[New Fanfic is Up!!]
[Naruto: The Strongest Ninja System]
Sabrina and Hikaru chatted for a bit and swapped insights on psychic power. Hikaru benefited a ton from it.
[Gained: Sabrina's Notes on Psychic Power.]
[Description: Sabrina specializes in four aspects of psychic ability—"creating intangible spaces," "guidance of fate & premonition," "turning living beings into dolls," and "one-mind-in-two-bodies."]
[Understanding Sabrina's applications will help diversify your own psychic repertoire. Your control and fine-tuning improve greatly. You can now seal psychic power into crafted objects to make special tools!]
[Examples: Halving-Reflection Necklace, Bent Spoon of Fate, Persona Doll.]
[Location Unlocked: Odor Mare·Grand Cathedral.]
"Ah, and this—take it as a keepsake."
Sabrina handed Hikaru a golden badge.
Hikaru blinked. "Isn't this the Marsh Badge?"
Sabrina nodded. "It is. But I've decided to step back from being a Gym Leader for a while. Manager, if you're interested, you can take the assessment for Saffron City."
Hikaru tilted his head. "Isn't Wujiang the acting leader right now?" (It is an OC)
"Acting and official are worlds apart. Wujiang's strength isn't quite there yet for a full Gym Leader. She's had a few too many losses lately." Sabrina sighed. "She hasn't told anyone—probably doesn't want to be gossiped about.
"Also, I'm not a spiritualist, so there's only so much guidance I can give her. She said she wants to go study under Agatha of the Elite Four for a while, which I think is great."
"Which means Saffron Gym will be vacant for a bit."
Hikaru laughed. "You want me to help look after the Gym—but I'm… uh, I still can't head to Kanto just yet."
"No problem," Sabrina said. "Whenever you do come, I'll have Wujiang receive you. Even as acting leader, I'll pay you fairly. If you prefer money that's fine, but I think what you need more is psychic know-how."
"My Gym has loads of psychic devices and materials. Take whatever you like—I won't be using most of it for a while."
"Of course, if that's a hassle, I'm being presumptuous. You could have Caitlin-san lend a hand instead—she'll be in that area for a bit. Johto and Kanto are fairly close."
"Calling me 'Manager' makes it sound too formal," Hikaru coughed. "If it's advice to power up my psychic abilities, I'll help. Also—wait, you even know Caitlin's heading to Johto?"
Caitlin's guidance had already helped him a lot, and Sabrina's mastery was every bit her equal—crucially, on a different psychic 'track.' Getting coached by two masters at once? That's priceless.
"Hey! Hikaru, Sabrina-nee-san, we're heading out—coming with?"
Roxie's match with Marnie had wrapped up quickly. Roxie may have lost to Hikaru earlier, but fighting Marnie was a breeze.
Right now Marnie only had a single Morpeko. Strong as it is among the 'electric mice,' it still wasn't enough against Roxie.
The white-haired loli waved from a distance. Sabrina waved back. "Roxie, I'll pass. You all go have fun and trade notes—Hollywood still needs me for a bit."
"Well then, Manager, bon voyage… As for where you should go next, my suggestion is…"
Sabrina pointed west. "The Cave of Being."
Hikaru froze. "Sabrina-san, that's not a 'future-sight,' is it?"
"A premonition," she smiled.
"Future-sight is future-sight; a premonition is just a felt tug. Both can sense changes ahead, but premonitions mostly nudge you along the right path.
"I don't know what you plan to forge—my premonition doesn't show the item—but I do know the Cave of Being is the best forge-site for that 'tool.' It's right by Floccesy Town."
Compared to Caitlin, Sabrina felt more like a "prophet."
Still, the most mystically cryptic of all psychics had to be Kalos's joke-prophets—who once "foretold" Ash would reach peak physical prowess.
"I was just about to say… don't overuse psychic power," Hikaru muttered.
"Also pre-felt that one," Sabrina teased.
『Your bond with Sabrina increased greatly!』
After a breezy farewell, Roxie had already blended right in with the other band folks—and Mirai had become her bestie in record time. Fired up, she wanted to catch some Pokémon and try battling herself.
Mirei, Yuki, and Yoshi could only tag along with their kid sister's whims. From their hushed chatter Hikaru learned Mirai was pretty willful—like when shopping in big cities, she treated the three of them like pack mules and heavy lifters.
Roxie's dad arrived soon after. He happened to be ashore with no voyages planned. When he heard Hikaru was after special metals, the old captain snapped his fingers.
"Then we'll head straight to the Virbank Complex!"
"Shipbuilding and bridgework use tons of alloys, but if we're talking 'composites,' then it's the many-times-forged stuff—titanium alloys or aluminum alloys!"
"Low density, high strength—perfect for lightweight bridge designs. And they resist air, seawater, the whole marine environment!"
"Since we're on alloys, the next thing is model and classification. The metals in Virbank Complex are anything but ordinary!"
"I'm in your care," Hikaru said, bowing to Roxie's dad.
He led Hikaru into a factory in the Virbank Complex, introduced things one by one, and brought out brand-new sample ingots.
Hikaru screened them quickly and locked onto what he needed!
[Item: Composite Metal (Special Aluminum Alloy)!]
[Description: Multi-layered, highly corrosion-resistant and easily welded. Suits bridge construction across varied climates; extremely strong and hard; ideal for high-load bridge members!]
[Effect: Give it to Duraludon. After consuming enough, it can evolve!]
"Gurrooo!"
The moment Duraludon stepped inside, its eyes went starry.
Alloys and steel everywhere—more tempting than any all-you-can-eat buffet. It thought it had stumbled into heaven. If its Trainer weren't right here, it would've already dived in for a shameless gorge!
"Here you go."
Hikaru held out a slab of alloy. Duraludon didn't hesitate—chomp—down it went!
Vmm!
Flavor? Who knows; it ate too fast to taste anything. Duraludon smacked its jaws and felt its body a bit tougher.
But… it still wanted more.
"No evolution yet, huh. Looks like that wasn't enough alloy."
In games, for convenience, a single Metal Alloy triggers evolution. In reality, it depends on Duraludon's current condition.
Hikaru's Duraludon was likely very well-developed already; a small piece was just a tooth-filler—enough to harden up, not enough for a full metamorphosis.
So Hikaru asked Roxie's dad if he could purchase in bulk.
Not only aluminum alloys—Hikaru also wanted titanium alloys to reinforce other Steel-types, and to further power up the freshly obtained Genesect, plus cast a sturdier body for Magearna.
"Oof, that's a big order. Not exactly something a supermarket can ring up on demand…"
"But! You came to the right guy. An old friend of mine runs things here—getting him to prep a batch for you is easy."
Thanks to Roxie's dad's connections, a huge shipment arrived for Hikaru in no time!
That's what you get when Pokémon lend a hand with smelting—heating and reforging becomes simple. Hikaru watched several Magmortar blazing away around the factory floor.
They're incredibly strong—able to melt iron pots in a flash. Take one deep breath and their belly flames roar higher. Plenty of plants still rely on Magmortar heat to process metals.
And of course, Unova's "Heatmor" was here too—its body is practically a super forge, and it's the natural enemy of Durant. In a steelworks, it's indispensable.
"A world with Pokémon really is convenient. Without them, so many jobs would be a nightmare," Roxie's dad mused.
When the pallets of metal rolled in, Duraludon's eyes went razor-sharp.
An unlimited buffet? Today?
Too blissful. Time to go all-out!
The steel dragon shoveled ingots into its mouth, crunch-crack chewing through the metal so hard that even Roxie's dad winced.
"That's titanium alloy! And it just… ate it. As expected of a Steel-type, huh?"
"I've traveled quite a bit, and I've seen whole ships and planes gnawed apart by Aron families. It seems any alloy is a delicacy to those Steel-types."
Aron eating steel—Hikaru remembered the movie that showed their ecology perfectly.
It was Giratina and the Sky Warrior. The villains' massive aircraft shrugged off even Giratina's attacks, only to crash in the end—and in the credits, swarms of Aron happily munched on the wreckage.
Thanks, nature. Truly.
"Gurrooo!"
As Duraludon binged, its body began to change. At last, a brilliant white light erupted!
The duralumin-in-name-steel-in-deed body transformed. Its frame swelled, the silver-white sheen turned brighter, and a new cerulean section appeared up front. Bridge-like lines crisscrossed its chest and ran down its belly!
From the back it resembled a giant stapler; when it dropped to its forelimbs, its whole body tensed into a sturdy silver bridge!
A proud stance like a sky-piercing arch.
Evolution! The talented youngster—Archaludon!
And with the evolution, its once-meh Ability "Light Metal" changed into the mighty Stamina!
It's called a "promising youngster" because Archaludon stands shoulder to shoulder with the "late bloomers"—the pseudo-Legendaries—with a 600 base stat total, yet the path to evolve is far less grueling.
Ordinarily, late bloomers demand immense time and sweat from their Trainers to take that final leap. The most extreme, Hydreigon, doesn't evolve fully until a whopping Level 64.
Archaludon is different.
In theory, even a Level 1 Duraludon hatched from an Egg could evolve immediately once exposed to Metal Alloy!
"Hence the nickname 'promising at a young age.'"
"Congrats! You evolved!"
Hikaru cheered for Archaludon and scanned it with his Pokédex.
[Unregistered. Unknown Pokémon!]
Not a line of data—not even the usual whispery legends.
A brand-new Pokémon's entry, born here and now!
Archaludon stared at its changed body. It came for an all-you-can-eat… and somehow walked out looking different?
Key issue… these 'hands' are so awkward now!
"After evolving into Archaludon, your claws flatten out—but you can use magnetism to grip the iron."
"Give it a try."
Encouraged, Archaludon gathered its magnetic force. Violent electricity surged over its frame!
Static in the air flocked to it, and with evolution it learned its unique move: Electro Shot!
Then Archaludon magnetized a stack of iron plates. Eyes bright, it pressed its bridge-like arms inward against its chest—the tough alloy bam—flattened in an instant!
Move: Hard Press!
When Hikaru returned to the performance hall with his newly evolved Archaludon, everyone gaped. The most shocked—face practically melting—was Piers from Galar.
"Y-you're kidding me—that thing is Duraludon's evolution? Archaludon?!"
"Duraludon has an evolution?!"
"If… if Raihan finds out—hey—he's gonna lose it!"
Piers was reeling.
If Duraludon could evolve…
Then Raihan, who's battled Champion Leon with a non-evolving Duraludon for years, has been doing that… by choice?!
So then…
Who in the world was playing with a Gigantamax Duraludon this whole time?
Answer: Raihan—the No.2 Trainer of Galar. Dragon master.
The only man on earth with a Gigantamax Duraludon.
Now that Duraludon can evolve, will he buy the next flight to Unova and challenge Leon to a duel three years from now?
"Oh—right."
Hikaru reminded Piers:
"Pokémon that are Gigantamax-capable can't evolve. Duraludon's the same."
"So, go drink the Max Soup on the Isle of Armor first."
"Okay—let's register Archaludon's data." Hikaru raised the Pokédex and pinged Professor Juniper.
Archaludon, the Alloy Pokémon.
Type: Steel + Dragon.
Abilities: Stamina / Sturdy / Steadfast.
Egg Groups: Mineral / Dragon.
——————
Nuvema Town.
Professor Juniper was busy scritching a Volcarona. She wore heat-proof gloves—Flame Body can be spicy—but the moth could modulate its flames, and they'd grown chummy over time.
Two Rotom zipped through the appliances nearby, while a Minccino tidied up with peppy swishes.
Seeing Hikaru's sender tag, her expression flipped in an instant—not fear, but delight.
"Volcarona, Rotom, Darkrai, Heatran, Reshiram… Giving him the Pokédex was the right call. If I had to investigate all those legends, I'd be buried in work."
"Let's see…"
"…"
"What on earth?! A new Pokémon—and an evolution at that! And you just… sent this casually?!"
[I think it's fine.] Hikaru texted back.
Juniper fired a message immediately:
"This—this is awards-level for the Science Summit! Hey, Hikaru—come with me to the next conference!"
[Oh, someone else mentioned that too. You want me to go with you?]
Juniper palmed her face.
"Of course! You've dumped so much data on me. Normally I'd be thrilled—but it's all at once. I can't handle the pile solo…"
(End of Chapter)
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