CHAPTER 369: ALTOMARE ARRIVAL

For the next few days, John stayed at Riverstone University.

He had handed the Orb of Abundance to his teacher for research. Since Saul’s research timeline was uncertain, John didn’t know when he’d be able to leave. Fortunately, The Ranch was under Emerald’s care, and no "stubborn" trainers had challenged his Gym recently, so he could relax completely.

Living in the villa on the Trial Island, John had settled into a pleasant routine: morning surfing, attending university lectures, occasional Pokemon training, and gaming at night. Everything seemed to have returned to those peaceful times.

A day after Scarlett’s welcome-back feast, John was relaxing on his balcony while Gardevoir poured tea for him. Zeraora sat perched on the eaves, methodically eating specially-made Pokéblocks that John had crafted for her, one by one.

Though she found them delicious, she maintained her aloof expression, couldn’t let anyone think she actually cared.

After their initial interactions, John had discovered this Pokemon had a personality similar to Greninja’s: cold and distant. Every day she was either training her techniques or sparring with Greninja and Garchomp, the only two of John’s Pokemon with strength comparable to hers.

Battle maniac plus aloof attitude? Perfect combination.

John was quite satisfied with Zeraora’s image.

"Get ready, we have another strong opponent to face!" John called out to Zeraora.

"Ora!" Zeraora immediately leaped to her feet, battle spirit blazing, sparks crackling as she looked around for the enemy John mentioned.

"Not here," John gestured for Zeraora to calm down.

The powerful enemy they’d face next was in the Gameboy.

Soon, John was riding his Totem Salamence toward the water capital of Altomare.

That’s right, John’s targets were Altomare’s Latios and Latias siblings.

He’d seen that Latios was [LV75], while Latias was only [LV60].

His current plan: have Zeraora pin down Latios while his other five Pokemon overwhelmed Latias. After capturing Latias, he’d return to deal with Latios.

Once he subdued both siblings, he’d also obtain the legendary Pokemon item "Soul Dew."

Perfect!

The script was written, now it just depended on whether the other actors would cooperate.

[Countdown to arrival: 1 minute]

"Oh right, I remember Altomare triggers story mode," John suddenly recalled.

He got up and returned to his room to sit down.

3... 2... 1...

When the countdown ended, John’s view suddenly shifted from the narrow sky to open city streets.

He’d arrived at Altomare’s Pokemon Center.

However, Altomare’s streets today seemed unusually quiet compared to usual, with few pedestrians and those present walking hurriedly.

Perhaps it was due to the weather.

The sky was overcast, gray and dark clouds hanging overhead, suggesting an unexpected storm was approaching.

John turned and entered the Pokemon Center, which was surprisingly lively inside. Dozens of trainers crowded the lounge hall, conversations buzzing, with many looking panicked and uncertain.

"Did something happen here?" John sensed the tense atmosphere but still approached Nurse Joy to heal his Pokemon, after all, he had a major battle ahead.

Just as John retrieved his Pokeballs from Nurse Joy, he suddenly heard a startled voice from nearby.

"Are you... are you the customer who bought the Aerodactyl fossil?"

John turned and saw an old acquaintance.

Ben Gray.

The curator of the Temple Museum who’d sold him the Dark Aerodactyl skeleton.

"Long time no see," John greeted.

Ben Gray didn’t bother with pleasantries, he grabbed John’s hand and dragged him toward the Pokemon Center’s backyard without explanation.

"What’s wrong?" John wondered.

After Ben Gray pulled John to the lounge behind the Pokemon Center, he looked around carefully to ensure no one else was present before asking anxiously.

"Did you resurrect that Aerodactyl fossil?"

"Yes," John replied, producing a Pokeball and releasing his Dark Aerodactyl for demonstration.

The Aerodactyl, surrounded by dark energy, perched on John’s shoulder like an eagle. Given its size, standing on a human shoulder looked somewhat ridiculous, only John’s enhanced physique from three orbs prevented him from being crushed.

"Put it away! Put it away!" Ben Gray reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on upon seeing the Dark Aerodactyl, frantically gesturing for John to recall the Pokemon while looking around fearfully.

John was even more confused but used the Pokeball to recall Dark Aerodactyl.

Seeing the Dark Aerodactyl safely contained, Ben Gray sighed with relief before asking helplessly.

"Did you just arrive from another region?"

"Yeah," John answered honestly.

"No wonder..." Ben Gray muttered, then continued questioning. "Since you resurrected it, how has your luck been?"

"Huh?" John looked confused. Did Dark Aerodactyl have some kind of "super luck" buff like Togepi?

"Any bad luck?" Ben Gray pressed.

"No," John replied without hesitation. He’d resurrected Dark Aerodactyl quite early, and since then, not only had he avoided misfortune, his luck had been "rainbow-bright!"

He’d just tamed a Shiny Zeraora, after all.

"No...?" Hearing John’s unexpected answer, Ben Gray hesitated momentarily.

"Of course not, my luck’s always been good," John said confidently.

His luck had been excellent ever since teaming up with Togepi.

"Really... then it doesn’t seem to be Kabutops’s problem," Ben Gray muttered.

"Curator, why are you asking me these questions?" Now it was John’s turn to inquire.

Just as Ben Gray was about to respond, a distant "BOOM!" explosion echoed, followed by repeated splashing sounds.

The already gloomy sky seemed to darken several more degrees.

Ben Gray’s face went pale at the explosion.

"The Shadow Pokemon has returned!"