Clatter—
The metal chains fell, and immediately another surge of energy filled with negative emotions seeped from behind the circular stone tablet.
Sure enough, Gengar's perception was the most acute.
The seal here was already loose, which was why Johan had tried having Garchomp forcibly shatter the seal.
He hadn't expected that while the seal was loose, it wasn't loose enough. Under normal circumstances without Mega Evolution or enhancement, Garchomp's full-power attack left the seal completely unmoved.
But as Gengar had demonstrated, since the seal was loose, there had to be a weak point. The wedge it had just pulled out was exactly where this seal had loosened.
What surprised Johan was that his Gengar actually knew how to "open doors"!
But thinking about it, Gengar would phase through doors it could pass through, and only think about opening doors it couldn't pass through.
Gengar - No Door Can Stop Me!
But regardless, with the seal's loosening expanded, things became much easier.
At least they didn't need to pull out stakes one by one.
They retreated another distance.
They watched as gray, misty energy seeped from behind the stone tablet seal, gradually spreading outward in all directions.
"If left alone, this negative energy's area of influence will keep expanding," Caitlin said with a frown.
"Isn't that exactly why we're here to handle it?"
Johan remained calm. "Rotom, record the footage."
"Understood, Rotom!"
The Rotom Pokédex floated out, turning on its camera function to record the scene.
"Next, we completely break the seal."
Johan loosened his collar slightly and smiled at Garchomp. "Garchomp, want to try again?"
"Shaka!!"
Garchomp growled fiercely at Johan.
Again?
It wasn't stupid!
Johan shrugged, figuring Caitlin probably wouldn't listen to him either.
Looked like he'd have to do it himself.
He took out a Luxury Ball and threw it.
"Garruu zzZ..."
The snoring Urshifu appeared before Johan.
Though asleep, both its expression and posture were ready for battle.
"Wake up, Urshifu," Johan said softly.
"Garruu?"
Urshifu's sleepy eyes opened.
"Focus Energy, Sword Dance!"
"Garruu!"
Without any hesitation, Urshifu immediately took a deep breath, its eyes instantly becoming sharp. A dark red aura rose from its feet, faintly accompanied by metallic clanging as its momentum rapidly climbed.
"Shaka?"
Feeling Urshifu's changing aura, Garchomp's eyes narrowed, showing some surprise.
It also sensed considerable threat from Urshifu.
This guy...
Garchomp couldn't help but glance at the confident Johan.
His ability to train Pokémon was truly impressive.
Johan, also watching Urshifu, had a thought.
Looking at Urshifu's momentum change—that fragment from the "Fist Plate" had been pretty well "digested," hadn't it?
Recently, Urshifu hadn't had many chances to appear, but Coach Bear never neglected its training.
If asked which of Johan's Pokémon was most "hardworking," it would definitely be Urshifu.
After all, punching during the day, punching while asleep—who could out-work that?
However, compared to the other little ones, Urshifu's "luck" wasn't as good. In cultivation novels, this would be called "opportunities."
But Urshifu's foundation was among the best in Johan's team.
It was, after all, a legendary Pokémon's foundation.
What it might lack was just an opportunity.
"Urshifu, that stone tablet." Johan pointed at the seal. "Shatter it!"
"Garruu!"
Hearing this, Urshifu stared intently at the circular stone tablet, its fur dancing in the airflow.
Bang!!
An explosive sound, the ground erupted, and Urshifu instantly disappeared from its spot.
The next second—
Boom!!
Before the massive circular stone tablet, a seemingly plain and simple fist pressed solidly against it.
Wicked Blow!
Rustle rustle rustle—
Large amounts of dust shook down from the huge circular stone tablet, but the tablet seemed unmoved.
But suddenly—
Crack—
A crisp, loud sound split from the stone tablet.
Then, with Urshifu's fist as the center, spider web-like fine cracks rapidly spread until they covered the entire tablet.
It opened!
Rumble—
The massive stone tablet shook once more, immediately crumbling into stones of various sizes that scattered down.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar gave Urshifu a thumbs up, then raised an eyebrow at Garchomp.
"Shaka!"
Garchomp crossed its arms and turned its head away.
Boom!!
As the stone tablet shattered, a surge of powerful negative emotional energy immediately poured from the scattered stones.
A pitch-black massive cavity appeared in everyone's view.
"Garruu!!"
As soon as the seal opened, Urshifu, Garchomp, and Gengar's expressions immediately became serious, as if sensing some threat.
"It's coming!" Johan's expression also became serious as he spoke gravely.
"Gururu..."
An extremely dull sound came from within that pitch-black cavity, followed by scraping noises.
It was like... something was crawling over a pile of dead leaves on the ground.
Dimly visible, a three-to-four-meter-tall, small hill-like Pokémon slowly crawled out from the sealed area, accompanied by rich negative emotions, entering Johan and the others' view.
Under the heavy atmosphere, that creature gradually revealed its form.
It looked like a gigantic snail, its head and surroundings covered with numerous dead leaves. On either side of its head, two white tentacles intertwined with each other, with green eyes between the tentacles.
On its back was a shell formed by coiled bamboo strips like scrolls, nearly identical to the bamboo piece they had obtained, densely carved with text.
This was clearly one of the legendary "Treasures of Ruin"—the Tablets, Wo-chien!
"Unknown! Unknown Pokémon, Rotom!" the Rotom Pokédex called out.
"This is the Pokémon representing the tablets among the 'Treasures of Ruin'?" Cynthia said softly.
Johan nodded. "A Dark and Grass-type Ruinous Pokémon."
The typing wasn't hard to guess.
Just looking at Wo-chien's appearance and that strong evil aura, you could tell it was Dark and Grass-type.
"Garruu!"
"Shaka!"
The moment they sensed Wo-chien's aura, Urshifu and Garchomp showed discomfort and unease.
As if some mysterious and strange power was suppressing their own power.
The ability, Tablets of Ruin!
[Tablets of Ruin: When a Pokémon with this ability is on the field, all other Pokémon except those with Tablets of Ruin have their Attack reduced to three-quarters!]
A direct, unreasonable reduction of one-quarter.
This was definitely bad news for any physical attack Pokémon.
However, for Gengar, who specialized in special attack...
"Ka-kaah! Ka-kaah! Ka-kaah!"
Turning to look at Gengar, they saw it lying on the ground, rolling back and forth while hugging itself, as if on fire, looking extremely "pained."
Johan: "..."
"That's enough, stop pretending."
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar sat up straight and looked at the speechless Urshifu and Garchomp.
Eh? You guys aren't affected that badly?
Maybe my fighting skills are too amazing, so I'm affected more severely.
Everyone: "..."
"Gururu!!"
While Gengar was still fooling around, Wo-chien, having finally escaped its seal, wasn't in a good mood. After a low roar, the dead leaves on its body rustled, and a shower of malicious leaves scattered toward Johan and the others.
"Urshifu!"
Johan called out.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu immediately understood, sweeping out with one foot to create an airwave that scattered Wo-chien's falling leaves.
"Once more, Sword Dance!"
Although Wo-chien's "Tablets of Ruin" ability would suppress the power of physical attackers like Urshifu, Wo-chien itself was very skilled at special defense. Relatively speaking, physical attackers could still deal some damage.
Moreover, Wo-chien's Dark and Grass typing gave it many weaknesses.
4× weak to Bug.
Unfortunately, Aaron wasn't here.
But it was also 2× weak to Fighting. Even with Urshifu's power suppressed, under two Sword Dances plus Focus Energy enhancement, it would be enough!
"Garruu!!"
Metallic clanging accompanied sharp momentum bursting forth again.
At the same time, though the leaves Wo-chien scattered were swept away by Urshifu before getting close, after falling to the ground they quickly took root and sprouted, growing dark green vines.
And those seemingly small vines rapidly coiled toward Urshifu.
Leech Seed!
"Urshifu, Sucker Punch and get close!"
Since he chose to let Urshifu fight, it naturally needed to get in close.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu roared and shot forward again, wrapped in dark, sinister Dark-type energy, appearing before Wo-chien in an instant.
This sudden attack clearly caught the long-slumbering Wo-chien off guard.
In its memory, no Pokémon dared appear so directly in front of it, especially at such close range.
After all, it had the "Tablets of Ruin" ability—physical attackers still dared approach?
But while Wo-chien was stunned, Urshifu certainly wasn't.
"Close Combat!"
In an instant, the knotted muscles under Urshifu's thick fur bulged, and its fist unreasonably struck toward Wo-chien's face.
Bang!!
The sudden violent blow immediately brought Wo-chien back to its senses while it felt excruciating pain.
However, without giving it a chance to react, after one punch came a storm-like flurry of crazy consecutive hits.
More importantly, Wo-chien could clearly feel that in this combo, each punch seemed slightly heavier than the previous one.
Every time it gathered strength to counterattack, the tremendous force of each blow immediately shattered its accumulation.
The more it was hit, the more it hurt; the more it hurt, the more confused it became.
"Continue, Close Combat!"
Johan was somewhat surprised that Wo-chien's reaction was so sluggish—it had been hit with a full combo by Urshifu but still hadn't reacted.
Was it because of the snail's "nature"?
But Johan wouldn't waste such an opportunity.
Finish early, complete the job early, get reimbursed early, rest early.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu clenched its fist again.
Such a punching bag was rare.
Its eyes became even sharper.
It had made some gains while practicing punching recently—perfect time to test them on this guy!
Taking a deep breath, it slowly exhaled.
A wisp of white mist drifted from Urshifu's mouth, and an invisible wave of aura power spread with a "hum."
Focus Energy brought more concentrated spirit, aura power brought stronger strength, and strength combined with the surrounding aura instantly condensed.
Focus Punch?
Seeing this scene, Johan raised an eyebrow.
Trying to combine Focus Punch with Close Combat?
Good grief!
Focus Punch required highly concentrated spirit and energy. Any external interference would interrupt it directly.
So Focus Punch had to be used when the opponent wasn't attacking and gave enough time to gather energy.
Swinging the fist—
Throwing the punch!
"Gururu!!"
At this moment, the "snail-natured" Wo-chien finally came to its senses, roaring low as a terrifying oppressive airwave wrapped in thick negative energy immediately rushed toward Urshifu.
Boom!!
Energy filled with negative emotions descended like disaster, a decaying, dark energy mixed with hatred struck heavily.
The massive impact directly sent Urshifu flying.
"Garruu!!"
As the huge negative energy drilled into its body, Urshifu hit the ground while being invaded by negative energy, crying out in uncontrolled pain.
Ruination!
The signature move exclusive to the "Treasures of Ruin" Pokémon—Ruination.
Similar to the Alola region's Guardian deities' Nature's Madness.
It directly reduced the opponent's HP by half, no matter how much HP they had!
It looked very powerful.
But it only looked that way.
Because no matter how much it reduced, it could only reduce half the HP—it couldn't completely defeat the opponent.
The "Treasures of Ruin" Pokémon had finally awakened!
But... what awakened wasn't just it!
"Garruu!"
After briefly experiencing pain, the fallen Urshifu immediately forced down that extremely uncomfortable energy baptism.
Dark-type Pokémon?
Who isn't a Dark-type Pokémon!
Legendary?
Who isn't a legendary!
Standing with feet front and back, arms spread fore and aft, Urshifu took a stance that was neither Single Strike nor Rapid Strike.
Its momentum, far from being crushed, became even stronger!
Focus Energy.
Concentrate.
Clench fist—
Johan felt Urshifu's will—the will it had forged day after day, night after night.
Aura power rapidly spread.
"Aura?" Johan said softly. "I have quite a bit of that too..."
Aura!
Hum—
Johan's aura power quickly merged with Urshifu's aura power.
In an instant, Urshifu seemed to go "Super Saiyan," its fur standing on end.
Boom!!
The surrounding ground exploded again. Facing Wo-chien's Ruination attack, Urshifu showed no fear—instead, it became even more imposing.
In a flash, it was before Wo-chien.
This time, Wo-chien reacted.
The numerous Leech Seeds it had planted earlier sprouted vines that quickly gathered in front of it, weaving into a massive vine barrier.
However, for Urshifu with "Unseen Fist," such protection was like paper.
Bang—
One punch.
Wo-chien's eyes immediately widened, the piercing pain making it cry out instinctively. Its mountain-like body uncontrollably flew back like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the rock wall behind.
The next second, Urshifu closed in again, giving Wo-chien no chance to react, frantically throwing punches.
Rumble—
The rock wall and ground shook violently as large amounts of rock and dust continuously fell and rose.
The tremendous roar scared all nearby wild Pokémon into hiding.
"Garruu!!"
Urshifu roared once more, delivering a final downward punch from above.
Boom!!
The ground and rock wall immediately collapsed.
Wo-chien was unable to battle!
"Ka-kaah..." Gengar muttered.
A bit harsh...
This fighting technique was comparable to mine.
"Violent maniac," Caitlin muttered. Though complaining, she was also surprised by the strength Urshifu displayed.
Psychic-type was very effective against Fighting-type Pokémon, but the power and technique Urshifu showed...
It would be hard to beat.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu stepped back and returned to Johan's side, breathing heavily, looking somewhat excited.
Did the combination of Focus Punch and Close Combat succeed?
No.
After all, both Focus Punch and Close Combat were Fighting-type finishing moves with very high explosive power, each with demanding requirements.
Focus Punch required absolutely concentrated spirit, while Close Combat required constantly finding angles and timing. These two moves inherently contradicted each other.
But while Focus Punch didn't work, aura power could.
Combining aura with Close Combat, using aura as the "Rapid Strike Style Secret" flowing power—this worked!
Progress and growth were enough for Urshifu.
As long as it kept growing step by step, Heavenly Father would definitely "take care" of His child!
With "care," it could better protect Johan!
Wo-chien was unable to battle.
Now came the most troublesome stage.
Capturing it.
"Johan." Cynthia nodded.
She believed Johan was most suitable for handling Wo-chien, this "disaster Pokémon" that shouldn't have become a disaster.
"Throw the ball, Johan," Caitlin said with some teasing.
Never mind that Urshifu had defeated Wo-chien—the uncomfortable negative energy it constantly released was most important.
Johan's mouth twitched slightly.
Taking this one might mean taking many more...
But having accepted already...
Sighing lightly, Johan took out an Ultra Ball.
Throwing this one ball out could mean hundreds in return...
That works.
Thinking this, Johan threw the Ultra Ball at Wo-chien.
Red light shot out, drawing Wo-chien inside. The Ultra Ball shook three times continuously, then made a crisp "click" sound.
But afterward, the yellow patterns on the Ultra Ball were dyed pitch black by black mist seeping from within.
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar grabbed the Ultra Ball from the ground and quickly floated to Johan.
Hey! A legendary!
Looking at the "Ultra Ball" that seemed to have become a "Dark Ball," Johan's mouth twitched again.
Johan: "..."
Though speechless, captured was captured.
"Gengar, hold onto this for me," Johan said.
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar scratched its head, but when thinking of Wo-chien's appearance and abilities, its eyes lit up.
"Ka-kaah!"
Got it!
It immediately threw the blackened Ultra Ball into its mouth.
Done!
"Rotom, send that video to Chairman Geeta," Johan said.
"Understood, Rotom!"
Rotom immediately sent the video to Paldea League Chairman Geeta.
"Oh, and attach an expense report, just use our previous... template."
"Got it, Rotom!"
This whole process was quite familiar!
"That takes care of one matter, let's..."
Johan looked at Cynthia and Caitlin, then at Gengar and the injured Urshifu.
"Have a happy beach barbecue!"
Gengar had been calling for barbecue for a while now.
Time to satisfy it.
"Ka-kaah!"
"Garruu!"
"Chairman Geeta sent materials, Rotom!"
On the beach of Paldea region's South Province Area One, Rotom, which had just emerged from the grill, received information from Geeta.
"Information about 'Herba Mystica,' general locations, and Titan Pokémon data, Rotom."
"Oh?"
Johan, wearing an apron while barbecuing, grabbed Rotom and quickly flipped through the data, finding that there happened to be a Titan Pokémon in South Province Area Three.
Not too far from South Province Area One.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar suddenly tugged at Johan's clothes, pointing toward the grass near the beach.
"What's wrong?"
Following Gengar's direction, Johan was slightly stunned.
He saw many wild Pokémon, each carrying something—berries, food, or materials—cautiously at the grass edge, looking like they wanted to approach but didn't dare.
"They're..."
"Ka-kaah!"
I'll go ask!
Just as Gengar finished speaking, Johan grabbed the horn on its head. "You go? They'll all run away! Ninetales, you go ask."
"Oowoo..."
Ninetales nodded, walking over with light steps and a very gentle attitude.
Who knew what it said to those wild Pokémon.
The next second, those little ones immediately showed happy expressions, excitedly running over together and placing all their berries, materials, and food in front of Urshifu.
"Garr... garruu?"
Urshifu looked confused.
After placing their items, the wild Pokémon didn't leave immediately but stood there hopefully.
Lechonk, Tandemaus, and Greedent rubbed their hands like little flies.
"What's the situation?"
Ninetales approached and quietly said a few words to Johan, and he finally understood.
Then his expression became somewhat strange.
It turned out these wild Pokémon were here to thank Johan and the others for helping deal with Wo-chien, the "big trouble." Many of their companions often accidentally wandered into the sealed area and became very irritable.
Now that Wo-chien was removed, those companions had returned to normal.
They were expressing gratitude.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu clenched its fist.
See? Heavenly Father would "take care of" hardworking Pokémon!
Look, didn't it come?
"Could be considered doing a good deed," Johan said to Cynthia.
Cynthia smiled and nodded.
Sometimes, you really didn't need to worry so much about gains and losses, right?
"Well then." Johan looked at the hopeful wild Pokémon, moved his lips, then said: "Since you're here... want to eat together?"
The next second, those wild Pokémon immediately rushed over.
Greedent was exaggerated, constantly stuffing things in its mouth without chewing, just stuffing—comparable to Gengar.
Most exaggerated were the Tandemaus, directly climbing onto Johan's body to grab the skewers in his hands, completely losing their earlier fearful, timid appearance.
Johan: "..."
Why did it feel like he was still at a loss?
But seeing those wild Pokémon so happy and carefree, Johan thought about it and didn't mind.
Whatever—worst case, he'd send another expense report to Chairman Geeta.
"What else do you want to eat? I'll make more?"
Whoosh—
At the same time, all the Pokémon present pointed to their favorite foods in unison.
All different, diverse and varied.
Johan: "..."
Looking skyward.
Day-who-knows-how-many since leaving Mewtwo—missing it.
"I want ice cream too," Cynthia said with a smile, looking at Johan who already had five or six Pokémon climbing on him.
Being so liked by wild Pokémon showed Johan's Pokémon affinity was still strong.
"Bubo bubo~"
A chubby Lechonk tugged at Cynthia's pants, pointing at the half-eaten skewer in her hands with starry eyes, rubbing its little hands.
Seeing this, Cynthia couldn't help but smile. "Here."
"I want ice cream too!" Caitlin also shouted.
"Roger, one more ice cream coming up!" Johan ignored Caitlin.
Caitlin: (#皿)
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Powerstones?
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