Chapter 32: The Genius Little Inventor
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.
When smoke from cooking fires once again appeared above First White Town, the sky was again approaching dusk.
"Ah, hot, hot, hot."
Rio blew on his paw, which had been scalded by hot water, and sighed inwardly: In the Pokémon world, I never expected to find humanity's good friend—instant noodles.
He watched Takuma intently assembling parts and didn't disturb him. Rummaging around the research institute himself, he unexpectedly found several containers of a familiar shape. Just the image of noodles on the packaging was enough to bring tears to Rio's eyes. Instant noodles were truly something you detested when you had them often, but desperately missed when you didn't.
Carefully prying open the instant noodle container's seal with his claw, then grabbing the just-boiled hot water kettle with both paws, he poured hot water into the noodle container. Smelling the fragrant aroma, Rio's uncooperative tears streamed down from the corners of his mouth.
Just as Rio was about to dig in, an excited shout came from the second floor.
"It's finally done!!"
Rio was overjoyed. Holding a container of instant noodles in one paw, he "thump, thump, thumped" up to the second floor.
What greeted his eyes was a brand-new set of small, modular armor painted entirely black, along with various components. The armor had smooth lines and sharp angles, seeming to brew a silent and heavy power within it.
"Ah, those noodles smell so good! I'm starving!"
Takuma, who had only eaten breakfast, saw the instant noodles in Rio's hand and drooled, his mouth watering. He casually tossed aside the wrench in his hand and, without bothering to take off his work clothes, hurried over. He took the instant noodles with both hands, flipped up his face mask, and began slurping away.
"Awesome!"
One person and one Pokémon thus enjoyed a hearty meal of instant noodles.
"Ugh, I feel alive again." Happily drinking the noodle soup, Takuma remarked lazily.
Rio walked over and carefully touched the armor with his left paw, asking, "How do I put this on?"
"Here, put on the vest part of the armor first... Then, put this on your left arm, grip here tightly, same for the right... Press here on the knee..."
With Takuma's help, Rio finally put on the suit of armor.
Looking in the mirror, Rio saw his body covered in pitch-black armor. In the very center was a circular ring flashing with blue light. The armor was surprisingly light, not hindering Rio's ability to perform various fighting movements in the slightest.
His wrists and fists were covered by a pair of gauntlets. A clever mechanical structure allowed Rio to flexibly use both fist and claw forms. When his hand was clenched into a fist, a solid metal plate covered the fist, adding to its hard striking power. And when Rio extended his claws, the gauntlet would transform accordingly, with hard steel claws deforming out to cover Rio's extended claws, forming a fist-claw shape.
His elbows and knees, being the most frequently used parts in combat and possessing great offensive power, were protected by thick armor. Vaguely visible sharp spikes could inflict heavy damage on an opponent when they least expected it.
Finally, at Rio's request, his feet were not equipped with anything, because the most important thing in fighting was a stable lower body, and Riolu's already agile lower limbs could perform dodges and maneuvers very well; adding unnecessary equipment would be superfluous.
Rio felt something strange in the palm of his hand. Opening his palm to look, he saw a circular mechanism in the very center.
"There was no way, my abilities are limited. I couldn't realize the laser cannon-like weapon you mentioned. After thinking about it, I changed it to two capture nets made of composite materials. Their texture is extremely tough, and they also have a certain stickiness. Creatures entangled by them won't be able to escape easily."
Takuma showed Rio how to trigger the launch of the capture nets.
"There's also auxiliary equipment on the back. Pat here with your hand." Takuma patted the circular ring on the chest of Rio's armor.
"Whoosh whoosh—"
Two jet nozzles extended from the armor on Rio's back, and a rapid airflow also sprayed out.
"You can rotate this by touch to increase the jet's intensity. The jet can be adjusted directionally, so you can use it to accelerate horizontal movement, or you can rush to a high altitude for a short time. Unfortunately, the high-intensity jet can only last for about 3 minutes, so be sure to lower the jet intensity in time to cushion your landing."
"The spikes on your arms and knees can help you attack opponents. You can retract them when not in use. Your hands are equipped with fist-claw type weapons made of Orichalcum. When you clench your fist, it's in boxing mode; when you extend your claws, the sharp claws will automatically pop out."
"Also, give me your translator."
Takuma reached out, took the translator hanging by Rio's ear, and snapped it into a headpiece component he was holding.
"Here, this is equipment that combines an environmental analyzer and a translator."
Rio put on this equipment, which resembled a wrap-around visor. Parameters appeared on the left and right sides of the screen before his eyes. Besides displaying information like temperature and weather, there was also a switchable "Battle Mode."
"When this 'Battle Mode' is activated, it can detect the current combat environment, perform advantageous scenario analysis, and also warn of attacks from blind spots like behind or above."
"Then what about your translator?"
Takuma turned his head, pointed to the earpiece hanging on his own ear, and smiled proudly. "Look, I imitated that language translator and made a new one for myself. This way, we don't have to keep swapping the translator back and forth."
Rio was thoroughly impressed, feeling that his ten-year-old self from his previous life was an absolute waste in comparison.
After moving around in the armor for a while, Rio suddenly had an excellent idea.
He mentally accessed his [Backpack]. "Swoosh," all the armor components equipped on his body were stored into the [Backpack]. Then, "clack, clack," they reappeared on various parts of Rio's body.
"Haha, I can store this armor away and then equip it during battle. This way, it won't affect my daily movements!"
Rio was having a blast playing around, while Takuma's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
Seeing Takuma about to transform into a "why-why" machine, Rio quickly delivered a three-part deflection.
"Don't know, not clear, don't ask me why."
"What fascinating spatial technology..." Takuma mumbled, but seeing that Rio didn't seem to understand the principles involved, despite his immense curiosity, he could only disappointedly tidy up his tools.
Rio continuously tested the effects of the equipment, feeling very cocky, claiming that any fat-headed fish or flightless giant green caterpillar would be no match for him.
"This is the power of paying to win! My unlucky non-paying self has finally successfully paid to win! The current me can beat a hundred flightless Groudon to death!"
"?"
Takuma made a question mark gesture at the rambling Rio.
For the rest of the time, Rio continued to familiarize himself with the use of the equipment, while Takuma turned to making the essential items for passing through the Toxic Swamp—gas masks.
A night passed. By the time the sun hung high in the blue sky again, it was already the appointed time to meet with the Pidgeot Leader.
Takuma hastily packed the remaining pile of finished gas masks into a bag. After a quick tidy-up, the two decided to advance into the forest.