Chapter 282: Conquered Itself
Guessing that Honedge would be resistant, Arthur quickly added an explanation.
"This time, you lead the battle!"
That sentence made Honedge feel much better.
The hilt itself wasn't the issue. Wild Honedge often lure passersby or other Pokémon to grasp their hilts in order to absorb the life force of the living.
What Honedge truly couldn't stand was not being in control when it was being held!
The reason Pokémon like Honedge are classified as dangerous ghosts, and the reason there are so many horrifying legends about them, lies in their innate desire to control the living creatures they trick into holding them, to revel in the thrill of manipulation.
They might even turn them into their own sword-slave puppets.
You could say that every Honedge is a hidden puppet master, a figurine fanatic.
Unfortunately for Arthur's Honedge, this innate desire was destined to remain a pipe dream.
It couldn't control Arthur.
Even now, it didn't dare to get rough with Indeedee. The tassel at the end of its hilt was only lightly tied around Indeedee's arm, not daring to tighten its grip.
After all, as Arthur had said, it would have to go back eventually…
With a metallic ring, Honedge sent a thought to Indeedee.
"Keep up with my rhythm, woman. My blade waits for no weakling."
This was a line from a movie Honedge had become fond of since coming to the human world.
Since Indeedee was a humanoid Pokémon, calling it that didn't seem to be a problem.
Monica's Indeedee nodded tremulously.
Although Indeedee has no evolutionary line and is technically in its final form, it was still completely outmatched by the base-form Honedge in terms of sheer presence.
Honedge let out another soft hum, feeling quite smug, completely unaware that this was all thanks to the killing aura Arthur had helped it accumulate by slaying countless enemies.
On its own, it couldn't intimidate a fully-grown Pokémon.
Honedge then raised itself and, with a swish, deflected a jolt of electricity from Rotom, catching it on its blade before flicking it to the ground.
It looked as if it had sliced an arc of lightning in two—incredibly cool!
This instantly reassured the anxious Indeedee.
This partner seems… pretty reliable?
And then, in the next second, she regretted it…
"Let's go, woman! Time to attack!"
After deflecting the shock, Honedge immediately counterattacked, thrusting forward!
This attack didn't do much to the opposing Scizor, but it scared the daylights out of its own teammate, Indeedee, who let out a series of shrieks.
On the surface, it looked like the person was moving with the sword, but in reality, the sword was dragging the person.
Indeedee was being forcibly pulled forward, its arm entangled in Honedge's tassel.
"Maa-maa-maa!!"
Indeedee was so scared it started bleating like a sheep.
Scizor hastily flapped its wings and retreated.
But Honedge was relentless!
The blade spun around, dragging Indeedee in a full 360-degree circle, then brought the sword down with a powerful chop towards Scizor once again!
"CLANG!"
Scizor was forced to open its pincers to block the blow.
It looked as if Scizor had blocked it with ease.
This left Honedge a bit annoyed and confused.
It wasn't until Arthur gave a command that it remembered. "Release your weight! Don't float! Use gravity to add force to your slashes!"
Honedge was a ghost. They could normally use their ghostly abilities to make themselves lighter, even float in mid-air.
Honedge was so used to floating when it moved on its own that it had almost forgotten that weight was also an important source of a weapon's power.
Tch, I would have figured that out on my own without you reminding me! Honedge thought stubbornly.
It then released the energy it was using to keep itself afloat.
"THUD!"
The heavy sword immediately fell to the ground.
Honedge sent a disdainful thought to Indeedee: "Are you even trying?"
"Maa..." Indeedee whimpered pitifully.
I'm a maid-type Pokémon, isn't it normal for me not to be able to lift a greatsword? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about maids…
Helpless, Honedge had no choice but to continue leading its wielder.
The greatsword spun on the ground, scraping up a shower of sparks, then was swung forcefully at the enemy!
"Scizor, use Metal Claw!"
The opposing player commanded Scizor to use the Steel-type attack, Metal Claw!
Pincers, rounding up, could be considered claws.
Scizor used its giant pincers to block Honedge's slash!
At the same time, the fan provided support.
"Rotom, use Astonish!"
A terrifying ghostly face suddenly appeared on the armor on Scizor's chest, instantly shifting the style from sci-fi back to fantasy.
This was Iron Man armor turning into undead plate mail.
Poor Indeedee was once again scared into shrieking.
Honedge had no choice but to use its tassel to forcibly bind her arm and drag her along as it continued to fight.
"Use Fury Cutter!" Arthur commanded.
Honedge had heard this command many times before. It was a move Arthur loved to use when he was wielding it, because as long as it kept hitting, the damage would steadily increase, making it perfect for group battles and relentless pursuits.
But this time, for the first time, Honedge found this move to be incredibly tiring.
Dragging Indeedee along while swinging, it was difficult to build up speed. After one volley, only one of the three slashes landed.
Then, it had to use its blade to block, preventing Scizor from bullying Indeedee with its big pincers.
As a result, the second volley of Fury Cutter was delayed.
The window for the damage multiplier to stack had already passed.
Honedge, despite its Swords Dance buff, was unable to make any headway, leaving it incredibly frustrated.
But it couldn't just abandon Indeedee. Not only was it unsure if it could win a two-on-one, but Rotom also likely had either Thunder Wave or Confuse Ray. Without Indeedee to cure status conditions, Honedge would be tormented to death by confusion and paralysis.
This battle was making Honedge more and more annoyed.
It was only then that it suddenly realized: the wielder is actually very important!
It hadn't noticed before because it had no point of comparison. But now, it finally understood the difference between Arthur and other "sword slaves."
If Arthur had been the one wielding it on the field, Scizor would have probably been calling for a medic minutes ago.
And so, for the first time in its ghostly life, a philosophical question arose in Honedge's mind: Should I pursue freedom, or should I pursue power?
That… was a question…
And as this question presented itself, Honedge was shocked to find that it wasn't so averse to being wielded by that human anymore.
Arthur himself probably never would have imagined that by letting this goofy sword fight one match on its own, the thing would actually end up conquering itself.
It was a truly unexpected and pleasant surprise.
On the field, as Honedge was distracted and its attacks slowed, Arthur just offered a reminder.
"Don't just defend! You need to apply pressure! Use Slash!"
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