"Attention, passengers. We are approaching our destination. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark."
On the train to Shalour City, Naoki looked over Zorua's information on his screen while quietly turning things over in his mind.
Pokémon: Zorua
Gender: Female
Type: Dark
Ability: Illusion
Strength: Veteran
Known Moves: Scratch, Leer, Memento, Extrasensory, Return, Dark Pulse, Double Team
The difference from before was one new move.
Double Team: Normal-type move. Creates copies to confuse the opponent.
"Did fighting a Pokémon at Elite Four level give her enough experience to have a breakthrough?"
"Zorua, show me your Illusion."
"Wuu~"
Zorua answered softly.
With a soft shimmer, her form shifted in Naoki's eyes into a figure that looked exactly like him, down to the last detail.
Naoki gave a small nod. "Keep going."
At his word, Zorua's appearance shifted again.
From "Naoki" she became the small girl from earlier.
Then the small girl became Pawmi, jumping up onto the table and rubbing its paw pads vigorously against its cheeks, thin threads of electricity crackling along its fur.
Naoki's eyes lit up at the sight.
"Try using that electricity to attack me."
"Pawmi?!" Zorua let out a startled sound, but seeing the encouraging look in Naoki's eyes she went ahead and released a thin, weak electric current.
Nothing. No sensation at all. Pure illusion.
Naoki's brow furrowed slightly.
So Zorua's Illusion could currently only work on sight. She still could not affect touch, sound, smell, or taste.
Still, the visual illusion could be combined with Double Team to throw opponents into real confusion.
"Keep going," Naoki said.
Zorua nodded, and a moment later the Pawmi illusion melted into a golden Magikarp, leaping and flopping on the small table in front of him.
Naoki stared at it.
Then Zorua's form shifted again.
The golden Magikarp's body expanded rapidly until a full-sized Dusknoir filled the entire seat across from him.
But this Dusknoir did not carry the crushing weight of presence that the real one, the actual Spirit Realm gatekeeper, had projected.
Naoki nodded. "Not bad."
With another shimmer, the Dusknoir dissolved back into Zorua's actual form.
She stood on the small table looking up at him, eyes carrying a quiet, hopeful brightness, clearly waiting to hear what he thought.
Naoki smiled, gathered her into his arms, and ruffled her fluffy little head without holding back the praise.
"Very good. Real progress."
Right now Zorua's Illusion could only produce visual deceptions. Sound, touch, smell, and taste were still beyond her reach. But compared to where she had started, this was already a remarkable leap forward.
If she could already do everything she was supposed to be capable of at this stage, she would not be a Zorua on her way to mastering Illusion. She would already be the finished article.
Even a purely visual illusion, used well in a battle, could create meaningful confusion and open up real opportunities.
Pokémon battles were not decided by raw strength alone. Information control mattered just as much.
A skilled Trainer had to recognize whatever Pokémon the opponent sent out, understand its type, its learnable moves, its possible abilities, and then make the right calls in real time based on all of that.
If your opponent sent out a Fire-type, the correct response was straightforward. Water-type Pokémon with Water-type moves.
In battle, whoever held more information held the advantage. The gap that created was often decisive.
Zorua's Illusion, without question, could shatter the balance of a battle by exploiting the information gap and preventing opponents from making accurate judgments.
If Zorua transformed into Magikarp when entering the field, then in the opponent's eyes and in everything they knew about the matchup, they would be facing a Magikarp.
But who could be certain whether what they were actually looking at was a Magikarp or Zorua?
And even if they suspected something was off, who could confirm which one it actually was?
"Worth testing against a real Trainer sometime soon," Naoki thought to himself.
"Whooo~!"
Two long horn blasts sounded, and the train eased to a stop alongside the platform.
Shalour City.
Naoki set Zorua on his shoulder and stepped off with the crowd.
Same approach as before. He went straight to the local mining operations, found the workers stationed there, and signed a contract with them.
With that handled, he made his way toward the battle area near the Pokémon Center to find a Trainer for Zorua to spar against and sharpen her real combat instincts.
Shalour City was a coastal city wrapped in ancient atmosphere and ocean scenery, and it drew Trainers and tourists alike in large numbers. The area near the Pokémon Center had already drawn a sizeable crowd, people trading Pokémon and challenging each other in casual matches with clear enthusiasm.
Naoki scanned the scene from a distance, wondering idly whether any of the people down there were players.
He was about to head down when his eyes caught on a figure not far away. A blonde girl, around ten years old, with something vaguely familiar about her.
That was... Korrina?
Korrina. The Gym Leader of the Shalour City Gym in the games, a specialist in Fighting-type Pokémon and the granddaughter of a legendary Mega Evolution master.
Though looking at her now, she had not grown into that role yet.
At this moment, Korrina was directing a Riolu against another Trainer with an expression of absolute seriousness.
The battle was in its final stage.
Riolu launched a Force Palm at the opponent's Froakie with precise timing. Froakie could not dodge in time and went down on the spot.
A smile spread across Korrina's face. She met Riolu with an open palm, eyes full of confidence.
Who's next?
"Incredible! Young Lady Korrina has won twenty-eight matches in a row!"
"No surprise there. She's the Gym Leader's granddaughter. Getting Riolu to this level at her age is something else."
Listening to the admiring voices around her, Korrina felt a swell of pride rise in her chest.
"Is anyone else willing to battle me?"
Silence. Nobody stepped forward.
"Nobody?" Korrina looked around.
At that moment, footsteps approached from nearby.
"I'll give it a go."
Korrina turned. A young man in athletic clothes was walking over from the right.
An adult?
Korrina's expression sharpened immediately.
"The rules are 1v1, one Pokémon each. My Pokémon is Riolu." She stated the rules the way she had seen Gym challengers do it.
Naoki smiled. "Fine by me."
"Then let's begin."
Naoki took out a Poké Ball and tossed it with a light flick of his wrist.
A flash of white light, and a golden Magikarp appeared on the field.
Korrina, who had been expecting a serious opponent: "?"
The crowd erupted.
"A golden Magikarp?! Aren't Magikarp supposed to be red?"
"That's a Shiny. A Shiny Magikarp. That's an extraordinarily rare Pokémon!" someone called out in excitement.
"Still just a Magikarp though... Even if it's rare, it's not going to be any match for Riolu, is it?"
The Trainers watching all knew the situation. Before evolving into Gyarados, Magikarp could only learn two moves: Splash and Tackle.
Not just the crowd either. Even Korrina and Riolu thought exactly the same thing.