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In truth, Li Xiang wasn't the only one who had thought of this.
Across various trainer forums, others had entertained the same idea. But without exception, they either failed or simply vanished without follow-up.
Why?
Because the challenges were numerous.
First, multitasking—controlling two bodies with one mind—was an extremely advanced technique.
It wasn't as simple as drawing a circle with one hand and a square with the other. The mental strain was far beyond ordinary limits.
At this stage, neither Corviknight nor Greninja could fully focus on both their main body and their duplicate simultaneously. One would always be left idling, like a background process.
Coordinating both at once was simply beyond their current capabilities.
Second, infusing a purely stamina-based Substitute with foreign elemental energy—something the duplicate could actively manipulate—was exceedingly difficult.
Tracing back to the source, both elemental energy and stamina stemmed from what could be called life energy—the same energy siphoned by the Ultimate Weapon.
Pokémon possessed this "substance," allowing their elemental energy and stamina to replenish endlessly.
It was essentially the foundation—the pool from which both reserves were drawn.
For Li Xiang to enable a Substitute to use moves, there were roughly two approaches:
Splitting a portion of life energy and injecting it into the Substitute, transforming it into a pseudo-living entity akin to Greninja itself—capable of autonomously generating stamina and elemental energy.
But life energy, much like Pokémon evolution, remained one of this world's unsolved scientific mysteries. Treating it as a consumable resource would undoubtedly affect Greninja.
The extent of that impact? Li Xiang had no idea.
Directly channeling pre-converted elemental energy into the Substitute, locking it into a specific move.
For example, Red's Pikachu could unleash an Electric-type Thunderbolt through its Substitute.
Li Xiang personally believed the second method was more feasible—at least for now.
The first might be vastly superior in theory, but partitioning life energy or achieving a self-sustaining energy loop within the Substitute was a high-level technique far beyond Greninja's current skill.
Knowing the principle was one thing. Executing it was another.
Every miracle required relentless experimentation—and a stroke of luck—to become reality.
Without the resources to explore the first method, Li Xiang settled on refining the second. Maybe someday, with enough time and funding, he could revisit the life-energy approach.
For now, during Greninja's rapid growth phase, obsessing over a single move wasn't worth it.
....
Mid-November
Preparations complete, Li Xiang and Greninja began their experiments.
The focus was twofold:
Giant Water Shuriken
Substitute Attacks
These were Greninja's two major projects outside of learning new moves.
The former had been a work in progress since evolution, but progress was slow. Greninja's elemental output per attempt was limited, making consistent enlargement a struggle.
Left with no choice, Li Xiang repurposed it as a charge move—solve the formation issue first, then tackle the speed.
His reference point was the water-dragon aura that appeared behind Ash-Greninja during its Bond Phenomenon evolution.
The idea was to stabilize a mass of Water-type energy in one place, then continuously feed more into it until it formed a massive shuriken.
In theory, it made sense.
In practice?
Disaster.
The enlarged Water Shuriken was unstable—like an over-pressurized fireball, it either exploded violently (nine times out of ten) or simply fizzled out.
Much like Incineroar's early temperature-control struggles, success was virtually nonexistent.
But Li Xiang and Greninja were patient.
When brute-forcing a single shuriken proved futile, they pivoted.
Water Shuriken was inherently a multi-hit move.
So instead of enlarging one, why not merge multiple smaller ones?
At first glance, it seemed no different—just another way to aggregate Water-type energy, but Li Xiang saw it as expanding the container.
If a single shuriken was a balloon, pumping more energy into it would eventually burst it.
But merging two shurikens increased the container's capacity, allowing more energy to be stored while maintaining structural integrity.
A flimsy theory?
Maybe. But worth testing.
Under Li Xiang's watchful gaze, Greninja raised its hands. Water swirled from the air, coalescing into two palm-sized shurikens.
Then, it pressed them together.
The critical step was fusion. If Greninja failed here, the entire concept was dead on arrival.
Result?
Failure.
The two shurikens refused to merge. As independent constructs, they couldn't simply blend like ordinary water.
Even with Greninja straining until veins bulged on its forehead, nothing changed. Disappointed, Li Xiang almost dismissed the idea as wishful thinking—
'Wait... If fully-formed shurikens couldn't merge… What about mid-formation?'
Catching them at the precise moment before solidification—could that work?
Excited, Li Xiang relayed the adjusted plan to Greninja.
Test #2
The key now was timing. Greninja had to focus intensely, fusing the shurikens during the transition phase between liquid and solid.
With a deep breath, Greninja raised its hands again, visualizing two shurikens forming.
Water swirled—
Li Xiang recorded everything. Documentation was crucial for review and refinement.
The shurikens began taking shape—
Greninja moved swiftly, pressing the half-formed constructs together—
BOOM!
Another explosion, drenching Greninja in a splash of water.
Another failure.
"Ninja…"
Greninja slumped, frustration evident. Repeated setbacks with no progress in sight were demoralizing.
"Hey, it's fine! We've barely started. Remember how many walls Incineroar hit before breaking through?"
Li Xiang's encouragement was deliberate. Incineroar—despite its self-proclaimed "Ace" status ruffling feathers—was undeniably the team's strongest.
Its track record spoke for itself.
And just as Li Xiang hoped, the reminder brightened Greninja's mood.
....
They reviewed the footage in slow motion.
The recording revealed the shuriken's formation process:
Water droplets gather.
Liquid mass coalesces.
Shuriken solidifies.
Greninja had attempted fusion during the second stage, causing premature collapse, but the ideal window was the split-second transition between stages two and three.
The problem?
That window was microscopic—far faster than Greninja could consciously react.
"Ninja…" Greninja grimaced.
"Nothing worth doing comes easy. You've got this."
Li Xiang patted its shoulder. Greninja had a bold, almost theatrical personality, but beneath that bravado was a fragile resolve.
Encouragement was its lifeline.
With a nod, Greninja steadied itself.
After countless more failures—all due to mistimed fusion—Li Xiang shelved the Giant Shuriken project temporarily.
It was time to test the second concept: Substitute Attacks.
The principle was simple: embed elemental energy into the Substitute during creation.
Interestingly, Substitutes had typing—they mirrored the user's current type (shifting with Protean).
This opened multiple elemental options.
For clarity, Li Xiang chose Night Slash—a move that materialized a dark wakizashi (short sword) in Greninja's hand, persisting until impact.
If the Substitute could replicate it?
The effect would be undeniable.