The birth of Pokémon is incredibly magical. Birds, beasts, and fish are merely the most basic types. Humanoid creatures, plants, ghosts, and machines—Pokémon exist widely in various fields.
Rock-type Pokémon are also a member of the Pokémon family. Although a large portion of these Pokémon possess a dual attribute of rock and ground, which makes their weaknesses quite obvious.
However, there are exceptions, such as Rhydon, who can surf, but it has been expelled from the dragon category and became a pure Ground-type Rhydon.
Moreover, there's the Crystal Onix. Due to changes in its survival environment, its body structure transformed into crystal, which led to significant changes in its attributes.
Although still a rock type, it can live in water, and what it fears most has shifted from water to fire, showing that the living environment can greatly impact rock-type Pokémon.
The sudden arrival of Arceus and Kaidou left Babanuki, who was stationed there, a bit at a loss, hurriedly ordering all the prisoners to be driven back.
"Quickly take them away! Didn't you see Lord Arceus and Governor Kaido are here? Move quickly!"
Then he opened the gates of Udon.
"Why have you two suddenly come here? I haven't prepared anything."
"No need to prepare anything. Just bring me some raw Seastone ore."
"Understood!"
The mining operation in Udon Mine never stopped. Wano Kuni, having been closed to the outside world for hundreds of years, has had very little Seastone flow outward during these centuries, and even the domestic extraction was limited. It's safe to say that the ground below the entire Udon region is almost filled with various mineral veins.
Moreover, these veins accumulate Seastone at a faster rate than ordinary mines, and the current reserves remain very abundant. Even though quite a bit has been sold off, the original minerals here remain plentiful.
The raw minerals aren't pure Seastone but rather primary ores wrapped in various impurities, which also include a lot of other components besides Seastone.
"Are you going to... modify your Pokémon with Seastone?"
Arceus's ability to modify and create has been witnessed by Kaidou more than once, whether it was creating out of thin air or modifying existing life forms.
So when Arceus found the New Plate and specifically came to the mines and requested Babanuki to bring some raw ore, he had his suspicions.
"How would I know if it works without trying? Let's start with something simple."
Then Arceus selected a moderately sized piece of raw Seastone ore, infusing it with the power of the Stone Plate.
Even as raw minerals, Seastone ore is one of the hardest substances in Wano Kuni. Breaking it down to purify the Seastone is an extremely complex process.
But the Stone Plate represents the essence of rock, and all minerals are influenced by its power.
As the power was injected, the whole chunk of raw ore split into four or five spherical rocks that vibrated on their own, gradually sprouting two arms.
Though the arms were rocky, you could vaguely see the pattern of muscles on them, and the round body began to manifest facial features, rising from the ground to about a few fist's height above.
"La sai!"
Geodude, the most basic Rock-type Pokémon, with its levitating mode remaining a mystery.
The hard body is Geodude's pride; wild Geodude uses their solid bodies to collide with each other and see who is sturdier.
Rock-type Pokémon have a very long lifespan since their bodies are merely stones, making it a mystery how to determine Geodude's age.
However, the longer-lived the Geodude, the more rounded it becomes, with more of its edges worn away over time.
This is the mark left on them by the passage of time. These newly born Geodude have distinct and even sharp edges, proving their recent emergence.
Unlike the ordinary Geodude which is just a rock with a human face and arms, or the Alola Geodude with magnets for eyebrows, these Geodude are marked by camouflage-like patterns.
Black and dark blue stripes appear on their bodies, signifying their fusion with Seastone.
"Did you... succeed or fail?"
"Not sure, theoretically it's a success, but the specific effect needs testing. Kaidou, extend your hand."
Then Arceus commanded a Geodude to jump into Kaido's palm, as an individual with abilities, he's the most sensitive to the effects of Seastone.
"How does it feel?"
"Hmmm, it's like Seastone, there's a feeling of powerlessness. Looks like you really succeeded; you've created something quite extraordinary!"
Depending on individual constitutions, the effect of Seastone varies. These Geodude are rich in Seastone, but their fragments aren't enough to restrain Kaidou.
However, for most ability users, a moving Seastone poses an unquestionably lethal threat.
"It's half a success. Geodude, try using Rock Throw on that empty ground."
"La sai!"
At Arceus's command, a group of rocks appeared out of thin air around Kaidou.
The Geodude's body has been confirmed to contain Seastone elements, but whether its released skills are Seastone is still an unknown.
As usual, Kaidou grabbed a handful of the stones summoned by Geodude's skill, but his expression seemed a bit off.
"What's wrong?"
"It feels like Seastone, but... a bit strange."
The stones could still trigger that feeling of helplessness, but there was a certain quality difference, and he could sense that this feeling was slowly dissipating.
"Wait a moment..."
Half an hour later, Kaidou crushed those stones into powder.
"Roughly half an hour. Within this time, stones generated by them and Seastone have the same effect, but after about 15 minutes, the power starts dwindling, and after half an hour, they become ordinary stones."
"Is that so? Geodude, what do you feel when using the skill?"
"La sai... la sai!"
"Hmm..."
Arceus had indeed succeeded, and these Geodude truly possessed brand-new attributes.
However, they couldn't spontaneously create Seastone; rather, the rock-type attacks they released initially held the same effect as Seastone, which would dissipate over time.
But this was enough. As long as the attack in that moment held the effect, these Pokémon become natural enemies for ability users. Once they reached a certain number, the rocks they released could render ability users helpless.
And since their bodies contained Seastone, once they subdued an enemy, they could achieve permanent suppression by simply remaining on top of them.
Simultaneously, they no longer feared water. Since Seastone possesses an inherent nature akin to the sea, they now have great resistance to water...