Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 685: Johan Who Never Spoils the Fun (Two-in-One - )

"Left, left, hey, right, go right~"

Under the blazing midday sun, on the small island far from Kanaz City, a lush tree stood somewhat conspicuously on this empty little island.

Under the tree, in a chair, Johan leaned back with half-closed eyes, while behind him on the backrest, Snivy looked indignant but still obediently used its vines to gently scratch Johan’s back according to his instructions.

This so-called "precision training" was really...

Johan opened his eyes a crack, glancing at the stern-faced little one behind him, showing a somewhat teasing smile.

Looking up at the tree shade above, he also showed a satisfied expression.

This tree was something he had "packaged" from the vast forests of the Hoenn region.

After all, it was the height of summer.

Even at sea, that sweltering heat would make one feel somewhat uncomfortable. Having a big tree to block the sunlight was naturally much better.

"Everyone, let’s take a break."

Johan immediately called out.

On the table in front of him were full plates of chilled watermelon, cut open to reveal green rind, red flesh, and black seeds, with shallow white mist rising from them—truly the perfect heat relief.

Hearing this, the Pokémon quickly came under the tree shade. Seeing the cut watermelon, they didn’t hesitate and immediately dug in.

Not just Johan’s Pokémon, but the "borrowed" Dugtrio and Gogoat as well.

Dugtrio and Gogoat could be called "great contributors." In just a few days, they had cultivated a piece of land for planting according to Johan’s wishes.

Looking at the square, grid-like distributed fields before him, Johan couldn’t suppress the smile on his face.

Ahem, it really looked like "farm" fields now.

He just wondered how long it would take to "harvest crops" after planting things.

A real-life version of "Stardew Valley"—thinking about it was quite interesting, even making his inner chunibyo act up a bit.

It was just still a bit desolate.

Although it was fine when his Pokémon were around, this small island wasn’t big but wasn’t small either. With just a few, a dozen or so Pokémon, it still seemed rather lonely.

It was only because his Pokémon were so good at causing a ruckus that it was somewhat alleviated.

But if he had to leave for something, the island would only have two Dugtrio and two Gogoat left, plus at most some Water-type Pokémon from the sea coming to "cause trouble"—still too few.

"Once the vegetables and berries are planted and can be self-sufficient, I definitely need to raise a few more Pokémon."

Unlike training Gengar and the others, which consumed too many resources, energy, and costs.

Even if this island were planted full of berries and such crops, who knew if it would be enough for them to squander.

It would just be purely raising them in a "semi-free-range" manner.

Raising and training were still somewhat different concepts.

Just like... Garganacl, who was already preparing to move to the island.

Now Garganacl had already found a corner on the island to settle in. It usually didn’t appear, just silently used salt to soak and transform an area, looking like it wanted to be "self-reliant" and create its own ecological zone with its own power.

Regarding Garganacl’s condition, Johan had already discussed it with Gengar, and their conclusion was... it was "lonely."

They needed to find it a wife.

When that time came...

Maybe digging some soil could unearth a nest of little Nacli.

Just thinking about it was interesting.

Moreover.

When the time came, Garganacl’s salt soaking and Gogoat’s Grassy Terrain could serve as temporary medical facilities on the island before proper medical Pokémon appeared, ensuring logistics support.

However, digging up a nest of little Nacli was interesting, but it wasn’t Johan’s ultimate "pursuit."

Things like adorable Eevee, lively and cute Pichu, warm Vulpix, pink and tender Skitty, fluffy Minccino—those were what he yearned for.

But that was still far off.

"The road ahead is long and arduous," Johan couldn’t help but sigh.

"Gengar."

Speaking, he looked toward the chubby ghost.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar lifted its head from half a watermelon, its face covered with watermelon juice and seeds, all red and wet, which combined with its appearance was really...

Johan couldn’t help but laugh: "Since when do you eat watermelon like that?"

"Ka-kaah~!"

Gengar immediately raised its hand and pointed at Tyranitar sitting on the ground nearby, patting its back.

"Bangi?"

Tyranitar thought it was being called and lifted its head from half a watermelon, standing up.

Its face was even more exaggerated than Gengar’s, with watermelon seeds stuck to its dark green forehead. Where was even half the appearance of a "Desert Tyrant"?

Even funnier was that after it stood up, the butt print left on the ground made Johan cover his face.

Uxie has led me astray!

"Bangi?"

You calling me?

Tyranitar asked again, confused.

"Nothing, nothing, I wasn’t calling you." Johan waved his hand, indicating it should sit down and continue eating, then turned to Gengar: "Take out the thing and set it up. From now on, we’ll farm here."

"Ka-kaah~"

Gengar immediately understood, opening its mouth wide as a wooden stake was pulled out.

Carved on the stake was a lifelike Calyrex with a few parts dignity, a few parts benevolence, and a few parts melancholy—looking like a cauliflower head (crossed out).

Now Johan could be completely certain.

This wooden stake had definitely established some kind of connection with the distant Calyrex in the Crown Tundra that he didn’t understand.

Otherwise, the Calyrex wood carving that had been somewhat unlike the original when first carved wouldn’t have changed to its current vivid appearance.

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was this stake’s built-in "increased yield" buff.

"I just wonder if it can cover the entire small island, or whether... I should carve a few more?"

With such doubts, Johan had Gengar insert the stake in the center of the already cultivated farmland, just waiting to plant seeds to start taking effect.

"Speaking of which..."

Johan watched Gengar press down the stake and had another idea.

"Could a cauliflower head wood carving work on the World Tree?"

He still had quite a few branches from the World Tree. He had tried before—they wouldn’t grow, but with the power of the cauliflower head...

Thud thud thud thud—

The little ones who had finished eating watermelon started their "Seed Machine Gun" imitation contest again.

Each aimed at other Pokémon, showing off their respective "special skills," playing with great enthusiasm.

After fooling around for a while, Johan clapped his hands and gathered the little ones again.

"Today’s task is simple."

Sitting in his chair, Johan began assigning tasks.

Of course, not training tasks—he had assigned those in the morning. These were island development tasks.

"Gengar, Ninetales, you two are responsible for transforming your designated areas today. Try to get the Ice Radish and Black Radish planted today."

With such a large area, they definitely needed to plant more Ice Radish and Black Radish, right?

Unlike other things like berries or Vigor Root that could be bought even if not grown, Ice Radish and Black Radish were currently unique in the entire Pokémon world.

Moreover, Ice Radish and Black Radish tasted extremely delicious, making excellent cuisine with just simple preparation.

It was just that too few had been planted before. With Gengar and several little gluttons constantly eyeing them, Johan had rarely seen any fully mature ones.

This time they had to plant more.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar immediately stood at attention, lifted its feet, raised its hand in salute, sticking out its round belly that bounced up and down—not serious or earnest at all, just funny.

"Oowoo~"

Ninetales’s tails floated as it nodded slightly, also indicating no problem.

When Ice Radish and Black Radish were first planted, they still needed to rely on "Never-Melt Ice" and "Spell Tag."

With Gengar and Ninetales’s current strength, these things were no longer needed.

After arranging Gengar and Ninetales, Johan looked at the other little ones.

"As for everyone, today’s task is to dig out a pond in the center of this island." novelbuddy-cσ๓

A pond?

The little ones looked at each other.

"Although we’re surrounded by water here at sea, seawater can’t serve as drinking water for Pokémon, nor can it be used for irrigation. A pond is still very necessary."

Seawater and freshwater were quite different.

If there were many Pokémon on the island in the future, there had to be a water source that could be directly consumed.

Moreover, Johan was also planning to raise some Water-type Pokémon, as well as some freshwater fish.

He didn’t believe it—if he filled his own pond with fish and didn’t put even one Magikarp in, he could still catch Magikarp?

As for raising a few Water-type Pokémon, like Quagsire, Wooper, Poliwhirl, and such, he wouldn’t need to water the fields personally in the future—just Water Gun spray would do.

Hmph!

Don’t underestimate an "angler’s" persistence.

"For this, Tyranitar—uh, Dragonite will take the lead. Go."

He waved his hand.

Originally, for digging ponds, Tyranitar would definitely be the main force, but considering his Tyranitar’s personality... it was better to let Dragonite supervise.

"Draaa~(ˊˋ)"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dragonite immediately turned into a white light and rushed out.

The other Pokémon also happily followed.

Digging ponds (×) Playing in mud (√)

Johan smiled and shook his head, calling over Snivy.

"Sni?"

Snivy was just about to help dig the pond when Johan stopped it.

"Let’s... go fishing!"

Johan smiled mysteriously.

Fishing?

Snivy immediately looked him up and down.

Now that Snivy was no longer the newly captured one, it already understood its trainer’s fishing skills.

Besides Magikarp, what else can you catch?

Being scrutinized by Snivy’s gaze, Johan’s expression immediately darkened.

"What’s with that look? Today it’s not just me fishing alone—you’re joining too."

"Sni?"

With confusion.

One person and one Pokémon came to the edge of the small island, on a flat rock.

This was a "fishing platform" Johan had specifically asked Tyranitar to create.

Setting down the chair, he skillfully took out the hook, rod, and bait, then cast with a very standard posture. The hook with bait and float traced a beautiful arc through the air.

Snivy watched this standard, beautiful posture and curled its lip.

But still used its vine to roll up a large leaf as a parasol, blocking the sun above Johan’s head.

Seeing this, Johan immediately smiled and patted its head.

"Good girl."

Snivy immediately bared its teeth, showing a fierce expression.

"Sni! (▼皿▼)"

Don’t think I’ll be happy just because you called me "good"!

Johan had somewhat figured out Snivy’s personality and said:

"Alright, you fish too."

"Sni?"

Really fish?

It thought Johan was joking, just to find "labor" to hold the umbrella for him.

Johan took out several ordinary energy cubes while saying:

"Dugtrio said that last night, Pokémon from the sea came to steal food. Unfortunately, it was too dark, and it was hiding underground, so it didn’t see clearly."

Hmm?

Hearing this, Snivy’s spirit immediately perked up.

Actually, there were Pokémon from the sea coming to steal our food?

Causing trouble?

Asking just the Dugtrio responsible for cultivating soil to face Water-type Pokémon from the sea was somewhat difficult for them.

Gogoat was Grass-type, but they were borrowed from Gramps, all farm-focused Gogoat that weren’t good at battling.

That’s why Snivy was called to fish.

This was fishing in two senses.

Perhaps there would even be battles.

So Snivy immediately became interested.

Its vine rolled up an energy cube and slowly extended toward the sea.

The sea was much vaster than land, and the number of Pokémon in the sea was countless. Among them, there were naturally many powerful and aggressive wild Pokémon.

The small island where Johan and the others were located was far enough from Kanaz City that it was no longer considered nearshore, so there were naturally quite a few wild Pokémon nearby.

However.

Because this island was created by Groudon’s lava surge, it retained Groudon’s aura, so for a long time, not many wild Pokémon from the sea dared approach.

But as the incident gradually subsided and Groudon’s residual aura slowly dissipated, some wild Pokémon from the sea gradually returned and approached.

After all.

Just as the island was rich in mineral resources after development, the part of the island in the sea was naturally resource-rich too, with large amounts of marine life, seaweed, and such already attached to it.

Yesterday was the first time wild Pokémon from the sea came to the island to steal food. As the first batch of "testers," their strength probably wouldn’t be weak either, or they wouldn’t have such courage.

About half an hour later.

"I give up..."

Johan grimaced, throwing the ninth Magikarp back into the sea, looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle with a sense of... "if Johan exists, why must Magikarp" tragedy.

"Sni!"

Suddenly.

Snivy, sitting on a small stool nearby, jumped up with a start, calling out while quickly retracting its vine.

Hmm?

Johan, who had been getting drowsy, perked up a bit.

Something bit?

The originally calm sea surface immediately showed a small whirlpool. As Snivy’s vine rapidly retracted, the whirlpool’s movement also grew larger.

Until the vine left the water surface, a dark red Pokémon with a five-pointed star on its head waved its claws and chased upward.

"Sni!"

Snivy released the vine holding the leaf and lashed toward that guy.

Bang!!

The guy that had just left the sea surface was immediately whipped onto the island with a "bang" sound.

But it landed steadily.

With a fierce expression, its giant claws clicked, and bubbles came from its mouth.

Crawdaunt!

As a famous warmonger of the sea, Crawdaunt wasn’t as brainless as Gyarados, but being difficult to train was also recognized.

Was this guy who came to steal energy cubes at night?

Or... was it just encountered by chance today?

However, Johan showed some disappointment.

Crawdaunt...

He had thought it would be Gyarados, Sharpedo, Tentacruel, or something like that.

After all.

Gyarados could produce scales, Sharpedo could produce Sharp Fangs, Tentacruel could produce Poison Barbs...

These were all Pokémon that could barely be considered to have "byproducts."

Although the yield was extremely low, maybe not seeing any for a whole year, there was still some.

Crawdaunt?

It was said that their claws would fall off every so often, and during this period, Crawdaunt and Corphish would be in a weak period, so they would hide.

Some people had tried making cuisine from Crawdaunt’s naturally shed claws, but the result was that the earthy smell was too heavy, even having a stench like mud, making it terribly unappetizing.

Click!

The giant claws clicked, and the lured Crawdaunt faced Johan and Snivy without hesitation and attacked.

Black light surged, wrapping around the giant claws.

A direct Night Slash!

Snivy naturally wasn’t panicked at all. Its vine quickly lashed out, not to attack but to prop against the ground, then its body "whoosh" sprang up, avoiding this attack.

"Leaf Storm." Johan spoke calmly.

"Sni!"

Snivy, bouncing in mid-air, could still flexibly control its body.

Its fan-like tail immediately coiled and flicked, stirring up a spiral wind while numerous leaves, carried by the wind, rushed toward Crawdaunt.

Combining Twister with Leaf Storm, it hit Crawdaunt without any surprise.

Bang!!

Snivy in the air landed lightly and steadily, with its back to Crawdaunt, quickly retracting its two vines.

"Sni~(|▼_▼)"

Thud—

As Snivy’s vines completely retracted, Crawdaunt fell to the ground with circles in its eyes.

Unable to battle!

One-shotted!

A wild Pokémon being one-shotted by Snivy wasn’t particularly surprising.

However, Snivy had really combined Twister and Leaf Storm together and showed considerable power, which was surprising.

"Continue."

Johan, holding his fishing rod, sat down and said.

"Sni~"

Snivy nodded and continued fishing.

Just one Crawdaunt.

But after the Crawdaunt was caught, the wild Pokémon from the sea that Snivy subsequently caught gradually increased.

Gyarados, Sharpedo, Octillery, Qwilfish...

Various types.

But most couldn’t withstand Snivy’s single Leaf Storm.

Especially after Snivy used Leaf Storm several times, under the effect of its "Contrary" ability, its Special Attack was completely maxed out.

Even a Gyarados of considerable level, being Water and Flying-type, was one-shotted by Snivy’s Leaf Storm.

Moreover.

Johan clearly noticed.

When Snivy used the combination of Leaf Storm and Twister to battle opponents, its proficiency was getting higher and higher, and its mastery was becoming more skilled.

That’s why they say practice is the only standard for testing truth.

Battles could sometimes quickly digest some confusion brought by training, or find some shortcomings that training couldn’t discover.

"If this were in a game, it would probably have gained at least one or two levels, right?"

Johan looked at the bruised and swollen Water-type Pokémon in the sea nearby, all looking obedient, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

To ensure the complete safety of the sea area around the small island and prevent any more incidents of wild Pokémon disturbing the island, the best method was to form the island’s own "guard team."

These defeated, fierce wild Pokémon were undoubtedly a very good choice.

Of course.

If these Pokémon from the sea wanted to leave, diving into the vast ocean, Johan couldn’t find them either.

However, there would always be some that stayed, lured by the attraction of energy cubes.

Just like when Team Plasma guarded the "P2 Laboratory."

Raising a group of fierce Water-type Pokémon in the water.

Moreover.

Not only could they protect the island.

Before the pond in the island’s center was dug and Water-type Pokémon were raised, these guys could also serve as "labor" for irrigating the farmland.

The first Crawdaunt "subdued" by Snivy had already been "honored" with the position of "guard team" captain.

The other Pokémon were also very obedient.

As for whether there would still be a few left tomorrow, that was hard to say.

He just didn’t know if among this group, there was the one that came to the island to steal food yesterday.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Johan, who had caught twenty-some Magikarp, was already uninterested. He took Snivy to see how the pond digging was going, and also check how Gengar and Ninetales’s radish planting was coming along.

This look didn’t matter, but once he saw...

Johan stood there dumbfounded, while Snivy beside him covered its forehead, turned around, and looked like it couldn’t bear to watch.

He saw.

Dragonite, Tinkaton, Tyranitar, Urshifu, Rotom, and so on—every single one was covered in mud, looking like mud sculptures, standing in the big pond they had dug, striking various amusing poses.

As for Ceruledge... it had already transformed into Armarouge, making a fire to dry the mud on these guys’ bodies.

Supposedly to make molds.

They seemed to be planning to erect a sculpture of each of themselves on the small island, supposedly to... have a "scarecrow" effect.

Johan’s cheek twitched.

"Forget it, forget it..."

With quite a bit of lost interest.

Just when the little ones thought Johan was angry, he looked up at the sky and sighed:

"There’s actually no sculpture of this teacher. The world is declining, people’s hearts are not what they used to be..."

Hearing this, the little ones first froze, then in their mud sculptures, their eyes began rolling around, showing "ill-intentioned" smiles.

The next second.

"Stop! Stop it! My clothes are expensive! Pft pft pft—Who? Who’s stuffing mud in my mouth?!"

Splash splash—

The sea waves rolled as Johan and all the Pokémon washed the mud off their bodies in the ocean.

He looked "resentful," muttering: "Good thing I was planning to farm today and didn’t wear the outfit Cynthia gave me, otherwise..."

"Sni! Sni! (#`皿)"

Snivy stood on Urshifu’s shoulder, vigorously scrubbing the mud off its body with its vines, looking fierce.

You guys throwing mud at Johan is one thing, but why drag it into it too?

But actually.

After being covered with this nutrient-rich soil, Snivy looked even more lustrous after washing.

As Boss Giovanni’s "Earth’s Mysteries" described, Grass-type Pokémon actually had countless connections with Ground and Water types.

The nearby little ones were all laughing continuously.

This was exactly why Johan became more and more beloved to them—he never spoiled the fun and sometimes would fool around with them.

It would be great if they could always play like this.

"Where’s Tyranitar?"

Johan suddenly noticed one of the little ones was missing.

Glub—

A bubble suddenly rose from the sea surface.

Glub glub glub glub—

Then it was a large patch of bubbles.

Johan hurriedly looked into the sea and saw...

Tyranitar was sinking toward the seabed, clutching its throat, its face red from holding its breath.

Johan: "..."

"Quick! Tyranitar, below!"

Hearing this, Urshifu and Dragonite immediately dove down, glub glub glub—

On the island’s beach, Johan and the little ones lay spread out in a "big" character shape on the beach. Soon the water on their bodies was dried by the blazing sunlight.

"Bangi..."

Tyranitar seemed hungry and heartlessly sat on the beach, starting to munch diamonds, as if it wasn’t the one who nearly sank into the sea earlier. Carefree without worries.

"This weather is still too hot."

Johan simply walked toward the farmland to see how Gengar and Ninetales’s radish planting was going.

Fortunately.

No "accidents" had occurred here.

Ninetales and Gengar had already completed the task Johan assigned. Large patches of Ice Radish and Black Radish had been planted.

They would probably be able to harvest large batches of radishes again soon.

Ninetales was still doing final touches, arranging the entire "ice field" neatly and orderly. Looking down from above, it quite resembled a painting.

It formed a sharp contrast with Gengar’s messy "black field" next to it.

Truly worthy of one who liked ice sculptures.

As for Gengar...

It was lying on the grass, legs crossed, holding a tuft of unknown black hair with a black radish tied to the end, dangling it in front of its mouth while swinging and gnawing at it—quite good at entertaining itself.

"Ka-kaah!"

Noticing Johan, Gengar quickly sat up and hid the black radish behind itself, showing an embarrassed smile.

This was its "stored food."

Johan said irritably:

"Stop hiding it."

How could he not know his ghost’s habits?

Johan even suspected that one day, when his wallet was completely empty, raiding Gengar’s private stash could instantly make his wallet full and rich again.

The so-called "financial trilogy"—make the people suffer a bit, raid the merchants, raid the corrupt officials.

Wasn’t the ghost the biggest "corrupt official"?

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar immediately shrank back, looking at Johan’s gaze and feeling uneasy.

Another troublemaker wants to harm this king?

Taking the black mane and the half-eaten black radish from Gengar’s hands.

"This thing..."

Johan looked at the black mane, recalling that it seemed to be obtained when dealing with the ghost pirate Pokémon hunter group last time.

At the time, he suspected it was "Black Mane," then gradually forgot about it. Looking now... it really might be "Black Mane."

As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Gengar fooling with this thing definitely had Ghost attributes, so it was pretty much certain.

"Isn’t this combined with ’Black Radish’ to make ’Reins of Unity’?"

Johan didn’t remember everything extremely clearly, so this point was somewhat vague.

"Seems like it was with... ’Radiant Petal’?"

Right!

Radiant Petal!

Something only Calyrex could produce.

Johan looked at the "Black Mane" in his hand, then at the "well-behaved" Gengar.

In his mind, a scene suddenly appeared.

His Gengar holding reins, mounted on a mighty and majestic Spectrier, double Ghost-type strong combination, facing legendary Pokémon head-on and then throwing "Astral Barrage" spears.

No need for any Mega Evolution or Terastalization enhancement.

Damn, actually, it looked quite handsome and exciting...

"Ka-kaah..."

Gengar didn’t know what Johan was thinking, just looked longingly at its remaining half black radish.

Stock wasn’t much. Before this batch of new black radishes grew, it was eating one less with each one consumed—not much left already...

"Quite interesting."

Johan muttered to himself and stuffed the radish into his own mouth.

Crunch—

His eyes lit up slightly.

Actually, it tasted quite good.

Crisp, cool, with a unique sweetness.

No wonder Spectrier and Gengar and the others all liked eating it so much.

Gengar: (艸)

My radish!

Night fell.

After dinner.

The little ones sat around the TV watching television, while Johan nestled on the sofa, holding a book.

This was obtained from Gramps—a book summarizing experiences about farm crops, Pokémon raising, and so on: "Gramps Farm Complete Guide."

Reading books about Pokémon training during the day, books about farms and ranches at night—busy from start to finish.

The sweltering heat of summer didn’t have much impact on Johan and them.

As long as Ninetales released a bit of cold air and Ceruledge restrained some of its charcoal fire aura, the entire room would become especially cool and power-saving.

No wait.

Since Regieleki arrived, from the large invisible aircraft’s power supply to small appliances like electric razors, they hadn’t used a bit of city electricity!

Johan looked at Regieleki, which was flashing signal lights nearby.

Speaking of which.

He had promised to send Regieleki home...

Crown Tundra!

Promised things naturally had to be done. Johan fell into thought.

Originally, he planned to go to the Alola region before challenging the "Champion’s Path" to get the "Fairy Plate" first, ensuring Ninetales and Tinkaton’s strength could improve further.

Now it seemed going to Crown Tundra could also be added to the itinerary.

After all, in the heat of summer, with Kanaz City swelteringly hot, going to ice and snow to "escape the heat" wasn’t a bad choice either.

It’s just...

The sunshine, beaches, and bikinis of the Alola region—cough, seemed more tempting.

"Let’s finish the ’odds and ends’ here first."

Johan decided not to think about such "complex" things for now. He put down the book and stood up.

"Who wants shaved ice?" he suddenly asked.

Swish swish swish—

Pairs of hands of various sizes raised in unison.

Johan smiled slightly.

Since it was relaxation time, he naturally wouldn’t say he wanted to do some big project when everyone was watching TV.

The little ones were all watching TV—shouldn’t he deliver shaved ice to everyone to make their viewing more comfortable?

Johan Who Never Spoils the Fun!

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