"You two…" Johan pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath.
It was evident what had caused the state of the consultation room—Alolan Vulpix's ability, Snow Warning.
[Snow Warning: When a Pokémon with this ability enters the field, the weather will change to 'Snow,' lasting for a set duration.]
This ability, along with Drought, Drizzle, and Sand Stream, is known as one of the four major weather abilities.
Experienced trainers often build their entire teams around such abilities, forming strategies like Hail Teams, Sun Teams, Rain Teams, and Sandstorm Teams.
For now, Johan wasn't aiming to form such a team. He had only two Pokémon and was finding it challenging enough to care for them, let alone create an entire team strategy. However, Alolan Vulpix's ability gave him a possible direction to explore.
Although Johan had been aware of Vulpix's ability, since he had captured her, she hadn't exhibited any characteristics of Snow Warning.
"Oowu…"
Alolan Vulpix tensed up, lowering her head as if realizing she had done something wrong.
"You two… wanna have a snowball fight?" Johan's voice cut through the tension.
"Ka-kah?"
"Oowu?"
Smack!
Before Gastly could react, a snowball splattered against its face, bursting into a flurry of snowflakes. The culprit was, of course, Johan, who crouched down, rolling a second snowball.
"Ka-kah!!"
Gastly, now aware of what was happening, let out a sinister laugh and began manipulating the accumulated snow with its black mist.
"Vulpix, quickly, hit it!" Johan urged.
Smack!
Just as he was speaking, Johan himself got nailed with a snowball square on the head, turning half his hair white.
"Oowu…"
Alolan Vulpix stood there, stunned, watching Johan and Gastly locked in a playful snowball fight. Her nose twitched slightly, and her eyes filled with tears.
In the past, her uncontrollable snowstorms and her inability to manage her abilities had led her to be deemed an ill omen.
That's why she always tried to suppress herself—so much so that even she forgot what she was capable of.
But Johan and Gastly didn't reject or hate her. They accepted her as she was.
"Oowu!"
With a deep breath, Alolan Vulpix focused her powers, quickly gathering a snowball. In an instant, it had grown to the size of a millstone.
"Ka-kah?! Σ(дlll)"
Seeing the massive snowball, Gastly yelped in shock.
Is she cheating?!
Johan's eyebrow twitched.
He turned his head and closed his eyes.
Gastly, tonight Vulpix will let you have two sips…
Boom—
"Ka-kah!!"
Two hours later.
Johan, having shed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had finally managed to clean up the snow that had piled up in the consultation room.
Gastly lay sprawled on a single-seater couch, pretending to be weak, while Alolan Vulpix lay beside it with an apologetic expression. She gently fanned Gastly with her six fluffy tails like a large fan.
Gastly, meanwhile, looked to be in heaven.
"Ka-kah~~ o(〃'▽'〃)o"
Johan chose not to call Gastly out on its act. After all, it had indeed been hit directly by Alolan Vulpix's "giant spiral snowball."
"Alright, get ready. We're heading out to help with a tactical class."
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly perked up.
Helping in class?
Johan nodded.
If it were just about assisting Duf with a tactical class, Johan would have refused.
After all, if he were to teach… well, his strategies could be a bit too intense for the students' innocent minds.
But since Duf had also invited the Royal Masked Man, Johan decided it was worth attending.
As a professional wrestler, the Royal Masked Man was quite popular online. However, that identity wasn't the key point.
The critical point was the person behind the mask—Professor Kukui, the future leading researcher of Pokémon moves in the Alola Region!
Of course, Professor Kukui might not yet have earned his doctorate at this stage; he was likely still studying and gaining experience.
This brought Johan's thoughts to the Alola region.
Alola hadn't established a Pokémon League yet, and one of Kukui's greatest dreams was to establish the Alola League.
To achieve this, the young Kukui was traveling and studying different regions to learn from their League systems. In the future, he would not only establish the Alola Pokémon League but also the Alola Pokémon School.
He would serve as both the League Champion and a teacher at the school while continuing his research on Pokémon moves—a remarkably capable individual.
He would be one of the rare few to achieve a doctorate and become a top-tier trainer.
The previous person to do so was Professor Oak.
Moreover, despite all his success, Kukui would eventually marry a very beautiful wife—Professor Burnet!
Not even Professor Oak could top that.
For Johan, though, the most important part was that Kukui was from Alola.
And Alolan Vulpix was also from Alola.
The largest lecture hall at Kanaz Academy, which also served as the academy's auditorium.
Students began arriving in groups, chatting happily and accompanied by their Pokémon.
Backstage in the preparation room, or more accurately, the dressing room behind the stage—
"Mr. Duf, didn't you say this was for the first-year battle class?" Johan rubbed his forehead.
Such a large lecture hall couldn't possibly be for just one class.
"Hahahaha—it's all good, it's all good," Duf laughed heartily.
He leaned in closer to Johan and whispered, "Don't worry, the academy approved this event, and Professor Johan, your 'appearance fee' is the same as the Royal Masked Man's."
He gave Johan a knowing look and a wink.
Johan straightened his expression.
"As an instructor, the 'appearance fee' isn't important. I simply believe that a teacher should focus on guidance, education, and problem-solving."
"Guidance, education, and problem-solving… well said!"
At that moment, a man with a well-built but not overly muscular frame walked in, wearing an exaggerated mask.
It was the Royal Masked Man, Kukui!
"Alola, you two!"
Seeing Duf and Johan looking over, Kukui grinned and posed with his hands on his hips.
It was very reminiscent of a certain teacher's iconic stance in the Pokémon world.
After exchanging greetings, Johan learned from Duf that he used to be a wrestler himself. He had lost a match to Kukui and challenged him to a Pokémon battle to prove himself. He lost again, but the two had become friends.
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly mimicked Kukui's pose, grinning widely.
Duf and Kukui both paused, surprised.
Johan turned away.
Can't bear to watch…
"Hahaha—looks like you two will get along just fine," Duf chuckled, pushing over a cart filled with Poké Balls.
"You guys can chat for now. You might need to demonstrate some tactics later, and these are for teaching purposes."
As an instructor in the battle class, Duf couldn't rely solely on his own Pokémon to demonstrate every tactic and concept. Therefore, teaching Pokémon were essential.
These Pokémon typically resided in the academy's dedicated care facilities. While they wouldn't be suitable for actual battles, they were perfect for demonstrations.
After Duf left, Kukui, ever friendly, turned to Johan.
"I watched your battle with the Dragon Master Lance, Professor Johan. Your strategy of Protect-Toxic Substitute was impressively executed, with additional layers of tactical thinking…"
I saw your comment too, Johan thought silently, smiling as he replied, "I often watch your matches as the Royal Masked Man, too."
"Oh, really? Which one?" Kukui's eyes lit up with curiosity.
Johan: "…"
"Hey, is this an Alolan Vulpix?" Kukui asked, his attention shifting to the little Pokémon nestled in Johan's arms.
"Oowu~"
Hearing Kukui's voice, Alolan Vulpix burrowed further into Johan's embrace.
"It is," Johan confirmed, gently stroking the little one's fur to reassure her.
"Mr. Royal Masked Man, you're from Alola, right? I'd like to ask you a few things after class if that's alright."
"No problem!" Kukui thumped his chest enthusiastically, his eyes burning with determination.
"But Professor Johan, don't hold back later—I want to see your tactics in action!"
Johan, who was browsing through the teaching Pokémon list, paused.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Is that so?"
His hand stopped on a Poké Ball containing a Lapras.
Gastly, it looks like you've got a new strategy to try.
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Powerstones?
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