Buzz—
Armarouge began gathering aura, holding it back without releasing. The azure aura power condensed within its golden cannon.
Aura - Johan's most familiar ability, so when Armarouge began gathering aura, he noticed immediately.
Not just him - Urshifu and the two Clawitzer in the stream also noticed.
Hm?
Clearly, Armarouge was trying to simulate the "Mega Launcher" ability of Clawitzer and Clauncher, but...
This was, after all, an ability belonging to Clawitzer and Clauncher. It wasn't something Armarouge could simply imitate.
BOOM—
Finally, the aura power in Armarouge's cannon fired out as an Aura Sphere.
"Goka?"
Armarouge tilted its head slightly.
The power had indeed improved compared to directly firing Aura Sphere before, but obviously hadn't reached the 50% boost of "Mega Launcher."
This improvement was more due to Armarouge's gathering, suppressing, and holding back of the aura power.
Trading slower move execution speed for increased move power.
The two Clawitzer looked at each other and both breathed slight sighs of relief.
See, it's not that easy to learn...
"Armarouge, try using psychic power," Johan had a thought and suggested.
"Goka!"
Hearing this, Armarouge's eyes lit up. Use psychic power to simulate "Mega Launcher"?
Buzz—
Following Johan's suggestion, Armarouge tried again. Its eyes glowed with psychic light while the raised golden cannon was covered with a thin film of psychic power, further compressing the gathered aura.
BOOM!!
The power increased by another ten percent.
But there was still an obvious gap compared to "Mega Launcher."
"If that doesn't work, try observing and studying them up close," Johan said.
Immediately, the two Clawitzer who had been "watching the show" suddenly trembled, sensing multiple "ill-intentioned" gazes.
The two Clawitzer looked at each other again.
We should have... left earlier. What was there to watch?
"Goka!"
Armarouge, wearing golden armor and glowing with the deep luster of red-hot charcoal, shouldered two deep blue cannons.
It had to be said, Armarouge's stance had even more of a future warrior feel than Gengar's dual guns earlier.
Buzz—
Azure aura power gathered again, shooting toward the water surface.
BOOM! BOOM!
The two Clawitzer were on the verge of tears, demonstrating Aura Sphere release under "Mega Launcher" while being... roasted over the fire.
Clawitzer: We're almost cooked, almost cooked, really almost cooked...
Armarouge went all out with aura and psychic power, carefully sensing the entire process of Clawitzer releasing Aura Spheres, seeming to gain some understanding.
"Ka-kaah~" Gengar stood to the side with arms crossed.
If you ask me, if that doesn't work, just remove those cannon barrels and use them yourself.
Clawitzer: Σ(°△°|||)
"Cha~"
Tinkaton bounced its hammer, showing a thoughtful expression.
I should... have a chance to operate on this.
But my suggestion is to let me crack open one claw to study it. There's a good chance I could modify Armarouge's cannon to work like that...
The two Clawitzer were about to cry.
What kind of devils are these people...
Fortunately, Johan spoke up: "Alright, stop scaring them. Armarouge, you've sensed enough. Put them back. I can see they're almost cooked."
The Clawitzer tails mounted on Armarouge's shoulders were already turning orange-red.
"Goka..."
Armarouge nodded.
Finally, the two Clawitzer and two Clauncher took plenty of energy cubes and dove back into the water, their feelings quite complex.
Hey, you know what? These guys might be fierce like devils, but they're... actually pretty nice.
Evening time.
Sizzle—
Johan put on an apron, set up the pot stand, sprayed some oil, and soon the sounds of stir-frying filled the air, adding some kitchen atmosphere to this peaceful wilderness.
Today's dinner was curry.
A Paldean berry curry set meal, with the recipe from Cyrano's "ancestral recipe" from Blueberry Academy. The main ingredients were the berries and vegetables they had grown themselves, improved and cooked by Johan.
Of course, it also included the most crucial ingredient - curry powder.
As he stirred, the golden curry gradually thickened, and its unique aroma began to waft.
This was Johan's first time cooking according to Cyrano's "ancestral recipe." Although he had added some improvements...
"I have to say, at least it smells... very good."
Talking to himself, Johan scooped up a small spoonful of thick curry sauce, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. His taste buds immediately felt stimulated, making Johan's spirits lift.
It tasted much better than he had imagined.
Speaking of which, Johan wasn't really someone who particularly liked curry, but this pot of curry gave him a new understanding of curry.
"And this was made with ordinary 'curry powder'..."
The original recipe should have used better curry powder ingredients, requiring Watercress and Super Powder.
However, Johan hadn't put much thought into making curry powder before, so he had used some substitute ingredients.
"Even so, this curry has reached at least 'Charizard' level."
Now Johan was truly surprised.
Because looking at it this way, some of the seemingly outrageous recipes in Cyrano's "ancestral recipe," like the recipe that could attract Spectrier, might... really have a small chance of working?
While Johan was tasting, his little ones had already gathered around, watching eagerly. Especially Gengar and Larvitar - their drool was about to hit the ground.
Seeing this, Johan stopped teasing their appetites and smiled as he used a large spoon to ladle the thick curry sauce over rice, finally sprinkling secret seasoning. A perfect curry was ready.
"I made quite a lot. If it's not enough, I'll add more."
On a picnic table, steaming portions of curry were neatly arranged. The little ones were already in position to eat, just waiting for Johan's command.
"Dig in!"
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar immediately threw away its spoon and grabbed the plate to pour into its mouth.
"Ka-kaah~(￣～￣)"
Seeing this, Dragonite, Urshifu, and Larvitar, who had originally planned to use spoons, immediately followed suit.
The next second, while they were still chewing, four clean plates were placed in front of Johan.
Johan: "..."
Why did he feel like breaking out in a cold sweat?
After eating their fill, they threw the plates and utensils into Rotom's dishwasher.
The advantage of having Rotom now was that when going out, they could just throw electrical equipment into Gengar's shadow without worrying about power consumption.
Moreover, with Rotom around, they had basically achieved full automation.
The evening breeze was gentle, the stream babbled, and the water rippled under the moonlight.
Johan lay back on the soft grass with his little ones, gazing up at the night sky.
Memories flowed like water.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar pointed at the brightest star in the sky.
That star looks like Jirachi...
Jirachi.
Except for Larvitar and other little ones who hadn't met Jirachi, the other little ones all recalled Jirachi's cute appearance.
[Johan~ play~ Johan~ come play~~]
Jirachi's voice seemed to echo in his mind.
Johan's lips unconsciously curved upward slowly.
Although Jirachi had fallen into slumber, the memories of those few days together wouldn't disappear.
Whenever he thought of those memories, he couldn't help but smile.
For a moment, the grass became somewhat quiet.
Apart from the rustling of evening wind through grass, the babbling of the stream, and the performance sounds of Hoothoot from nearby bushes, there were no other sounds.
It was also at this time that in the not-so-dense bushes, on a seemingly unremarkable branch, the bark on an ordinary tree trunk began to curl slightly.
A small diamond-shaped piece of bark gradually became more vivid, taking on an emerald green color.
"Ka-kaah?"
Suddenly, Gengar sitting beside Johan seemed to sense something and whipped its head around.
"What's wrong?" Seeing it like this, Johan asked with his hands behind his head.
"Ka-kaah..."
Gengar scratched its head and shook it.
As someone skilled at "sneak attacks from behind," Gengar had a strong sixth sense about what was behind it. It had just felt like something was watching them from behind.
Hearing Gengar say this, Johan's mind stirred, and aura spread out from his body.
After Arceus's blessing enhancement, Johan's aura might not be the absolute best in the entire Pokémon world, but it was definitely top-tier (there weren't many people who had it anyway).
Under his aura perception, the bushes behind them weren't entirely empty.
Three Hoothoot, two Bunnelby, four Scatterbug, and one Fletchling.
Apart from that, there wasn't anything else.
Maybe one of them had just glanced their way.
Speaking of the Kalos region, what mainly needed to be watched out for were Xerneas the Life Pokémon, Yveltal the Destruction Pokémon, and those Team Flare people.
Oh right, there was also the "Gundam" - Zygarde, the legendary Z-God, Order Pokémon.
Zygarde was to Xerneas and Yveltal what Rayquaza was to Groudon and Kyogre in Hoenn, and what Kyurem was to Reshiram and Zekrom in Unova.
However, most of the time, Zygarde existed in cellular form scattered throughout the Pokémon world, monitoring while maintaining the balance of the natural environment.
When large-scale natural environmental changes occurred somewhere, Zygarde would gather a certain number of cells according to different situations, transforming into different forms to respond.
"Speaking of which, does a Shiny Zygarde exist in the Paldea region?"
Even Rayquaza had a Shiny form, so a second Zygarde that was also Shiny wouldn't be too hard to accept.
"Let's sleep."
Johan got up and brushed off the grass stuck to his back. "If things go smoothly, we can reach the 'Battle Chateau' tomorrow and see if we can get matched for a battle."
Then they could use the "Battle Chateau" as a base to investigate the surrounding forests and see if they could find traces of Pokémon hunters.
"Yoji~"
Larvitar yawned long and loud.
It had been getting sleepy for a while.
Eat your fill, drink your fill, then sleep - this was probably the carefree happiness of children.
The small tent could fit Johan and all his little ones squeezed together.
Everyone huddled together in a group - it was a different kind of experience.
Dragonite and Urshifu stayed by the entrance, their backs forming yellow and brown doors that completely sealed the tent.
Such "door gods" brought exceptional peace of mind.
The next morning, Johan woke to the chirping of Fletchling and suddenly lifted Larvitar, who had somehow ended up on his chest, sitting up and breathing heavily.
He rubbed his chest with lingering fear.
No wonder he had dreamed last night that he had become a monkey and during the Summit War was slapped to the ground by a golden Buddha. Even activating his golden form couldn't break free, giving him the feeling of being held underwater unable to breathe.
Walking out of the tent, he found Urshifu with hands together, "devoutly" thanking nature for this long-missed "gift."
After simply washing up by the stream and having breakfast, they set off again.
"Riding my beloved bicycle, it will never get stuck in traffic~"
After riding for a while, Johan and the others gradually moved from wilderness to roads.
Route 7!
In the distance, they could even see a huge castle situated on a distant hillside - the famous Battle Chateau of the Kalos region!
Just then, another bicycle suddenly came up rapidly from behind Johan, moving quite fast.
"Hey! Friend, want to race?" The young man who caught up to Johan turned his head and shouted with some excitement.
The person appeared to be about twenty years old, with dark skin and a black short-sleeved shirt, wearing athletic pants. His hair looked like an upside-down ice cream cone, decorated with red, yellow, and blue stone ornaments.
Facing Johan's puzzled look, the young man grinned and introduced himself:
"I'm Grant, Cyllage Gym Leader. I'm good at rock climbing and cycling. Seeing you riding so fast, I couldn't help but want to compete. No other meaning intended."
"Cyllage Gym? Grant?"
"That's right." Grant held the handlebars with one hand and extended the other toward Johan, both bicycles maintaining parallel positions.
"Hello."
Johan nodded and also extended his hand to shake with the other person.
Cyllage City Gym Leader in the Kalos region, Rock-type Pokémon specialist trainer, Grant.
Main job: Gym Leader and trainer. Side job: climbing and cycling.
Called the "Rock-solid Climber," his most common saying was "I'll climb every wall that stands in my way."
In the Kalos region, any Pokémon trainer who didn't have some side business would be embarrassed to go out.
For example, Diantha's side job was acting, Elite Four Siebold's side job was cooking, Grant's side job was climbing, Viola's side job was photography, etc.
In some ways, being a Pokémon trainer might actually be their side job.
"Hello, Johan." Johan smiled and introduced himself.
Screech—
The brakes were suddenly pulled tight. Grant's bicycle carved two black marks on the ground as he stared wide-eyed and opened his mouth:
"Jo- Teacher Johan?"
Looks like I have some fame in the Kalos region too, Johan thought, also stopping his bicycle and smiling:
"You shouldn't have mistaken me."
Grant understood: "No wonder I thought Teacher Johan looked familiar earlier, but didn't think in that direction..."
He looked up at the direction they were both heading, seeming to understand something. His surprised expression grew stronger as he carefully asked:
"Teacher Johan, you're not... also going to the 'Battle Chateau,' are you?"
"Yes."
Johan didn't deny this.
The two set off again.
"So Teacher Johan, your current rank is..."
"Count."
Count...
Grant breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Good, he was currently a Marquis. According to the normal Battle Chateau matching mechanism, they shouldn't encounter each other for now.
However, with Teacher Johan's strength, reaching Marquis or even higher ranks wouldn't be surprising.
Perhaps there would be a chance for a battle before Teacher Johan advanced to Duke?
Grant, who had been worried about encountering Johan just a second ago, became eager to try the next second.
At this moment, Johan appeared to him as a towering mountain, and as a "climber" facing such a peak, he naturally wanted to challenge it.
Worry was instinct, but overcoming fear to face challenges directly was his determination as a climber!
As for Grant, Johan had no intention of underestimating him.
If nothing else, at least in the anime, Grant was the only trainer who advanced from Duke to Grand Duke in front of Ash!
At that time, the Elite Four were only Dukes, with Champion Diantha being the only Grand Duchess.
Of course, this didn't mean Grant was stronger than the Elite Four, but it showed his strength wasn't weak.
The two were traveling the same route, so Grant accompanied Johan while explaining some information about the "Battle Chateau."
"Siebold?"
Johan heard news about Siebold, one of the Kalos Elite Four, from Grant.
"That's right, Siebold's Duke promotion battle is in the next few days." Grant nodded seriously.
Duke was a very rare rank in the "Battle Chateau," and combined with his Elite Four status, this promotion battle had gained considerable attention.
Actually, with Siebold's strength, advancing to Duke wasn't very difficult.
It was just that Siebold was quite busy, often working in rotation at his various chain restaurants, and being busy with cooking naturally left little time to come to the "Battle Chateau."
This time he came for two reasons:
One was that he had indeed been matched with a suitable opponent.
The other was that the "Battle Chateau" butler had invited Siebold to cook a feast in the castle, while also inviting many "Battle Chateau" contestants for a battle-promoting banquet.
"I see..."
After hearing Grant's explanation, Johan understood.
The Battle Chateau was somewhat like a Pokémon Center, providing free food and lodging for trainers who had obtained ranks.
Moreover, the quality of food and lodging was quite good, at least better than Pokémon Centers.
At the same time, as a traditional program passed down from ancient times that promoted chivalric spirit and emphasized battle etiquette, the Battle Chateau often held some "noble" activities, like this banquet.
"So during the banquet period, it would be relatively easier to get matched with opponents?"
"Of course."
Screech—
Grant braked again, stopping in front of a cliff. Above was the Battle Chateau, with a winding upward road in between.
But Grant skillfully took out his climbing equipment, sprinkled magnesium powder on his hands, and turned to Johan:
"However, if Teacher Johan is in a hurry, you can also choose the 'designated challenge' method."
While speaking, he began nimbly climbing upward without using much safety protection, seeming very confident in himself.
"Ka-kaah..."
Gengar looked up at Grant and murmured.
If he missed a grip and fell...
Johan shot the purple little fatty an annoyed look.
Don't jinx it!
Then said: "Designated challenge?"
"It's a method similar to medieval dueling, where challengers designate who they want to challenge, and the challenged party usually won't refuse. But if the challenge fails, the punishment for the challenger is also severe."
High risk, high reward.
It might even offend people.
Apart from "designated challenges," most people would choose "random matching," where the Battle Chateau butler arranged opponents of equal rank or suitable opponents who were also looking for matches.
Aside from potentially taking longer, the risks and rewards were relatively smaller.
"Such an 'ancient' matching system..."
"Teacher Johan, see you at the castle entrance—"
Grant's voice came from afar - he had already climbed nearly halfway up the mountain.
Johan opened his mouth and held it for a while, finally managing one word:
"Wow."
The Battle Chateau stood tall. Passing through the castle's front garden and fountains, walking up white marble steps, they reached the castle's main entrance.
White jade pillars stood on both sides, and Grant was climbing up from one side.
An elderly butler wearing a monocle saw Johan approaching. Looking at Johan's attire, especially Johan's own monocle, his eyes lit up slightly.
"Sir, I am Hennessy, Battle Chateau butler. How may I serve you?"
Johan smiled and handed over the invitation from Professor Sycamore.
"So it's Count Johan." Hennessy accepted the invitation and said in a mild voice:
"Count Johan, would you like to be matched with an opponent, make a designated challenge, or rest and dine first? Today's main course is—"
"Johan?"
Before he could finish, another voice suddenly came from behind.
Hearing this voice, Johan showed some surprise.
Turning around, he saw a young man in a blue coat with a red cape on his back and short red hair, jumping down from a Dragonite's back and landing at the Battle Chateau entrance.
"Lance?"
Seeing that familiar cape-swishing gesture, Johan was truly surprised.
The great "Dragon Master" - instead of properly governing Kanto, what was he doing in Kalos?
Hennessy bowed slightly to Lance again, politely saying:
"Duke Lance, it's an honor to serve you."
Hm?
Well well, Lance, you with those thick eyebrows - as a Kanto region trainer, you've been secretly climbing ranks to Duke?!
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Powerstones?
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