Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 605: VS Alder, Terastallize!

"It seems it's our turn to take the stage, Johan."

Alder, sitting at the tea table, suddenly stood up and said.

The announcer's voice had already come through from the arena, followed by the cheers of Blueberry Academy students.

Although this arena at Blueberry Academy was far smaller than the one used for the "Youth Master World Championship," the enthusiasm and cheers from the students were just as intense.

Following the staff's directions, the two walked towards the player tunnels on opposite sides. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Meanwhile, Shauntal, Dulse, Lacey, and Akane stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the VIP room, taking in the entire arena.

"Between Teacher Johan and Champion Alder, who's actually stronger?" Akane asked excitedly, full of anticipation for this "battle of the century" about to unfold.

"I think... it should be Champion Alder..." Lacey said, somewhat uncertainly.

Although she had battled Teacher Johan before and lost quite thoroughly, experiencing the gap in strength between them firsthand.

But Mr. Alder was, after all, the Champion of the Unova League.

And "Champion" represented "the strongest."

Of course, what she said aloud and what she hoped for might differ slightly—Lacey was still supporting Teacher Johan a bit more.

Beside her, Dulse shed his previous lethargy, looking exceptionally serious.

Despite his usual laziness, when it came to battles, his attitude was quite good—otherwise, he couldn't have become the Champion of the Blueberry League at Blueberry Academy.

"Champion Alder," Dulse stated with certainty.

As Shaga's grandson, Dulse had witnessed Alder's strength firsthand.

Moreover, as a fellow "Champion," albeit with a different prefix, he still believed Mr. Alder was stronger.

All three turned to look at Shauntal.

As the Elite Four candidate of the Unova League, almost certainly the next Elite Four member, Shauntal should have the broadest perspective among them.

Noticing their gazes, Shauntal opened her mouth.

She had initially wanted to say Alder too, but then remembered what she had seen at Giant Chasm...

Shauntal pursed her lips and shook her head, "Not certain."

Not certain?

Even the next Elite Four member wasn't certain who was stronger between Mr. Alder and Teacher Johan?

Everyone exchanged glances.

"Let's welcome the two special guests for the Blueberry League Internal Competition!!" the announcer's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"First, the Champion of our Unova League, our invincible—Champion Alder!!!"

Boom!!

The entire arena erupted in cheers as spotlights shone down, and a platform slowly rose on one side of the field. Alder stood with his arms crossed, a smile on his face, six Poké Balls hanging around his neck.

"Champion Alder!!"

The Blueberry Academy students shouted.

For the vast majority of students from the Unova region, their ultimate goal was to stand on the stage of the Unova League Champion Challenge and face Champion Alder directly!

This was their dream!

It's no exaggeration to say that Alder's appearance greatly inspired the enthusiasm of the Blueberry Academy students.

Even someone as lazy as Dulse also yearned to battle Alder.

Alder didn't put on airs as a League Champion, smiling and waving to the students in the audience.

"Next, let's welcome the champion of this 'Youth Master World Championship,' Teacher Johan!!"

Whoosh——!!!

Most students actually didn't know that Teacher Johan was among the special guests for the opening exhibition match of the internal competition, as this was a last-minute addition to the "program."

They had thought Dulse would be battling Champion Alder.

"Teacher Johan!! It's Teacher Johan!!"

As the platform gradually rose, Johan, adjusting his monocle, appeared in the audience's view, and the cheers immediately grew more enthusiastic.

The Blueberry Academy students were certainly familiar with Johan; some even knew more about Teacher Johan than they did about Champion Alder.

After all, they were part of the same "system."

Teacher Johan was a famous "star teacher," the headline (crossed out) trademark of Kanaz Pokémon Academy.

Listening to the announcer's introduction, Johan felt something was odd.

How could the "Youth Master World Championship" champion be equated with a League Champion?

It's not like we're trying to compare ourselves unfairly...

Since this was an exhibition match, and a one-on-one exhibition at that, there weren't any so-called "win-lose" rules, so no referee was needed—the announcer could decide when the battle would begin.

Facing Johan, the young trainer he had come to admire most in recent times, Alder showed no condescension as a senior or elder, only respect and seriousness.

He really wanted to know.

What exactly had enabled Johan to grow to his current level in such a short time?

This was what he, as the Unova League Champion, wanted to explore and pursue—it would benefit his training of Unova's young people.

Of course, if Johan would stay in Unova, then none of this would be necessary—he could retire.

As for Johan, when facing Alder, he had already given it some thought.

Against a Champion, it would still have to be Gengar...

"Would the two guests please summon their Pokémon!" the announcer's voice rang out.

Johan tilted his head slightly and gestured, saying:

"Go, Gengar!"

Black mist floated out from his shadow, transforming into a shadow that quickly swept onto the field, and then Gengar, wearing sunglasses, leaped out.

"Ka-kaah! (▼O▼)/"

Clang clang clang!! Gengar makes a dazzling entrance!

A tongue quickly extended, curling up the sunglasses from its face. Looking toward Alder, it showed its trademark smile.

"Ka-kaah!"

Come on!

Seeing Gengar's smile, seeing Johan's smile, Alder couldn't help but smile even more broadly.

What a wonderful pair—the purest bond between trainer and Pokémon, displayed vividly in this human and Pokémon, made Alder think of his own departed partner.

But Alder quickly adjusted his mindset, his gaze burning as he looked at Johan and Gengar.

"Johan."

He reached for a Poké Ball hanging around his neck, "We won't be holding back!"

As he spoke, a rare fire seemed to light up in his eyes, and he threw out a Poké Ball.

"Go, embodiment of the sun, Volcarona!!"

Roar!!

As soon as it appeared, an incredibly scorching heat wave swept across the entire arena. Sparks of fire scattered with each flap of Volcarona's wings, as if the air itself might ignite.

"Volcarona! It's Champion Alder's ace Volcarona!"

"This, this pressure... this heat wave—"

"Is this the strength of a League Champion?"

The audience gasped in amazement. Many were seeing a Volcarona for the first time and were deeply impressed.

Not to mention that this was a Champion's ace Pokémon, leaving an impression of "power" on their hearts from this first encounter.

"Ka-kaah..."

Seeing Volcarona, Gengar's expression immediately became serious.

This one was even stronger than the one they had encountered in the "Ancient City"!

Johan's expression was also somewhat solemn.

Tsk, it's just an exhibition match, yet Mr. Alder actually sent out Volcarona. In this case... not losing within the time limit would be considered a success!

Gengar, this is a genuine Champion's ace. Now you can see how much of a gap there still is between you and a Champion's ace...

As the announcer loudly declared the start of the exhibition match, a large countdown appeared on the big screen.

"Johan, show me your full strength!"

Unlike his usual self, Alder shouted before commanding, "Volcarona, Fiery Dance!"

Facing Teacher Johan, the Champion was taking the initiative first!

"Wooo——"

Volcarona flapped its six fire-red wings that seemed to radiate sunlight, quickly rising higher and scattering countless scales.

Roar!!

In an instant.

All the scales ignited, transforming into small fire moths that danced and spiraled, creating a heat wave that seemed to distort space as it surged toward Gengar.

At the same time, flames rose around Volcarona's body and quickly condensed, but its aura continued to rise without any sign of diminishing.

[Fiery Dance: Volcarona's signature move, covering its body in flames and attacking the opponent by flapping its wings. Sometimes raises the user's Special Attack!]

This was one of Volcarona's most iconic moves, capable of both attacking and self-enhancement!

Just now, Volcarona's Special Attack had been raised by one stage!

Facing these large and small fire moths fluttering and dancing toward it, Gengar wore a stern expression, feeling a strong sense of threat.

"Shadow Sneak!"

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar made a slash in the air before it, opening a rift and immediately diving in, disappearing from the field.

Seeing this, Alder smiled slightly and called out again, "Quiver Dance!"

"Wooo——"

Volcarona quickly flapped its wings again, performing a dance with special rhythm at extremely high speed in the air. Its entire state and presence seemed to rise once more as the dance continued.

[Quiver Dance: Lightly dancing a mysterious and beautiful dance, raising the user's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by 1 stage!]

A Champion was indeed a Champion. Although Alder was advanced in age, his reaction speed wasn't slow at all.

Seeing that Fiery Dance had missed and Gengar had disappeared from view, he immediately chose to enhance with Quiver Dance.

Whether Gengar was going for a sneak attack or evasion, for Volcarona, as long as it could perform Quiver Dance, the potential damage versus the gained enhancement would be worth it.

Moreover—

Zzzzt——

Behind Volcarona, a thin dotted line appeared, quickly opening to reveal Gengar sneakily crawling out from another dimension, attempting to interrupt Volcarona's Quiver Dance.

"Fiery Dance!" Alder smiled.

Roar!!

Almost instantly, large flames erupted where Gengar appeared, or rather... around Volcarona, with fire moths forming a barrier.

While performing Quiver Dance, Volcarona hadn't stopped scattering scales. As soon as Gengar dared to appear... a bit of flame would ignite all the scales surrounding Volcarona, creating the perfect fire defense.

However.

Gengar wasn't burned by the flames because... the open dimensional rift had swallowed some of the flames created by Volcarona!

A gap had been opened in Volcarona's flame barrier through space manipulation!

"I'll take that!"

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar, hiding by the dimensional rift, flashed a cunning look in its eyes. From the shadowy corners around Volcarona, four or five tiny shadow bats trembled and flew out.

"Under the sun, there are no shadows, Volcarona!" Alder clenched his fist upon seeing this.

"Wooo!!"

Volcarona's six wings flashed with incredibly bright light, the black dots on them like sunspots...

Under the intense light, the shadow bats "stolen" by Gengar turned into wisps of smoke and eventually dissipated into nothingness.

Hmm?

You can even extinguish "Thief" like that?

Although Gengar couldn't gain Volcarona's enhancement boost, Volcarona... also couldn't keep this power.

Both sides seemed to have returned to square one.

"Evenly matched?" Dulse's face showed surprise.

He actually felt... the two sides seemed to be in a state of equal strength!

Was that really true?

"No, strictly speaking... the initiative is still in Champion Alder's hands," Shauntal shook her head.

Having the initiative meant controlling the rhythm.

But... Teacher Johan has never liked losing control of the rhythm in a battle. That way... it's not sustainable...

"Volcarona, Fiery Dance once more, then whip up a Heat Wave!" Alder was certainly not one to surrender the rhythm.

"Wooo!!"

The fire moths danced again, even more numerous than before. They spiraled and danced under an incredibly hot wave, becoming larger and denser as they surged toward Gengar.

Moreover.

Under the convergence of heat waves and light, all the shadows around Gengar were dispersed completely in a short time!

No shadows!

Which meant no dimensions!

Volcarona, bringing warmth and light, shattered all darkness with flames!

Seeing this, the audience couldn't help but swallow.

"So-so strong... Champion Alder is really going all out—"

"Even completely eliminating the shadows, this—"

"What will Teacher Johan do?"

What to do?

Johan adjusted his monocle, feeling the heat wave and inwardly complaining—

This is really unreasonable. Interrupting "Thief" is one thing, but now even eliminating shadows? This doesn't comply with basic principles!

No choice then.

Johan took a slight breath, reaching for the Key Stone at the end of his monocle's anti-slip chain, but suddenly paused.

Dispersed the shadows?

No!

Where there is light, there are shadows. No matter how strong the light, shadows always exist—at most, they might be diluted or compressed to their minimum...

If that's the case.

Then let the darkness come more fiercely!

Johan abandoned the Key Stone and instead took out a black transparent sphere that emitted colorful light, resembling a Poké Ball.

Seeing this object, the audience collectively stirred.

"A-a Terastal Orb!"

"Teacher Johan actually has a Terastal Orb?!"

"What?! I thought it would be Mega Evolution, but instead it's..."

Swish——

With his black suit fluttering and hair ends swaying, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp, Johan threw the Terastal Orb in his hand, landing it on Gengar's head.

"Become a shadow, envelope everything, Gengar!"

Crack-crack-crack-crack——

Layer upon layer of crystals rose from beneath Gengar's feet, rapidly piling up to form a small crystal mountain. The mischievous-faced Gengar was vividly visible within the crystal mountain.

Crack——

Suddenly.

A crack appeared on the crystal mountain, and then all the crystals shattered into dust in an instant.

What appeared before everyone's eyes was a Gengar that seemed carved from crystal—its purple skin covered by a layer of smooth, light-reflecting crystal, and on its head, a ghost gem like a crown.

Tera Ghost, Terastallized Gengar!

Hum——

With the Terastallized Gengar at its center, an extremely powerful shadow covered the entire field!

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Powerstones?

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