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100 P.S -1 Bonus chapter
"Zorua?"
"David! This... what is this?"
Looking at the transformed little fox, Aria felt a wave of shock wash over her.
She had every reason to be surprised. As one of the top students at Magic University, Aria prided herself on her Pokémon knowledge. While she couldn't claim to identify every single species like some professors, she could usually recognize about eighty to ninety percent of common Pokémon on sight. However, this pink-furred fox standing before her was clearly beyond anything she had studied before.
"You said this is a Zorua?"
She leaned in closer to examine it. The little fox had a different coloration and form, but looking more carefully, she could see it shared many features with a regular Zorua. Still, she had never heard of a pink variant before. Even Shiny Zorua, if she remembered her studies correctly, only changed from its normal red-and-black coloring to a blue-and-black palette.
No matter how hard she searched her memory, she couldn't find any matching records for this particular form.
"Wait!" A thought suddenly struck Aria. "Could this be some kind of undiscovered regional variant of Zorua?"
Considering the pink fox's resemblance to Zorua and the distinctly different typing she could sense upon closer inspection, Aria's mind flashed back to a discovery made several years ago in the White Eagle Alliance. They had found an Ice-type variant of Vulpix, which came to be known as Alolan Vulpix.
So if her theory was correct, this Zorua might also be...
"Bingo! You got it right. Too bad there's no prize for you." David grinned at his sister. "It is indeed an undiscovered regional form of Zorua. Oh, and here's something interesting—it's a Ghost and Normal dual-type."
Hisuian Form counted as a regional variant, after all. Seeing his sister piece together the truth, David decided to confirm her suspicions.
"Hiss..."
Even the normally composed Aria couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath at that revelation.
Normal combined with Ghost-type? That was incredible. Three immunities, two resistances, and only a single weakness to Dark-type moves at two times effectiveness. This type combination was absolutely extraordinary. She had thought only Steel-Dragon and Steel-Fairy combinations could be this overpowered.
"Then what about that disappearing act during the battle earlier?"
"Oh, that? This form of Zorua seems to have much stronger illusionary abilities than regular Zorua." David explained. "Actually, what you saw before it vanished was already an illusion. The real Zorua had already used Dig to burrow underground."
While not every Hisuian Zorua possessed illusion powers as refined as David's partner, what he said was generally accurate. David recalled from his past life research that Hisuian Zorua were particularly gifted at creating powerful illusions. In fact, their original expulsion from their habitat and subsequent transformation into Ghost-types were connected to these very abilities.
After their transformation, Ghost-type Zorua even gained the ability to absorb fear and resentment, converting them into power.
Of course, David kept these latter details to himself. First, this was knowledge from his previous life, and his Zorua hadn't displayed such abilities yet. If he mentioned it now, he would have no way to explain where he learned such information.
Second, Ghost-type Pokémon were already somewhat feared because they genuinely absorbed life energy. The ability of Hisuian Zorua to feed on fear and resentment might concern people even more. David didn't want his sister or parents worrying about him unnecessarily, so he chose not to elaborate on those aspects.
"This is truly... terrifying, in a way. What an incredible ability." Aria's mind was already working through the implications. "I can already imagine what your opponents will face in future six-versus-six full team battles."
Based on David's explanation, Aria was genuinely impressed by Zorua's illusionary talent. She could picture the difficult position his future opponents would find themselves in. If they couldn't deal with Zorua's illusions decisively, they would likely second-guess their entire battle strategy, playing right into David's hands.
As they continued talking, David looked at his sister. A faint blue light flickered in his eyes as he activated his Aura powers, gently extending them toward Aria.
"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention—I've awakened special abilities too."
"This is..."
At the same moment, as if responding to David's Aura, Aria's eyes began to glow with a ring of purplish-red flame-like light. A distinct presence of power emanated from her—the fierce aura of an ancient predator. In that instant, Aria seemed like a majestic queen commanding respect.
As someone who also possessed special abilities, how could Aria not recognize what was radiating from her brother?
Today really was full of surprises. Aria couldn't help but think to herself with a mixture of excitement and bewilderment.
She had naturally considered the possibility that David might awaken special abilities someday, given their family lineage. However, she had expected him to manifest their ancestral Dragon Force, not Aura powers.
In this world, special abilities existed alongside Pokémon, and their variety was even greater than what appeared in the original series. There were well-known powers like Psychic abilities, Dragon Force, Aura, and Nature's Power—which served the same function as Viridian Power, though Earth had no Viridian Forest. Beyond these, there were abilities that hadn't appeared in any games or shows, such as Spirit Power for Ghost-types, Dark Power, Erosion Power, and many others.
Hundreds of years ago, individuals with these special abilities were often regarded as chosen ones. The rise of many ancient empires was directly linked to such gifted individuals. Even in modern times, people with special abilities had a significant advantage in becoming powerful Trainers compared to ordinary people. Many high-ranking Alliance officials possessed some form of special power.
Among all the various special abilities, Psychic users were the most common, though their power levels varied dramatically. Weak Psychics could barely bend a spoon even when straining their powers, while exceptionally strong Psychics seemed almost limitless in what they could accomplish. Sabrina of Saffron Gym was a perfect example—she could create realistic illusions, Teleport people instantly, levitate objects and herself, and even temporarily evolve Pokémon through sheer Psychic force.
Other special ability users were far rarer than Psychics, but their baseline power levels were generally much higher, making them extremely formidable.
For instance, Aria's title as the Dragon Queen was largely due to her awakening the Dragon Force passed down through generations of their family. Dragon Force dramatically increased the wielder's natural affinity with Dragon-type Pokémon, accelerated their growth and development, and could even directly enhance their abilities during battles.
Her rapid rise in strength—becoming captain of Magic University's battle team as only a sophomore—wasn't solely due to her talent, hard work, and family resources. Dragon Force played a crucial role in her achievements.
She had naturally assumed David might eventually awaken Dragon Force as well, given their shared bloodline. She never expected him to manifest Aura powers instead.
"By the way, regarding your Zorua's situation..."
"I've already told Mom and Dad." David quickly answered, anticipating her concern. "Mom already registered Zorua at the Imperial Capital Pokémon Research Center. She told me that when questions come up, I should direct people to the research center. I'm keeping Zorua in its normal form most of the time to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. It also helps me maintain the element of surprise and keep opponents guessing about its true strength."
Before Aria could finish her question, David had already provided the answer she was looking for.
Hearing David's explanation, Aria finally relaxed. If their parents had already handled the official registration and documentation, there was nothing to worry about. It seemed her younger brother was quite thoughtful in his approach to these matters.