A new teammate should have been something to celebrate, but Shedinja was not the talkative type. As a Ghost-type Pokémon, it also stirred up a lot of jealousy in one particular teammate.
Flutter Mane stared at Shedinja in obvious irritation. After hearing just how outrageous Wonder Guard was as an Ability, she genuinely could not understand how something that broken could exist on a wild Pokémon. This thing had basically been a roadside random encounter!
But once she learned that Ghost-type attacks were super effective against it, she immediately broke into a smug little gremlin grin.
So that's how it is.
For a second I thought it was actually invincible. I was jealous out of my mind!
If even some random wild trash mob like you could be stronger than me, a proper ghost hunter, then wouldn't my place on the team plummet?
The strongest Ghost-type on the team under Aegislash can only be me!
Whether it's the money-grubbing Gimmighoul or little Rotom the cook, both of them still rank behind me! Besides, those two barely even fight in the first place. It's not their turn to take the field!
"Happa-pah... ha?"
You think you can use Wonder Guard to steal my trash-tier Trainer and make him abandon me?
Impossible!
From now on, rookie trash mob, your place is below mine!
But no matter how much Flutter Mane mocked it, sneered at it, or even cackled in its face, Shedinja did not react in the slightest. Its face never changed. Its mood stayed completely steady. If anything, Hikaru could tell...
It was in a good mood.
It had not listened to a single word Flutter Mane said.
"Even after getting beaten up, it's still in a good mood."
"Even after being laughed at, it's still in a good mood."
"Even when doing absolutely nothing, it's still in a good mood."
"Mmm... me? I like sleeping the most. I like eating second-most, even though I can't actually eat. So why do I like eating? That's a question worth thinking about."
"So maybe what I really like is thinking. Thinking about the future of my kind makes me lose track of time... Mm."
"You should take care of your health too. Health comes first... mm."
"..."
That was the answer contained within Shedinja's emotions.
"In Sinnoh, there's a special man who can read a Pokémon's feelings through its footprints. He's called Dr. Footstep."
"All Pokémon footprints can be divided into five major types, and those five types are further split into Pokémon that leave footprints and Pokémon that don't."
"Strangely enough, even though Shedinja doesn't have feet at all, it's still classified as a Pokémon that leaves footprints. Maybe it inherited some of Nincada's personality and part of its soul, so that's how it ended up being categorized."
"Shedinja's footprint type is the slow-and-steady kind. That doesn't necessarily represent its exact true personality, but the two do complement each other."
"Pokémon of this type tend to act like they don't really care no matter what you ask them. Sometimes they do whatever they want, lost in their own thoughts, completely unconcerned with how outsiders see them."
Hikaru soothed the agitated and annoyed Flutter Mane, and for the first time, she looked genuinely dejected. She had never felt this speechless or frustrated, not even when Hikaru was lecturing her.
"Hahaha-pah!"
Why? Why are you ignoring me?
I'm talking to you. Hey!
"...Mm-hm."
That was Shedinja's response. Then it drifted off into its own thoughts again. But when Hikaru read its mood more carefully, it almost seemed like it was not thinking about anything at all.
Dr. Footstep could interpret Pokémon emotions and speech, and maybe that was one of the inspirations behind how N could talk to Pokémon. The interesting part was that different Pokémon types would say very different things depending on their current stage of friendship.
If a Pokémon did not have high friendship with its Trainer, it would complain.
"Why do you always use other Pokémon? Is it because I'm not useful? If that's true, then maybe life in the wild was better... No, maybe I'm just misunderstanding. I'll try harder a little longer."
Looking at the emotions Shedinja was expressing now, Hikaru was reminded of the amusing information Dr. Footstep could give players, the kind of thing that made Pokémon feel less like data and more like living beings.
So then Hikaru turned to Flutter Mane and read her emotions a little too.
There was not just resentment toward Shedinja and frustration. There was self-reproach too, and a desperate anxiety over not being useful earlier.
She was a Ghost-type Pokémon herself, yet she had failed to find Shedinja's true body. Instead, Kubfu the Fighting-type had been the one to drag the ghost out. That had planted a thought in her heart:
Maybe I'm not actually useful at all.
That was why her attitude toward Shedinja had become so prickly, so jealous.
"You made me your partner, and yet you hardly ever need my help. Do you think I'm not capable? Have you already started regretting it? That's what I used to think."
"But maybe there are no Pokémon that hate humans. Maybe there are only humans that hate Pokémon. I'm the kind of Pokémon that's easy to dislike. It's always been that way. But you've still always been good to me... so care about me a little more..."
"So embarrassing myself like this isn't acceptable. I absolutely have to..."
After reading her inner thoughts, Hikaru nodded in surprise.
"You're the scary type, and you've already reached Stage Five? So without me noticing, your friendship's gotten that high already."
"Hahappa?!" Flutter Mane was so startled she nearly jumped out of the air. Then she flushed red with embarrassment and anger and started flapping furiously to vent her frustration.
Trash-tier Trainer, don't just casually read people's inner thoughts!
I messed up again and embarrassed myself again, didn't I? You definitely laughed at me in your head!
"But you really are the ace of the Ghost-types."
"Haha! Heeheehee~"
It was just a little praise, but the gloomy, resentful Flutter Mane froze for a moment and immediately switched into happy, delighted mode. All that unhappiness got flung straight into the clouds.
In a certain sense, Flutter Mane's moods were easier to read than any of the others.
Of course, Shedinja is strong too, Hikaru thought to himself, though there was absolutely no way he could say that out loud in front of her.
Still, Shedinja, which seemed indifferent to everything, was not completely uninterested in the outside world.
When Victini curiously floated closer...
The thing slid sideways through the air to another spot.
Hikaru stared. "Ally Switch?!"
One of Shedinja's most toxic moves. In Generation VIII Ubers, it had terrorized a whole pile of legendary Pokémon with that move plus Wonder Guard. Normally it was a tutor move, not something it learned by leveling up.
"So that's it. The reason it moved so fast earlier was because it used Ally Switch."
It used mysterious power to instantly swap positions with an ally. If used repeatedly, though, it became more likely to fail, just like Protect.
On Hikaru's team, Armarouge already knew that move, and Deoxys had not learned it yet... though with the team chat basically being run by aliens, it had probably secretly picked it up already.
"Tini?"
Victini blinked blankly at the Shedinja that had suddenly slid away, then looked down at its tiny paws.
Ohhh.
Only now did Victini understand why Shedinja had suddenly dodged away.
It was scared of fire.
"And more than that... the way it could predict exactly when an opponent was about to act and dodge accordingly, that's because it used Mind Reader!"
The supreme secret of martial arts: the mind's eye. Only a very small number of Pokémon could learn it, and Shedinja was one of them. That was because its move pool inherited moves from the other branch of its pre-evolution's evolution line.
Hikaru gave it some thought and started studying Shedinja's moves.
Looks like tonight, besides making a new mask and crafting the Jewel of Life...
"Shedinja. Electric Tera type."
"And the moves... you really do know a ridiculous collection of weird stuff."
"Completely pointless Harden and Final Gambit. Ally Switch for a quick escape."
"Spite to cut PP. Confuse Ray for confusion. Mind Reader for guaranteed hits."
"Toxic to spread status. Sandstorm as a suicide button. Will-O-Wisp for burns. Double Team to boost evasion."
"And then there's Swords Dance inherited from before evolution. That really is a benefit of growing up in Sinnoh."
Too bad Swords Dance and Baton Pass were almost impossible to get together on the same Shedinja. Those inherited moves were copied from Ninjask's move pool, and in the early generations the level gap between learning Swords Dance and Baton Pass was far too large.
Otherwise...
On top of that, in later generations Shedinja could also pick up bizarre tutor moves like Trick and Telekinesis.
And if it kept leveling, it would eventually learn the even nastier Heal Block.
"Hiss... Though if it Terastallizes, Sandstorm might not be a suicide move after all. A Shedinja that deliberately sets Sandstorm because it's afraid of Sandstorm, while holding Safety Goggles... that would absolutely catch people off guard."
"With Tera in the mix, it can constantly chip the opponent down while taking no damage itself. And once it goes Tera Electric, it doesn't even need to worry about Knock Off, because Dark can't hit it anymore. At that point, the only real threats are Switcheroo, Trick, and status conditions."
"Usually, to stop status from killing Shedinja, people deliberately inflict paralysis on it first to block worse status."
"Sandstorm plus Toxic or Will-O-Wisp... even if a Tera Electric Shedinja does nothing, that's enough to slowly wear the other side down. Unless... they have Mold Breaker."
Shedinja had basically been denied a visa to Paldea for a reason. Once Terastallization entered the picture, Wonder Guard became terrifying.
But there was no real need to nerf Wonder Guard itself, so the simplest solution was just not letting Shedinja into the region at all.
"And with the lineup being... yeah. This'll do."
"I'll let Dawn get a little understanding of how no-weakness and invincible Pokémon are meant to fight."
Originally, Hikaru had planned to send out the three ancient dragons together, but now he could tweak that plan a little.
The structure of the new team was simple.
First.
Armarouge, after using Burn Up, would lose its Fire typing and be left with only its Psychic typing.
That would turn five weaknesses into three, removing its Water weakness.
If a Pokémon had no second type at all, then Burn Up would make it truly typeless - like a Burn Up Arcanine, a Pokémon with literally no weaknesses.
Second.
Shedinja, under Tera Electric, holding an Air Balloon or Safety Goggles.
With a few extra rare but practical moves taught to it, of course. Everything was still within Shedinja's actual legal learnset or tutor options. Nothing seriously illegal was involved. Otherwise, if you just made a Sturdy Shedinja, that would be outright invincible.
Third.
This battle was essentially a lesson match.
The Flutter Mane with no blind spots.
"Flutter Mane, you're up!"
"This team's strength is all over the place, so for Dawn, it's not like she has zero chance."
"And the Air Balloon... it pops when it takes a direct hit. In a real battle, an Air Balloon user might get its item sniped. But if you stuff the balloon into Shedinja's hollow back, into that black hole that supposedly sucks out souls, and if that hole leads to another dimension... then wouldn't the balloon be safe?"
"If you can't hit Shedinja, then you can't hit the balloon either."
"Now that I think about it, Gengar could probably do the same trick too... but that's way too illegal."
And in this lineup, the most legal one was actually Flutter Mane, whose whole approach was basically just repeating the same battle techniques over and over.
Of course, with her power, repeating those techniques was all she needed.
Shedinja: A Pokémon Hikaru happened to meet back in his hometown, Eterna City.
It likely crawled into a Poké Ball near the Old Chateau while the group was picking up the Insect Plate.
Naive nature.
Always likes thinking on its own, though its head is also completely empty. It does whatever it wants and entertains itself.
Knows a lot of moves that make no sense, and sometimes uses them without thinking.
Habitually watches from the shadows. JPG.
The next day, Hikaru deliberately waited a while before heading to Gardenia's Gym.
The mask was finished.
Before that, he had also set up some new moves for the newest team member.
And he had prepared some carved wooden items for Dawn that could alter Abilities.
Unexpectedly, the Gym was already in chaos. Wind and rain were lashing through it, thunder crackled overhead, and even Gardenia's clothes had been soaked through. The battle had apparently turned into the classic...
"Sun versus rain!"
Two Pokémon on Gardenia's team had the Ability Chlorophyll, and both of them carried Sunny Day. In other words, while she feared Fire-type offense under the sun, against a Trainer like Dawn who specialized in Water, she could use Sunny Day without hesitation.
Hikaru laughed.
"Gardenia, so you've been studying sun teams too."
"Of course I have. I'm a dazzling green Grass-type specialist! Weather is a huge part of battling now. Grass-types are a lot more energetic under the sun. But this is my first time ever facing an opponent who specializes in rain!"
Gardenia waved at him despite her drenched clothes, though she sounded exhausted and was breathing hard.
"This kind of brutal tug-of-war over sun and rain is a first for me too. I've never seen indoor rain this fierce before. It's like those natural disasters Hoenn had two years ago!"
"Cherrim! We stole back the sun - use Stun Spore!"
The Pokémon Gardenia was using against Dawn was Cherrim, a species unique to Sinnoh. In the manga, Cherrim had also been one of Platinum's Pokémon.
It was one of the rare Pokémon with a unique ecological trait. In cloudy weather, its petals closed. In sunshine, they bloomed open.
When the sunlight turned strong, it blossomed. In its bud form it held all its frustration in, then released it all at once when it opened, becoming full of energy.
In Legends: Arceus, Cherrim was also one of only two Pokémon whose Ability-related behavior was not truly removed, the other being Regigigas with Slow Start. And in the ancient era, its base stats were actually different from the modern version.
Modern Cherrim had a base stat total of only 450, but ancient Sunshine Form Cherrim reached 519, with Special Defense climbing as high as 117.
With a double resistance to Water, Water-type Pokémon could hardly deal meaningful damage to it at all.
Gardenia's Cherrim scattered paralyzing powder, but of course Dawn's Pokémon on the field was Manaphy.
"Manaphy, Take Heart!"
Manaphy used the ancient move it had just acquired.
Take Heart, the superior version of Calm Mind. It gathered courage, cured its own status condition, and boosted both Special Attack and Special Defense.
The paralysis from Stun Spore was cured instantly.
"A move that can remove status by itself? That's ridiculously strong!" Even Gardenia could not help exclaiming. But when she noticed Dawn no longer seemed interested in fighting over the weather, she became even more confused.
"What's going on? Aren't you going to keep trying to steal back rain?"
"Even if you boosted your Special Attack and Special Defense, Water-type moves are still cut in half under the sun, and Solar Beam becomes instant. That means you're in serious danger."
Dawn nodded and glanced at Hikaru.
"A weather setter with an Ability does have the advantage in weather wars. But Gardenia-san is also constantly fighting to keep the sun up, right? That's because it reduces the threat of Ice, helps prevent freezing, and it also activates Cherrim's Ability, Flower Gift."
"It's a Pokémon Professor Rowan researched and recorded in the Pokédex."
"In harsh sunlight, all allied Pokémon get a major boost to Attack and Special Defense."
"But just endlessly fighting over the weather won't solve everything. So I'm going to make use of the sun instead."
"Make use of the sun?" Gardenia did not understand. Then Dawn smiled.
"It's a move I got from that Team Galactic member, Saturn. Hikaru-san recorded it and gave me a TM copy."
"I heard it's a move that's almost been lost, but most Pokémon can still learn it."
At Dawn's command, Manaphy unleashed strong fiery power.
In sunny weather, Fire-type moves were boosted to 1.5x.
"Wah! Cherrim!"
Cherrim was doubly weak to Fire. If the sun had not also boosted its Special Defense, that one hit alone might have knocked it out.
Gardenia's eyes went wide.
"A Water-type Pokémon just used a Fire-type move?!"
"Natural Gift!" Dawn pointed at the clapping Manaphy.
"It's a move that uses a held Berry to battle, and apparently almost any Pokémon can learn it. But since Pokémon usually look for their own timing to trigger a Berry's normal effect in battle, I specifically gave the Prince a Belue Berry, which has no regular battle effect."
"And Belue Berry turns Natural Gift into a Fire-type move!"
A base 70 Fire-type move in sunshine became 105. With double effectiveness, that was like a move hitting at 210 power.
And Manaphy had already boosted its Special Attack by one stage.
Gardenia shouted, "Cherrim, Morning Sun!"
Dawn answered at once, "Manaphy, Tail Glow!"
Tail Glow was a move Manaphy was born knowing. It was one of the strongest boosting moves in the Pokémon world, instantly raising Special Attack by three stages.
The Prince of the Sea finally started showing its power. While Cherrim was restoring its HP, Manaphy boosted itself twice in a row.
Advance with Tail Glow and four attacks. Fall back and use Take Heart while asleep.
"Hidden Power!"
Once Dawn failed to take back the rain, she immediately shifted into a non-rain battle plan.
Manaphy's level was still low, so it had not yet learned its stronger high-powered Water moves. But before that, there was a TM widely available throughout Sinnoh: Hidden Power.
Not only could Pokémon awaken that move on their own, but at the Trainer School in Jubilife City, defeating the local students would earn you the TM. Dawn had already beaten them before heading to Oreburgh City and received it.
Hidden Power Flying!
A violent wind burst from the Prince's mouth, and only then did Gardenia realize what Hikaru had meant earlier.
"Solar Beam!"
Use the Grass Gem to increase Solar Beam's power this turn!
A base 120 STAB Grass-type nuke.
Cherrim fired a blazing beam of sunlight, and under the sun Solar Beam had no charge turn at all.
Watching that frighteningly strong move, Gardenia's heart pounded.
"That imported Unova item hits this hard?!"
"If that's the case, can I win?!"
But the power of Hidden Power Flying after Tail Glow boosts turned out to be even greater.
Cherrim's light was shredded apart by the storm, and in the next instant it was blown high into the air before crashing down with a thud.
Gardenia cried out, "Wah! First fire, then a storm! This Pokémon only just hatched. How is it already this strong?! And that was Hidden Power... with Hidden Power Flying, its coverage gets way scarier!"
"Even a Solar Beam boosted by Grass Gem couldn't beat it?!"
A Mythical Pokémon with a base stat total of 600 was naturally powerful. Manaphy's all-around base 100 stats meant it had no real durability weaknesses at all.
Its level was still a little low, but its naturally high stats let it overcome the gap despite being far behind Cherrim in level, and the defensive boost from Take Heart let it turn the battle around.
Though from the sidelines, Hikaru could not help feeling that the fact Manaphy could fight this intensely not long after hatching might really have something to do with the hatching knowledge he had inherited from Gold.
Besides, Cherrim's Special Attack just was not that impressive. Flower Gift boosted Attack, not Special Attack, so it did nothing to strengthen Solar Beam.
The Cherrim Gardenia had used in the Gym was only level 20, though she also had a level 60 Cherrim.
No matter how badly a Gym Leader wanted a good fight, she could not send out Pokémon that so heavily outclassed the challenger. The difficulty would be absurd.
Hikaru smiled.
"So it's decided. What a fierce sun-rain battle. There really don't seem to be many Trainers in Sinnoh who can use weather freely. Gardenia, maybe you really could take down Aaron and become a Grass-type Elite Four member."
"And Dawn, your understanding of battle keeps getting deeper. In rain, the power of wind matters too, and it helps cover Water's offensive blind spots."
"Yes!" Dawn caught her breath a little. The high-intensity battle and constant shifts between sun and rain had boosted her battle experience tremendously. Then she asked, "Did you already get the Draco Plate?"
"..."
The girl suddenly took a deep breath and looked at Hikaru solemnly.
"Next... it's time for my battle with you."
"I want to know the will of someone who stands at the peak of Pokémon Trainers."
No matter what, moving forward without hesitation had to be the right path. It did not matter what feelings she carried in her heart. As long as she had strong enough willpower, then whatever hardships and obstacles she faced in the future...
She would overcome them.
"Right now?" Hikaru asked. "Then I'll have to borrow the Gym too."
A world without light was darkness. That was why the lightless sun had lost to Dawn. He hoped this battle would let Dawn, as the one representing will, gain even greater strength.
"Of course, before we battle, I'm going to make the Plates I've gathered into something important and give it to you. You'll definitely need it someday."
"The Plates themselves are also necessary to reach the heavens. And as for the Jewel of Life, even if it isn't used in Michina, it'll definitely be useful somewhere else."
"As long as you have the right Plates, you can create the same kind of item. So do your best and gather more Plates too. There are actually more Plates scattered around Sinnoh than in other regions. And beneath this region's underground lies the fragments left over from the birth of the universe itself."
"Especially because you still need to gather two even more special Plates: Sky and Fairy. I don't know where those are. You'll have to find them yourself."
A green orb radiating gentle light was placed into Dawn's hands.
"A mythical artifact: the Jewel of Life!"
"According to legend, it once unleashed immense blessings, making barren land flourish and allowing life to endure for a thousand years. It's said that in order to seize the Jewel of Life, even Arceus, who had created it, was once attacked and left at death's door. This Jewel of Life is a replica and only holds one-third of the original's power."
"No matter how barren or infertile the land, the Jewel of Life can make it flourish instantly, and that prosperity will endure forever."
"That life force can even be bestowed upon Pokémon, filling them with unimaginable vitality. Whoever receives the Jewel of Life is like someone entrusted with Arceus's life itself. A Pokémon carrying it will never enter a near-fainted state. And even life that has already perished can be reborn through the Jewel's blessing."
Water, Grass, Ground, and Dragon formed the synthesis formula for the Jewel, but that formula was not the only one. There was a second formula no one knew.
The formula for the Prison Bottle.
After adjustments, that formula became Water, Fire, and Ground.
Maybe by combining different Plates in different ways, all kinds of strange and precious items could be created.
"Then..." Hikaru looked at the deeply shaken Dawn. "There's no limit on how many Pokémon you can use. I'll only use three. And as for the Pokémon I've chosen for this battle against you..."
"I've already decided."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On - P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]