Paldea region, Medali Town, Treasure Eatery.
Rica and Alex's family were treating everyone to a meal.
Flint and Gengar were relatively restrained.
Although it was an affordable eatery, if these two were allowed to eat freely... Rica's family would definitely go broke.
Moreover, the Treasure Eatery's food really tasted great. Even many high-end restaurants might not match its flavor, especially some of their specialty dishes.
This made Johan quite curious. When he was tasting the food, he felt there were several seasonings he couldn't quite identify.
Maybe he could ask the owner after finishing the meal.
However, for Johan right now, the most "troublesome" thing was actually Elite Four Hassel's challenge.
Hassel wasn't like Flint, who would challenge even Champions in a moment of heated passion.
As a teacher with more seniority than Johan, Hassel was quite strict when teaching, and his actions definitely weren't impulsive decisions. His challenge must have been carefully considered.
Most likely... it was exactly as he said—he wanted to discuss the "way of teaching" with Johan.
When it involved such a serious topic, Johan really couldn't casually refuse.
But the problem was—what exactly was the "way of teaching"?
Johan felt somewhat bewildered.
I'm just someone who teaches "Pokémon Psychology," and you teach art. Our so-called "ways of teaching" are quite different, aren't they?
But...
"Teacher Johan seems somewhat confused?" Hassel, who was also dining, seemed to see through Johan's thoughts and asked with a slight smile.
At this moment, Hassel appeared much more gentle and approachable compared to earlier.
Johan didn't hide it and nodded: "Indeed, a little."
They had no previous connection. Although Johan's reputation was considerable, and he had outstanding students like Steven, N, Flannery, Roxanne, and Penny...
Honestly, even without him, these people could have grown excellently. At most, he'd just helped them avoid some detours or clarified their true inner goals.
Johan felt he couldn't quite bear the weight of "the way of teaching."
"Mainly because of three people," Hassel explained.
"Three people?"
Johan was stunned.
"The first is the principal of your Kanaz Pokémon Academy. He recommended you to me, saying that if I ever encountered particularly confusing matters, perhaps I could talk with you."
The old principal?
Johan: "..."
The old principal truly lived up to the title of "Pokémon World's Top Network King."
He had connections everywhere and could talk to anyone.
No wonder with the old principal in charge, Kanaz Pokémon Academy could develop to such a scale.
With such networking relationships... it would be hard not to succeed, right?
However, Johan also noticed Hassel's mention of "particularly confusing matters."
Confusing matters referred to...
Hassel continued: "The second is Mr. Shaga, the Gym Leader of Opelucid City."
Old man Shaga?
Johan's mind conjured the image of that Opelucid City Gym Leader who, despite his age, was built like a brick house.
"I used to teach his grandson Drayton—a very capable but rather lazy child. However, Mr. Shaga said that after Teacher Johan battled with Drayton, Drayton has become much more motivated than before."
Both Shaga and Hassel were trainers specializing in Dragon-type Pokémon, and Mr. Shaga actually had strength comparable to Elite Four level.
Plus, Drayton's Blueberry Academy had complex relationships with Orange Academy and the Paldea region.
It made sense that Hassel would listen to old man Shaga's words.
"What about the third person?" Johan couldn't help but become curious.
One old principal, one old man Shaga, and the last one... it couldn't be old man Drake, could it?
Hassel smiled slightly: "Lance."
"Lance?"
Johan silently added a question mark above his head.
When did Lance develop such strong networking skills?
Wait.
Suddenly, Johan remembered something.
Besides being a Paldea League Elite Four member and Orange Academy art teacher, Hassel had another identity... heir to the Paldea region's Dragon Tamer family!
And Lance was the heir to the Dragon Clan of Kanto and Johto regions!
The two really could connect.
Moreover, Hassel and Lance did indeed share some similarities.
Lance hadn't grown up within the Dragon Clan. His starter Pokémon was actually Charizard, and only later did he rise to prominence and return to the Dragon Clan in Blackthorn City, Johto.
Slightly different from that, Hassel had been quite rebellious in his youth, running away from home to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.
He eventually grew up to become a Paldea League Elite Four member.
To call Hassel back to the Paldea Dragon Tamer family, his father had sent a Dragon Tamer who lied about being seriously ill, wanting Hassel to return.
This had left Hassel in confusion.
It wasn't until later, through interaction with the game's "protagonist," that he realized how precious his life as a teacher at the academy was. He also saw through his father's lie, thus refusing that Dragon Tamer and declining to return to the Dragon Tamer family.
This angered both that Dragon Tamer and the Dragon Tamer family.
But thinking in reverse, it was precisely Hassel's persistence and determination that the Dragon Tamer family patriarch most needed, so he appeared quite conflicted.
Thinking of this, Johan's heart stirred.
Could Hassel currently be at a confused crossroads about whether to return to the Dragon Tamer family or continue as a teacher?
Lance's return to the Dragon Clan was one example, but Hassel was obviously more hesitant than Lance. Honestly, he didn't need the Dragon Tamer family's help now, nor did he feel he could help the Dragon Tamer family much...
Instead, he felt reluctant about his teaching profession.
Therefore, upon meeting Johan, Hassel sought the so-called "answer" to the "way of teaching."
Johan felt his guess was probably close to the truth.
And indeed, it was.
Hassel said: "Lance said you once helped Steven emerge from confusion. Perhaps I can get answers from you."
After pausing, he became serious again and continued:
"As fellow trainers, I think... nothing allows for better communication than battle."
Johan felt somewhat helpless.
What kind of situation was this?
He'd originally wanted to watch the good show of Flint, that explosive head, battling Larry, that taciturn guy, to see whether the explosive head's enthusiasm could ignite the taciturn guy or the taciturn guy's cold water would extinguish the explosive head.
He hadn't expected it would be his turn first.
However... as an Elite Four member, and the first Elite Four of the Paldea League at that, plus being active in the Paldea region, Hassel's points... shouldn't be low, right?
With the opponent so openly requesting a challenge under the banner of "the way of teaching," Johan couldn't refuse.
Since he couldn't refuse... then I'll take these points!
Facing other Elite Four members might be uncertain, but facing a Dragon-type Elite Four member...
I'll send out Ninetales—how would you like to respond to that?
Though thinking this internally, Johan still responded very seriously:
"Good. In that case... I'll also learn about the 'way of teaching' from Mr. Hassel."
Seeing Johan always show serious, earnest expressions when discussing "the way of teaching," Hassel felt respectful, thinking Johan was the same type of person as himself.
When it came to being a teacher and setting an example, both would treat it seriously.
After all, it concerned young people's futures—no room for carelessness.
Hassel felt he might have found someone who could truly discuss the "way of teaching."
This battle exchange... he had to approach it with 120% seriousness and dedication!
"Hmm?"
A middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit, carrying a briefcase with disheveled hair and looking listless, was just about to dine at "Treasure Eatery."
He saw a Rotom drone flying toward the stadium outside Medali Town.
The middle-aged man was used to this—since the "Pokémon World Championships" points stage began, people battled for points daily.
Moreover, Medali Town, famous for its cuisine, attracted many trainers from around the world to taste the food.
With so many people, naturally there were many battles.
Rather than join the excitement, it was better to order at "Treasure Eatery" early and have a small drink... Thinking of this, the middle-aged man's spirits seemed to improve somewhat.
Middle-aged men's happiness was sometimes just that simple.
But just as he turned back, the middle-aged man received a text on his phone.
"It better not be overtime again."
Somewhat annoyed, he glanced at his phone, planning to pretend he hadn't seen it and turn off his phone if it was overtime.
However, when he saw the battle information displayed on his phone, he couldn't help but pause.
Hoenn Champion Johan VS Paldea Elite Four Hassel!
As Medali Town's Gym Leader and one of Paldea's Elite Four, Larry needed to be responsible for Medali Town's security. Therefore, for relatively "dangerous" battles, he would receive information from the League system.
This was to prevent the battling parties from getting too heated and causing unnecessary damage to Medali Town.
In this regard, the Paldea region, compared to the Galar region with stadiums everywhere, was somewhat lacking.
Of course, this didn't mean Paldea region's stadiums weren't safe—it was just that relatively speaking, Paldea region's stadium barriers weren't as strong as Galar region's Dynamax barriers.
In fact, purely in terms of protective barriers, the Galar region should be the best in the entire Pokémon world.
The Paldea region... was probably about the same as Hoenn, Johto, and Sinnoh.
"Sigh," Larry rubbed his stomach and sighed deeply.
As expected, it was overtime.
He looked up at the setting sun and the reddened sky, scratching his head.
However... for a battle of this level, working a little overtime was still acceptable, right?
Thinking this, Larry hefted his briefcase and reluctantly looked back at "Treasure Eatery" before turning toward the stadium.
Actually, "Treasure Eatery" had a battle area inside. Larry often used "Treasure Eatery" as half a gym, and after battling challengers, he could dine right there.
But obviously, a battle like Teacher Johan VS Teacher Hassel couldn't be contained by the battle area inside "Treasure Eatery."
When Larry arrived at the stadium in Medali Town's outskirts, quite a crowd of people and trainers had already gathered.
Despite being an Elite Four member, Larry walking into the crowd didn't even cause much commotion.
However, Larry was quite happy about this.
He was just a "working man," not here to be some idol or celebrity. The fewer people who recognized him, the less trouble there would be.
Being ordinary and unremarkable wasn't bad at all.
"Why did Teacher Johan come to our Paldea?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think he might be here for an exchange with Orange Academy? Otherwise, why would he battle Elite Four Hassel right after arriving?"
"I think it's more likely that Teacher Johan finished 'destroying' Galar region's contestants and came to climb ranks in our Paldea..."
"Climb ranks? Oh no! Quick, notify all the 'babies' to go home! Need 'adult' supervision when going out—Teacher Johan is here!"
The trainers and audience who came here weren't unfamiliar with Johan.
Especially in Paldea, a region where the education industry flourished—the currently most famous and strongest "teacher" in the entire Pokémon world wasn't from their Paldea region. How could they not know him?
Of course, there were also audience members who came because of Hassel.
Overall... Hassel had slightly higher support.
This had nothing to do with strength, region, or personal preference—purely because the world had suffered under Teacher Johan for too long!
In plain terms: if you're going to watch excitement, watch big excitement!
"Go Hassel! Crush Teacher Johan!"
"Both are teachers—prove that Orange Academy is better than Kanaz Pokémon Academy!"
"Elite Four Hassel, did you see that girl? Yes, Miss Cynthia! So... please beat up Teacher Johan for us!"
"..."
Hearing the cheers from the gradually filling stadium audience, Hassel's expression was grave in the preparation room.
Why...
Although Teacher Johan was clearly a Champion, everyone still called him "Teacher," while although he was an Elite Four member and also a teacher, everyone called him "Elite Four."
This showed... Teacher Johan's teacher identity was deeply rooted in people's hearts, while his own... Elite Four identity seemed more notable than his teacher identity.
"Perhaps this is what I need to learn from Teacher Johan."
On the other side, in Johan's rest room, he was having a staring contest with Gengar.
"Ka... ka-kaah..."
Gengar stared with dry, bloodshot eyes. After struggling to hold on, it finally couldn't help but blink, then frantically rubbed its eyes.
"You lost!"
Johan smiled triumphantly, also rubbing his dry eyes.
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar muttered while rubbing its eyes.
I was... I was letting you win! Mere human...
How could it lose to Johan in a blinking contest? Gengar was full of confusion.
That made no sense...
"Cynthia, look at him—where's the mature man's demeanor? Actually... actually having a blinking contest with Gengar?" Caitlin hugged Cynthia's arm with a disgusted expression.
Cynthia smiled gracefully and patted Caitlin's head.
The fierce Caitlin toward others only became obedient like a little kitten when facing Cynthia.
"Johan, come try on your outfit," Cynthia said.
"Outfit?"
Johan, who was about to put in eye drops, looked up at the black half-collar cape Cynthia had taken out. At first glance, it looked somewhat like a black windbreaker—very stylish and matching well with the black suit Johan was wearing.
"When did you buy this?" Johan approached, asking curiously.
Cynthia didn't answer but asked: "How is it? Try it on?"
"Sure."
Johan didn't hesitate. Cynthia helped him put the cape on his back.
It had to be said, even Johan felt stunning after putting it on.
If he added black gloves and carried a cane, people would probably believe he was descended from ancient nobility.
"Mm... it looks quite good." Cynthia didn't know if she was praising Johan or her own taste.
Johan touched the cape—the texture was quite nice too.
As everyone knew, in the Pokémon world, capes and windbreakers were part of the boss starter kit.
He hadn't expected to have a day when he'd wear a cape...
This cape, plus his little suit, plus his teacher identity—could this be the Pokémon world's "home tutor"?
Too bad this cape was a gift from his little Cynthia, so he couldn't put advertisements on it!
Johan immediately felt like he'd lost billions.
But since it was from Cynthia, Johan felt very happy.
"Now that you're a Champion, you should pay more attention to your attire," Cynthia adjusted Johan's collar, saying softly.
"Don't worry, I guarantee I won't let the cape fly away," Johan promised.
Hearing this, Cynthia smiled, knowing Johan was referring to Leon's "Champion Time."
She discovered... Johan seemed to enjoy muttering about friends' little quirks or habits. This was probably one of Johan's little quirks too?
"Ka-kaah~"
Whoosh—
Gengar pouted as it shook out its huge Spirit World cloth and draped it over its shoulders.
It looked at itself in the mirror, turned around, wiggled its rear, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Ka-kaah~"
As expected, I'm still the most handsome.
"Teacher Johan, time to go on stage!" Flint, who was getting somewhat impatient, shouted.
He'd clearly wanted to come to the Paldea region to climb ranks, so how had the first battle become Teacher Johan's?
But Champion VS First Elite Four was still quite exciting to imagine.
"Let's go!" Johan grinned.
"Mm."
Walking out of the contestant tunnel, the audience immediately erupted in exclamations.
"Holy crap! Teacher Johan actually became more handsome?!"
Johan: "..."
"A cape! Teacher Johan actually has such a cool cape?"
"It's different now—from now on, his identity is Champion Johan, plus he has a girlfriend who's also a Champion. (Lemon face)"
Die of sourness!
Johan walked toward the field with some small pride in his heart.
Entrance! Teacher Johan's Home Tutor Ultimate Outfit Form!
On the opposite side, Hassel, holding a sketchbook in one hand, also walked out of the tunnel seriously and came to the other side of the battle field.
Buzz buzz buzz—
A Rotom drone descended from the air.
Whoosh—
From Johan's pocket, his Rotom Pokédex shot out like lightning and directly kicked the Rotom drone away.
The audience's gaze followed the Rotom drone as it traced a beautiful arc through the air.
Everyone silently added question marks above their heads.
"This battle will be broadcast by this Rotom, Rotom!"
The Rotom Pokédex had become somewhat addicted to being a referee recently. The Rotom drone "working" in the Paldea region obviously wasn't networked with Galar region's Rotom drones, or that Rotom drone should have been prepared.
"Rigged! Rigged! Rigged!"
The audience who realized what happened started booing again.
Good grief, even the referee was truly one of their own—this was definitely rigged!
Of course, it was just booing for fun.
"Teacher Johan, I hope you won't hold back!" Hassel said seriously.
"Facing Mr. Hassel, I wouldn't dare," Johan smiled.
Although he was thinking about taking Hassel's points, with Ninetales and Tinkaton backing him up, the pressure of dealing with a Dragon-type Elite Four wasn't great.
But Johan didn't dare truly underestimate Hassel.
He wasn't clear about other things yet, but he knew what Hassel's ace Pokémon was.
The Paldea region's pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Baxcalibur!
Among ordinary Dragon-type Pokémon, the only Ice and Dragon-type Pokémon that didn't fear Ice-types.
If you really counted it... Baxcalibur could be considered the "Dragon Civil War King," comparable to Mega Altaria.
Johan could already feel his Dragonite becoming somewhat restless in its Poké Ball.
Facing Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragonite definitely couldn't contain itself, but Dragonite... was quadruple weak to Ice, completely countered.
Not just Dragonite.
Among his Pokémon, there was another little guy who'd been feeling quite stifled recently.
"Please prepare, both contestants!"
The Rotom Pokédex started broadcasting while taking out two flags, its voice spreading throughout the stadium.
The originally lively stadium gradually became quiet.
It was finally about to begin!
Larry sat in the front row, taking out a wrinkled bread package from his bag, tearing it open and eating with relish.
How would Hoenn League Champion Teacher Johan's strength differ from Paldea League Champion and President Ms. Geeta?
"Go, Flapple!"
On the field, Hassel threw out a Poké Ball. In the flashing red light, a Pokémon with a snake head protruding from a red apple appeared on the field.
"He's really serious now..." Larry took a bite of bread, his lazy expression becoming much more serious.
Larry understood Hassel quite well.
Usually, Hassel would send out Appletun. When he sent out Flapple, it meant he... was serious.
Johan threw out a Poké Ball at the same time.
"Please, Snivy!"
What appeared before Johan was an energetic Grass-type Pokémon, Snivy.
"Sni!"
Seeing Snivy, Hassel instinctively frowned.
He'd just said he wouldn't hold back—how could he send out Snivy, a Pokémon that... hadn't even reached its final evolution?
Audience members who knew Johan were already shouting.
"Oh no! Snivy? Teacher Johan is treating Elite Four Hassel like a 'baby'!"
Johan seemed to see Hassel's confusion and smiled slightly:
"Mr. Hassel, I believe the first principle of 'the way of teaching' is teaching without discrimination—not viewing any upright, kind student with goals and vision through colored glasses."
Hearing this, Hassel was stunned.
He looked at Snivy again.
This time, he clearly felt the intense battle desire emanating from Snivy—that was a Pokémon's pure longing for battle...
Such an attitude, regardless of form, strength, or condition, deserved respect.
Hassel suddenly understood. After seriously thinking for a moment, he bowed slightly to Johan and said sincerely:
"I've learned something, Teacher Johan."
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Powerstones?
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