"Not coming with us?"
At the seaside of Fula City.
Cynthia had taken an early flight to Sinnoh this morning, not wanting to burden Garchomp again.
After wandering around Fula City for half a day, Johan decided it was time to leave. Everywhere held memories of him and Cynthia, making it too easy to get sentimental.
However, Johan didn't choose to fly, but opted to take a ship with the little ones.
There wasn't much else to it.
Mainly, Snivy had never been on a ship before.
It had spent most of its life after birth in Fula City, either at Fula City's Day Care or challenging opponents in the mountain forests outside Fula City. As for the ocean...
Although Fula City was coastal, Snivy had at most just watched ships sailing on the sea, never actually setting foot on the ocean.
So.
To satisfy the little one's curiosity about the ocean, Johan chose to travel by ship.
Quite coincidentally.
At this time, Fula City's port had docked a large but fast-sailing ship called the Seagallop, departing from the Kalos region to Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto.
Of course, mainly because Fula City's Wind Festival had brought many tourists from these regions, and now that the festival was over, they naturally needed to be taken back.
Facing Johan's question, the Zygarde core said:
[My duty is to maintain balance in the Kalos region.]
These past days following Johan, the Zygarde core had observed humans up close and gained more understanding of them.
It felt it needed to have a good talk with its "partner."
But most importantly, it had lost contact with its "partner" for some time and didn't know what had happened to it, so it was preparing to search for it.
"Too bad." Johan sighed lightly.
He really felt it was a shame.
Zygarde - what a great mecha, but it seemed he wouldn't get to pilot it.
After all, besides Zygarde, the two biggest guys in the Kalos region were Xerneas, who was already asleep, and Yveltal, who had run off somewhere unknown. Obviously they couldn't fight.
"Well then, goodbye."
Johan exhaled and smiled, speaking to the little creature on his shoulder.
Pop.
The Zygarde core jumped onto the nearby railing.
It had no hands, but Johan knew it was waving goodbye.
[Wait.]
Just as Johan was about to leave, the Zygarde core suddenly called out to him.
"What?" Johan asked with a smile. "Changed your mind?"
[No.]
The Zygarde core rolled its eyes irritably, then after brief hesitation and consideration, said:
[I feel... the energy in the Kalos region is somewhat active. Be careful.]
Energy in the Kalos region was active?
Johan was stunned.
Wasn't he just about to leave Kalos?
However, he didn't say much, just nodded: "I understand."
It seemed leaving quickly was the right choice...
"Well then, goodbye, Zygarde. If anything happens... call me."
Although the Zygarde core had no hands or phone, that didn't mean it couldn't make calls.
Anyway, Johan had already given it his phone number.
[I understand.]
Just like that, under the Zygarde core's watch, Johan boarded the returning Seagallop.
On the Seagallop's deck.
"Sni."
Snivy gripped the railing with both hands, watching Fula City grow more distant, its eyes inevitably showing some reluctance and faint nostalgia.
Although this place hadn't left it with many good memories, this was after all where it was born and had lived until now. Every corner of Fula City held shadows of its past efforts.
Having to leave suddenly, it inevitably felt reluctant and melancholy.
Standing beside it, leaning against the railing and letting the sea breeze blow through his hair, Johan could sense the little one's feelings. His face held a gentle smile.
"Leaving isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?"
"Sni?"
Snivy tried to suppress the "weak" thoughts in its eyes and turned to look at Johan.
"Without leaving, how can there be return, how can there be reunion?"
"Leaving is for better encounters."
"Sni."
Snivy lowered its head, pondering Johan's words, its heavy heart gradually becoming lighter.
A hand rested on its head, and that gentle voice came again.
"Whenever you miss this place, we can come back anytime."
Snivy stared blankly at Johan's eyes...
After a while.
It suddenly snapped back to itself, showing a fierce expression.
"Sni-sni! (▼皿▼)"
Who-who would feel sad over something like this!
While saying this, it didn't brush away Johan's hand.
"Want to go see the outside world together?" Johan asked with a smile.
"Sni!"
This time Snivy didn't object, but nodded vigorously and clenched its fists.
This queen is setting out!
"Sni."
After the Seagallop had sailed for some time, in the third-floor room, Snivy lay against the window, looking at the torrential rain outside, then turned to look at Johan, who was sitting on the sofa reading.
This is what you call the outside world?
Not long after leaving port, it had suddenly started pouring rain. All the tourists were either hiding in their rooms or huddled in the ship's lounge area.
"It's raining, can't help it."
Johan was flipping through "The Essence of Earth."
Although he had read this book by Giovanni back and forth no less than twenty times, each reading brought some new insights.
This made him constantly marvel - truly worthy of Giovanni.
Even as a "villain," in certain aspects, he was still respectfully called a "master."
When it came to Pokémon training, Giovanni indeed had great insights.
Previously, when Johan read this book, it was to train Larvitar, Dragonite, Urshifu and the others, but this time, while reading, he found Giovanni's insights on training Grass-type Pokémon.
As the possessor of "Viridian Power" and one blessed by Viridian Forest, although Giovanni was called "Giovanni of the Earth," his relationship with forests and Grass-types was actually inseparable.
Therefore, in his "The Essence of Earth," he mentioned his understanding of Grass-type Pokémon to some extent.
For example, one passage—
Grass-type Pokémon certainly have plant attributes, but no matter what plant, fundamentally they all depend on the earth, need to draw nutrients from soil, so when dealing with Grass-type Pokémon, one cannot simply view them as having only a single attribute, even if they are pure Grass-types.
Grass and Ground types are inseparably connected.
This made Johan think of Larvitar and Snivy.
Could these two little ones cooperate perfectly?
"Boss Giovanni's book is still interesting..."
In Pokémon Adventures, after Green became Champion for a few minutes then lost to Red, he returned to Viridian City as Gym Leader, thus obtaining Giovanni's "The Essence of Earth" manual.
Afterward, he completely retrained his team from scratch, and in just one year, raised an entire team of new Pokémon to Champion-level strength - quite terrifying.
While this was partly due to Green's own ability as a "Trainer," he himself said "The Essence of Earth" was greatly inspiring to him.
"Sni!"
Seeing Johan completely absorbed in his book, Snivy puffed out its cheeks.
"Yoji~"
Larvitar walked over, reaching out to pat Snivy's shoulder while saying.
It's fine, it's fine, just some rain, I'm not even scared~
But Larvitar's hand... hit nothing.
"Sni!"
Snivy turned sideways, cleverly avoiding Larvitar's hand.
"Yoji?"
Seeing this, Larvitar immediately became interested. It thought Snivy was playing hide-and-seek with it, immediately grinned and pounced forward.
As the "second generation" leader, am I afraid of this?
Who knew, Snivy just tilted its head slightly, glanced at Larvitar sideways, then turned sideways again, once more avoiding Larvitar.
This time, Larvitar's playfulness really kicked in.
Before long, the room was filled with the two little ones' figures everywhere.
On Dragonite's head, under Ninetales' tails, in Gengar's mouth...
"Yoji-yoji."
Larvitar was panting heavily, looking at Snivy with somewhat disbelieving eyes.
While Snivy was also panting, its chest rising and falling dramatically, but it still maintained its "proud" appearance.
Couldn't catch it.
Larvitar actually couldn't catch Snivy.
Johan, who had been reading earlier, couldn't help but put down his book and look over due to the commotion the two little ones were making.
Seeing them both panting heavily, he laughed.
Larvitar was currently stronger than Snivy, and by quite a lot - this was undeniable.
Even though Snivy had a type advantage.
But...
Larvitar's weakest point was undoubtedly its speed.
If Larvitar competed in defense or strength, two Snivys wouldn't be enough.
While Snivy's greatest advantage was undoubtedly its speed.
What allowed it to face Froslass, another Pokémon with decent speed, without being easily defeated was precisely Snivy's agile movements and extremely quick reaction ability.
You had to know, that Froslass had the "Queenly Majesty" ability, meaning all "priority moves" like Fake Out and Quick Attack couldn't work in front of it.
This itself required Froslass to have extremely fast speed and reaction ability, but Snivy... seemed to have even more advantage in this area than Froslass?
After laughing, Johan was somewhat surprised.
Then he gave Gengar a look.
Gengar immediately understood.
"Ka-kaah~ kaah kaah kaah~~"
Hehehe, let me test you~
Having Gengar probe Snivy's abilities.
Although Johan knew Snivy wasn't weak, he honestly wasn't entirely clear about its current upper limits, having just caught it.
Gengar's form flashed, becoming a black mist, then...
Snivy was lifted by the scruff of its neck.
"Sni!! (#`皿)"
Snivy in mid-air looked fierce, baring its teeth and continuously kicking its feet.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar leaned close to Snivy.
That's it?
Johan: "..."
He rubbed his forehead.
Too hasty.
He'd also taken it for granted, having Gengar test Snivy's abilities.
Snivy was indeed a speed-focused Pokémon, but Gengar was even more so.
With Gengar's strength... this was a wasted test.
But no problem, Johan gave Ninetales a look. Ninetales was more understanding than Gengar.
"Oowoo~"
Sure enough, getting Johan's signal, Ninetales smiled gently, showing its sisterly gentleness, extending one tail from behind toward Snivy's head.
"Sni!"
Having just been caught by Gengar, how could Snivy be caught so easily again?
It immediately used all its strength to flee around the room.
However.
No matter how hard it tried, it ultimately couldn't escape Ninetales' tail.
Finally.
The soft, crystalline tail touched Snivy's cheek, gently stroking it.
Feeling Ninetales' gentleness and goodwill, Snivy, for the first time, didn't bare its teeth, but instead showed a somewhat embarrassed shy expression.
"Sni-sni."
Well.
Another one "conquered" by Ninetales.
However, having Ninetales act allowed Johan to sense Snivy's speed and agility.
This was definitely the confidence that allowed Snivy to battle Froslass.
Looking at Snivy, who resumed its "proud" appearance with head held high after Ninetales withdrew its tail, Johan rubbed his chin.
"Feel like... Froslass's 'Queenly Majesty' ability was majesty for nothing. Our Snivy is more like the real deal..."
Regarding why Snivy and Froslass fought... Johan had already understood.
The reason was very simple.
Purely because Snivy couldn't stand Froslass's proud attitude, though Froslass also couldn't stand this little one.
To put it more simply - among a group of Pokémon, there couldn't be two queens.
Bang!!
The massive Seagallop suddenly lurched, and all passengers on board could feel the significant shaking.
But soon the ship's announcement sounded.
"Sorry passengers, due to the effects of heavy rain and waves, some seaweed from other waters has been swept into the shipping lane. We are currently handling this emergency. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused."
The announcement repeated three times, immediately calming the passengers.
Speaking of which.
With a large cruise ship like the Seagallop, ordinary Pokémon couldn't cause trouble even if they wanted to.
Moreover, on a cruise ship of this scale, there were definitely powerful trainers among the crew.
"Ka-kaah!"
A soaking wet Gengar suddenly floated in from outside the ship, shaking off water like a little dog, then excitedly pointing at the sea outside and shouting.
Obviously.
Gengar had wandered outside again at some point.
And the reason it was so excited was because...
There are dolphins, I saw dolphins!
Dolphins?
"Yoji!"
Larvitar rolled up from the ground with a grunt, excitedly calling to Johan.
Let's go see, let's go see!
Snivy looked somewhat puzzled at Larvitar, who was no longer panting heavily.
It had clearly been just as tired as itself, yet recovered so quickly?
And thick-skinned too...
Actually, Snivy never underestimated Larvitar. Having personally witnessed Larvitar battle, how could Snivy look down on it?
It was just...
Except for speed, Snivy was completely outmatched in defense, attack, recovery, and multiple other aspects!
"Let's go." Johan put on his coat and patted Snivy's head. "Let's go see the dolphins."
"Sni! (#`皿)"
It burrowed into Johan's clothes.
"Excuse me, sir... Teacher Johan?"
A sailor guarding the deck was about to stop them, as it was quite dangerous to go outside with the large rain and waves, but recognizing Teacher Johan, he immediately let them pass.
"What's the situation?" Johan didn't immediately go out, but asked first.
The sailor smiled bitterly and said: "Just like the announcement said, seaweed from other waters got swept into the shipping lane, then accidentally got caught in the propeller..."
After pausing, he lowered his voice and whispered:
"Actually, the bigger problem is that there's a Dragalge and four Skrelp living in that seaweed patch."
I see...
No wonder.
So it was Dragalge and Skrelp's seaweed, otherwise ordinary seaweed probably couldn't get caught in the propeller.
Johan nodded and asked: "Need help?"
"If it's Teacher Johan..."
The sailor quickly took out his radio to ask the first mate, then got a very clear and urgent answer.
"Quickly go to— (crossed out) please get Teacher Johan!"
Seems like quite a problem.
Johan said nothing more and walked out of the cabin.
Crash—
Heavy rain mixed with sea waves, the entire field of vision was gray and hazy, even the ocean seemed to turn black.
Wave crests continuously crashed against the cabin, blooming into white spray and washing over the bare deck.
Fortunately, the Seagallop had deep draft, so they couldn't feel much swaying.
"Let's go."
Walking to the deck's edge, amid Snivy's screams, Johan jumped vertically toward the churning seawater.
Splash—!!
"Sni-sni...?"
Snivy, covering its eyes, slowly released its hands and opened them. The expected feeling of water rushing and crashing didn't occur, and only then did it realize... all the seawater was blocked outside them, as if forming a bubble.
"Oowoo~"
Ninetales beside Johan had a slight glow in its azure eyes, smiling gently at Snivy.
"Sni. (((//Д//)))"
Jumping down from Johan's embrace, Snivy felt like it was stepping on a soft water bed - soft and cool, yet without any moisture.
So amazing...
"Yoji? (●●)"
Larvitar seemed much more comfortable than Snivy. Its face was pressed tightly against the water bubble, staring at a Tentacruel that had just swum by. That face separated by water... immediately scared the Tentacruel so much that the gems on its head seemed to turn white, and it sprayed black ink before hurrying away.
Scared a jellyfish to death!
Snivy also curiously looked into the ocean, then saw...
"Ka-~ gurgle gurgle~ kaah~ gurgle gurgle~~"
A huge Gengar "transformed" into Magikarp form, swimming past them.
"Sni-sni?"
Snivy was so scared that the leaves on its body stood up.
"Garruu zzZ"
Then there was Coach Bear snoring, with standard swimming form, covering good distance with each stroke while pushing the water bubble forward, but was it really okay that it was sleeping with eyes closed?
However...
This was the ocean?
Setting aside Gengar and Urshifu, Snivy's eyes sparkled as it looked at the underwater world, which was much more magnificent than it had imagined.
Gengar led the way in front.
The dolphins it had seen were in the same direction as where the propeller was tangled with seaweed.
Then...
Soon Johan and the others saw a large patch of brownish-yellow seaweed floating in the ocean, with part of it already caught in the propeller and a larger portion floating in the sea.
Outside the seaweed, they could see the Seagallop's sailors and their Pokémon.
And...
A Dragalge with its seaweed-like tentacles spread out, looking fierce, with four Skrelp hiding in the seaweed behind it.
And the dolphins Gengar mentioned were also here.
"Finizen?"
A obviously smaller Finizen was also caught in the seaweed, while two larger ones, seemingly its parents, were outside looking anxious.
"What a complex situation..." Johan clicked his tongue twice.
Finizen were Pokémon first discovered in Paldea region waters, so they were also first registered in the Paldea region Pokédex.
"Finizen, Water-type Dolphin Pokémon. Very gentle by nature, skilled at using ultrasonic waves to sense direction and creatures' emotions, Rotom!"
Besides finding them quite cute, Johan's impression of Finizen was mainly of their evolution, Palafin.
Especially "Hero Form" Palafin.
"Zero Form" Palafin only had a base stat total of 457 points, but "Hero Form" Palafin... had a base stat total of 650!
It could be said to be second only to Slaking among ordinary Pokémon, and its appearance was also... ahem.
But Finizen were still very cute.
Additionally.
As Johan knew, there was a certain food chain relationship between Finizen and Dragalge/Skrelp.
Finizen were very fast, faster than most Dragalge could swim, so Dragalge would often hide in seaweed, waiting for Finizen to come foraging, then use poisonous attacks to paralyze them.
Now all of this had collided.
The Dragalge and Skrelp, the sailors and propeller, the Finizen and young Finizen - three parties were completely at an impasse.
No wonder the first mate had a headache.
As a renowned Pokémon psychologist, when the first mate heard Johan was willing to help, he immediately requested assistance.
Without Teacher Johan, he had no choice but to use force, driving away the Dragalge and Finizen, then untangling the seaweed from the propeller.
Buzz—
Johan didn't speak. Underwater communication was troublesome, so he directly used aura power, sensing the Dragalge's anxiety, the Finizen parents' worry, and the nervousness and fear of the Skrelp and young Finizen.
Soothing.
This wasn't very difficult for Johan now.
Especially after his aura power had been enhanced by Arceus.
"Gengar, Coach Bear."
Johan closed his eyes and spoke softly.
"Ka-~ gurgle gurgle~ kaah~ gurgle gurgle~ cough cough cough~"
"Garruu zzZ"
Gengar helped rescue the four young Skrelp, Urshifu helped rescue the young Finizen. Seeing this, Snivy extended its vines to help sort through the tangled seaweed more quickly, successfully rescuing all the little ones.
The sailors immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly dealt with the seaweed tangled in the propeller.
Smooth.
And satisfying to all parties.
"Sni."
Snivy, lying on the water bubble, witnessed the entire process and couldn't help but turn back to look at Johan standing behind it with a smile.
Recalling the spore mist incident in Fula City a few days ago...
"Sni."
Snivy's face also unconsciously showed a smile.
On the Seagallop's deck.
"Ka-kaah~~"
In the heavy rain, Gengar waved at the Dragalge and Skrelp, holding some poisonous seaweed in its other hand as snacks.
The taste was pretty good - crunchy with a seafood flavor.
"Woo woo woo~~"
On the other side, the Finizen family also swayed their bodies at Johan and the others, expressing gratitude.
Splash—
A Finizen suddenly surrounded itself with water and rushed toward the deck.
Aqua Jet!
"Sni!"
Standing on the railing, Snivy almost instinctively dodged the charging Finizen with an extremely agile and graceful movement.
Hm?
Seeing this scene, Johan raised an eyebrow.
Although Finizen was being grateful without any attack intent, Aqua Jet was still a priority move, and Snivy's reaction speed...
"Could it be... besides the 'Contrary' ability, it also has a hidden 'Queenly Majesty' ability?"
Johan grimaced.
This Pokémon was unreasonable.
Is it mine?
Then never mind.
Finizen left a light blue scale shimmering with faint light, then swished its tail and returned to the water.
Soon it was tumbling on the sea surface before disappearing.
"Sni?"
Snivy picked up the strange scale, examined it carefully, and finding nothing special, handed it to Johan.
"I... I can't tell what it is either."
Johan was helpless.
Since Finizen were Dolphin Pokémon without scales, otherwise that would be the obvious guess.
But now this clearly couldn't be a Finizen scale...
"Whatever, it's a thank-you gift anyway."
Setting that aside, today's testing of Snivy was very successful!
He already had a general direction for how to train it.
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Powerstones?
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