After some heartfelt persuasion from Joseph, Frogadier reluctantly agreed to accept Sato as its Trainer. But judging from the completely unenthusiastic look on Frogadier's face, Sato couldn't help but wince. And wince…
And wince again…
Sato just didn't get it. Why did catching Pokémon seem to get harder the stronger he became?
Was it because he wasn't handsome enough?
IMPOSSIBLE!
Or not strong enough? IMPOSSIBLE x2
In terms of pay-to-win, he had the entire Reverse World.
In terms of cheat powers, he had the almighty Dark Energy.
…And yet the road to bonding with Pokémon was only getting narrower and rougher!
Was this the distortion of human nature, or the downfall of morality?
'Ahem… back to the point!'
Sato was just silently venting inside; after all, a Frogadier with Elite Four Water-type potential was still very enticing.
That said, he still had some lingering doubts about this particular Frogadier.
"You said this Frogadier came from the family's breeding center. But even for a major power, a Frogadier with Elite Four level potential is extremely valuable. Why did it seem like it had been left in the wild for quite some time?"
"Mhm," Joseph nodded. "Some Pokémon are simply extraordinary from birth, like Mark's Phione, or your Honchkrow. They're born with the potential to become legends.
And this Frogadier is no different. Back when it was still a Froakie, it already had certain expectations for who its Trainer would be. Several of my brothers and sisters tried to bond with it, but none earned its approval.
Even my second brother once used a High Ace Pokémon to defeat it and forcibly capture it into a Poké Ball; but after being released, Frogadier escaped immediately and refused to obey any commands.
In big Families like ours, resources are limited. High-potential Pokémon are always recorded and tracked. Losing or discarding them is strictly forbidden. So no matter how talented Frogadier was, if it wouldn't obey, it was essentially useless.
After a long ordeal, my second brother had no choice but to request a replacement. Frogadier was returned to the breeding center and left to free range again."
"No wonder it ran straight to you when it came out earlier…"
Sato suddenly understood. Frogadier clearly recognized Joseph; but that raised another concern.
"In that case, it probably won't truly accept me, right? Just now, it only agreed because you told it to."
"No. I explained to Frogadier very clearly. I'd help it find a Trainer good enough to match it.
Sato, are you saying… you're not good enough~?"
Sato: (︶.︶)
Joseph was completely serious. Meanwhile, Frogadier, who had been listening the whole time, blinked innocently.
"Frofrofro~" 'Fufufu~'
Sato looked down at Frogadier and suddenly grinned. "You completed your first evolution at the breeding center and already possess Elite level battle power. That proves you're indeed impressive.
But many of my partners are just as gifted. With focused training and real combat experience, they've surpassed you by more than just a little. So? Want to put that to the test?"
For battle-hungry types without emotional trauma, Sato believed it was best to just go straight to a showdown.
"…Fro?"
Sure enough, as soon as it heard the word "battle," Frogadier's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Absol, you're up for this one."
But in the next moment, Sato sent out Absol, who wasn't even at Elite level yet.
Frogadier instantly glared at him in fury. It thought Sato was completely looking down on it.
As the little tyrant of the breeding center, it had always been the one to challenge stronger Pokémon… when had it ever been treated like a whetstone?
But Absol merely cast a calm glance at Sato, then walked decisively toward the battlefield.
"Sol! Aaab… Sol?" If it's a fight you want, then fight we shall!
What… you scared?
"FROGA!"
Frogadier immediately crossed Sato off its mental list of potential Trainers!
…But that didn't mean it wasn't going to thoroughly beat up this overconfident Absol!
"Don't resist. [Dark Energy: Energy Amplification]"
Joseph clicked his tongue from the sidelines. Frogadier was still a little too naive; it walked right into the trap.
Sato had already gripped the Key Stone on his necklace and activated Energy Amplification on Absol.
"SOL~"
As the sudden surge of energy filled its body, Absol was startled at first, but then quickly became amazed at the rapid boost in power.
So this… is a Trainer's ability?
'HOW AMAZING (ω)!'
On the other side, Frogadier was equally shocked (⊙ω⊙`)!
Having lived its whole life in the breeding center, it had never seen a human… glow!
Now, Sato could freely control the intensity of Energy Amplification. The moment Absol broke into Low Elite, he cut off the boost.
With both Pokémon now at the same level, a trained Absol would undoubtedly make for a more meaningful comparison against Frogadier.
Of course, Sato had no intention of hiding the show. This was meant to demonstrate his strength to both Absol and Frogadier.
These two little guys were fiercely independent; if he didn't flex a little, they'd really believe their Trainer was just some guy barking orders from the back.
At that moment, Joe "the human prop" Seph stepped up to the judge's spot, clearing his throat with absolute seriousness.
"This will be a light sparring match. No Trainer commands allowed. Begin!"
"Fro!"
"Sol!"
The moment Joseph's words landed, Absol and Frogadier charged at each other at the same time.
Night Slash!
Power-Up Punch!
Sato's eyes lit up. As expected from a Pokémon raised in a breeding center; Frogadier had even inherited Power-Up Punch!
Power-Up Punch, a Fighting-type move, wasn't very powerful, but every use increased the user's Attack.
Night Slash and Power-Up Punch collided head-on. Frogadier's fist slammed directly into Absol's crescent-shaped blade.
Clang!
Due to type advantage, even with modest power, Power-Up Punch managed to barely match Night Slash.
And Frogadier's Attack also got a slight boost as a result.
But what surprised Sato even more was that his Dark Energy instinctively activated an [Energy Detection]. Its target: Frogadier!
The emotional feedback was "dislike," a reaction usually triggered by Bug-, Fairy-, or Fighting-type energy.
Combined with the fact that Frogadier had just used Power-Up Punch, Sato immediately realized something…
This Frogadier's Ability… was the ultra-rare…
Protean[1]!
Protean: when a Pokémon uses a move, its type changes to match the move's type, remaining that way until it uses a different move.
Which meant… every one of Frogadier's attacks would benefit from STAB!
And that wasn't all!
If Frogadier used Mud Sport, it would become a Ground-type, gaining complete immunity to Electric moves.
Or it could use a Dark-type move to become immune to Psychic ones.Or a Normal-type move to dodge Ghost-type attacks.
…It could even learn Aerial Ace to literally fly through the air!
'…'
Chapter 807: Protean Frogadier!
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150 PS - CH
[1] OP with no 4-moves limit