HxH : Pokemon Master-Chapter 398: Investigating the Hunter Dojo

The Spirit World.

Looking around, everything appeared as a monochrome world of black and white.

Here, colors beyond black and white seemed nonexistent, resembling aged black-and-white photographs.

Meanwhile, countless dark mists drifted between heaven and earth, resulting in poor visibility. It felt as if terrifying beasts might charge out from the fog at any moment.

Although there were no beasts here, countless Ghost-type Pokémon existed.

Akira believed Ghost-type Pokémon were far more dangerous than beasts.

The original work didn’t fully depict the horror of Ghost-type Pokémon, only hinting at it through the Pokédex entries.

Most Ghost-type Pokémon habitually devour others’ life energy, even their souls. For ordinary people, Ghost-type Pokémon were undoubtedly the most difficult to coexist with.

The Spirit World was nothing but a death trap for regular humans! Entering meant certain death with no chance of survival.

But this didn’t apply to him.

He was more concerned about the newly appeared incubation bar in his mind.

This incubation bar, like the previous special ones, was exceptionally long with extremely slow progression.

This suggested it might be another First-Class God!

A Ghost-type, and a First-Class God at that.

Akira suspected it might be that ghost dragon—Giratina.

Giratina is a Legendary Pokémon, renowned alongside Palkia, the God of Space, and Dialga, the God of Time.

It’s said Giratina was banished due to its violent nature... Expulsion.

It inhabits the "Distortion World" (or Spirit World) behind this world where heaven and earth are indistinguishable.

An ancient saying has been passed down in the Hisui region: Where strong light shines, shadows are born.

Whoosh—

A Chandelure drifted over, seemingly harboring ill intentions toward Akira, a living person.

Chandelure is a chandelier-shaped Pokémon. It has a striped circular head and circular yellow eyes without pupils.

Its body is adorned with towering, shimmering purple flames.

It possesses a pair of curled, black chandelier-arm-like appendages, each ending in four clusters of burning purple flames.

Chandelure is a very classic Ghost-type Pokémon. Its characteristics include strong aggressiveness and proficiency in attacking souls.

It absorbs and burns souls, eerily swaying the flames on its arms to hypnotize opponents.

If surrounded by Chandelure’s flames, one’s soul will be absorbed and burned, leaving behind only a walking corpse.

It sounds quite terrifying. In the Hunter world, anything related to the soul is extraordinary.

From the initially understood Dark Sonata to the legendary Demon King.

And later known cursed snake demons, snake lords... none of them are ordinary beings. But in the Pokémon world, many Pokémon possess abilities related to the soul.

Akira collected his thoughts and merely cast a glance. The Chandelure felt as if crushed by Mount Tai, instantly pressed to the ground, struggling in vain.

The difference in strength was too great.

Bored, he casually transformed this Chandelure into his own Nen beast with a wave of his hand.

Practicing more often could also enhance his abilities to some extent. Both Soul Ability and Aura Ability require a certain level of proficiency.

Glancing at the slow progress bar in his mind, Akira decided to leave for now.

He could gradually work on the progress when he had time.

He still had many things to do and couldn’t stay here continuously until the progress bar was complete.

...

Indigo Plateau.

This is the Pokémon League headquarters for the Kanto and Johto regions.

Outstanding trainers overcome numerous challenges and then face the Elite Four and Champion here.

At the Office Building.

A conference room gathered several people. These individuals varied in appearance and attire, at first glance resembling some sort of eccentric party.

There was a brawny man with well-defined muscles, exuding an aura of masculinity (Bruno).

There was also an old woman hunched over, leaning on a cane, pretending to be frail and aged (Agatha).

There was also a man who loves wearing cloaks all day long, and though he’s a Dragon-type Elite Four member, he mostly uses Flying-type Pokémon (Lance).

Today, the Elite Four and Champion of the Kanto region, along with a few high-ranking Pokémon League officials, have gathered here.

What they need to discuss is—the Hunter Dojo.

The chubby official, named Dulu, pointed at the information on the board with his plump fingers.

"This is roughly the introduction to the Hunter Dojo. We believe it’s necessary to conduct an undercover investigation into this mysterious organization. We hope the Elite Four and Champion can provide assistance."

The Hunter Dojo’s expansion has been too rapid, spreading across both the Kanto and Johto regions in a short amount of time.

This naturally caught the attention of the Pokémon League. Initially, they didn’t pay much attention, only conducting simple investigations.

But when they couldn’t uncover the truth no matter what they tried, they realized the Hunter Dojo was a significant problem.

They even arranged for personnel to infiltrate the Hunter Dojo. But either they weren’t accepted by the Hunter Dojo, or they lost contact and never reported back.

"This is a force that demands serious attention! They must have some terrible, hidden agenda!" The high-ranking officials asserted firmly.

In the silence, Agatha and Bruno exchanged a glance with a cold glint in their eyes.

’Thinking of taking action against their Hunter Dojo? They’re not qualified, I’m afraid.’

Those present probably wouldn’t imagine that half of the Elite Four are already under the enemy’s command.

Thump, thump...

Lance frowned, tapping the table, the crisp sound echoing through the conference room.

His mind kept replaying the official’s introduction.

If the intelligence is correct, then this "Hunter Dojo" indeed poses a considerable problem.

Could it be another large-scale villainous organization? What is their goal?

As the Champion and an important member of the Pokémon League, Lance has encountered many villainous organizations.

He knows well that their goals usually fall into a few categories.

Pure evil aims to rule the world. Or they hold fanatical beliefs, such as reshaping the world into the form they desire.

He has heard of two opposing organizations in the Hoenn region, named Team Magma and Team Aqua. Their ideas are completely opposite.

One believes the world would be better as all land, the other as all ocean.

To be honest, if he had to choose between them, he thinks Team Magma’s philosophy makes more sense.

After all, if it were all ocean, how would people survive? Drifting on the sea all day?

So, is the "Hunter Dojo’s" goal the former or the latter?

Lance’s frown eased.

Whichever it is, increasing the investigation efforts is unavoidable.

This isn’t really the Elite Four’s responsibility, though.

They provide combat support; it’s only when a battle breaks out that they step in. In this matter—there’s no need to worry before it develops to that extent.

"I understand," Lance nodded. "Continue deepening your investigation into this Hunter Dojo. You can share any new discoveries with us. If you need our assistance, notify us then."

Several officials nodded in agreement. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The main purpose of today’s meeting was to inform the Elite Four about the importance of this matter and have them prepare for support.

As top-tier combatants, the Elite Four shouldn’t have problems dealing with a newly emerged organization.

Coincidentally, no one present thought this matter would cause much trouble. Lance’s side believed the Hunter Dojo wasn’t worth mentioning. Agatha’s side considered the Pokémon League to be vulnerable.

This information gap caused the Pokémon League to severely misjudge the power held by the Hunter Dojo.

The consequences could be easily predicted.