Near the open plains, not far from Arthur's house.
Cradling the Egg Incubator with care, Arthur gently placed it onto the grassy ground before straightening up and clapping his hands to catch the attention of his Pokémon mid-training.
"Pikachu, Misdreavus—take a break."
"Pika…"
"Mi…"
Came the tired responses of both Pokémon. They were exhausted, pushing themselves hard to keep up with Lena's ever-improving team.
Lately, Arthur hadn't had much time to personally oversee their training or offer direct feedback. While he had set up multiple automated training zones using magic circles, their progress lagged behind Lena's. She, after all, was a natural when it came to training a Water-type team—her affinity with Water Elemental magic made her a perfect fit for the role.
Arthur, still just a Zero Ring Mage, couldn't offer much support in elemental matters. His magic circles could replicate certain conditions, but they were no match for the real thing. Lena, with her ability to actively wield Water magic, provided her Pokémon with real-time guidance and elemental synergy.
To make matters more challenging, Arthur's team consisted of different types, making it difficult to train them together. In contrast, Lena's Water-types could be trained as a cohesive unit, building off one another's strengths and techniques. The result? Less effort, but far better outcomes.
"You've both done great," Arthur said with a smile, leaning to pet them gently. He offered their favorite treats: a warm, boiled egg for Pikachu, and a soul candy for Misdreavus.
Despite the ominous name, soul candy was a beloved treat for spectral and undead creatures—a nurturing food that revitalized them in both body and spirit.
Soul candy was a popular item among Mages who practiced the arts of Necromancy, used primarily to enhance and sustain the undead under their control.
Despite the name, it wasn't truly a "candy", but rather the seed of a rare plant. These special seeds were cultivated to absorb and process death essence from within the Cursed Lands—a place teeming with residual spiritual energy. The deeper the seed was planted within those tainted grounds, the higher the resulting grade of the soul candy.
Due to the inherent dangers of the Cursed Lands, most soul candy was obtained through commissions given to daring adventurers—those bold or reckless enough to venture into the darkness and return alive. The risk was high, but so was the reward; even the lowest-grade soul candy fetched a considerable price.
However, with Necromancers being relatively rare, demand remained modest despite the cost.
Arthur had initially purchased two pieces: one for research and experimentation, and the other to test how a Ghost-type like Misdreavus would react to it.
The experiment didn't yield many breakthroughs, aside from one key discovery—he could safely split the candy into smaller portions. By combining each piece with other ingredients to improve the taste, he managed to turn a single soul candy into ten smaller snacks suitable for Misdreavus.
Given the expense, using an entire piece as a single treat would've been wasteful.
Fortunately, the divided pieces retained their full effectiveness. Consuming ten of them granted the same benefits as a whole, while the added ingredients helped supply additional nutrients tailored to Ghost-types.
Thanks to this new diet, Misdreavus had stopped giving Arthur nightmares or draining his fear while he slept.
Though Misdreavus once confessed that fear tasted far more delicious, it wasn't willing to hurt Arthur every night just to satisfy its cravings.
Arthur was quietly relieved. He could handle horror movies just fine, but living through one every night in his dreams wasn't exactly great for his mental health.
As for Pikachu, Arthur had once tried feeding it food infused with Lightning Element. At first, Pikachu seemed delighted—the moment the food touched its tongue, it lit up with excitement. But seconds later, it vomited violently, its body suddenly discharging a surge of electricity that nearly scared Arthur to death.
If Virelyra hadn't been there to shield him, he might have been fried on the spot.
Speaking of Virelyra, she still hadn't went back to search for the King's Proof. She claimed it wasn't yet time for Slowpoke to evolve—but everyone knew the truth. She'd simply grown too lazy, preferring to nap away the days inside her Luxury Ball.
But back to the matter of Pikachu.
After extensive testing and trial-and-error, Arthur finally discovered the real cause behind Pikachu's rejection of Lightning-Elemental food: its ability—Lightning Rod.
In the Pokémon World, an ability like Lightning Rod probably wouldn't interfere with food intake, even for Electric-type supplements. But in Ocasia, where raw elemental energy drifted freely in the air, things were different.
Because of its ability, Pikachu had been unconsciously absorbing ambient Lightning Element from the environment since birth. No one had noticed—not even Pikachu, who had simply assumed that all Electric-types did the same.
Once Arthur uncovered this, everything made sense. Pikachu's body had already been "consuming" Lightning energy every day, albeit in small doses. The exposure wasn't enough to cause serious harm, which is why Pikachu appeared perfectly healthy.
However, over time, the constant passive absorption dulled its sensitivity to Lightning-infused food. What once might have tasted rich and energizing had become bland—until eventually, its body outright rejected it.
It was like a human eating the same food every second—bit by bit, piece by piece, nonstop. No matter how delicious it was at first, you'd eventually grow sick of it. And when you finally had a full portion all at once, your body might reject it entirely.
Arthur would have discovered this sooner if Pikachu had ever been struck by lightning directly. But because of his protective magic circle—designed to act as a lightning rod—there was never an opportunity to test that scenario.
Because of this, feeding a Pokémon with the Lightning Rod ability foods rich in Lightning Element could cause a strong, instinctive rejection from the body.
After that realization, most of Pikachu's training shifted to controlling and harnessing the ambient Lightning Element it was already absorbing. Arthur focused on helping Pikachu sense and store the particles in the air, then use them to enhance its own electric aptitude. The goal was to channel that energy in a way that could temporarily—or even permanently—increase its Special Attack.
Without proper training, Pikachu simply absorbed the Lightning energy unconsciously and released it again without direction or purpose. But if Arthur could help it master the Lightning Rod ability, Pikachu had the potential to become a true powerhouse.
"Pika~ Pi!"
"Vu~!"
Both Pokémon chirped happily as they munched on their favorite snacks, chatting animatedly in a language Arthur could never quite understand.
Pikachu's side of the conversation revolved around training and battles, while Misdreavus gleefully shared stories about the new friends it had made at the Haunted House. It recounted with pride how it and a small gang of Gastly would prank unsuspecting Rookie Trainers who entered in search of Ghost-types.
Arthur could only sigh helplessly. On one hand, mischief was part of a Ghost-type's very nature. On the other, he worried such antics would only deepen people's prejudice against Ghost Pokémon.
He could only hope people would think rationally—that they'd consider why they were merely scared away instead of actually attacked—and come to the conclusion that Ghost-types were more mischievous than dangerous.
As for Zeth and his mysterious Ocasia Paras, there wasn't much progress to report.
At the moment, updating the Pokédex wasn't even feasible. The "wireless connection" barely covered the entirety of Rastor Village, let alone reaching all the way to the Royal Capital. Minor updates could sometimes be sent out using a weak signal, but for a major update like this one—where proximity to the Pokédex was necessary—either Rosaria would have to gather all the Rookie Trainers and bring them here, or Arthur would need to travel to Kross City himself. And even then, there was no guarantee all the Trainers would be present at the same time.
Besides, the only thing he could update for now was the name: Ocasia Paras. Everything else remained a blank slate, awaiting further observation and research.
Even its list of possible TMs and Egg Moves was completely empty, which meant Arthur would have to record and catalog everything from scratch.
And who knew? Maybe it could evolve—or maybe it couldn't at all.
All things considered, there were far too many unknowns surrounding Ocasia Paras. Rushing to update the Pokédex would be premature and ultimately pointless.
So for now, Arthur simply told Rosaria to inform Zeth that the Pokémon's current classification was Ocasia Paras.
Still, he felt a bit uneasy.
Knowing Zeth, Arthur couldn't be certain how he'd react to the name. Depending on one's perspective, it could be seen either as a superior regional variant of Paras—or an inferior knockoff.
"The Divine Child of Lord Arceus is worthy of His own name, not just another 'Paras'!"—yeah, that sounded like something Zeth would say, Arthur thought with a wry chuckle.
After Pikachu and Misdreavus finished their snacks, Arthur resumed training.
"Alright, Pikachu, keep working on combining Charge and Charge Beam," he instructed.
Pikachu nodded eagerly and dashed toward the area where Arthur had set up magic circles. These circles drew more Lightning Element particles from the air, refining their quality and concentrating them into a dense field—an ideal training ground for Electric-type Pokémon, especially one with the Lightning Rod ability like Pikachu.
For now, the best way Arthur could think to train Pikachu's Lightning Rod ability was to help it sense as many Lightning Element particles as possible, then consciously convert that ambient energy into usable power without wasting a single spark.
So, Charge and Charge Beam remained the core of its training—both moves involving the controlled buildup and release of electrical energy.
At the highest level, Arthur imagined Pikachu could potentially boost its Special Attack and Special Defense simply by standing still and absorbing electricity. Of course, too much intake would harm its body, so in this early phase, Arthur aimed to improve the quality of the absorbed energy first before shifting focus to quantity.
Naturally, others training such as physical and reflex wouldn't be neglected. No matter how adept Pikachu became with Lightning Rod, it would still fall behind other Pokémon its level if it lacked overall strength and agility.
Apart from its own training, Pikachu was also helping Misdreavus learn Fairy-type moves, such as Charm.
Misdreavus showed some potential to learn Charm too, but despite its occasional displays of cuteness and affection, it was still difficult for it to harness the vague Fairy energy within its ghostly form.
After all, Misdreavus couldn't naturally learn Fairy-type moves. It could only access them through TMs—and even then, there were only three options available: Charm, Draining Kiss, and Dazzling Gleam.
Arthur wasn't Reden or Virelyra, who could somehow train their Pokémon to learn wildly different types of moves—or even something as advanced and difficult as Draco Meteor.
Sure, asking for their help was always an option. But he preferred to train his Pokémon himself and grow closer to them through shared experience.
The Pokémon Project was still in its infancy. The Pokémon Alliance hadn't even been formally established yet, and Gyms were still a thing of the future. With fewer than a thousand Trainers in existence, there was no reason to act overly competitive and outsource training to some "training school" just to chase quick results.
So, for now, aside from letting Pikachu help Misdreavus sense Fairy-type energy, Arthur had a different plan: train it in the use of Confusion, a Psychic-type move.
"Misdreavus," Arthur called, "stop training Ghost-type moves for now. Next, try using Confusion on me—not to confuse, but to soothe my mind. I know that goes against the move's nature, but you need to try."
He moved the Egg Incubator a safe distance away, then sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, readying himself for the mental exercise.
Misdreavus hovered in front of him, focusing as it attempted to channel Confusion into something calm and comforting.
This unorthodox training had a purpose. The core energies of Psychic-type and Fairy-type moves had similarities.
Psychic-type moves involved mental power—telepathy, telekinesis, and, importantly, the manipulation of the mind. Fairy-type moves, on the other hand, leaned toward emotional influence—especially positive emotions like affection, charm, and joy.
By teaching Misdreavus to take Confusion, a move designed to disturb and disorient the mind, and convert its energy into something gentler and more emotionally uplifting, Arthur hoped to lay the groundwork for awakening and harnessing the Fairy-type energy within its body.
It wasn't a perfect plan. But for now, it was the best idea he had.
As for why Arthur wanted Misdreavus to walk the path of the Fairy-type—it was because he hoped to awaken an ancient power resting deep within its body and eventually evolve it into an Ancient Paradox Pokémon: Flutter Mane, a Psychic- and Fairy-type, rather than following the normal route to Mismagius.
Well, "ancient power" was just the setting he'd created when designing the template for Paradox Pokémon. After all, Ocasia's Pokémon hadn't even existed for a full year yet. What "ancient" could possibly exist?
Technically, focusing only on Future Paradox Pokémon might've made more logical sense—but that would mean scrapping all the Ancient Paradox templates and waiting until Pokémon had firmly taken root in the world. And that would take far too long.
Of course, just learning a Fairy-type move wouldn't be enough. Like how Slowpoke required a substitute for a King's Rock to evolve into Slowking, Arthur believed there had to be a catalyst—something that could trigger the "ancient power" setting he had embedded in Misdreavus's evolution template.
But that was a problem for the future.
Unlike many Pokémon, Flutter Mane was closer to a Legendary Pokémon in terms of setting and design. And like many evolutions, its form would likely influence Misdreavus personality. In the lore Arthur had created, Flutter Mane was an Ancient Paradox Pokémon driven by primal instinct—its nature inherently more aggressive and untamed. Unless Misdreavus had a strong enough mind to resist that instinct—and a deep enough bond with him to prioritize friendship—Arthur wouldn't allow it to evolve. Not yet.
As Misdreavus focused its Psychic energy on his mind, Arthur felt a sharp headache take hold—the disorientation of Confusion. He gritted his teeth and endured it, silently urging Misdreavus to keep going.
Slowly, he felt the frequency of the Psychic wave begin to shift slightly, as Misdreavus attempted to tune its energy—adjusting the harsh, chaotic pulse into something gentler, calmer, more positive.
It was going to be delicate, difficult training—but both Misdreavus and Arthur had the patience to see it through.
He had shown Misdreavus sketched pictures of Flutter Mane and Mismagius, asking which form it wished to evolve into.
Without hesitation, Misdreavus chose Flutter Mane, clearly drawn to the form it found more pleasing to the eye.
As the Psychic waves flowed into his mind, Arthur seized the opportunity to train himself as well.
Sitting cross-legged and tormented by Misdreavus's careful attempts—not to hurt its Trainer—Arthur began to meditate, gathering mana both within his body and from the air to form a mana ring.
He was still a Zero Ring Mage.
Though he had already decided his future path would be as a Pokémon Trainer, relying on his Pokémon in battle, he knew it was still important to strengthen himself, even with his limited potential.
He could boost his potential using rare herbs, potions, or enchanted items—but those were expensive, and his entire research fund was dedicated to Pokémon, not himself.
Arthur was certain that if he asked Rosaria for potential-enhancing potions, she'd happily procure them—but the thought embarrassed him.
He preferred an equal exchange, and right now, aside from Pokémon, he had nothing of value to offer in return.
Magic circles were an asset—but he would never share his "code" with others; that would be his doom.
As he focused on channeling his mana, sweat trickled down his face, and a headache clouded his thoughts. Still, he persisted.
He could feel his mental power growing faster than it ever had through meditation alone.
Arthur hoped that soon, he would break through his limits and form his First Ring—officially becoming a First Ring Mage.