Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 563: This Is the True "Wandering Dragon"!

"Huff—huff—"

Inteleon gasped heavily, staring at the merged Gengar, unable to hide the fear in its eyes.

Come on.

I just shot two blasts, and you rained down an entire arsenal on me?!

If it weren't for Protect combined with Substitute, and Inteleon's naturally agile body, allowing it to narrowly avoid Gengar's relentless bombardment, it would have been knocked out on the spot.

Even though it dodged most of it, Inteleon's condition was now worse than Cinderace's had been earlier.

Leon hadn't expected Johan's Gengar to have this level of burst power.

He had tried to research Johan's Gengar before.

But in previous battles, Gengar had only shown its sneaky ability to steal buffs and surprising physical attack prowess.

And most of the footage available was from League tournaments—not truly indicative of Johan's full strength.

No one knew Gengar could unleash such insane barrages.

Leon had already pulled out a Poké Ball, intending to swap Inteleon out.

After all, Inteleon was mainly brought in to counter Ceruledge.

But—

As he tried to recall Inteleon, the red beam was blocked by a dark force.

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar waved playfully at Inteleon.

"Don't go yet! We haven't even started playing~~"

Mean Look!

Inteleon: "..."

I don't wanna play with you!!

Leon realized swapping via Poké Ball was useless now.

"U-turn, Inteleon!"

Inteleon gritted its teeth, blue light flashing over its body as it darted at Gengar like a bullet.

U-turn would hit and then allow it to switch out, bypassing Mean Look.

A smart plan—but—

Facing the incoming Inteleon, Gengar simply grinned wider.

Hey!

"Thunderbolt, Gengar," Johan said calmly.

Gengar grabbed its own ears, stretching them into fake Pikachu ears—

ZAP!

Golden lightning surged across the battlefield with a sizzling sound, striking Inteleon head-on!

ZZZZZTTT—!!

Inteleon froze mid-dash, never even reaching Gengar.

That's why Leon had initially chosen to swap with the Poké Ball rather than risk U-turn.

Thunderbolt had nailed it.

Finally, Inteleon collapsed.

"Inteleon is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

The first Pokémon knocked out!

"Ka-kaah~ Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar, still disguised as a Pikachu, bounced around the field triumphantly.

"Pfft—this Gengar even had to cosplay as Pikachu to use Thunderbolt!"

"Confirmed—Gengar is a shapeshifting prankster!"

"Not gonna lie, that Thunderbolt was ridiculously powerful for a non-Electric Pokémon."

The audience roared with laughter.

Gengar's nature as a mischievous trickster was shining bright.

Meanwhile, among the newly arrived spectators—

In a corner of the stands, Professor Oak, Red, and Green had just sat down.

Red's Pikachu stood on his shoulder, head tilted, watching the field.

It scratched its head at Gengar's antics.

"That Thunderbolt... really strong," Red murmured.

His own Pikachu's Thunderbolt wasn't weak either.

But compared to Johan's Gengar...

And Gengar wasn't even an Electric-type!

This was the gap between them.

Green noticed Red's expression, feeling conflicted.

Was Red still thinking about challenging Johan after seeing this?

But when he met Red's eyes—

He was stunned.

Red wasn't discouraged at all.

In fact, his fighting spirit was burning even brighter.

He was focusing even more intently on the match.

"Red..."

Green opened his mouth but said nothing.

Professor Oak, meanwhile, smiled warmly at both boys.

"You did great, Inteleon."

Leon spoke softly to the Poké Ball, then turned toward Gengar, still bouncing excitedly.

After a brief thought, he threw his third Poké Ball.

"Go, Dragapult!"

The stealth dragon—Dragapult!

Triangular head shaped like a jet, four hollow holes atop its skull, housing tiny Dreepy, a slender body, and a translucent ghostly tail.

"Dragapult, the Stealth Pokémon, Dragon/Ghost-type. A pseudo-legendary Pokémon of Galar—Rotom!"

A pseudo-legendary Dragon!

Johan knew Dragapult well.

In earlier competitive scenes, Dragapult had been a top-tier pick.

The holes in its head housed two Dreepy, used both as weapons and companions—

a special symbiosis unique to Dragapult.

In games, this mainly affected certain moves.

But in the real world...

Catching one Dragapult meant catching THREE pseudo-legendaries!

Johan couldn't help but think: there goes another fortune.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar tilted its head at Dragapult.

Hey, this guy feels kinda like my little "electronic pet"...

Gengar's instincts were sharp.

But Dragapult—

It stared at Gengar with caution.

It sensed... a terrifying pressure from Gengar.

A dangerous aura.

One of Johan's Poké Balls began to tremble at his waist.

Noticing it, Johan calmly ordered:

"Gengar, return."

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar looked confused.

I can still fight, boss!

But obediently floated back anyway.

In front of outsiders, the family's Gengars still had to show respect.

Once Gengar returned, the trembling Poké Ball opened by itself.

"Bwooo~~"

Bursting onto the field—

Dragonite!

Excited, energetic—Dragonite was ready to GO!

Leon immediately responded.

"Dragapult, Dragon Dance!"

"Baruto—!"

Dragapult floated higher, pulsing with a rhythmic energy.

Johan raised an eyebrow and quickly countered:

"Dragonite, Dragon Dance!"

"Bwooo—!!"

WHOOSH!

Dragonite's massive wings flapped hard, propelling its large body upward at shocking speed.

Both dragons, dancing in the air, boosting their Attack and Speed simultaneously.

A certain dragon: "You're ALL MINE—GAH!"

"Dragapult, Dragon Darts!"

Swoosh swoosh—

From Dragapult's head holes, two Dreepy were launched like missiles, cutting through the air toward Dragonite.

Dragon Darts—a signature move only Dragapult could use.

"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"

"Bwooo!!"

Dragonite's body surged with draconic energy, forming a massive dragon aura, charging at Dragapult.

The Dreepy arrows tried to intercept—

but Dragonite powered through, barreling straight at Dragapult.

The clash neared.

"Tail Whip, Dragapult!"

Leon commanded.

Dragapult's tail stiffened, shimmering green.

Dragon Tail—

a move that could forcibly switch out an opponent's Pokémon.

It had been Leon's key tactic in the original series: disrupting opponents' rhythms.

Against impulsive Trainers like Ash, it worked decently.

But against strategists like Johan—

Johan had already anticipated it.

"Extreme Speed!"

he shouted.

BOOM!

Dragonite's body blurred—

and instead of colliding head-on, it instantly flashed behind Dragapult.

"Whoa! Johan's classic prediction!" Raihan shouted excitedly from commentary.

Leon ordered:

"Dragapult, fly up!"

Dragapult was faster than most pseudo-legendaries.

It tried to bolt—

BAM!!

Dragonite smashed into Dragapult's back!

Though the damage wasn't devastating (both were in motion), Dragapult used the hit's momentum to widen the distance.

Meanwhile, the Dreepy missiles finally caught up.

BOOM! BOOM!

They hit Dragonite, but thanks to Dragonite's Multiscale ability, the damage was minor.

Leon's eyes sharpened.

"Keep your distance—Dragon Darts again!"

Swoosh swoosh—

Two more Dreepy launched.

Dragapult kept flying, maintaining maximum distance from Dragonite.

Dragonite was forced to dodge deftly, a surprisingly agile feat for such a large body.

It chased.

Meanwhile:

Dragapult leading.

Dragonite chasing.

Dreepy chasing Dragonite.

A bizarre high-speed game of cat and mouse unfolded.

Raihan facepalmed.

"Here it is—Leon's famous 'Kiting Dragon' tactic: speed advantage, stay mobile, wear them down."

Among the spectators, nobody understood Leon better than Raihan.

Dragapult, boosted by Dragon Dance, was fast.

It kept Dragging Darts flying.

But—

Dragapult glanced behind.

Huh?

Why isn't this Dragonite slowing down?

It's not even tired?

Dragapult was puzzled.

It didn't know—

Dragonite loved this.

At home, Johan's Gengar had to drag Dragonite on massive flights just to burn its endless energy.

This chase?

Child's play.

Johan's gaze sharpened.

You think you're "wandering the skies"?

No.

You don't understand what it means to be a "Wandering Dragon."

"Dragonite!"

He adjusted his monocle dramatically.

"Extreme Speed!"

Dragonite's acceleration skyrocketed.

Raihan started explaining:

"Extreme Speed is fast, but it's a Normal-type move.

Against a Ghost/Dragon like Dragapult, it won't work—"

But—

Steven shook his head in the stands.

"That's no ordinary Extreme Speed."

Watch carefully.

"Look!"

someone gasped.

Dragonite's usual whitish speed trails...

turned green!

The swirling energy—

took the shape of an arrow.

An arrow?!

Dragon Darts!?

Raihan was stunned.

"Wait—did Dragonite learn Dragon Darts by watching Dreepy?"

"No," Cynthia said calmly.

"You're looking at something different."

BOOM!!

Dragonite smashed into Dragapult head-on, ignoring type immunities.

Dragapult reeled in pain.

The audience erupted in shock.

"Why can Normal-type Extreme Speed hit Dragapult?!"

"That's not logical—oh wait, it's Johan. Never mind."

"If Dragapult can't even out-speed it, how can it win?"

"Wandering Dragon?

No.

THIS is the true 'Wandering Dragon!'"

Some Hoenn natives, those with good memories, remembered a long-deleted video...

A clip of Johan riding atop Rayquaza, performing a mystical finishing move.

"I swear... that move looks just like Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent!"

Taught by a certain legendary friend.

Don't ask.

Just accept.

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates