"About Abilities, huh… Inner Focus evolving into Commander… that's probably because Inner Focus itself is an Ability born from a Pokémon's intense, concentrated willpower, right?"
"Your hypothesis makes a lot of sense. We can even push the speculation further. Take Pokémon that have Inner Focus but change Ability after evolving, or those that don't have Inner Focus before evolving, yet gain Inner Focus afterward…"
"In Unova, Darumaka is one of them. Its Hidden Ability is Inner Focus, but after it evolves, it changes into Zen Mode. In that form, it becomes like a statue, completely motionless."
"In Zen Mode, Darmanitan uses meditation to calm its restless heart. It refines its mind through contemplation, trains its spiritual power, and fights by throwing away distractions and relying on raw willpower."
"…You haven't seen a Hidden Ability Darmanitan yet, have you? I should have registered it in the Pokédex already. I fought someone before whose Darmanitan had that Hidden Ability."
"By the way, those 'statues' at the ancient city gate? They're not statues, they're Darmanitan in Zen Mode."
Hikaru casually bounced theories back and forth with Professor Juniper over long-distance comms, and the memory surfaced in his mind.
At this point in time, Professor Juniper hadn't yet conducted an in-depth field survey of Darmanitan, so her understanding of "Zen Mode" was limited.
In fact, in just about every world, Zen Mode Darmanitan are extremely rare.
A Darmanitan that maintains Zen Mode can live for more than three thousand years and still be lively and energetic. The lifespan of that species is downright terrifying.
Professor Juniper: [I was so busy staring at those Legendary Pokémon that I completely overlooked something this important! I didn't expect there to be crucial data hiding in plain sight!]
[Pokémon Abilities really are incredible. Do you think that for the same species, Pokémon with different Abilities might actually have slightly different "origins"? What ultimately determines a Pokémon's Ability?]
"This actually does have a tiny bit to do with 'origins'."
Hikaru chuckled.
Strictly speaking, Professor Juniper's "origins" research focuses on the origins of each individual species, in other words, why they came into being and why they manifest with their current appearances. But the scope of an 'origins' research topic is extremely broad.
And when Pokémon of the same species have different Abilities, that, too, is indeed related to their origin in a subtle way.
That "origin" is the so-called "personality value."
This value exists only in the game, yet it determines everything about a Pokémon at the moment of its birth.
It encodes gender, stats, size, stamina, color, and Ability.
"When it comes to these kinds of changes, Professor Elm in Johto has more authority than I do. This isn't just about origins, it also touches on how Pokémon are born. And when it comes to birth, there's no one more authoritative than the professor who specializes in Egg Groups."
"Before birth, everything has already been decided."
In the real world, of course, Pokémon are not literally constructed from lines of intangible numbers… but if you factor in how easily they can be converted into data, it really does make you wonder!
This is yet another strong piece of evidence for the theory: Pokémon = Digimon.
Professor Juniper: [You clearly know quite a bit about this, but if you don't feel like going into detail…]
Hikaru: "I'm hardly an authority in this field. If I start pontificating and get it wrong, I'll just embarrass myself."
Professor Juniper: [(Pikachu's helpless face) All right then. I'll keep sending you more of my notes and recordings. I've got a ton of new ideas I want to write up! Coming to Paldea because of your suggestion really was the right call!]
[Oh, right… that Paldea League Top Champion, Ms. Geeta, is currently looking for you. She already knows you're headed for Zapapico and seems to have sent a very high-ranking official to receive you. Hehe, it looks like she's cooking up some sort of "big plan," so you might want to brace yourself a bit.]
[Once she's finished up here, she says she's going to meet you in person. I'm not sure whether that's good news or bad news for you, so I won't say too much. I'll leave the choices to you.]
"Ahem, Geeta's 'grand plan'… what grand plan? Rope me in for unpaid overtime?"
Hikaru felt that was entirely plausible. That was essentially Geeta's whole character setting.
If she wasn't currently headhunting people, then she was in the middle of planning how to headhunt people.
Look at poor Aoki over there, everyone. That man is literally being worked like a cart mule.
"Frankly, the reason the Paldea League doesn't have enough capable people isn't just 'talent shortage.' It's that the region's baseline assumptions are flawed."
"I mean, you've got an academy with an eight-hundred-year history, full of students whose names I can't even keep straight, and yet almost no one stands out as a true powerhouse. That's a paradox, isn't it? It fits Scarlet & Violet's theme a little too well."
"Mm… or maybe it's because this region doesn't have any serious battle facilities."
For a whole variety of reasons, Gen 9 is sorely lacking in dedicated challenge facilities. That's a critical design issue.
In Gen 8, Leon even turned Rose's tower into a Battle Tower in the end.
Hikaru put down the Pokégear and looked up.
A large pot was boiling away with a cheerful bubbling sound. Volcarona-like flames whooshed out of Charcadet's mouth, keeping the stew rolling. Firewood crackled beneath the pot in a roaring blaze, and a rich, sweet aroma rose from within.
This was South Province (Area Three), the yellow-brown canyon region to the east of Mesagoza, where the terrain rose and fell dramatically. The differences in elevation were huge. Stick to the canyon floor and it was easy to get lost, but this was still the shortest path to Zapapico.
They'd flown here from the sky and paused for a brief rest.
In the game, these canyons were absurdly stylized and not very large. In reality, this canyon belt nearly severed overland traffic between Zapapico and Mesagoza. Sheer cliffs and deep drop-offs loomed on all sides, with a river roaring through the middle, rapids thrashing against the rock.
Natural Tera Pokémon dotted the area. From far away, you could see them glowing faintly where they stood.
Head a little southwest from here and you'd arrive at one of the four shrines: the Grasswither Shrine. There, just beyond the canyon, lay the seal on the Ruinous Pokémon Wo-Chien, whose presence could wither forests and fields overnight and silence all Grass-type Pokémon.
When Lilligant and Torterra learned that Wo-Chien's seal lay just beyond this canyon, their faces lit up with anticipation.
They'd heard stories of that terrifying Pokémon for a long time. Back when they were helping farm in Sinjoh, stories about it were often used to scare them into behaving. At the same time, they'd always been secretly curious what that snail actually looked like.
And now, it was practically right next door?
"Doré, doré~"
[Trainer, let's go have a look together!]
Lilligant was the most curious of all. Rare for her, she actually voiced her own opinion, eager to see with her own eyes what that legendary snail really looked like.
"We'll swing by after we've come back from Zapapico. We'll have to backtrack a little, but it's not a big deal. We're taking the sky route anyway."
Hikaru patted Lilligant's head, soothing her excited mood.
The whole team was gathered around the great pot, waiting for its contents to finish stewing. Among the crowd of Pokémon was one particularly large "outsider."
The Stony Cliff Titan, Klawf.
In Paldea, Klawf's claws are a famous delicacy. They might not be as legendary as Slowpoke tails, but they're absolutely counted among rare ingredients.
The odd thing is, despite being "a crab," based on river crabs and Hokkaido hairy crabs, Klawf is Rock-type rather than Water-type.
One Klawf had occupied the canyons of South Province (Area Three) and hoarded the Sweet Herba Mystica from the secret recipes. It had stuffed itself on the stuff until it grew huge and fat, its big, watery eyes peeking over the cliff face as it lay in wait for prey.
Unfortunately for it, this "ingredient" happened to lock onto Hikaru's party.
Hikaru had already planned to swing by and rob it on the way through, but the giant crab saved him the effort by delivering itself to his doorstep. After Charcadet launched a glorious sortie and gave it a thorough thrashing, the big crab tried to flee, but…
Once the rest of the party heard that Klawf claws were a rare ingredient, they immediately joined the chase.
The Stony Cliff Titan was terrified.
Poor crab. Among all the Titans, it was rated as "relatively safe." At worst, it occasionally ambushed passersby and stole their ingredients. It never took lives, and its huge bulk scared away most wild Pokémon in the area.
So the Titan Klawf had never encountered this many powerful Pokémon at once, much less been ganged up on by all of them.
Aegislash in particular flicked its ribbon-like sash with gusto.
[This guy is literally the main dish. You don't talk "battle etiquette" with walking ingredients. Everyone, charge together!]
And so, without breaking a sweat, Hikaru recovered the Sweet Herba Mystica and "accepted" one of the Titan's claws as a parting gift. To be precise, the Titan had voluntarily offered the claw in exchange for its life.
[Precious Herb: Sweet Herba Mystica.]
[Description: A legendary seasoning that appears only in ancient literature. Some accounts claim that a single taste of its sweetness can "awaken" the stomach and cure chronic loss of appetite. Long-term use by Pokémon may trigger physical changes and can keep both Pokémon and humans brimming with energy.]
[Precious Ingredient: Klawf's Claw (Titan's Claw).]
[Description: The claw of the Stony Cliff Titan Klawf, packed to bursting with top-grade crab meat. An unimaginably precious ingredient, it is used in the renowned Paldean dish "Garlic-Fried Klawf."]
[Effect: Rapidly restores lost stamina and energy. When prepared with a special recipe, dishes made from Klawf's claw can even increase the user's PP cap!]
"Just because Titans shrink down after being defeated in the game doesn't mean reality will work the same way."
"The Open Sky Titan stayed huge after we beat it, for instance."
"It's the same with you. This giant claw will make enough soup for everyone to eat their fill… but why do you look so eager?"
The Titan Klawf lay there with Charcadet perched on its head, drooling a steady stream of saliva.
Hearing Hikaru's question, the Klawf had no idea how to respond.
The aroma was just too good.
It had never imagined its own claw could be made into something that smelled this amazing. For the sake of all the blows it had taken and the mercy it had begged for, surely it deserved at least one serving, right?
Everyone else stared at it in silence.
"You're going to eat your own claw. You're sure you're okay with that?"
"Gake! (What's the problem?! I'll chow down!)"
The Titan's eyes spun around shiftily. It was the very picture of a guilty conscience and a desperate foodie. Then it broke into a wail.
In the past, I only knew how to stuff myself with the Herba Mystica. Only now do I realize that the true flavor comes from pairing the herbs with my claws. That's the ultimate delicacy!
What kind of miserable life was I living before this?!
If you don't mind, sir!
This crab is willing to offer up the other claw as well!
"Even if you lose your claw in battle, it'll grow back quickly… but you definitely didn't have Regenerator before."
"Oh? It's already growing back?"
Hikaru suddenly noticed that Klawf's left claw had clearly been removed, yet a smaller new claw was rapidly sprouting in its place, even though the big crab hadn't eaten anything yet.
"Mm. A lot of Pokémon species have mechanics like this. The edible parts of their bodies regrow very quickly. But you're regenerating a little too fast."
"Is that the Sweet Herba Mystica's doing?"
Among the Titan Pokémon, Klawf was different from Bombirdier. Bombirdier as a Titan leaned on its Hidden Ability, while Klawf's standard Titan Ability was the more common Anger Shell. If a Klawf like this were to change to its Hidden Ability…
Its Hidden Ability was Regenerator.
A literal infinite buffet of claws.
"As compensation for eating your claw, I'll help you switch your Ability over to Regenerator."
There weren't just the Titan's claws in the pot. Thanks to the "Item Scavenger Trio," they'd also tossed in a number of other Klawf claws that had been shed along the way, so it had all ended up as one big communal stew.
Walking Wake, Archaludon, and Gimmighoul had all scattered in different directions, each with their own priorities in mind.
Walking Wake brought back a mountain of Berries and ingredients. Despite having been in a Poké Ball for the earlier part of their journey, the moment it hit the ground it rushed out on its own to start collecting things again. Theoretically, it shouldn't feel hungry after having just eaten its fill and resting in a capsule, but its stomach…
Its stomach was a black hole.
Archaludon was not far behind. The steel-bridge dragon had been chomping its way along the roadside, scarfing down rocks, and had even chewed up some of Klawf's discarded shells.
Then it came trundling back with something peculiar in tow: a Nacli.
This little Pokémon looked like it had wandered in straight from Minecraft. It was born in deep underground salt layers and constantly produced fresh salt inside its body.
Its body was worn down by ground contact, so it left a trail of salty footprints wherever it walked.
Salt was a type of mineral, and Archaludon had almost eaten the poor Nacli, scaring the little lump of rock-salt half to death.
"Na—na—Nacli!"
"The kid's so scared he's practically speaking human. Archaludon, you can't just eat anything that looks like a mineral. Some ores are alive."
Hikaru collected some salt from Nacli's body and fed it a Rare Candy in return, winning the little guy's goodwill. Then he sternly lectured Archaludon, who rubbed its belly in embarrassment.
"Cooool…"
Gimmighoul, on the other hand, was a whole different story.
The Roaming Form little banker came staggering back battered and bruised, but strutting with pride.
Its chest had a few more Paldean antique coins clinking around inside, and the scratches on its face were a warrior's medals.
It had run into others of its kind along the way, then laid into them and robbed them of their coin hoards.
There are many Gimmighoul who save money. But only one of them needs to make it to tycoon status.
"In the world of finance, that's just how it is. Real corporate warfare is brutally simple."
As for the Titan Klawf, it had been deep in thought. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in its eyes.
Oh, you're going to give me a super fast-regenerating Ability?
Then I really have to thank you. Who cares if my Secret Herb got stolen—hey! You're my kind of human. We're buddies now, end of story.
As payback, let me teach you a signature move!
"Oh? A secret signature move?"
Hikaru's interest was piqued.
————————
"…"
Another half-day passed. When night fell and Rika arrived in the area, she witnessed something she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Steam was billowing up from high on the canyon wall. She assumed it was just some travelers camping out. But when she went to check…
Turned out the Stony Cliff Titan Klawf simply could not forget the taste of that "boiled crab claw."
The big guy had dug itself a hollow on a high ledge and filled it with water using Rain Dance. Then, fully leveraging the terrain mobility of a Rock-type, it dug out a stove beneath the makeshift pit.
Right before Rika's astonished eyes, Klawf expertly snapped off one of its own claws and tossed it into the earthen pot.
Then the Titan began hopping in place and unleashed a Fire-type attack.
That was its personal "secret technique": the only Fire-type move it could use despite being a Rock-type… Temper Flare.
Attack with reckless abandon. If its move had missed the turn before, Temper Flare's power doubled.
But right now, Klawf was using it to stoke the flames, kicking off a fully self-sufficient, self-service cooking process. Under the influence of its new Ability, Regenerator, its claws were regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"I-It's… boiling its own crab claws?"
"This is already the second Titan that's gone completely off the rails!"
Rika had no words for what she was seeing. And then things got even more ridiculous.
The Titan Klawf noticed the human watching it. That green hair looked a tiny bit familiar… maybe someone who had passed through the canyon before?
In any case…
Klawf pointed at the bubbling claws in the earthen pot and let out a couple of loud cries.
Hey, human. Want some of my claws?
Bring me something good in exchange and I don't mind treating you to a meal.
(End of Chapter)
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