Porygon's performance in combat was slightly underwhelming, but that wasn't entirely its fault.
The main reason was simply that Chansey was too strong.
Secondary factors included Porygon's lack of battle experience and its lack of synergy with Kashiwagi.
Whenever it received an order, there was always a slight delay.
It was as if a computer program needed time to process the response.
According to the manual provided by Dr. Akihabara, this was a "Trust System" specifically designed to make Porygon feel more like a biological creature.
Much like Friendship, the Trust level had to reach a certain threshold before the Pokémon would move as an extension of its Trainer's will.
By the same logic, evolving Porygon into Porygon2 required raising this Trust level.
There were ten levels of Trust in total.
The manual stated that reaching Level 6 was sufficient to ensure that after evolving into Porygon2—and gaining massive amounts of data—it wouldn't start looking down on its Trainer and lose Trust.
So, how did one check the Trust level?
Simple.
First, Porygon had to enter any device equipped with a screen.
Kashiwagi chose his old smartphone and, following the instructions, pressed the phone against Porygon's forehead.
In an instant, Porygon's angular eyes emitted a brilliant white light.
Its body became blurry and distorted, finally transforming into a stream of white data that surged into the phone's charging port.
Ding~
The phone screen lit up, and Porygon's figure appeared right in the middle of it.
"Whoa! It actually went in?"
Kashiwagi exchanged a glance with Chansey, who was watching from the side.
He still found it somewhat mind-blowing, much like the first time he saw a Pokémon PC Transfer System in action.
Chansey didn't quite understand why her Trainer was so excited, but since he was making that face, it had to be something incredible. She gave him some face and mimicked the same look as well.
".:o"
Once inside the phone, an interactive system emerged. Kashiwagi could communicate with Porygon through the touchscreen, which was arguably more convenient than in the real world.
In the digital space, Porygon's various emotions automatically triggered animations—something it lacked in reality.
Back to the point.
By long-pressing Porygon's body, hearts would appear over its head. One heart represented one level of Trust.
Currently, when Kashiwagi checked, three hearts popped up.
The manual stated the starting level was two hearts. It seemed that even though Porygon didn't gain much ground in the recent battle, the experience had still increased its trust.
Suddenly curious, Kashiwagi wondered if Porygon felt the same way about fellow Pokémon.
He handed the phone to Chansey and let her try.
"Lucky?"
"Just keep pressing it until the hearts pop up... Right, one, two, three... Eh? Four? What?"
He stared at the screen where Porygon was sporting four red hearts over its head, his mind filling with question marks.
"???"
Chansey, confused by the sudden change in atmosphere, tilted her head.
"Lucky?"
"..."
Kashiwagi patted her head in response.
After a moment of silent reflection, he had to accept the reality: Porygon liked Chansey more than it liked him.
Just because it couldn't hit her once, it gained two hearts?
Talk about broken balancing!
"Ahem... can you come out now?"
Kashiwagi grumbled internally.
Still, camaraderie among teammates was a good thing; it would help Porygon integrate into the family.
So, despite the saltiness, he didn't dwell on it.
"Pah-ree!"
Porygon surged out of the charging port, rematerializing into its physical form.
The fact that a thirty-six-kilogram Pokémon could just slip into a phone without adding a single gram of weight was proof that the Pokémon world was packed with ultra hightech "Black Technology."
"Good job."
Kashiwagi touched its smooth, artificial skin.
Trust Level 6... who knew how long that would take?
But for now, neither Chansey nor Galarian Corsola showed any signs of wanting to evolve, so there was no rush.
Even if he evolved Porygon now, it wouldn't be useful in battle without a properly trained move set.
...
There was one more thing about Porygon that Kashiwagi found particularly noteworthy.
Sharpen.
When Dr. Akihabara gave Porygon this move, he also granted it the ability to change forms.
Yes.
Porygon could actually alter its appearance!
In the anime, it had been shown transforming into a sharp cone, a defensive shield, and a powerful hammer.
If you included its ability to change its own typing with Conversion and Conversion 2, it wasn't that far off from Rotom—
Alright, it was a little far off.
But the significance of "Sharpen" wasn't about competing with Rotom. For Kashiwagi, it was about pure imagination.
A Porygon that could transform using Sharpen was like a Ditto; you never knew how much potential was hidden inside.
However, transforming wasn't as easy as just saying the words.
So far, Porygon could only shift into forms that had been pre-loaded into its system at birth.
Specifically: the cone, the shield, and the hammer from the anime, plus a "Platform Form" that hadn't appeared on screen.
All these forms shared a common trait—they were all sharp angles and flat planes, without a single rounded edge.
If Kashiwagi wanted to expand this form pool, he had to follow that rule.
The manual noted that Dr. Akihabara anticipated people trying to create new forms.
He warned that anyone attempting this must have extreme patience.
Outside of information technology and combat, Porygon's comprehension was incredibly low...- low enough to drive someone crazy.
To fix this "flaw," the Doctor had created Porygon2—equipped with an AI system for autonomous learning and growth.
Who would have thought that while the upgrade was a success in terms of power and learning, the resulting personality would be... less than ideal?
"Let's give it a shot",
Kashiwagi said, looking at Porygon.
"Sharpen! Cone!"
"Pah-ree!"
Porygon's surface glowed with a dazzling white light, similar to the light of evolution, as its head began to shift.
As the light faded, the "duck's" head had become long, flat, and pointed. It looked like it would be quite difficult to balance.
"I see, so only the head changed."
Kashiwagi walked around it, nodding thoughtfully.
"Sharpen! Shield!"
The white light flashed again.
This time, its entire body changed. The blocky duck had become an octagonal shield with a stylized face.
Hovering in the air, it looked incredibly sturdy.
Maybe this would be good for Double Battles once it evolves into Porygon2?
"Sharpen! Hammer!"
The third transformation.
This time, its lower body returned, but its head turned into a large, square, pink mallet. It looked quite intimidating.
"Sharpen! Platform!"
The fourth transformation.
The lower body vanished again. Porygon turned into a large, flat floor tile—the kind someone could actually stand on.
Kashiwagi was just about to step on it when it suddenly reverted to its original form.
"Pa... Pah-ree..."
Porygon looked exhausted. It didn't need to breathe, so there was no heavy panting, but the fatigue was clear.
"Ugh, sorry, sorry. You worked hard. Here, have some juice to recharge."
Seeing this, Kashiwagi realized that four consecutive transformations were pushing its limits.
He quickly served up some juice and had Chansey top it off with a Heal Pulse.
Theoretically, Porygon didn't need to eat, but Dr. Akihabara had designed a digestive system for it anyway.
The reason for that remained a mystery.