Sunday's release ti is at 11 EST.
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Two quiet days passed, and finally, the long Academy Festival holiday ca to an end.
Students and teachers alike returned to campus, gearing up for the upcoming midterms. But Steven hadn't returned, as he was one of the participants in the "Youth Exhibition Match."
At the Kanaz City Pokémon Academy training grounds...
"Ah, the school's training grounds really are nice and peaceful."
Under the shade of a tree, Johan sipped his coffee while holding a book.
Rumble—
The ground trembled slightly, a long furrow forming as Vulpix poked her head up from the soil.
"Oowu?"
With a shake, she leapt out of the ground, scattering dust and bits of snow as her muddy fur shimred back into its usual, pristine white.
But as Vulpix erged, another head squeezed its way out from underground.
"Ka-kah~~"
Haunter, clearly too big for the tunnel Vulpix had dug, sohow managed to twist and turn his way out. Then—
"Chu~ Chu~"
A small pink hand wiggled from the tunnel, seemingly stuck.
Vulpix hurriedly grabbed the little hand with her tail, pulling up Tinkatink, who was holding a tallic stone with a proud grin.
"Chu! (Heehee!)"
Covered in dust, Tinkatink plopped onto the ground, looking down at the tallic stone in her hands and beaming with pride.
It was their prize this ti—a stone full of precious tal minerals!
Johan's eye twitched as he watched the scene, swallowing the words he had been about to say.
This was the result of a "new venture" Haunter, Vulpix, and Tinkatink had been working on lately.
Tinkatink would use her hamr—now infused with Nosepass's magnetite—to search large areas for tallic traces.
Haunter would use his abilities to pass through walls and objects, narrowing down the location precisely.
And Vulpix would then dig the tunnel, using the "Dig" move she'd just learned two days ago.
With the three Pokémon working in sync, they were now quite skilled at finding and extracting tal ores from the ground.
Even Johan had to admit it: each one of his Pokémon was... incredibly talented.
In fact, he had one thought he wasn't sure he should even say.
With Haunter's uncanny ability to phase through walls, Vulpix's tunneling expertise, and Tinkatink's knack for "borrowing" shiny objects...
They were practically a trio of "outlaws!"
But he hadn't stopped them from this little mining operation, mainly because, in a way, it lightened his own burden. At least for the ti being, Tinkatink wouldn't need as many tal ores, easing his expenses a bit.
After a familiar round of "ping-ping-pang-pang" hamring sounds, Tinkatink stood proudly in the center of the training ground, hoisting her hamr like a champion with a trophy.
"Ti for a break," Johan called out.
The little ones cheered imdiately.
Break ti ant treats! They trotted over to him, tails and all, while Johan pulled out the Pokéblocks he had prepared.
Every ti he saw them gobbling up Pokéblocks, Johan felt grateful that he'd learned to make them himself. Otherwise, with how much these three ate, his expenses would skyrocket.
While they were engrossed in their snacks, Johan noticed Tinkatink's hamr sitting nearby.
Co to think of it, despite Tinkatink hamring in all sorts of tals every day, her hamr hadn't actually grown any bigger.
Curious, Johan grabbed the hamr's handle.
He gave it a little tug.
Hm?
It didn't budge.
Was it really this heavy?
Gritting his teeth, Johan grasped the handle with both hands, bracing his feet against the ground and pulling with all his strength.
The hamr didn't move at all.
A bead of sweat ford on Johan's forehead.
Tinkatink had shown remarkable strength even from birth, but now Johan was beginning to lose all sense of her limits.
Looking at her small, stubby arms... could she really be this strong?
"Chu?"
Noticing Johan, Tinkatink grinned and lifted the hamr with ease, swinging it around playfully before resting it on her shoulder.
Johan: "..."
He couldn't help but feel like Joseph Stone might have left a few details out when he gifted him Tinkatink's egg.
Did she have so hidden "Herculean Strength" trait?
Or was it... all that practice from smashing Vulpix's snown every day?
After all, with Vulpix's current strength, those snown shouldn't be so easy to destroy...
Then he rembered sothing else.
Whenever he held Tinkatink, she actually felt quite light—lighter than when he used to carry Vulpix, even.
Could it be that...
Tinkatink's hamr had a "ow Hamr" effect?
Once they'd finished eating, Johan got ready to take them to buy so groceries before heading ho to pack.
Tomorrow was the opening day of the "Youth Exhibition Match." Conveniently, he didn't have any classes, so if he woke up early, he could catch a flight and arrive just in ti for the opening.
In Hoenn's Sootopolis City...
The city's structure resembled a massive volcanic crater—high walls surrounding a central low point.
Crystals scattered throughout the city reflected the sunlight, casting colorful shimrs like rainbows. This natural beauty had earned Sootopolis the title of "Most Beautiful City in Hoenn."
This reputation was also one of the reasons why Sootopolis was chosen as the venue for the "Youth Exhibition Match."
As for Sootopolis's origin, there were two main theories:
One stated that the city was ford when an undersea volcano erupted, its magma rising above the surface to form the island of Sootopolis. This was the official version and the most widely accepted explanation.
The other theory, however, suggested that a massive teorite struck the earth a thousand years ago, cracking the ground and releasing natural energy and magma, which eventually created Sootopolis.
The teorite's energy supposedly triggered a clash between the ancient Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre.
This theory was sothing the Hoenn League would rather keep under wraps.
Today, Sootopolis was bustling with excitent.
A massive circular arena was surrounded by helicopters capturing aerial shots, and four giant screens ford a ring over the stadium, allowing fans without tickets to watch the matches in real-ti.
"Huff—"
Panting slightly, Johan reached the entrance of the arena.
Seeing the long lines, he relaxed a bit.
"Looks like it hasn't started yet. Just made it."
Suddenly, a woman in a black trench coat and a round hat with sunglasses spotted him and approached quickly.
Hm?
Just as Johan wondered who she was, the woman leaned in close and spoke in a low voice.
"Hey, pal. Need tickets?"
She held up a few crumpled-looking tickets, clearly for regular seats.
Johan: "..."
For a second, he almost mistook her for Cynthia!
Just then—
"Did you get the wrong person?"
A familiar voice ca from behind, carrying a hint of amused teasing.
Turning around, Johan saw a woman with long, silky blonde hair, wearing an unmistakably wide-brimd hat and sunglasses—Cynthia.
"Not at all," Johan sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"She doesn't exactly have the sa... presence or style as you."
Scalper: "???"
Cynthia chuckled and turned to walk toward the VIP entrance.
Johan quickly followed.
"Stealing custors is one thing, but did you have to 'insult' too...?" The scalper walked off, covering her face.
"Steven's in the first match, and Lance is in the second. They're getting ready now, so they asked to co get you," Cynthia explained as they walked through the VIP entrance.
At the ticket check, Johan smartly presented the invitation Cynthia had given him, along with his ticket.
After passing through, they entered the arena.
"Who are their opponents?" Johan asked.
"Steven's opponent is Wallace, and Lance's is Lorelei."
"Hiss—"
Johan couldn't help but wince.
Wow.
The organizers really know how to spice things up, don't they?
Soon, they arrived at a secluded private box with large, circular windows offering a full view of the arena. Inside, there were sofas, tea, and even a fruit platter.
Johan released Vulpix and Tinkatink from their Poké Balls, while Haunter erged from his shadow.
"Ka-kah~~"
Haunter's eyes lit up as he spotted Cynthia, now sitting on the sofa without her hat and sunglasses.
With a grin, he floated over and started giving her a shoulder massage.
Cynthia chuckled softly.
"Thank you."
"Ka-kah Ka-kah~~"
Then she waved over Vulpix and Tinkatink.
"Oowu~~"
Vulpix imdiately leapt into her lap, and Cynthia reached for the fruit platter, handing a piece to Tinkatink.
"Chu~~"
Tinkatink bead and sat down happily to eat.
Johan: "..."
Are these three even my Pokémon?
"So, who's your opponent?" Johan asked, pretending not to notice.
"Hmm..." Cynthia blinked. "My opponent's an easier one—it's Aaron."
"Well, that's definitely... lighter work," Johan mused.
"Hmm?"
An exhibition match indeed—pure "show."
As the host and the mayor of Sootopolis took the stage for opening remarks, the exhibition match officially began.
Cheers erupted from the audience, filling the circular stadium with excitent.
"Now, let's welco the first match's contestants!"
"From Kanaz City—Steven Stone!"
"And from right here in Sootopolis—Wallace!"
In an instant—
The electrifying atmosphere washed over the arena.
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Powerstones?
For 20 advance Chapters: /michaeltranslates
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