A Stela of Proclamation?

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: Could this be an ancient Hoenn-era stela?

Cynthia replied even faster than Johan expected.

Johan, just getting into a taxi, instructed, "Haunter, guide the driver."

Older neighborhoods often had a lot of shortcuts that weren't on maps.

Haunter grinned mischievously, phasing through the front partition and into the driver's seat.

"Ka-kah~~"

Taxi Driver: Σ(дlll)

[Grain in the Field]: I'm not exactly sure. I haven't studied ancient scripts much, but it is definitely from Hoenn.

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: I feel like... I've seen something like this before.

Seen it before?

After a brief pause:

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: It seems similar to some of the ancient text in Snowpoint Temple.

Snowpoint Temple?

Johan was taken aback.

Snowpoint Temple, an ancient site in the Sinnoh region, was said to house the mighty legendary Pokémon, the "Colossus King"—Regigigas!

According to legend, Regigigas once towed continents, and Hoenn's landmass was created through these movements.

If there was indeed a connection between Snowpoint Temple, Regigigas, and this stela...

'Could this be the Stela of Proclamation?!' Johan speculated.

The Stela of Proclamation came from the "Chamber of Proclamation." It served as a key to awakening the three Regis, in both games and the manga.

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: I need some time to search through the records. You're not in a hurry, are you?

[Grain in the Field]: No rush. I just came across it and got curious.

[Eevee Eats Cabbage]: Understood.

Putting away his phone, Johan noticed Haunter gripping the steering wheel, grinning with its tongue out, chuckling, "Ka-kah, ka-kah."

The taxi was speeding ahead.

Meanwhile, the driver's face had turned ghostly pale as he sat there, unconscious.

Johan: "!!?"

Sinnoh Region.

"Hey, Cynthia, come on! This is our 89th formal challenge! Can't you take it seriously?" Flint yelled, watching Cynthia put her phone away.

"Sure," Cynthia's lips curled upward slightly.

"Garchomp, Earthquake!"

"Roar!!"

With a mighty roar, Garchomp stomped the ground, sending tremors through Flint's garden. His eyes widened in horror as he was hurled against a familiar tree.

The next moment, Garchomp was engulfed in a radiant white light.

Cynthia didn't seem surprised, only letting her eyes narrow in satisfaction.

Clinging to the tree, Flint coughed a few times, managing to speak with difficulty:

"Garchomp's evolution… we deserve at least half the credit, right?"

Houndoom: ???

At the neighborhood entrance.

Johan, bowing slightly, pressed Haunter's head down, addressing the still-pale taxi driver.

One hand stuck out of the taxi window, giving a reassuring wave. The driver tried to put on a brave face, chuckling:

"Hahaha—no worries, no worries! I used to capture Pokémon myself in my younger days!"

Saying this, he flexed a "muscle" that revealed no visible definition.

"Driver, you should probably… rest before continuing?" Johan suggested, watching the driver's worn-out demeanor with concern.

"No problem!" The driver seemed insistent.

"It's just that, why is it that when you hold that thing, it's fine, but when I barely touched it—"

Before he could finish, he reached out and playfully prodded Haunter again.

A second later, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Johan: "…"

"Ka-kah!╮(￣_￣)╭"

Haunter: See? I told you it's not my fault!

After a while…

"All right, I'd better get going before I get yelled at for not making enough money." The driver waved it off and restarted the car.

"Driver, maybe you should…" Johan began.

"Ah, it's no big deal!" The driver cut him off.

"…at least wipe the foam from your mouth?" Johan added.

The driver casually wiped his mouth.

"See you around! Feel free to catch a ride with me again," the driver cheerfully called as the taxi shakily drove away.

"Oowu…" Vulpix whined softly.

Is he going to be okay?

"It'll be fine," Johan assured, heading into his apartment complex.

"Ka-kah, ka-kah~~"

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Haunter echoed.

"Besides, if anything happens, they'll just take Haunter away," Johan quipped.

"Ka—Ka-kah! (っ°Д°;)っ"

Back home, Johan once again found himself grappling with Haunter's boundless energy.

Despite significantly increasing Haunter's training regimen and cramming in as much physical and mental stimulation as possible, Haunter seemed to have an endless reserve of vigor.

Even Vulpix was beginning to show similar signs.

'Is this contagious?' Johan wondered.

'Or is it that my energy cubes are just too good?'

Lately, he'd crafted three new varieties of energy cubes with refined taste and quality.

When he sent photos to Ayako, she praised him for his knack for being a Pokémon caretaker.

But no matter how good he made them, he couldn't seem to stockpile any.

Each batch disappeared within two days, max, devoured by Haunter and Vulpix.

Johan could only console himself by thinking, 'At least I'm not spending extra on these.'

But my MooMoo Milk stash is running dangerously low…

"Haunter," Johan called.

"Ka-kah?"

Dangling upside down from the ceiling, Haunter glanced down with curiosity, mid-pull-up while watching a new drama titled Fox Mage and the Ghost Banisher.

Johan cupped his hands over Vulpix's ears.

"Oowu?"

"Did you know," Johan said to Haunter, "amateur mages cast spells with incantations. Second-rate mages cast spells while engaging in melee combat. But top-tier mages? They swing their fists and wield swords, only adding a Flash spell for illumination."

With that, Johan released Vulpix's ears.

"Oowu?"

Vulpix blinked, its eyes full of curiosity.

What did you say?

"Ka-kah!"

Haunter froze for two seconds, then its expression shifted as if enlightened.

I get it now!

Dropping from the ceiling, Haunter immediately began throwing punches.

Shadow Punch!

"Ka-kah, ka-kah, ka-kah—"

Ora ora ora ora—

Watching Haunter assault the air with a flurry of punches, Johan sighed inwardly.

It wasn't that he wanted to "trick" a Pokémon specializing in special attacks into focusing on physical moves.

It was just… no other move was more suitable for exhausting Haunter's surplus energy.

Besides, this wasn't a game where Pokémon were limited to just four moves—better to have more skills than to need them and not have them.

If Johan could afford it, he'd even teach Haunter the Three-Punch Combo.

Of course, there was also another reason.

In Agatha's Manual of Fear, she mentioned a connection between Shadow Punch, Shadow Claw, and Shadow Ball.

Mastery of one would facilitate learning and perfecting the others.

Better to plan ahead.

After letting Vulpix down, Johan resumed checking and responding to online consultations.

[Bird Fallen to the Ground]: He ate it! He actually ate it!

Is all that culinary practice finally paying off?

Johan felt gratified.

[Grain in the Field]: Great, then the next step is to win over his heart through his stomach!

He glanced at Haunter, now chewing on an energy cube while practicing its punches, and Vulpix, which was using Powder Snow to build a snowman.

Johan: "???"

Didn't I cover your ears?

[Little Growlithe]: Sorry, it took me a while to respond. I ran away from home and just got a hold of a phone.

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Powerstones?

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