Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 539: The Desert Tyrant Hatchling and the Ancient Castle

Unova Region, Desert Resort.

Golden sand filled the skies, the sun-shrouding dust mingling with golden dunes, turning the world into a gleaming sea of yellow.

Johan and his team crossed through Mistralton City and arrived at the desert's edge, ready to enter.

"Navigation ready, Rotom!" Rotom chimed, full of confidence.

Johan remained skeptical.

After all, Rotom had a bad habit of guiding people into rivers or oceans.

But with this sandstorm making direction meaningless, they had no better option. At least it had pinpointed Flint's last known location.

"Yoji! Yoji!"

Unlike the others, Larvitar was visibly excited.

A desert! This was its territory as a proper Desert Tyrant hatchling!

With head high and chest puffed, Larvitar marched proudly to the front, clearly declaring, "This is my domain!"

Not just Larvitar—Cynthia's Garchomp also exuded confidence. As a ground-dragon, the desert was technically its home turf too.

Good thing they had Garchomp, Johan thought.

"Let's go."

Dressed in sand-protection gear, the trio stepped into the vast desert.

At first, Johan found it novel—after all, in both lives, this was his first time in a desert.

But after walking for a while, it became monotonous. Just endless yellow sand, yellow sky, high temperatures—it got old fast.

Then came a disagreement.

"Yoji!!"

Larvitar pointed confidently toward a sand dune.

"No, we should go left, Rotom!" the navigator countered.

"Garrr—"

Garchomp snorted and pointed... to the right.

So now they had three guides, each pointing a different way.

After weighing the options, they chose the right—between two sand dunes. And then—

Shhhhhh—

The sand in the gully stirred, forming small whirlpools. The ground began to tremble, and before them appeared... a gang of Krookodile!

Krookodile, Krokorok, and Sandile!

"Krookodile, the Intimidation Pokémon. Ground/Dark type, extremely aggressive, known as 'Desert Thugs.' If you encounter them in the desert, be very cautious, Rotom~!"

Rotom, maybe tone down the glee in your voice?

Everyone turned to Garchomp.

Garchomp crossed her arms and looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"Garrr—"

Why are you looking at me?!

"Yoji!!"

Larvitar clenched its tiny fists. It had heard Rotom's words.

Desert thugs? Them? Claiming the desert as theirs?

How dare they!

This was its turf!

With a stomp—

BOOM—

The ground quaked, shockwaves rippling out from Larvitar. A fissure cracked open at its feet.

Even Garchomp took a step back, eyes narrowing in surprise.

That little thing's got power!

The Krookodile gang was stunned.

This tiny runt?

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.

"Yoji!!"

Larvitar stood firm, fists raised high.

Then they saw Garchomp behind it...

"Garrr—"

Garchomp gave them a chilling stare.

Nope. Not worth it.

The gang burrowed back into the sand and fled.

"Yoji~~"

Larvitar looked smugly at Johan.

Did you see that? Brave, right?

More like a mini fox bluffing behind a tiger.

But with the Krookodile gone, the sand dunes had collapsed, blocking that route.

So they turned back and followed Rotom's original direction.

As they passed the dune Larvitar had pointed to, the ground suddenly shook again. From beneath the sand burst—

"Garrr!!"

—an Onix!

A massive rocky serpent, roaring as it surfaced.

"Yoji!"

Larvitar was fuming.

This meant its direction was also wrong?

Fueled by frustration, it leapt into the air and—

BAM!

With a punch, it slammed Onix back into the sand!

Onix was dazed.

What just happened?

Was that a bug?

How was it so strong?

Worse, why was that little creature looking at it like food?

Johan's expression turned odd.

Was Onix... delivering itself as food?

Then he realized something.

"You two are in luck," he said to Cynthia and Caitlin.

Huh?

A few minutes later—

An Onix, teary-eyed and trembling, was zipping through the desert.

Faster than on flat ground, even!

Atop its head stood Larvitar, Gengar, and Rotom.

Gengar, wearing goggles, one hand on Onix's horn and the other on its hip, looked pleased.

Larvitar sat cross-legged, munching on a pile of ore.

Crunch, crunch—Onix sweated profusely.

Rotom, meanwhile, proudly provided navigation.

"Turn right ahead, beware of sinkholes, Rotom~!"

Obediently, Onix followed directions.

As for the trio?

They sat comfortably on the largest boulder on Onix's back, enjoying the ride.

See? A desert calls for desert transport.

Onix made a perfect mobile platform—fast, smooth, reliable.

"Now that's what I call adapting to the environment."

Johan handed out freshly made Berry Juice to Cynthia, Caitlin, and Meloetta.

"Melo~ Melo~~"

Meloetta had followed Johan for a while now. If nothing else, it had eaten well.

Cynthia sipped her drink, smiling in contentment.

"Well-chilled berry juice in the desert? Not bad."

She squinted into the sun, then said:

"I heard there's an ancient city buried beneath this desert, built thousands of years ago. It's linked to one of Unova's most well-known legends."

"You mean the tale of the two princes—Truth and Ideals?" Caitlin asked.

Cynthia nodded. As a mythology scholar, she had studied Unova too.

Johan stayed quiet.

The tales of Reshiram and Zekrom had many versions.

Some say this ancient city was once their kingdom's capital, and the desert was born from their clash.

One version says the Dark Stone (Zekrom) lies dormant here.

Another, like in the movie "Victini and the Black/White Hero," shifts the legend to Eindoak Town and introduces Victini.

Others place both the Light and Dark Stones in Dragonspiral Tower.

Timelines diverge wildly.

And Johan had already met Zekrom.

So... "still asleep" might not be accurate.

It's possible Reshiram had also awakened already.

Bottom line? Too many conflicting versions. He only knew the basics.

But for now, the biggest worry in the ancient city was just one strong Volcarona.

Maybe they'd avoid it.

"Prepare to descend, Rotom says! Prepare to descend!"

Next second—

BOOM—

The sand split wide, and Onix dove down, taking Johan's team with it.

"Ka-kaah—pffft—pffft—"

Gengar spat sand and glared at Onix and smug Rotom.

"Navigation complete! Destination reached. Thank you for using Rotom~!"

Shaking off sand, the trio got up.

Thankfully, their sand-gear protected them.

Larvitar? Sand was basically a snack.

Onix huddled in a corner. Johan and the others looked around.

They were in a tunnel—dimly lit. Only Rotom's faint light helped.

"Bronzong, Flash."

Caitlin summoned her Bronzong.

DONG—

A gentle chime, then light radiated from its body, illuminating the area.

"This is the ancient city?" Cynthia asked, touching the wall.

"Flint's further down?" Johan asked Rotom.

"No signal anymore, Rotom~!"

Great.

This ancient city was no simple ruin. Unlike the well-mapped ones in Sinnoh, this place was a labyrinth.

But—

BOOM—

A distant rumble echoed.

Johan and Cynthia exchanged glances.

They knew Flint's style.

Follow the noise.

And so they did.

As they explored, Cynthia borrowed Rotom to record findings.

Some tunnels were stable. Others had weak flooring or were broken entirely, forming sand slides.

Fortunately, the ruckus continued, guiding them deeper.

Eventually, after sliding down a pit, they arrived at a wide space lined with stone pillars—an inner fortress.

They spotted him.

"Woohoo! Infernape, Fire Punch!!"

Flint shouted, fists clenched, full of energy.

Before him, Infernape's blazing fists struck a rock-like creature.

BAM!

It shattered—only to reform into a humanoid shape.

"Still got energy? We could do this all day!" Flint grinned.

Infernape's eyes shone—it loved this!

Johan and the others were speechless.

"Gengar."

"Ka-kaah~~"

Gengar smirked and vanished into shadow.

Moments later—

CRASH, CRASH, CRASH—

Three Cofagrigus were tossed in front of Flint and Infernape.

Dazed. They hadn't expected Gengar to find and chuck them so fast.

The rock-like creature crumbled.

"Huh?"

Flint turned. Then his eyes widened.

"Johan!! Boss Lady!!"

He sprinted over.

Then—

WHOOOOOO—

A chilling wind howled. Ghost-type energy surged, black mist rising.

"Ka-kaah..."

Gengar rubbed its chin.

Ghost energy?

"Flint, what the hell did you do?" Johan asked.

"I didn't do anything!" Flint looked confused.

Wasn't this place always like this?

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates