Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 588: Defeating Red? Better Do It Early!

Athletes' Village.

"Looks like Teacher Johan is in a good mood?"

Red spoke softly, looking at Johan who returned with a smile on his face.

"After all, he won the championship of the tournament. The prestige of this 'Youth Master World Championship' title is probably the highest of all previous tournaments."

Blue had his own "understanding" of this.

Red nodded thoughtfully.

He wondered what the caliber of competitors would be like when he eventually became eligible to participate in the Youth Master World Championship.

But...

One thing was certain—among his opponents, Blue would definitely be there.

"Hmm? You guys..."

Johan, upon returning, noticed Red and Blue standing at the doorway, with Professor Oak behind them.

Red had a serious expression, holding a Poké Ball in his hand, and solemnly said:

"Please accept my challenge, Teacher Johan!"

"And mine too!"

Blue also took out his Poké Ball.

Only then did Johan recall that these two youngsters had already challenged him during the tournament, but he had brushed them off.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the competition ended, they eagerly came to challenge him again...

Red! Blue!

"Hahaha——" Professor Oak's laugh was still hearty, "Johan, they now see you as their idol."

Idol?

These two's?

Johan could already foresee.

If he agreed to battle these two, it would inevitably lead to "endless" challenges in the future. As long as they couldn't win once... they would challenge him every time they met!

Please don't... I'm not Ash, occasional battles are fine, but daily battles... they drain the Pokémon's energy, which is very costly...

But he seemed to have already agreed?

Maybe he should hold back a bit?

Johan thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

He couldn't possibly send Gengar to fight them, right?

They seemed to have just started their journey not long ago; using Gengar would be bullying them. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

After a brief consideration, Johan put on a serious expression, "Are you two ready?"

"Ready!"

Both answered in unison, then looked at each other in surprise, finally giving a simultaneous "hmph," turning their heads away at the same time.

With such synchronized movements, I wouldn't believe you two weren't related.

"Good."

Training field behind the Athletes' Village.

"Then I'll temporarily serve as the referee," Professor Oak said cheerfully.

Not many people knew that Teacher Johan was about to accept challenges from two youngsters, but since Flint and the others lived nearby, they discovered it.

"Lucian, I have experience in this area. Here's an ice pack for you; apply it to your face and you'll be fine by tomorrow."

On the bench, Flint casually handed an ice pack to Lucian.

Lucian's face twitched, but he still accepted it.

"Who are these two kids anyway?" Flint asked.

"Seems they're fans of Teacher Johan. Teacher Johan appears to think highly of them too," Lucian said through gritted teeth as he placed the ice pack on his face.

"Is the teacher going to give them guidance?" Steven also noticed the commotion and came to the training field.

"Probably so."

As a well-known teacher, Teacher Johan was truly "dedicated" to his role.

As the champion of the "Youth Master World Championship," he didn't put on any airs at all...

He has the "potential" to become a regional champion!

"They look like they're from the Kanto region?" Lance deduced this from their relationship with Professor Oak.

Those valued by Johan must be young people with exceptional potential...

Lance became a bit more serious.

"Each side can use one Pokémon. The battle ends when one side's Pokémon loses its ability to battle," Professor Oak simply explained the rules of the battle.

In fact, most of the time trainers don't need to discuss rules before battling.

It's like card players meeting—one look into each other's eyes, and they start drawing cards.

Trainers are the same.

One look at each other, and the battle begins.

"I'll go first!" Red, full of fighting spirit, was the first to request.

Blue stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, showing no intention of competing with Red for the first turn.

It's better to let Red test the waters first, so he could better observe the state of Teacher Johan's Pokémon, as well as his attitude toward them, tactics, and so on.

When it came to battles, Blue was much more rational than Red.

"Alright." Johan stood at one side of the battlefield with a smile, nodding slightly.

It would be good to see how Red and Blue's battle standards were at present.

As the "senior," sending out a Pokémon first was necessary, so Johan... threw his Poké Ball.

"Go, Larvitar."

"Yoji yoji!!"

With a flash of red light, Larvitar, covered in a dark green shell, excitedly appeared on the field, its entire demeanor looking somewhat exhilarated.

For sure, such an "important" challenge requires me to take the stage!

Larvitar put its hands on its hips and waved at Red across the field.

"Yoji!"

Young man, bring it on!

As for Johan summoning Larvitar, everyone except Red didn't find it problematic.

Only Red actually wanted to challenge Teacher Johan's Gengar the most.

After beating Larvitar, he could challenge Gengar next... Red thought.

At the same time, he also took out a Poké Ball.

"Go, Bulbasaur!"

"Da-na!"

A four-legged Pokémon that looked like a frog with a bright green garlic head (crossed out) seed on its back appeared on the field.

Bulbasaur!

Nicknamed—Garlic Turtle!

A Grass and Poison-type Pokémon, one of the Kanto region's starter Pokémon. Red's Bulbasaur clearly came from Professor Oak.

"A Grass-type? Quadruple effective against Larvitar. Seems he's learned the basics of type advantages well," Lucian commented.

Red, after all, wasn't Ash. His basic qualities in these aspects were much stronger than Ash's.

Although sometimes he was reckless, at least... he had the confidence to be reckless.

"Unfortunately..." Flint shook his head.

Everyone instinctively looked at him, not knowing what he was lamenting about.

"Unfortunately, at such a young age, he has to face Teacher Johan."

Uh...

After a brief moment of stupefaction, everyone nodded in agreement.

Teacher Johan's Larvitar, though still in its unevolved form, was a Pokémon that had competed in master-level matches. If one underestimated it...

Seeing that both had summoned their Pokémon, Professor Oak, having procured two flags from somewhere, swiftly lowered them.

"Battle begin!"

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!"

Facing Johan, Red showed no fear, and even unhesitatingly took the initiative.

"His spirit is really impressive..." Lance praised.

"Da-na!"

Bulbasaur lowered its body, aiming the seed on its back at Larvitar, then shot out a seed that accurately landed on Larvitar.

Success!

Both Red and Bulbasaur showed some excitement.

After making contact with Larvitar, the seed quickly took root and sprouted, wrapping around Larvitar.

Though it couldn't cause much hindrance to movement, nor inflict too much damage, the seed would continuously drain energy from Larvitar, nurturing Bulbasaur.

"Yoji?"

Larvitar scratched its head, looked down at the vines extending from its abdomen, showing a somewhat puzzled expression.

Is this... playing bondage?

Johan smiled. Our Larvitar's resistance to Grass-type moves has been trained since it was small.

"Larvitar, Dragon Dance!"

"Yoji!!"

Hearing Johan's command, Larvitar immediately put aside its thoughts, letting out a fiercely cute roar, its momentum beginning to rise.

Seeing this, Red immediately called out:

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip, interrupt it!"

"Da-na!"

Whoosh whoosh——

Two dark green vine whips extended from under Bulbasaur's seed, rapidly lashing toward Larvitar.

"Catch it."

"Yoji!"

Facing the vine whips, Larvitar neither dodged nor retreated, but opened its mouth with a "Rawr" and bit down on one of them.

Red: "???"

How can a Ground and Rock-type Pokémon be so dismissive of type disadvantages?

"Da-na!!"

But Bulbasaur felt the pain and cried out in surprise.

"Stomp!"

Larvitar was seen biting the vine while raising its foot, which seemed to land lightly.

Boom——!!

The entire ground suddenly shook, and a crack extended from beneath its foot, rapidly splitting toward Bulbasaur.

"Quick, dodge it!"

Bulbasaur wanted to dodge, but its vine whip was being bitten by Larvitar.

Bang!!!

Powerful Ground-type energy concentrated beneath Bulbasaur's feet, "Bang" and burst open, raising a large cloud of dust.

Blue's eye twitched from the side.

You call that Stomp?

Isn't that Earthquake?

"Bulbasaur!!" Red shouted loudly.

From within the dense smoke and debris.

"Da-da-na——!!!"

Bulbasaur's stumbling voice could be heard.

Johan raised an eyebrow.

It didn't get knocked out?

Lance and the others also showed surprised expressions.

After just one exchange, they could see the level difference between Bulbasaur and Larvitar.

Red's Bulbasaur hadn't evolved because it hadn't reached the evolution level.

Teacher Johan's Larvitar hadn't evolved because Teacher Johan hadn't let it evolve yet...

"Da-na!!!"

Bang!!

The rocks suddenly scattered, and Bulbasaur staggered out, its body emanating a bright green glow, its eyes particularly serious.

"Don't give up, Bulbasaur!"

Overgrow ability, activated!

Hum——

Suddenly.

Bulbasaur's body radiated a dazzling white light, its form visibly changing at a pace visible to the naked eye.

Johan and Larvitar also stopped their movements.

Is this evolution?

After battling with Teacher Johan for just a short while, Red's Bulbasaur was actually evolving?!

Red's cheeks slightly flushed, his fists clenched, his eyes full of excitement.

Evolve, Ivysaur!!

When the white light of evolution dissipated, what appeared before everyone was unmistakably Bulbasaur's evolved form, Ivysaur!

Its body still emanated an even richer bright green glow.

"This kid—" Flint showed an interested expression, "Quite interesting..."

"Well done, Ivysaur! Razor Leaf!"

"Da-na!"

Swish swish swish——

As Ivysaur's body suddenly shook, one sharp leaf after another shot out from its body, sweeping toward Larvitar.

Sizzle——

One of the leaves brushed against Larvitar's body, making a sound like a blade scraping against a whetstone, and a white mark appeared on Larvitar's body.

"What?!" Red's eyes widened.

This is a Grass-type move, and Bulbasaur has evolved into Ivysaur... yet it only left a mark on Larvitar?

"Yoji!!"

Feeling the pain, Larvitar gave a loud cry, but the excitement in its eyes grew even more intense.

It hurts! It hurts!

Now that's more like it!

Things are getting interesting!

The fiery-eyed Larvitar immediately made Red's Ivysaur feel a chill in its heart.

Is this opponent... normal?

Johan rested his chin, gently rubbing it a couple of times.

It seems... Larvitar's physical defense ability... could be further strengthened.

Iron Defense would be a good move. I wonder if the little one can make Iron Defense a constant state...

His thoughts returned to the battle.

"Larvitar, Stomp!"

Bang!!!

The ground once again cracked open with a huge fissure, much larger than before. Ivysaur couldn't even dodge it.

Boom!!!

The fissure in the ground swallowed Ivysaur.

Blue took a deep breath from the side.

I see.

Stomp equals Earthquake, and Stomp equals Fissure.

During battles, Teacher Johan indeed likes to deliberately call out weaker moves.

To master these two moves, it seems Teacher Johan's Larvitar is at a high level, and certainly has great talent in Ground-type moves...

"Ivysaur has lost its ability to battle!" Professor Oak announced the result.

In the end, even after evolving, Ivysaur still couldn't defeat Larvitar.

Hum——

Red recalled Ivysaur, "You did very well."

In this brief encounter, he immediately felt the enormous gap between himself and Teacher Johan.

This was something that could only be truly felt after battling, not through observation—the feeling wasn't as vivid.

Clap clap clap——

Flint began to applaud. He admired Red's courage to challenge Teacher Johan, and his passion not to give up during the battle.

Given some time, he would definitely achieve something in the future.

Clap clap clap——

The others also began to applaud.

In this brief encounter, they could also see Red's potential.

Just from his fighting spirit that didn't diminish after defeat, and the increasingly determined look in his eyes, it showed that his future achievements wouldn't be mediocre.

"Thank you, Teacher Johan." Red bowed solemnly to Johan.

Johan smiled and waved his hand.

Defeating Red?

Better do it early!

Just in the first battle, Bulbasaur had already evolved into Ivysaur.

In the future, Master Red's Venusaur would truly be... somewhat monstrous.

Give him another year... the difficulty of battling would probably be completely different.

Red held the Poké Ball, replaying the battle in his mind.

Larvitar biting the vine whip?

Using teeth to resist the damage from vine whips?

He had to admit.

After watching Teacher Johan's battles for this period, plus the recent exchange, he had many new insights and perspectives on Pokémon battles.

Sometimes... battles can't be restricted to rigidity; one must learn to flexibly use various conditions and means...

He quickly thought of something.

For instance... rubber can insulate electricity.

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Powerstones?

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