"We're rich..."
Looking at the large pile of irregularly shaped diamonds in front of him, Johan lightly licked his somewhat dry lips.
If this were his previous life, after diamonds were deliberately labeled as "precious," this pile of diamonds would have a terrifying value.
Even in the Pokémon world, so many diamonds were definitely a considerable sum.
This was only half the diamonds from one small Carbink "village."
No wait.
They hadn't even finished digging. They'd need to stay here for a while longer to continue mining.
Even with Pokémon's efficiency far exceeding ordinary people, so many diamonds couldn't be dug up in just a short time.
And faced with so many diamonds, the happiest was naturally Larvitar.
The little one now walked with its head held high, strutting proudly. Anyone who didn't know better would think it had already eaten and digested all these diamonds.
Thank goodness Gengar's shadow space was large enough, otherwise... how to transport so many diamonds would be a problem.
"Yoji?" Larvitar approached Johan, immediately dropping its previous "arrogant" attitude and asking quietly.
Can I eat freely this time?
Speaking of which, it was strange.
Johan usually didn't interfere much with Larvitar's eating. As long as there was nothing going on, the little one could eat whenever it wanted - walking and eating, resting and eating, watching TV and eating, listening to stories and eating, even eating during training.
But... he'd really never seen Larvitar eat its fill.
This "eating its fill" meant Larvitar filling its stomach until it couldn't stuff anything more in.
Although Gengar also "never got full," that was partly because Gengar's appetite was indeed large, and partly because Gengar liked to hoard.
When it couldn't eat anymore, it would stuff things in its mouth to hide them. No one knew whether it was still eating or already full.
But Larvitar was different. It didn't have Gengar's ability to traverse shadows and hide things in shadows. As long as there was food, it seemed able to keep eating.
Could it be... the little thing's digestion and absorption speed was proportional to its food intake, so it could never get full?
A drop of cold sweat appeared on Johan's forehead.
But facing the little one's hopeful eyes, then glancing at the "diamond mountain" in front of him, Johan didn't believe Larvitar's digestive ability was that exaggerated.
"Eat freely!" He waved his hand generously. "We dug so many diamonds just so you could eat your fill. Otherwise, wouldn't our digging be in vain?"
"Yoji!!"
Power!!
"But let's move them back first."
This diamond mine would need digging for a while longer, and they could wait here for Officer Jenny and the others. Johan would take his little ones back to camp for lunch first.
Whoosh—
Gengar took out large quantities of diamonds and placed them on the ground. Larvitar sat right beside them, stuffing large chunks into its mouth.
"Delicious!"
Tasting Johan's cooking for the first time, even as princess of the Diamond Kingdom, Diancie was immediately won over, its pink eyes sparkling.
However, compared to Gengar and Larvitar's eating habits, Diancie was undoubtedly much more refined, even elegant.
But the result was...
"It's... gone?" Diancie blinked at the empty plate, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales spread its tails, using one to bring over a piece of cake it had specifically saved to Diancie.
Pokémon like Diancie who hadn't experienced the "Old Johan Family's" eating habits definitely couldn't adapt. How much it could eat was unknown, so Ninetales thoughtfully saved a portion for Diancie.
"Th-thank you..." Diancie was a bit shy but very grateful.
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales shook its head slightly, stretched its body in a long yawn, then curled up beside Johan for a post-meal nap.
Rest a bit, there was still daily training later.
"Someone came by?"
During the meal, Regieleki mentioned what it had sensed earlier, though it wasn't certain and just mentioned it casually.
Looking at Regieleki sitting obediently on its small stool, Johan gently stroked his chin.
In the sky, couldn't see anything, but there seemed to be electrical current fluctuations...
Wasn't this exactly the standard equipment of that father-daughter thief duo?
As expected.
Those targeting Diancie weren't just Millis and Marilyn Flame.
Why didn't they come down to fight?
If they had come down, Regieleki could definitely have taught them a lesson.
But it didn't matter.
Their target was Diancie anyway, while Johan's target was them.
"Burp~~"
Just as Johan was putting away his thoughts, he heard a burp that sounded like a roar.
Following the sound.
The scene he saw made his eye twitch.
Larvitar had finally eaten its fill. Its little belly was round and bulging, clearly unable to stuff anything more in, but the cost was...
A person-high pile of diamonds had been completely swept away by it.
These were diamonds, not just minerals. Small but dense. What he'd originally purchased from Steven was only about this much.
So this was only enough for Larvitar's one meal?
How did such a small body manage to stuff so much inside?
Larvitar leaned back sitting on the ground, holding a branch from the Tree of Beginning to pick its teeth. Seeing Johan's gaze, it grinned, showing white teeth.
Johan: "..."
Two days later.
Having finally finished digging half the diamonds from the small Carbink "village," Johan and his group prepared to set off again.
As for Millis and Marilyn Flame, Officer Jenny had taken them away early.
Johan also asked Officer Jenny to see if she could get information about other Pokémon hunter groups from them, especially that father-daughter thief duo.
"More solid."
After two days, looking at Larvitar in front of him, although it looked the same on the surface, Johan could clearly feel that Larvitar's rough shell had become more solid.
"Yoji?"
Larvitar tilted its head.
Really?
These past two days had been too comfortable for it. It was either eating or on the way to eat.
Besides mining and daily training, most of the time was spent eating. It ate so happily.
Tap tap tap...
Johan reached out and knocked on Larvitar's shell, producing dull sounds and... some metallic texture.
On Larvitar's body surface, a faint metallic luster appeared.
Iron Defense!
Under Johan's persistent emphasis and Larvitar's own efforts, it had really gradually normalized "Iron Defense."
This made its already excellent defense due to consuming large amounts of minerals even more outstanding.
"Wonder if... 'Iron Defense' in the ball counts as cheating..." Johan muttered quietly.
Other people's Pokémon came out in normal state, while Larvitar came out directly with a Defense +2 or even +4 or more buff. He didn't know if this would be penalized in competitions.
But if it was unlimited battle, then it didn't matter.
There were already hidden electrical charges in balls, so what was hiding an Iron Defense?
"Alright, let's go."
With Diancie added to the team, Johan could only temporarily give up riding his bicycle and switch to walking.
Fortunately, they weren't far from Geosenge Town. Once they reached Geosenge Town, he'd see if he could rent an off-road vehicle.
"By the way, is that cave entrance properly restored?"
Before leaving, Johan confirmed again.
"Garruu!"
Urshifu gave a thumbs up. It had personally filled that entrance and punched it solid. In terms of digging difficulty... reopening that passage would be much harder than digging a new one from the side.
"Then that's fine."
Johan was quite concerned about the environment.
Don't cause too much damage or affect wild Pokémon's living environment.
"Let's go."
Once again embarking on their summer journey.
Shortly after Johan and his group left, a diamond-shaped cell-like creature appeared on a tree in the forest. It seemed to have been observing for some time but hadn't been discovered by Johan's group.
In a forest in the eastern Kalos region.
Sunlight was filtering through gaps in the leaves, falling on the solid path covered with some fallen leaves that made soft sounds when stepped on.
The tall, straight trees on both sides had branches weaving an arched canopy in the air, shrouding the entire path in gentle greenery.
From time to time, several swift Fletchling flew overhead, and colorful Vivillon appeared and disappeared in the forest.
The air was filled with the moist scent of soil mixed with the faint fragrance of unknown wildflowers. Occasionally a breeze passed through, making the leaves rustle like countless tiny wind chimes swaying gently. Dappled light and shadow swayed with the movement of branches and leaves, weaving flowing nets of light on the ground.
The beautiful environment brought joy to their hearts.
Johan and his Pokémon's faces unconsciously showed smiles, as if their souls were being cleansed by the environment.
Even Diancie, who had originally been eager to find Xerneas, gradually slowed its pace.
"The Kalos region's environment, except for the undeveloped Alola region, should be considered quite good," Johan thought.
This might partly be due to the Kalos people's naturally laid-back and romantic nature, but probably also because of the life god Xerneas, and even the order god Zygarde played a very important role.
"Ka-kaah?"
Gengar floated around in the forest's tree shadows, gently parting grass clumps. Two Flabébé hiding inside were startled, tears welling in their eyes, even forgetting to run.
"Sorry."
Johan crouched down, offering two energy cubes with some apology.
The Flabébé blinked twice, their tears immediately stopped. They stared blankly holding the energy cubes, watching the gentle-smiling "good person" lead away the ghost by its spikes.
"Too bad Flabébé are Fairy-type Pokémon..." Johan lightly tapped Gengar's head, indicating it shouldn't bother these weak little ones.
"Ka-kaah..."
Gengar stuck out its tongue.
It hadn't expected there would be two Flabébé in the grass...
Flabébé were quite cute Pokémon - small, and you could tell their appetite definitely wouldn't be large.
Whether evolving into Floette or the final evolution Florges, their appearance wouldn't collapse either.
Trainers raising Flabébé could enjoy the "joy" of raising a child into a young woman, cough...
Unfortunately, whether Flabébé or its final evolution Florges, they were pure Fairy-type Pokémon.
Johan's family already had Ninetales and Tinkaton as Fairy-types. Training more... would be a bit much.
Moreover, for Fairy-type Pokémon training, Johan felt he was still lacking.
This was also why he planned to visit Laverre City to meet Valerie.
"Almost there, Rotom!"
Rotom in charge of navigation reminded them, indicating they weren't far from Geosenge Town.
Geosenge Town...
If Johan remembered correctly, the Ultimate Weapon that King AZ had originally created was in Geosenge Town.
However, after the Ultimate Weapon lost its energy supply, it became several stones, becoming one of Geosenge Town's famous attractions.
Geosenge Town was also famous for this reason.
Of course, Geosenge Town also produced many minerals and rare stones, often attracting mining and steel companies from around the world, or stone enthusiasts.
Below those stones was Team Flare's secret base, where Team Flare's leader Lysandre was working to activate the Ultimate Weapon.
Johan wasn't unwilling to get involved in this, since Team Flare and Lysandre's plans would have considerable impact on the environment and wild Pokémon.
He just didn't have any entry point right now.
He couldn't just storm into Team Flare's base alone, could he?
He wasn't a reckless person.
Moreover, Team Flare's strength and Lysandre's strength were both considerable.
As for telling the Kalos League about Team Flare...
Team Flare currently operated under the name "Lysandre Labs," a famous large company in the Kalos region. Their developed holographic projection technology was gradually being widely used. Since they hadn't done anything bad yet, what use would telling the League be?
Furthermore.
Team Flare was one of the few underground organizations that had infiltrated the League. Their executive Malva was openly a journalist and a candidate for the Kalos Elite Four, destined to become the Fire-type Elite Four.
Being able to get an organization executive to Elite Four position - besides Team Rocket, only Team Flare had achieved this.
In this regard, Lysandre's ability was still worth acknowledging.
So this trip to Geosenge Town was just passing through. Johan had no intention of confronting Team Flare, so there was no pressure.
After walking for a while longer.
Rumble—rumble—
Suddenly ahead on their path, the sound of roller skates appeared. A girl wearing roller skates and protective gear, with flowing golden hair full of vitality, came into view.
"Hey! Friend, want to have a battle?"
Before they could even see her clearly, an energetic voice called out.
Hearing this, Johan's expression became somewhat strange.
How was this like... "Hey! Buddy, want some tickets?"
Although he couldn't see the person's face yet, just from this outfit... Johan recognized her.
The Shalour City Gym Leader from the Kalos region, Korrina!
As she approached and Korrina saw Johan's appearance clearly, her expression immediately froze, then became overjoyed, her eyes sparkling as she exclaimed:
"Teacher Johan?!"
Korrina and Bea could be considered rising stars among young martial artists in the Pokémon world.
For some unknown reason, the number of female martial artists in the Pokémon world had gradually increased. Veteran Fighting masters were mostly male, while young martial artists tended to be more female.
Whether it was Korrina, Bea, or Sinnoh's Maylene, or Paldea's Nemona and Brassius from Orange Academy.
Among them, Bea could be considered Johan's student, having "studied" Fighting techniques with Johan for a while.
When Bea challenged world Fighting masters, she had also competed with Korrina. The two girls could be said to... respect each other?
Moreover, Bea was shy and introverted while Korrina was cheerful and outgoing. The two complemented each other to some extent.
"It really is Teacher Johan!"
Confirming Johan's identity, Korrina skated forward quickly, her face flushed either from excitement or the skating.
"Uh..."
Faced with such enthusiastic Korrina, Johan didn't know what to say for a moment, only nodding:
"...Hello, Korrina."
Another humanoid female Machamp...
Though Korrina was a bit better than Bea, not as exaggerated.
"Teacher Johan, you know me?"
Swoosh—
At the same time, a Lucario quickly moved through the forest, following behind Korrina. When she stopped, it also landed beside her.
When Lucario looked toward Johan...
"Lu-Lucario?" Korrina's Lucario's eyes widened slightly.
Such... such strong aura!
How could one person have such powerful aura?
This was the first time Lucario had seen a human with even more exaggerated aura than itself.
Noticing Lucario's expression change, Korrina looked puzzled.
"Lucario!"
Lucario shook its head, looking at Johan with more respect.
Only Pokémon with aura understood how difficult aura was to train. For a human to possess such powerful aura, they must be an remarkable aura master or Fighting master.
Actually, Johan really wanted to say training aura?
Wasn't it just... feeding the Rainbow Wing daily?
Recently there was a new "project" - also feeding the Wheel of Time.
Facing Korrina's question, Johan could only say: "Bea mentioned you."
He wasn't sure if Korrina had become Shalour Gym's Leader yet.
"Bea!"
Hearing Bea's name, Korrina's expression immediately became even more energetic, then showed curiosity.
"What did she say about me?"
Johan and Bea weren't completely out of contact.
Since Bea had worked for him for a while (crossed out) "trained" with him for a while, she went to challenge Fighting masters around the world.
They talked on the phone periodically, mainly Bea calling Johan to report on her studies and challenges.
She had indeed mentioned meeting Korrina in the Kalos region.
In Bea's words, roughly...
"An enthusiastic girl."
"Really? Really?"
Hearing this, Korrina raised both hands and laughed loudly: "Hahaha—"
Although he didn't know what she was laughing about... for some reason, Johan faintly saw Flint's shadow in Korrina.
"Teacher Johan!"
Suddenly, Korrina shouted again, her eyes hopeful: "Can I become your disciple? Please teach me Fighting techniques and Mega Evolution!"
Become a disciple?
This wasn't like being a school teacher taking students.
To take students, first you had to have something to teach them.
What if he got thrown with an over-shoulder throw? How could he teach anything?
As for Bea, strictly speaking, Johan was only Bea's teacher, not her master.
"Ahem." Johan coughed lightly. "I don't have plans to take disciples right now."
"Is that so..."
Korrina's head drooped, looking very disappointed.
Her family could be said to be the first in the entire Pokémon world to master Mega Evolution power. Before Mega Evolution was made public, people in Korrina's family already knew how to use Mega Evolution.
However, at that time they thought Mega Evolution was a power that Fighting masters and Pokémon mastered together after training to a certain level, rather than an ability that could be widely promoted.
In such a family, Korrina still couldn't master Mega Evolution with her partner Lucario.
For this, Korrina had been working hard training. Challenging trainers from various places on the road was her self-imposed training plan.
Just as Johan was thinking whether to comfort Korrina, she immediately perked up again.
"Then please battle me, Teacher Johan!"
Korrina clenched her fists, issuing another battle invitation.
In her view, if she could demonstrate her strength, perhaps she could earn Teacher Johan's recognition!
Johan rubbed his temples with some headache.
Another battle...
Battling Korrina with Gengar and the others seemed like bullying. Sending Larvitar... Larvitar had been battling quite frequently lately, its level wasn't low anymore.
"Yoji?"
Larvitar was chewing when it saw Lucario looking over. It somehow dug out another diamond and offered it.
Want some?
"Lu-Lucario?"
Lucario had been wondering who was making those "crunch crunch" sounds. So it was Larvitar eating something. But when it saw the diamond Larvitar offered, its expression froze.
A... diamond?
Eating it raw?
"Lucario! Lucario!"
Lucario waved its hands repeatedly.
No! Thank... thank you...
"Yoji..."
Larvitar didn't continue being polite, opening its mouth to toss the diamond in and chew again.
Crunch—crunch—
Lucario: "..."
Really treating it like candy?
Those teeth...
One bite would break hands and feet, right?
Beep beep—
"There's a call, Rotom!"
Suddenly, Rotom-Dex flew out of Johan's pocket holding a phone.
Hearing this, Johan immediately felt relieved, saying to Korrina: "Sorry, I need to take this call."
"Oh, okay!" Korrina waited obediently to the side.
Pressing the answer button.
"Teacher Johan, the exercise location is Orrans Forest." Officer Jenny's voice came through the phone.
Orrans Forest?
Where was that?
Johan looked at Rotom, indicating it should search.
In every region, there were numerous forests, but Johan couldn't remember every one.
He only knew the famous ones, like Viridian Forest and Kalos region's Santalune Forest.
However, Rotom quickly found it on the map.
"Orrans Forest, located in the northwest corner of the Kalos region, between Cyllage City and Laverre City, near the ocean. Famous attractions include the Ring Waterfall. Active Pokémon include Fletchling, Pangoro, Aromatisse..."
"Alright, I understand." Johan said to Officer Jenny on the phone.
After hanging up, Johan looked at Korrina again with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry Korrina, I have some business to handle. Could we... postpone the battle?"
Johan used the "delay" strategy.
When Bea came someday, he'd let Bea battle Korrina.
A duel between two humanoid female Machamps should be quite interesting.
"Okay!"
Korrina didn't show disappointment again, instead nodding vigorously.
But when Johan was about to leave, Korrina followed closely behind him.
"You're..."
"Orrans Forest! I know where that is. Teacher Johan, let me guide you there!" Korrina showed an energetic smile.
She hadn't heard what was said on the phone, but she heard Rotom's navigation.
After Teacher Johan finished handling his business, they could battle then!
Johan: "..."
Maybe we should just fight now...
Johan looked at Korrina, then at Diancie crouching by the roadside grass admiring flowers, then thought of Regieleki temporarily staying in the Luxury Ball.
This team...
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Powerstones?
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