Valerie shared her experience in training Fairy-type Pokémon, while Johan and Steven also shared their experience in training other types of Pokémon.
Overall, everyone's gains were quite good.
This immediately made Johan think...
Could he organize some internal sharing sessions among top Pokémon trainers in the future?
Gathering everyone's training experience would surely bring considerable benefits to all Pokémon trainers.
He carefully calculated the top trainers he knew. Just among peers of similar age, there were...
Lance, Lorelei, Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, Flint, Lucian, Aaron, Caitlin, N, Diantha, Leon...
If you added the older generation, there could also be Agatha, Pryce, Drake, Bertha, Alder, Peony...
Hiss—
Not thinking about it was one thing, but when he did, Johan discovered he had actually acquired an extremely vast network of connections in the Pokémon world.
If this group of people gathered together, even the Pokémon League would probably speculate about what they were planning.
However.
Currently, everyone was quite busy with their own affairs. Most of them also shouldered League responsibilities, so gathering them together wouldn't be easy.
But...
"If offline gathering isn't possible, online still works."
Lying on the bed in Laverre City's Pokémon Center, Johan took out his phone and flipped through his contacts.
Actually, the League's software had a group chat system, and Johan used it quite frequently.
For example—
Jenny Family Love and Care.
Joy Girls Are All Beauties.
Cough.
Johan was one of the few people who had managed to get into these two groups, though he'd never spoken in them.
There were also—
Kanaz Pokémon Academy Faculty Group.
Pokémon Psychology Counseling Group.
Hoenn League High-Level Dining Group.
And so on.
What Johan found most amusing were those few from Sinnoh.
Big Sister Mood Intelligence Group, which didn't include Cynthia, consisted of Johan, Lucian, Flint, and Aaron, sharing real-time updates about Cynthia's mood.
There was also "Lucian Went to Work," which didn't include Lucian.
"Flint Is a Pig," which didn't include Flint.
"Aaron Is an Idiot," which didn't include Aaron.
Five people, four groups—that was quite miraculous.
"Wait." Johan suddenly sat up. "Five people should either be one group, or... it can't be four groups, so..."
Damn it, there must be one group that didn't include him!
Realizing this, Johan was so angry his teeth itched. "Flint, I'll remember this!"
Far away in Sinnoh, lost somewhere in a forest, Flint sneezed. He rubbed his nose. "Strange, didn't I just walk this path? Why hasn't that bastard Lucian come to pick me up yet?"
Johan actually didn't pay much attention to the numerous groups normally, except for the "Big Sister Mood Intelligence Group." Most of the time he lurked.
At most, he occasionally browsed the Jenny and Joy family groups, which did have quite a few selfies.
After browsing the Jenny and Joy family groups, Johan's mood immediately improved. He set about creating his first group—
Teacher Johan's Little Classroom.
Then he pulled in Lance, Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, Flint, Lucian, Aaron, Caitlin, Leon, and others he was fairly familiar with.
[Lucian]: ?
[Leon]: Teacher Johan's Little Classroom?
[Johan]: (Diancie.jpg)
[Cynthia]: This Pokémon is Diancie?!
[Caitlin]: Cynthia, cuddle~
[Cynthia]: Cuddle~
[Leon]: Diancie? Never seen this Pokémon before. Looks like Teacher Johan encountered it?
[Steven]: The teacher and I encountered it together. (Gengar Sunglasses.jpg)
[Johan]: (Mega Diancie.jpg)
Seeing Mega Diancie, the group filled with "wow"s.
[Lucian]: So... is Teacher Johan building this group to share rare Pokémon?
[Flint]: Never mind sharing—Lucian, you have time to chat but no time to pick me up?
[Lucian]: Busy.
[Flint]: Your uncle!
[Cynthia]: @Johan, how are the clothes?
[Johan]: Still being made, I haven't seen the finished product either.
[Flint]: What clothes? What clothes?
[Cynthia]: Take a photo when they're done.
[Johan]: (Victini OK.jpg)
[Caitlin]: So you built a group just to show off? Can't you two chat privately!
Cough cough.
Johan lightly rubbed his nose, bringing the group's content back to the main topic.
[Johan]: Diancie, a Mythical Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, princess of the Diamond Kingdom, a Jewel Pokémon of Rock and Fairy types, capable of creating pink diamonds with life energy...
After Johan finished explaining.
Below came a stream of "learned something new" feedback, which Johan found quite satisfying.
[Steven]: (Pink Diamond.jpg)
Then Steven shamelessly showed off the pink diamond he'd received from Diancie.
[Johan]: (Pink Diamond.jpg) Mine's bigger!
[Lucian]: Either give some away or stop showing off! (Jealous Breakdown.jpg)
[Flint]: Lucian, you bastard—
[Lucian]: Leaving, leaving.
Johan's mouth twitched slightly.
Though Lucian was busy, he was quite active in group chats.
What did this prove?
That he wasn't busy enough!
[Lance]: Built a new group? Teacher Johan's Little Classroom?
At this point, Lance, who hadn't been talking much before, seemed to finally notice this group's existence.
Everyone chatted casually, and Lance also shared a Pokémon he'd encountered during a mission.
[Lance]: (Kabutops.jpg)
[Johan]: Too bad it's Kabutops, not Scyther. Quite handsome though.
[Lance]: ???
[Aaron]: Ah! It's Diancie!
[Everyone]: ???
Smiling, Johan put away his phone.
Sharing experiences, sharing encounters—everyone casually joking around when free was quite interesting.
Johan looked toward Larvitar sitting in the room's corner, currently munching on diamonds, and beckoned to it.
"Yoji?"
Larvitar wiped its mouth, stuck out its little bottom as it stood up, and trotted over to Johan's side.
Recently, Larvitar had been eating quite happily. Before, it mainly ate minerals with occasional diamonds, but now it had switched to an all-diamond diet.
Earth Plate fragments as pre-meal snacks, diamonds as the main course, World Tree branches for picking teeth—what a life.
"Larvitar, do you want to evolve?" Johan asked.
"Yoji?!"
Hearing "evolution," Larvitar's eyes immediately lit up, placing both hands on Johan's knees and nodding vigorously.
It had wanted to evolve for ages, just didn't know why it hadn't been able to. Seeing other Pokémon "dominating battlefields," Larvitar expressed that its teeth were already eager and impatient.
To evolve sooner, it had been eating desperately, constantly devouring—definitely not just to satisfy its appetite.
Mm!
Johan smiled and lightly tapped its little head, producing a dull "thunk" sound.
Confirmed—definitely solid.
"Yoji~"
Larvitar covered its head. Though it didn't hurt at all, it still put on a pitiful expression.
"Let me explain first—after evolution, you become Pupitar, and you won't be able to eat or move easily."
Johan grabbed the Rotom Pokédex.
It displayed Pupitar's appearance.
"Pupitar, the Hard Shell Pokémon, Rock and Ground type. Pupitar has a rather fiery temperament, probably due to the miraculous changes occurring inside its shell. It can move like a bullet by jetting gas, but cannot eat, Rotom!"
"Yo-Yoji?!"
After listening to Rotom and Johan's explanation, Larvitar cried out, its voice rising several pitches.
Then it clutched its chest, rolled its eyes back, and fell stiffly to the ground, creating a dull thud.
Bang—
The other little ones in the room heard the commotion and couldn't help looking over.
Fortunately, Larvitar's performance was just acting, so everyone looked away again.
Nothing else to say—Larvitar had learned decent "acting skills" from Gengar during this time.
But since this was the Pokémon world, it still needed practice.
For Larvitar, the news just now was "devastating."
Can't eat?
Wasn't this killing it?
After digesting this information, Larvitar "tremblingly" stood up and asked quietly.
"Yoji?"
So... how long would I have to fast?
Seeing its expression of wanting to evolve but fearing having nothing to eat, Johan couldn't help but chuckle.
Patting its head, he said:
"I'm not entirely sure either, but as a pseudo-legendary Pokémon... it should be at least three or four months?"
Larvitar clutched its chest again, opening its mouth wide with a breathless expression.
Three or four months?!
It had only been alive for five or six months total.
Though Larvitar was full of longing for evolution, its reaction had already confirmed one thing for Johan.
It wanted to evolve, but not now.
"Alright then, eat more now and accumulate more, trying to keep the Pupitar stage within a month for evolution." Johan said.
Speaking of which.
He actually hadn't known that Larvitar would become irritable after evolving into Pupitar. It was only when Rotom Pokédex explained Pupitar just now that he deliberately looked it up and discovered this.
Pupitar would cause trouble everywhere—it was a very dangerous pupa. This wasn't because it wanted to, but because instinct made it do so, related to the massive changes occurring inside its pupa.
If the little one evolved into Pupitar now, wouldn't he have to pay the Pokémon Center a lot in damages?
Making the Pupitar stage shorter would be safer for his own home too.
"Yoji—"
Larvitar immediately breathed a long sigh of relief.
Its expression became serious again.
It wanted to evolve, but also wanted to eat.
So.
The best method was—
Eat everything now that it wouldn't be able to eat during the Pupitar stage!
The more it ate, the shorter the Pupitar stage's power accumulation time would be. Perfect!
Larvitar clenched its little fists, then took out the Earth Plate fragment and, like sharpening a knife, opened its mouth and carefully ground its teeth back and forth several times. Then it marched confidently toward the diamond pile.
It was going to enter "Ultimate Foodie" mode!
Tonight—one Pokémon, one mouth, one pile of diamonds, one miracle!
Let's feast!
Then the room filled with "crunch crunch" sounds. Those who didn't know might think some Durant were demolishing the house.
"Garruu~"
Urshifu smiled.
This little one was eating more and more. For Coach Bear, being able to eat was a blessing, heaven's favor, but eating a lot while absorbing a lot was what mattered, so...
Tomorrow morning, train with me, Larvitar.
"Yoji~!"
Larvitar, cheeks bulging, nodded vigorously.
Over the next few days, Johan stayed in Laverre City, waiting for Valerie's custom clothing.
Steven left on his private jet, probably having heard about rare stones somewhere and rushed off to dig non-stop.
"Teacher Johan, how is it?"
In Valerie's clothing store, Johan put on a brand-new black fitted suit, standing before the mirror.
Honestly, the general style was similar to Steven's, but without the metal cufflinks or red silk tie at the collar. Instead, there was a black casual tie—the kind you didn't need to tighten—quite fitting Johan's steady temperament.
Of course, what was most eye-catching was the coat draped behind him, thinner than Cynthia's coat. Wearing it gave a feeling of...
"Like young Sirius stole Snape's clothes..." Johan murmured.
"What Sirius? Snape?" Valerie looked confused.
"Cough, nothing." Johan adjusted his clothes. "Very good, I'm quite satisfied."
Valerie smiled.
"I'm glad you're satisfied."
Being able to design satisfying clothing was Valerie's greatest joy.
Ding-a-ling—
The door was pushed open, and the wind chimes hanging on it rang.
Both looked toward the sound.
Entering was a woman of about thirty with a gentle smile, squinting eyes, wearing a dark red sweater and long skirt, with tooth-like decorations at her wrists and collar.
Valerie immediately recognized her—obviously a regular customer—and greeted her.
"Elite Four Drasna, here to buy clothes?"
Drasna?
Johan was startled.
In the Kalos region, or rather in the Kalos League, who was the most diligent? That would definitely be Drasna from Celestic Town in the Sinnoh region, who served as Elite Four in the Kalos region.
Dragon-type Elite Four!
Also the final Elite Four member of the Kalos region's Champion Road.
"Yes, Valerie."
Drasna's face always carried a gentle smile. She also noticed Johan, who had changed into his outfit.
"Nice to meet you, Teacher Johan." Drasna smiled and nodded.
"Elite Four Drasna, you're too kind. Just call me Johan." Johan quickly replied.
Drasna was to the Kalos region what Glacia was to Hoenn, and Lucian to Sinnoh—serious and responsible in her work.
More importantly...
Cynthia had told him that by seniority... Drasna was like her little aunt.
A family elder!
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar poked its head out from Johan's shadow behind him, waving at Drasna as a greeting.
"Cute child." Drasna bent down, wanting to pat Gengar's head, but Gengar directly "glub glub" dove back into the shadows.
Child?
I'm a thousand-year-old ghost!
Drasna wasn't annoyed, just covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Gym Leader Valerie, please prepare three more outfits in my previous style." Drasna said to Valerie.
"No problem!"
Valerie immediately went into the back room to prepare.
Drasna was not only a Kalos region Elite Four but also responsible for evaluating Kalos region Gym Leaders—Valerie's direct superior.
In the Kalos region, anyone without a side business would be embarrassed to call themselves a trainer, and Drasna's side business was... priestess!
That's why her clothing leaned slightly toward priestly styles.
After Valerie left, Drasna indicated that she hadn't come just to collect clothes, but also because Johan was here and she wanted to meet him.
Though not many people knew about what happened in Orrans Forest, the Officer Jennys were there, and Johan hadn't deliberately concealed it, so it was normal for Kalos League higher-ups to learn about it.
Therefore, Drasna came representing the Kalos League to express gratitude.
"Dragonium Z?"
When Johan saw what Drasna produced, he couldn't help being somewhat surprised.
Wait.
He was in the Kalos region, right?
Why was he receiving Z-Crystals instead of Mega Stones in the Kalos region?
But thinking carefully, this Pokémon world was in a fully enhanced open state.
Things like Dynamax and Terastalization were heavily restricted by location, while Mega Evolution and Z-Moves had fewer constraints.
And since Mega Evolution only benefited select Pokémon, Z-Moves became the most widely applicable enhancement method.
Of course, the "nobility" of Dragon types also made Dragonium Z more valuable than ordinary Z-Crystals.
"Don't you need it, Elite Four Drasna?" Johan couldn't help asking.
Drasna was a Dragon-type Elite Four, specializing in Dragon-type Pokémon—Dragonium Z would suit her best.
Hearing this, Drasna spoke with a magnetic voice, smiling:
"I already have one."
This was extra?
So... this was Elite Four treatment?
Whether Mega Stones or Z-Crystals, Elite Four as a region's high-end combat power would definitely be the first to receive them.
Thinking about this, he really felt tempted to become an Elite Four member.
"In that case... I won't refuse."
Johan accepted the Dragonium Z—it would be perfect for Dragonite.
Besides Dragonium Z, he also had a Groundium Z and Marshadow's exclusive Marshadium Z.
He'd never used Z-Moves—the embarrassing dance was always an insurmountable hurdle, but... Z-Crystals were valuable. Accepting them wouldn't be wrong.
Beautiful, at least another eight-figure sum.
If he could sell to someone who needed them, the price would probably be even higher.
Right, Lance?
After delivering the item and completing the Kalos League's task, Drasna looked Johan up and down with smiling eyes.
Under Drasna's gaze, Johan felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Little Cynthia has good taste."
"Cough."
Johan didn't know how to respond for a moment, but regarding his appearance... he was somewhat confident.
Nothing else to say—at least he could suppress Steven when not counting wealth.
Of course, if you counted wealth, sorry, Steven crushed Johan.
"Interested in visiting the Poké Ball factory with me?" Drasna extended an invitation.
"Poké Ball factory?"
Johan was startled.
"Right now?"
"Valerie still needs time to prepare clothes, and another part of my work this time is inspecting the factory situation."
"Alright."
Facing an "elder's" invitation, Johan agreed after brief consideration.
Honestly.
Having used Poké Balls for so long, he was quite curious about the Poké Ball manufacturing process, especially the legendary "Master Ball."
The Poké Ball factory was located north of Laverre City, reachable without much travel time.
The Kalos region's Poké Ball factory was extremely large-scale, built and funded jointly by four parties, each holding certain percentages.
First was Silph Co. from the Kanto region, also the world's largest Poké Ball manufacturing company. The "Master Ball" that supposedly could catch any Pokémon was Silph's masterpiece.
Second was Devon Corporation from the Hoenn region—Steven's family. Devon wasn't as outstanding as Silph in Poké Ball manufacturing, but Devon started with steel and energy. Their Poké Balls could be said to be the most durable.
Third was the local Lysandre Labs from the Kalos region.
Lysandre Labs didn't sell Poké Balls externally and seemed to lack Poké Ball manufacturing technology, but this wasn't true.
What Lysandre possessed was ancient Poké Ball technology with quite a long history, though it was just a research institute Lysandre had established.
Johan knew something about this.
After all, Lysandre's ancestor was King AZ's younger brother from three thousand years ago, and Lysandre was one of the few who knew about the "Ultimate Weapon." With such a long historical inheritance, Lysandre possessed far more than imagined.
Finally, naturally, was the Kalos League.
Whether Silph, Devon, or Lysandre Labs mostly just provided funding and some Poké Ball manufacturing technology. The actual factory management was still the Kalos League's responsibility.
Even so, just from this Poké Ball factory, the three companies could receive extremely considerable annual profit shares.
Anyway, it was a long string of numbers that made Johan envious.
Moreover, management didn't require much effort. The Poké Ball factory was highly automated, needing only a few professional workers plus some Pokémon to keep the factory running smoothly.
What the Kalos League needed to do was periodically inspect the factory.
"Done!"
Drasna put down the checklist in her hands, breathing a long sigh.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar was currently pressed against the transparent glass of the factory workshop, its face squished into a black-purple pancake, looking enviously at the Poké Balls on the conveyor belt inside.
How much money was that...
"Vii?"
Victini scratched its head, not understanding why these balls were all different colors.
Johan felt quite regretful.
The Poké Ball factory didn't have "Master Balls."
However, when chatting with the factory manager, he clearly stated that Silph Co. did have Master Balls—he'd even seen one once.
But Master Ball manufacturing difficulty was too high, and success rates extremely low. Even Silph Co. itself had very, very little Master Ball production—no, you couldn't even use the word "production."
As for...
Whether Master Balls could capture legendary Pokémon was unknown.
"Rotom?"
Rotom Pokédex wanted to take photos but was stopped by an Elekid.
"Elekid!"
No photography allowed here!
Elekid spun its arms like windmills, electrical current bursting from its plug-like head.
"Rotom?"
Seeing that current, Rotom's eyes spun.
Zzzt—
Electrical current also burst from its body, stronger and brighter than Elekid's.
Seeing this, Elekid frowned slightly, suddenly increasing its arm rotation speed, making the current from its head more dense.
Rotom sighed.
Time to play the trump card.
It quietly approached Johan's waist and gently tapped one of the Poké Balls.
Tap tap—
"Anyone home? Rotom~"
Click—
The Poké Ball made a subtle sound, accompanied by red light as Electric Pillar Regieleki appeared.
When Elekid saw Regieleki and sensed the electrical intensity from its body... its hands tensioned against its legs, immediately becoming nervous.
"Regi?"
Regieleki scratched its head, looking at Rotom with some honest confusion.
"Rotom~"
Rotom gestured simply, and Regieleki understood.
"Eleki~"
Then Regieleki raised a hand, sending an electrical arc to Elekid's plug-like head. Elekid trembled as if electrocuted, then showed a lazy, enjoying, comfortable expression.
"Elekid~"
Elekid raised one finger, looking intoxicated as it called to Rotom.
Five minutes max, five minutes~
Rotom showed a smug smile.
Little thing, Rotom still prefers your previous rebellious attitude~
"This is also for you."
Meanwhile, Drasna took a box from the factory warehouse and handed it to Johan.
"Mine?"
Johan accepted it puzzledly.
"The previous Z-Crystal was thanks for what you did in Orrans Forest. This is for... the Kalos factory incident."
Opening the box, Johan found it was full of miniaturized Poké Balls.
The most basic red-white balls, then Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Level Balls, Moon Balls, Friend Balls, Dark Balls, etc.—almost a complete set of Poké Balls.
Except for unobtainable ones like Master Balls, Ultimate Balls, and usually useless ones like Safari Balls, Park Balls, Sport Balls, everything else was there.
A complete set!
Basic red-white balls aside, Great and Ultra Balls were fine, but the other Poké Balls... weren't cheap.
Especially that bright red Luxury Ball—its function might be ordinary, but its collectible value made it extremely precious.
Speaking of which.
Johan's Poké Balls were all Luxury Balls—the ten Luxury Balls he'd gotten when first claiming reimbursement from Drake. He hadn't bought Poké Balls since.
Now Gengar and the others all used Luxury Balls.
Counting what he'd used... two remained of the original ten.
If he wanted to capture more Pokémon later, two obviously wouldn't be enough.
And though Luxury Balls were good, some little ones might want to change their "residence."
"Ka-kaah~"
Speaking of which, Gengar immediately floated over, grabbed the box, and stuffed it in its mouth.
Johan knocked its head lightly with some exasperation.
You purple fatty being so eager, as if you usually stayed in Poké Balls.
Johan still thanked Drasna.
This was probably the main reason she'd invited Johan to visit the Poké Ball factory—a complete set of various Poké Balls.
Walking out of the Poké Ball factory, on the way back to Laverre City, Drasna suddenly stopped, looking at Johan with a smile.
"How about it? Want to have a battle?"
"Hm?"
So sudden?
The sudden battle invitation caught Johan off guard.
But seeing Drasna's smiling face, he suddenly realized.
This Dragon-type Elite Four, though appearing gentle and friendly, was also a famous "battle maniac."
Otherwise, how could she manage Kalos League affairs while having priestess as a side job, yet still become the Kalos League's final Elite Four?
Drasna really looked forward to battling strong, powerful trainers.
In the original story, Drasna's smile was summarized by Clemont as—everyone would be deceived by such a gentle, friendly smile, forgetting her essential nature as an Elite Four.
"I heard you calmed Dialga and Palkia's fury, which is quite admirable." Drasna praised.
As a Dragon-type Pokémon specialist, plus with her hometown being Celestic Town, Drasna wasn't unfamiliar with the space-time dragons—she even revered them quite a bit.
"If I could battle you, it should help train Pokémon better, right?"
Drasna tilted her head slightly, hands at her sides, eyes curved like crescents.
"Um..."
Johan squeezed his nose bridge.
This was truly... a completely unexpected battle invitation.
However...
Facing Dragon-type Pokémon specialists, Johan really wasn't that worried.
Just one Ice and Fairy-type Ninetales would be enough to give those Dragon-type specialists a hard time, not to mention he also had Tinkaton and Dragonite.
And Drasna had chosen a good time for this invitation—Ninetales and Tinkaton had just received Xerneas's Fairy Aura baptism and gotten Fairy Plate fragments.
In a sense, calling the current Johan a "Dragon Slayer" wouldn't be excessive.
Perfect.
He could see how well Ninetales and Tinkaton had absorbed their gains.
He didn't know how much of Xerneas's Geomancy Ninetales had learned, or what changes had occurred to Tinkaton's hammer.
Thinking of this.
Johan nodded: "Alright! You're the senior, you decide."
Hearing this, Drasna looked very happy. "Johan is quite nice~"
But gradually, her squinting eyes slowly opened, and the smile and gentleness on her face gradually faded.
She showed an extremely serious expression.
That look... those eyes... made Johan's heart skip a beat.
Good grief.
Could this be some trap specifically waiting for me to jump into... Johan thought suspiciously.
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Powerstones?
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