Don was startled, completely unprepared for his enhancement ability to be interrupted.
He was no stranger to bizarre creatures and abilities, having witnessed all manner of them in the Dark Continent.
Many had blocked his enhancement abilities before, but few had done so in this manner.
At the very least, he had never encountered such a method.
Though it might also be because he mostly operated in the periphery—whether creatures with such abilities existed deeper within, he couldn't say.
Narrowing his eyes at Tyranitar, Don sighed inwardly:
[I thought I had already underestimated it enough, but it seems I still underestimated it too much.]
Don couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
Why would a Steel Nen Beast that emerged alongside sand wield so many different types of abilities?
Normally, a single Aura Beast would be fortunate to possess even one of these abilities.
Yet this one had several, unreasonably concentrated into a single entity.
It didn't feel like facing one Aura Beast—more like confronting several distinct ones.
And every one of them wielded remarkably formidable abilities.
Having never encountered Pokémon before, Don was experiencing their might for the first time.
However, even as Don marveled, he remained unaware that far greater surprises awaited him.
...
"Ding!"
"Pokémon incubation complete!"
Akira sent one last thought to Tyranitar before withdrawing his gaze from the battlefield.
Akira understood—Don's incubation bar had reached its end. He immediately immersed himself to check.
Just what kind of Pokémon would it be this time?
Even after several exchanges between Tyranitar and Don, which had given him more insight into Don's abilities, he still couldn't guess which Pokémon would emerge.
From what he had observed so far, Don's displayed abilities were varied—there was one that enlarged his body.
But that was likely more about restoring vitality to his flesh.
Then there were the vine seeds he produced, which Akira considered an external ability.
Probably unrelated.
After reviewing everything, Akira concluded this Pokémon would primarily correlate with Don's eerie appearance, his peculiar black-and-white Aura, and... his Nen Ability.
In the end, he could only guess in one direction: the Pokémon was most likely Ghost-type.
Beyond that, there simply wasn't enough information for further speculation.
But since the Pokémon had already been incubated, there was no need to waste mental energy guessing.
The new Pokémon stood upright with a distinctly humanoid posture, slightly hunched, its gaze unnervingly cold.
Its head bore incredibly fluffy fur, predominantly white with multiple red oval patterns.
The tips of its ears were red, while its wild mane alternated between white and red. Its eye sockets were red, its irises yellow.
Sharp claws protruded from its hands and feet, gleaming with a terrifying chill.
Merely looking at this Pokémon gave the illusion of witnessing something horrifying.
Enough to make one's heart tremble.
Akira's eyes widened slightly, disbelief flashing across his face as he thought in shock.
[This is...]
[Zoroark?]
What appeared in his mind was unmistakably a white-and-red Zoroark.
This was no ordinary Zoroark—it was a Hisuian Zoroark.
The Hisuian Zoroark differs significantly in appearance from the ordinary Zoroark.
First, Zoroark's once dark gray fur has turned white, with streaks of red mixed into the chest fur.
At the same time, its pale mane is no longer restrained by the large bead, freely floating in the air, with dark red tips.
The entire design is eerie and full of malice, deliberately crafted to match its lore and abilities.
Looking at the handsome Hisuian Zoroark, Akira felt pleasantly surprised and satisfied—an unexpected delight.
Originally, he had assumed it might be a more common Ghost-type Pokémon, or perhaps something rarer like an Ultra Beast or Mythical Pokémon.
He hadn't expected it to be a Pokémon from the Hisui region.
Come to think of it, he had obtained Starter Pokémon, Hidden Ability Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, Mythical Pokémon, and even Legendary Pokémon before.
But he had never acquired a regional variant Pokémon.
The Hisui region is one such example of regional Pokémon forms.
In the Pokémon world, certain regions are unique, where Pokémon take on appearances different from their common forms.
For example, the Exeggutor from the Alola region.
Compared to its regular form, its height skyrockets to 10.9 meters, with necks stretching like a giraffe's.
It also grows an additional head—four in total—with one sprouting from its tail to deal with enemies from behind.
Even its typing changes, becoming a Dragon-type Pokémon, which it originally wasn't.
Similarly, many Pokémon in the Hisui region differ greatly from their standard appearances.
The Hisui region is particularly special, as it appears in the game Arceus.
According to lore, Hisui is the precursor to the Sinnoh region in the Pokémon world—ancient times when humans rarely coexisted with Pokémon.
The region is surrounded by untamed nature, home to many ancient Pokémon that differ significantly from modern ones in appearance and typing.
Unfortunately, most of these Hisuian Pokémon, distinct from their present-day counterparts, aren't particularly appealing in design.
For instance, his Starter Pokémon, Decidueye, also has a Hisuian form.
Yet its appearance pales in comparison to its regular form—perhaps due to art style choices—making it rather unattractive.
And this is just one of many Hisuian Pokémon.
Only a handful of Hisuian forms are as visually appealing, if not more so, than their standard counterparts.
Among them are Zorua and Zoroark.
Setting aside its abilities for now, Akira quite liked the Hisuian Zoroark's appearance.
Coincidentally, this Zoroark was also his first Hisuian Pokémon.
He wasn't entirely wrong—Hisuian Zoroark is indeed a Ghost-type Pokémon.
Ordinary Zorua and Zoroark are Dark-type Pokémon.
But the Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark are Normal- and Ghost-type Pokémon, with bodies primarily pink and gray-white.
These two are also currently the only Pokémon in existence with both the Normal and Ghost typings.
Normal is weak to Fighting and immune to Ghost, while Ghost is weak to Ghost and Dark but immune to Fighting and Normal.
In other words, a Pokémon possessing both these types only has one weakness: the Dark type.
This can be considered an exceptionally strong type combination, one that stands out as highly representative within the entire Pokémon world.
Because only these two—this single evolutionary line—possess it.
The Normal type and the Ghost type, two types that are mutually immune, can coexist on the same Pokémon.
This in itself is something unimaginable.
At the same time, it also made Akira think of Don's eerie black-and-white Aura, along with the dark mist clinDon to him.
It still felt very much in line with the traits of the [Normal type] and [Ghost type].
The fact that Zorua and Zoroark could transform into Ghost types was also quite fascinating.
It was said that Zorua made opponents see strange illusions.
Because of this, in the past, they were feared and driven out of their habitats in other lands, eventually migrating to the Hisui region.
However, unable to withstand competition with other Pokémon and the harsh natural environment, they ultimately perished.
The lingering souls of Zorua, fueled by intense resentment toward humans and Pokémon, were reborn as Ghost types.
At the same time, what made Hisuian Zoroark peculiar wasn't just its unique type combination.
When a Zorua from Hisui died, its soul would revive in Hisui, giving birth to a being steeped in deep resentment.
This grudge would manifest as power, rising like mist from its head, taking on the form of its enemies to exact vengeance.
Upon evolving into Zoroark, this hatred would grow even more terrifying.
The long, writhing fur of Hisuian Zoroark would radiate this energy of resentment.
Not only would it show horrifying illusions to its foes, but it would also inflict damage from both inside and outside their bodies.
It was said these illusions took on the appearance of something that loathed all existence.
The terror they inspired was so great that witnesses could lose their sanity.
This description bore some resemblance to the Hellbell Snake, and even to the gaseous lifeform known as the Desire Parasite.
The way its white hair flailed wildly made it look like the Grim Reaper itself.
Driven by hatred so deep it could tear itself apart, it would attack its enemies with the intent to perish together.
This also explained why even the mere aura exuded by Hisuian Zoroark could make one's heart tremble.
However, none of this meant Hisuian Zoroark was a cold, emotionless, or even sadistically evil Pokémon.
Though it displayed intense hostility and aggression toward other Pokémon and humans,
when facing those it considered companions or family, Hisuian Zoroark would reveal a deeply affectionate side.
Thus, it was clear that Hisuian Zoroark wasn't inherently wicked—its origins simply made it somewhat unique.
Following routine, after using Restriction and Vow, Akira activated his Pokédex function to check.
Name: Zoroark (Hisuian Form)
Ability: Illusion
Type: Normal, Ghost
Strength: A-
Moves: Bitter Malice, Payback, Final Gambit, Substitute, Snarl…
[Grudge Rebirth]: When Hisuian Zoroark is on the verge of fainting, its HP will remain unchanged for a period.
During this time, no matter how much damage it takes, Hisuian Zoroark will not be defeated.
Meanwhile, fueled by overwhelming hatred, its power will surge dramatically as it seeks vengeance in a rage.
After achieving Payback, these grudges do not vanish but instead enhance its strength in the form of experience points.
If the Hisuian Zoroark dies after its lock-on time expires, its soul will be extracted.
Then, amidst the vast energy of resentment, it will transform into the likeness of its enemy to carry out Payback.
Upon successfully completing Payback, the Hisuian Zoroark will revive, and the grudge energy will convert into experience points to boost its power.
...
As expected, next to Zoroark's name was a clear notation indicating its Hisui region form.
There were no issues with Zoroark's stats either—its base stat total was 510, which after the Restriction and Vow, precisely matched an A- rank.
At the same time, Akira took a moment to check the Hisuian Zoroark's ability, [Illusion].
Both the regular Zoroark and the Hisuian Zoroark shared this ability.
However, what intrigued Akira was how this ability would manifest in reality and whether there would be any variations.
In the games, the effect of [Illusion] was to automatically take on the appearance of the last Pokémon in the party.
This effect could sometimes be surprisingly effective, primarily used to deceive and confuse opponents.
From its portrayal in the anime, the ability likely manifested through the creation of illusions.
Ever since Akira obtained that miraculous Ditto, he had developed a habit.
Even if a Pokémon's ability seemed ordinary at first glance, he would still examine it thoroughly.
This habit led him to discover a unique effect.
[Illusion]: The Hisuian Zoroark could effortlessly create vast illusionary realms.
The appearances of objects within these realms were identical to the real things, but they lacked any actual function.
If a living being was trapped within the illusion,
the Hisuian Zoroark could conjure up the things or environments that creature feared the most.
It would then feed on the fear generated by the target upon witnessing these visions.
This fear would also be converted into experience points, absorbed by the Hisuian Zoroark.
Thereby transforming it into its own strength.
...
Akira was momentarily stunned before feeling a surge of delight.
Good thing he had checked the ability's details—otherwise, he would have missed this.
First, the Hisuian Zoroark could create incredibly lifelike illusions, which wasn't surprising—it was a hallmark trait of the Zoroark species.
As everyone knew, Pokémon like Zoroark were renowned for their illusions.
But what truly caught Akira's attention was its ability to frighten opponents through illusions and convert their fear into experience points.
This was a peculiar method of gaining experience.
At the very least, it was far more unusual than Gengar feeding on death energy or Snorlax feasting on delicacies—earning experience by scaring others.
Yet, recalling the Hisuian Zoroark's lore, Akira felt this ability wasn't out of place.
According to the setting, both Hisuian Zorua and Hisuian Zoroark possessed this capability.