At eight o'clock in the morning, island time, John and Emerald said goodbye to Christina, and boarded the plane back to Draconia.
There was no need to stay on Sky Island anymore. Next, he only needed to wait until the Eight Masters Competition of the World Pokemon Tournament officially began. Maybe one of the Eight Masters' matches would be held on Sky Island, and they might come back then.
John turned on his Gameboy and checked the progress of the currently active Pokemon Tournament quest.
[Tip: Number of champions defeated so far (9/10)]
[Note: When the number of defeated champions reaches 10, the Pokemon Championship will automatically open, and all Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Champion Trainers that have been defeated will be strengthened and appear in the Pokemon Championship!]
Even though Mustard had clearly told John that he wasn't planning to participate in the Pokemon Championships, the system still counted him as one of the defeated champions.
The Pokemon World Championship was just one step away.
And John had already set his sights on winning that final championship.
Red, also known as the Pokemon World's Strongest Trainer.
Next to him, even Ash had to step aside.
However, John wasn't ready to challenge him right away.
He'd been completely ignoring the real-world Pokemon Tournament. Instead, he was focused on battling Red and the enhanced version in the Pokemon Championship that would start after defeating Red.
That was the opponent he really cared about.
Therefore, John was going to spend some time training his Pokemon before the battle.
Against Red, only six Pokemon were allowed. John had seen those six Pokemon several times in his previous life.
He remembered: Pikachu, Espeon, Snorlax, and the original three starters, Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur.
In the games, whenever Red appeared, it was basically this lineup. At most, he might add an utility Pokemon like Lapras or Arcanine.
Should he prepare a lineup to counter those six main Pokemon?
John thought for a while but still couldn't decide.
He remembered that in the anime he'd seen before traveling to this world, Red had already completed the Pokedex for the entire Kanto region.
The three legendary birds and even Mewtwo had been caught by him.
If it was the strongest possible lineup, Mewtwo might be included in Red's team. After all, there were scenes in some versions where legendary Pokemon appeared.
If Mewtwo was really there...
Should he challenge the "Mewtwo Strikes Back" movie version first, or the Paldea region's special dungeon "Darkness Falls"? Or should he go catch Rayquaza himself first?
With Mewtwo and Rayquaza, he'd be practically invincible.
He was thinking too far ahead.
It didn't matter whether Red had legendary Pokemon or not, John had to consider him the same level of opponent as Mewtwo and Rayquaza.
However, whether he challenged Red first or went after Mewtwo and Rayquaza first, he had to select his six strongest Pokemon first.
After all, when fighting them in dungeons, he could only bring six Pokemon maximum.
John took out his notebook and wrote down his expected team roster:
Greninja, Gardevoir, Zeraora, Lugia, Gengar, Garchomp.
Actually, these six weren't his absolute strongest Pokemon, but considering type combinations and individual Pokemon levels, John settled on this lineup. Especially Urshifu, if its level increased by 10, it would be the strongest Pokemon in John's hands.
Depending on his opponent's types, he could make some fine adjustments without major problems. After returning home, he'd focus on training these six.
When Sky Island's plane landed in the capital, the time was around 8 AM.
Many of John's fans had come to see him at the airport. First, John's recent performance on Sky Island had once again shocked the whole world.
It could be said that it made his fans even more enthusiastic, while passersby who had previously been indifferent now realized that John might be a Draconia representative on the verge of world-famous fame.
Those who brought honor to their country naturally gained popularity among the public.
Second, the Sky Island trip had been almost completely public, unlike his previous low-key journeys. John was bound to get mobbed.
But it was useless. As soon as he spotted people blocking his way, John sent out Zoroark.
Illusions took hold.
Just like that, in the venue where drums were beating, firecrackers were exploding, and crowds were gathering, John and Emerald were "ignored" by everyone in such an "obvious" way. They got into the special car that came to pick them up and left the airport, heading to his villa in the capital.
"Boss, the Trainer Association sent a video, saying they found a secret realm that you'd be interested in." Not long after getting in the car, Emerald suddenly handed over a phone.
"What secret realm would I be interested in?" John smiled as he took the phone. He had plenty to choose from now.
Unless it was an ancient sanctuary like the one Damian had taken him to, or one with legendary Pokemon, he'd completely look down on normal secret realms.
John clicked on the video.
The video was pitch black, and when the perspective moved upward, a huge crescent moon came into view.
But what really made John frown and stare was the place where the crescent moon's white light shone, a humanoid Pokemon wearing a white dress was dancing under the moonlight.
"Gardevoir?" John confirmed he'd seen correctly. The figure was indeed an ordinary Gardevoir.
As the video progressed, Gardevoir's dance became more ethereal, her figure floating in the air like a fairy about to fly to the crescent moon. And as she danced, the entire camera angle swayed.
No, to be more precise, it was the whole world that was shaking, not the filming angle.
Just as John thought, when the perspective stopped swaying, everything in the video was dancing with Gardevoir in the endless moonlight in an incredible rhythm.
"Such a powerful Gardevoir..."
"No, it's not just a matter of being powerful. This Gardevoir is no longer an ordinary Gardevoir. Its every movement shows no trace of deliberately mobilizing physical strength, but like legendary Pokemon, it has the ability to influence natural forces."
John rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Without deliberately using power, it could naturally influence the world's natural flow. This was something even his own Gardevoir couldn't do.
Could it be...
"Could this be a Gardevoir with divine seat?" John's eyes suddenly lit up as he raised his head and gave instructions to the driver.
"Change of plans, let's go to the Trainer Association!"