Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 426: Lily of the Valley Conference Finals!

January 23rd, Tuesday, clear skies.

The main stadium of the Lily of the Valley Conference was packed to capacity, with tens of thousands of seats filled. The finals were about to begin.

The deafening cheers shook the entire venue as countless voices erupted in excitement.

Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Johan and Tobias entered the battlefield from opposite tunnels, their names being shouted from all directions.

On the giant screen above, their portraits appeared, along with six gleaming Poké Balls for each.

"Johan-sensei, I've been waiting for this match," Tobias said with a smile, flipping his wavy, light-blue hair back.

Johan smiled slightly. "I've been looking forward to it, too."

If he won this match, he'd finally get the tournament prize money. This was way too difficult...

"I have a request," Tobias continued.

"Hmm?"

"If I win," Tobias's expression grew serious, "please have a real card battle with me!"

"No problem."

Johan agreed immediately.

If Tobias won, they'd have the match. But if he lost, then there'd be no need, right?

Hearing Johan's answer, Tobias secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with a dramatic flick of his cape, he pulled out a deck of cards, drawing a confused look from the referee.

Did I walk onto the wrong stage?

Wasn't today supposed to be a Pokémon battle, not a Pokémon card game tournament?

"Ah, my bad. Grabbed the wrong thing."

The referee nearly tripped, but quickly composed himself, raised his flag, and announced in a deep voice:

"Both trainers, send out—your—Pokémon!"

"Go, Tinkaton!"

A beam of red light shot from the Luxury Ball, revealing the hammer-wielding Pokémon. Her twin ponytails swayed as she grinned excitedly.

"Cha! ()"

My big hammer is starving for battle!

Tinkaton had been pestering Johan all morning for a chance to battle, and she had finally been given the opening spot.

It was her first time appearing in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"Oh no! I bought the wrong tickets! I should have chosen seats further back!"

The spectators in the front row suddenly felt a chill of regret.

You were rushing to buy front-row seats before, but now that you see the hammer-wielding Tinkaton, you're panicking?

At the same time, Tobias threw his first Poké Ball.

"Tobias's first Pokémon is not Darkrai!!" the announcer's surprised voice echoed through the stadium.

Suspended in midair was a massive black-and-blue dragon with three pairs of demonic wings and three heads—one large, two small—roaring in unison.

It was none other than Hydreigon, the pseudo-legendary Pokémon from Unova!

Hydreigon, the Brutal Pokémon, a Dark/Dragon type. It's said to be extremely violent.

Johan had expected that Tobias wouldn't lead with Darkrai as he usually did. He had guessed it would be Latios instead.

But Tobias surprised him. Not only was Darkrai not the lead, but even Latios was skipped in favor of Hydreigon.

This actually worked out perfectly.

After all, Hydreigon, being Dark/Dragon, had a quadruple weakness to Fairy-types.

An unexpected but welcome advantage.

"A major type advantage," Thorne commented calmly.

"But that Hydreigon looks strong," Steven added.

"Huh?" Flint blinked. "Tinkaton is a Fairy-type? I thought she only used Steel-type moves?"

The group gave him a collective glance.

To be fair, it wasn't entirely Flint's fault.

Johan's Tinkaton had always displayed overwhelming strength and mastery of Steel-type techniques, but hadn't really showcased much of her Fairy typing.

The biggest issue was that there were relatively few strong physical Fairy-type moves.

And Johan's Tinkaton was purely a physical attacker—for now, at least.

"Regardless, Fairy-types are immune to Dragon-type moves," Cynthia pointed out.

True enough.

"Battle, begin!"

As the referee's flag dropped, the Lily of the Valley Conference finals officially started!

Tobias frowned. He had anticipated that Johan would send out Charcadet first since rumors online claimed Johan had a habit of using a "weak to strong" lineup.

Now it seemed all those so-called "experts" on the internet were just spouting nonsense.

Still, despite the type disadvantage, he wasn't without options.

What Tobias didn't know was that even Johan himself hadn't planned his lead in advance.

"Hydreigon, use Tri Attack!"

"Garrr!!"

Hydreigon's three heads simultaneously gathered colored energy—fire in the center, electricity on one side, and ice on the other.

Tri Attack was normally a Normal-type move, but because it used Fire, Ice, and Electric energy, it had a chance to inflict Burn, Paralysis, or Freeze.

In the games, only one status effect could be applied. But in real life... If unlucky, all three could stack.

If Tinkaton got burned, paralyzed, and frozen all at once, the battle would be over before it began.

"Cha~!"

Suddenly, Tinkaton's body glowed white as she dashed at Hydreigon with incredible speed, slamming her hand down on its central head.

"That's Tinkaton's Fake Out!" the announcer explained. "It prevents the opponent from moving, causing them to flinch! But it can only be used upon entry!"

The fire gathering in Hydreigon's mouth flickered out.

But before the announcer could revel in his "Pokémon knowledge," the two side heads continued charging their moves, aiming at the now-close-range Tinkaton.

That's not how Tri Attack works!

Sensing danger, Tinkaton immediately jumped back.

"Garrr!!"

The two remaining heads fired off a bolt of lightning and a freezing beam.

The audience held their breath.

Was Tinkaton about to take a major hit right at the start?!

"Cha!!"

Tinkaton raised her hammer, using its massive frame as a shield. The lightning and ice struck the hammer with loud bangs.

For a moment, the hammer was engulfed in ice and electricity, its surface shining with a silver glow.

Meow Meow Hammer—Frozen Form!

"Ice Hammer!" Johan suddenly commanded.

"Cha!! (#`Д´)"

Tinkaton swung the hammer behind her, then sprinted forward, dragging the hammer along the ground, causing icy fissures to form.

By the time she reached Hydreigon again, the hammer had transformed into a massive, ice-coated weapon, and she slammed it down on Hydreigon's just-recovered head.

BOOM!!

Ice shards exploded, sending shockwaves through the arena.

Hydreigon crashed into the ground, the battlefield cratering under the impact. Fragments of rock and ice scattered everywhere as the ground trembled violently.

The audience stared in stunned silence.

Was this a battle...?

Or were they renovating the stadium?

Or were they renovating the stadium while battling?

"Hydreigon, use Flamethrower!" Tobias ordered.

"Garrr!!"

Flames burst from Hydreigon's three mouths—only to be met by Tinkaton's fully-swung hammer.

BOOM!!

The front-row spectators felt a tingling numbness in their seats as pink dust and star-shaped sparks filled the air, blending with rising flames.

Tinkaton, still holding her hammer, dashed away on light feet. She glanced at the soot-stained hammer, then hurriedly blew on it.

Huff—Huff—

A soft breeze passed through the silent arena, revealing Hydreigon lying unconscious amidst the battlefield's wreckage.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle!!" The referee, hovering on a special flying platform, let out a quiet sigh of relief as he announced the result.

Thud!!

One of Tobias's Poké Balls on the giant screen dimmed.

"That Play Rough was devastating—Hydreigon wouldn't have survived even with three HP bars!"

"Not only is Hydreigon knocked out, but the battlefield itself is already trashed!"

"Hydreigon? More like Wrecked-Dragon."

With the battlefield needing repairs, Johan recalled Tinkaton.

"How was that? Fun battle?" Johan chuckled.

"Cha~"

Tinkaton was still worried about her hammer.

The tournament continued.

But one thing was clear—this was going to be a wild fight.

Tobias had already recalled Hydreigon. After a moment of contemplation, he threw out his second Poké Ball.

"Tobias's second Pokémon is—Espeon!"

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

The audience erupted in murmurs.

Today, they were seeing many of Tobias's hidden Pokémon.

The imagined scenario of him hiding five Legendary or Mythical Pokémon behind Darkrai wasn't happening.

Espeon had a sleek, streamlined body covered in soft lavender fur. Its deep purple eyes carried a mysterious gleam, and the bright red gem on its forehead shimmered. Its forked tail swayed gently, exuding an air of elegance and enigma.

Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. A pure Psychic-type, said to have extremely strong precognitive abilities.

Johan, considering both Tinkaton's condition and Tobias's inevitable strategic adjustments, decided to switch Pokémon as well.

"In that case, it's your turn, Urshifu."

"Garruu! zzZ"

The tall, muscular Urshifu landed lightly on the battlefield, exuding an aura of explosive power. The energy at his feet swirled as his fur gently rustled.

The moment Urshifu appeared, the entire stadium erupted into surprised gasps.

"The sun must have risen from the west! Johan-sensei actually switched Pokémon?! No full sweep this time?"

"In Johan-sensei's words: 'It's the finals, might as well show some respect.'"

"But isn't Fighting-type Urshifu at a type disadvantage against Psychic-type Espeon?"

The crowd was abuzz with debate.

Johan maintained his calm smile.

A full sweep?

That only worked when he already knew his opponent's team composition—essentially when his opponent was playing with an open hand.

But Tobias... Tobias was a different story. His team was a mystery. If Johan underestimated the power of "hidden cards," he'd be in for a nasty surprise.

Besides...

Urshifu versus Espeon... How was that a type disadvantage?

"Garruu!! zzZ"

Urshifu, eyes still closed, radiated an overwhelming presence.

Such an elegant Espeon... Would it cry after taking just one punch?

Gengar suddenly floated in front of the camera and translated:

"Ka-kaah~"

"Coach Bear says: He'll now demonstrate—what it means to split the heavens with a single punch!"

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates