you?"

How could the champion's prize be the same as an eighth-place finisher's?

"Yeah, with zeros and some integers." Flint showed Johan his phone.

Johan: "..."

"Lucian, the boss, and the others all have zeros, nice and neat."

Johan: "..."

Flint, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all!

If I didn't have some money in my pocket right now, you'd find out what the "Outlaw Squad" really means!

"Steven, aren't you going to check?"

Flint couldn't help asking Steven, who had signed and stepped aside.

Steven smiled slightly and said, "No need, it's just a string of numbers anyway."

Johan: "..."

Flint, please just go extinct!

"Besides the prize money, there are also some rewards that you can choose from, Teacher Johan," the staff member said with a smile.

In this respect, the event organizers were quite generous.

TMs, materials, items... everything was available.

As the champion, Johan's "quota" was also relatively higher.

As for what to redeem, Johan had already made up his mind.

This small quota wasn't nearly enough to share.

Gengar's "candy" Dark Stone, Ninetales' never-melting ice, Tinkaton's precious metals, Dragonite's dragon scales, Ceruledge's charcoal, Larvitar's minerals...

It seemed that only Urshifu, the Bear Coach, was the least worrisome?

Actually, that wasn't the case.

Not to mention Urshifu's day and night training, just its energy intake requirements were double that of other Pokémon.

The Roseli Berries needed for Urshifu's special energy cubes weren't much cheaper than Larvitar's minerals.

[Roseli Berry: When hit by a super-effective Fairy-type move, it weakens the damage taken.]

Urshifu, whether in Single Strike or Rapid Strike style, was weak to Fairy-type moves. In Single Strike form, it was even 4x weak to Fairy, so didn't it need to "supplement" resistance just like Larvitar?

But the "Roseli Berry" that resisted Fairy-type attacks was, without exaggeration, among the most expensive berries aside from those rare ones!

Low yield, high demand, extremely expensive.

It was only because Johan had connections (crossed out) contacted Old Man Mr. Backlot, the biggest berry farmer in the Kalos region, that he could get enough Roseli Berries.

So.

Just look.

The small quota given by the event organizers was nowhere near enough for his little ones to splurge on.

In the end, Johan had to add nearly 8 million of his own cash just to barely buy enough materials and items they needed for now.

Emphasizing one point:

Education must not be compromised, even in poverty!

Besides the necessary materials, Johan also redeemed several Technical Machines.

They were mainly for Larvitar.

Specifically, the Steel-type move Iron Defense and the Dark-type move Growl.

Iron Defense was a move Johan thought could be useful for Larvitar during his bullying—ahem, battles with Red and Blue.

Not that he really wanted it to achieve "constant Iron Defense," but at least it could strengthen Larvitar's physical defense abilities.

After all, with all the minerals Larvitar had eaten, its skin was already very sturdy, perfect for enhancing its physical defense.

Plus, many minerals contain various metal elements, which could aid in training Iron Defense, making it twice as effective without needing separate materials for learning.

As for the Dark-type move Growl...

Although Larvitar was currently Ground and Rock-type, it would eventually evolve into Tyranitar.

At that time, its type would change to Rock and Dark.

The type change would inevitably cause some period of discomfort, so learning some Dark-type moves in advance could help avoid such problems.

Moreover, Larvitar liked to roar occasionally, looking fiercely cute. Pairing that with Growl might bring unexpected effects.

Growl's ability to lower the opponent's Attack also served as an indirect boost to Larvitar's Special Defense.

Physical defense covered by Iron Defense, Special defense through lowering opponent's Attack with Growl—perfect!

Exchange complete.

Johan looked at his phone displaying a remaining balance of over 40 million Pokédollars, took a deep breath, feeling physically drained, as if he'd entered a state of desireless enlightenment.

All that was missing was a cigarette.

Soon.

Cynthia and the others also completed their exchanges.

It was time for the group to temporarily part ways.

Lance and Lorelei, that pair of adversaries, left together by plane. Johan felt a bit worried for the other passengers—if those two started fighting on the plane, then...

It would probably make tomorrow's headline news.

Next were Leon, Raihan, and others from the Galar region, along with Diantha and Pachira from Kalos...

Lucian and Aaron also left on Steven's private plane, as Steven could give them a ride.

On the wilderness of the Unova region, a jeep drove along.

"Teacher Johan, look, there's a group of Heatmor!"

Flint excitedly stuck his head out from the passenger seat, pointing at a group of Heatmor at the foot of a distant mountain, seemingly feeding together.

The Fire-type Pokémon Heatmor resembled anteaters, able to spew scorching flames from their abdomens that could melt metal and absorb it.

They were the natural predators of the Steel-type Pokémon Durant.

Where Heatmor gathered, there might be Durant Pokémon or minerals rich in metal elements.

But at this moment, Johan couldn't muster much interest.

He rested his arm on his head, leaning against the driver's side window with a helpless expression.

Originally.

Flint was supposed to return to Sinnoh with Lucian and the others.

But upon learning that Johan and Cynthia were planning to attend the festival in Eindoak Town, and discovering that the Eindoak festival included battles, he immediately decided to stay and join them!

Battles!

That's what Flint was passionate about.

If it were just this, it would have been fine. Johan could take Flint to a desolate place and kick him out of the car.

But the problem was...

He wasn't the only one coming along.

Johan slightly raised his head, using the rearview mirror to see Cynthia and Caitlin sitting in the back seat, whispering to each other.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Caitlin also looked at the rearview mirror, glared at Johan, and then showed off by holding Cynthia's hand.

Johan: "..."

Cynthia also turned her gaze to him, smiling.

Johan shook his head.

The way you two are being third wheels... Caitlin was doing it deliberately, and as for Flint...

Flint, this grudge, the Johan family will remember it!

If they really encountered the "Black and White Heroes" event at Eindoak Town this time, then hmph hmph...

"Rotom, autopilot, speeding mode," Johan said.

"Roger, Roto!"

Vroom! Vroom——

The jeep's engine immediately roared, and the car... shot forward.

Johan's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly said:

"Gentle mode!"

"Roger... Roto."

At this moment.

"Woo——"

Suddenly, a long cry came from the sky. It was Dragonite, who seemed to have had some issue, perhaps a cramp during flight or a sudden gust of wind, causing it to fall uncontrollably toward them.

"Teacher Johan, your Dragonite is falling!" Flint shouted.

"It's fine," Johan maintained a calm expression and composed demeanor.

Stay cool.

Having "overspent" so much luck during the competition, this was just a cramp, not a big problem.

Not being struck by lightning was already considered quite fortunate.

This was why Johan preferred to drive rather than fly on Dragonite.

"Woo~~~"

Dragonite's cheerful voice came again, and it was seen flying back up into the sky as if nothing had happened.

Playing around~~

Johan's phone suddenly rang. Taking it out, he saw it was...

Rika?

Why was she calling him suddenly?

About Popplio's enrollment?

With Popplio's strength and abilities, it wouldn't require Johan's recommendation. Director Martin should have enough discernment for that, right?

He pressed the answer button.

"Teacher Johan, this is Rika. There's something I forgot to tell you. Our Chairwoman wants us to deliver something to you. Are you still in Castelia City?"

The Paldea region's League Chairwoman?

Champion Geeta?

This was a person... comparable to Rose.

Rose, as the Galar region's League Chairman, had the Macro Cosmos Corporation spread throughout the entire Galar region.

And Geeta?

Paldea region's League Chairwoman and League Champion!

A figure who handled both administration and battles.

"I've already left Castelia City."

"You've left?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Um, is it valuable? If it's not too precious, you could have someone deliver it to the Pokémon Center in Eindoak Town, and I'll pick it up later," Johan said.

"It's not that valuable..." Rika said, "Just a Tera Orb, that's all."

Just a Tera Orb?

A Tera Orb that allows Pokémon to undergo Terastallization!

To put it in perspective...

It would be like meeting Steven while playing the game, and he casually handed you an extremely precious Mega Stone with an attitude as if it were nothing special.

The boss is generous!

"Alright, I'll arrange to have it sent to the Pokémon Center in Eindoak Town. That Tera Orb has been charged once, so it can only be used once," Rika instructed.

Before Johan could say anything polite, Rika's tone quickened.

"The plane is coming, so I won't take up more of Teacher Johan's time. Chairwoman Geeta says if Teacher Johan is interested, you can try researching it, and you're always welcome to visit the Paldea region to look around."

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Powerstones?

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