"Ding!"
As if in direct response to Shi Dou's outburst, a screen of light automatically unfolded beside the little mantis, displaying its detailed information.
[Spirit: Daal]
[Origin: The Seer world]
[Description: A powerful battle-type spirit with incomparable natural gifts, a species born for combat. No one knows where it first came from. It is the base form of Incalos.]
"Wait… Incalos?"
The moment Shi Dou saw that name, he froze.
A flood of long-buried memories surged back into his mind.
He remembered now.
Incalos—also known as the Light Mantis—was a male spirit from the game Seer and its related works. It was Stationmaster Edward Justin's signature spirit, the very first battle-type spirit, and the Light-type evolved form of Hiluda. It was also nicknamed the "Light Mantis" and the "Light Grasshopper."
Incalos could be said to be one of the most mysterious early spirits in Seer.
Its silhouette and name had already appeared back during the game's launch era in introductions related to Stationmaster Justin. Because Incalos kept racking up ridiculously flashy victories in the early story, while its actual stats remained a complete mystery, players' imaginations ran wild.
At one point, someone spotted it on Volcano Planet. Since people initially guessed it was a Grass-type spirit, players joked that "the grasshopper's already nicely roasted."
In later storylines, players could only piece together from various battles that it was a battle-type spirit with several extremely powerful skills.
Incalos was the ancestor of the battle-type category—the first battle-type spirit ever to appear in the spirit index. Even Kubo, the first obtainable battle-type spirit, and Gaia, a king-tier battle-type spirit, did not have a history as old as its.
What's more, later story developments suggested that Incalos might be descended from the insect race of the Krio Star Domain, with the power of the primordial insect bloodline sleeping inside it—though that power had yet to be fully mastered.
On February 9, 2018, Incalos became obtainable, and by February 13 it had evolved into its higher form:
Light's Judgment · Incalos
It represented the highest level of spirit combat power, the eternal persistence of justice itself. When evil ran rampant, when the universe faced crisis, it broke through its own limits and blazed forth in evolution, welcoming the judgment of justice!
Put simply, in terms of lore, Light's Judgment · Incalos was directly positioned against that game's ultimate final boss—
Puni, the Holy Spirit!
And what did that mean?
If placed into the Pokémon world, that was basically Arceus-level creator god territory.
No—if Arceus really showed up, it might not even be able to do anything against either of those two spirits.
One was Holy Spirit-type, the other was Light + Fighting.
Neither of those attributes even existed among Arceus's eighteen Plates!
This was some kind of invader from another world!
The moment all of that clicked into place, Shi Dou sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide as saucers.
The way he looked at the little mantis instantly changed from disgust to blazing excitement, as though he were staring at a priceless treasure.
"System Bro! Great System Lord! I was wrong! I got a little loud just now! You really are my real big brother! This starter gift pack is way too generous—you straight-up gave me a future god-beast?!"
Shi Dou's attitude flipped a full one hundred and eighty degrees. He apologized to the system over and over, unable to suppress the ecstasy on his face.
This cat-system was actually incredibly reliable.
Then, unable to wait any longer, Shi Dou pulled up Daal's full status panel:
[Spirit: Daal]
[Type: Fighting]
[Level: 18]
[Trait: Sharpness (Cutting-type moves gain 50% more power)]
[Moves: X-Scissor (40 power, Bug), Pierce Slash (40 power, Normal), Strengthen (Status, raises Attack by 1 stage), Blade Aura (Fighting-type ranged move, 50 power), Snowbound World (Ice-type, 110 power, 10% chance to freeze the target)]
[Base Stats:]
HP: 60
Attack: 60
Defense: 50
Sp. Atk: 55
Sp. Def: 50
Speed: 55
Total: 330
"An unevolved form with a base stat total of 330? And at level 18 it already knows a 110-power Ice-type nuke like Snowbound World? Plus Sharpness boosting slicing moves?!"
Shi Dou looked at the panel and practically started drooling.
These numbers crushed the vast majority of Pokémon at the same stage.
And after level 20, Daal could evolve into its intermediate form, Hiluda. That meant it was only one stage away from becoming Incalos.
This wasn't some bug larva.
This was an unpolished diamond.
Train it properly, and in the future it could pummel dragons, kick Arceus into orbit… passing the League review would be absurdly easy.
"I've hit the jackpot. This time I really have."
Shi Dou rubbed his hands excitedly, then crouched down carefully, doing his best to make his expression look warm and friendly.
"So… your name's Daal, right? Hello there. My name is Shi Dou. From now on, I'll be your partner. Let's get along."
Little Daal tilted its head. Its black eyes flickered faintly, as if sensing the goodwill Shi Dou was offering. It gently raised one of its sharp arm blades and cautiously touched the fingertip Shi Dou held out, making a soft click as the two formed their first bond of friendship.
"Great."
Shi Dou stood up, his confidence instantly surging.
"Come on, Daal. Let's test out your abilities first and get familiar with how you fight."
He looked around the dojo and spotted a Machop diligently practicing karate chops against a sandbag.
"You there, Machop. Come over for a second. Help me out—have a practice battle with my new partner!"
Machop stopped at once and looked curiously at Shi Dou and the green mantis beside him, a creature it had never seen before. Then it nodded and assumed a fighting stance.
It might not have been especially strong, but it was one of the old hands left behind in the dojo.
"Alright, Daal. This is our first battle fighting side by side. Our opponent is Machop. A Fighting-type mirror match—don't be afraid. Go!"
At Shi Dou's command, Daal leapt forward at once, crossing its bladed claws before its chest. Its eyes sharpened, and it entered battle mode instantly.
"Machop, strike first—Karate Chop!"
Shi Dou gave the order.
Machop let out a low shout and charged in, one hand glowing white as it slashed toward Daal.
"Daal, dodge with your speed, then use X-Scissor!"
Rather than meeting it head-on, Shi Dou wanted to test Daal's real combat ability first.
A sharp glint flashed through the little mantis's eyes.
It was as if it had already seen through every movement Machop was about to make. With a slight shift of its body, it dodged the incoming chop by a hair's breadth.
At the same time, its right arm blade flared with Bug-type energy as it slashed swiftly into Machop's side!
Slash!
The first hit landed!
Its Sharpness trait activated, boosting the move's base power by fifty percent!
Machop winced in pain, its body stiffening.
Then Daal's X-Scissor follow-up effect kicked in—its second strike came immediately after, even faster and seemingly even stronger.
Bang!
The second hit landed cleanly as well!
Machop staggered back two steps, an expression of strain appearing on its face. Just those two slashes had already dealt far more damage than it had expected.
"So fast! And what a powerful chain attack." Shi Dou's eyes lit up, and he continued directing the battle. "Daal, keep pressing the advantage—use Blade Aura!"
Daal steadied itself, crossed its arm blades before its chest, and rapidly condensed Fighting-type energy. Then it swung both blades forward in one powerful motion, sending a crescent-shaped arc of fighting aura flying toward the still-unsteady Machop!
Bang!
The Fighting-type energy exploded on impact.
It was super effective!
Machop could no longer hold on. It fell to the ground and lost the ability to battle.
"Beautifully done, Daal!"
Shi Dou ran over excitedly.
The battle had been clean and decisive. Daal's speed, combo flow, and sheer power had all far exceeded his expectations. Under the boost from Sharpness, its cutting moves were visibly devastating.
Daal withdrew its blades, the blue glow in its eyes calming once more. It walked back to Shi Dou's side and gently rubbed against him.
Looking at the limitless-potential Daal beside him, then at the bracelet the system had given him, Shi Dou felt the gloom in his heart vanish completely, replaced by unprecedented confidence and fighting spirit.
"The League review? Sabrina? The Psychic Gym?"
"Just wait."
"With Daal here, the rise of our Fighting Gym starts now!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 135)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter67)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter85)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 60
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 65
From Junkman to Wasteland 50
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 35
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 40
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 37
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 27
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 26
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 26
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