[Shedinja: Common Template, Pokémon. Temporary Summon. Type: Bug/Ghost.
HP: 1, MP: 60. Strength: 9, Agility: 6, Spirit: 6, Charisma: 8.]
[Summon Trait: Wonder Guard]
[Knows: Scratch, Harden, Metal Claw.]
Watching the silent, hollow Shedinja floating aimlessly in the air, Chris took a deep breath of the damp, river scented air.
Pokémon, Pocket Monsters... whatever you called them, their influence had long since transcended the world of gaming.
One person might call a Bulbasaur a "Garlic Turtle," another might call a Diglett a "Piece of S", and a Dugtrio "Three Pieces of S," but almost no one in the world would fail to recognize Pikachu.
The amount of money Nintendo had made from that electric mouse and the Pokémon IP was beyond count.
In that context, calling a Pokémon a "Youkai" or a "Demon" wasn't that much of a stretch.
As a veteran gamer, Chris was intimately familiar with the series. The moment he realized he'd summoned a "Ghost Cicada" Shedinja, his mind immediately flooded with terms like "Ghost Will-o'-Wisp," "Endure," "Spite," "Safety Goggles," "Skill Swap," and "Focus Sash."
But while Chris was having a mental storm, the other Wraith Armors were the ones who truly reacted.
They were surprisingly quick. As soon as they realized one of their own had been NTR'd into a Shedinja, the two nearest armors launched an attack.
They surged forward, raising their massive tower shields and slamming them toward the hollow, expressionless Shedinja.
Whether it was because he hadn't given an order yet or because the Shedinja was just naturally slow, it didn't dodge. It allowed the shields to slam into its shell... and then, the shields passed right through its body with a metallic CLANG as they hit each other.
Shedinja's body looked like it was shifted into another phase, occupying the same coordinates as the shields but remaining completely unaffected.
Its pathetic 1 HP didn't budge an inch.
[Wonder Guard: Pokémon Ability. An incredible protective force. Under its protection, only moves that are 'Super Effective' can damage Shedinja.]
Among the thousand plus creatures in the Pokédex, Shedinja, the Ghost Cicada, was one of the most unique. No matter how strong it became or how high its level grew, its HP would always be exactly 1.
In exchange, it was completely immune to any attack that wasn't of a specific, effective type.
If categorized by Pokémon types, a Wraith Armor would likely be "Ghost/Steel," just like Honedge or Aegislash.
However, that was just their form. In practice, they were just mindless shells being piloted by low level souls. Their only "move" was a physical shield bash, which was judged as a "Normal" type attack.
In other words, they couldn't touch Shedinja.
Through the magical bond of the "Trainer and Pokémon," Chris could feel a faint sense of confusion coming from the Shedinja's hollow gaze. 'Trainer, why haven't you given an order yet?'
In that moment, Chris's inner "Chuunibyou" took over.
"SHEDINJA! USE METAL CLAW ON THE ENEMIES BEHIND YOU!!!"
Chris shouted the command with zero shame. Shedinja's hollow eyes suddenly flared to life like the main cameras of a Gundam powering up.
A surge of energy pulsed from the cicada. Its small, stubby hands began to glow with a brilliant, silver light.
With a blur of its wings, it phased directly through the Wraith Armor, reappeared behind it, and lashed out with a silver flash.
Two deep, X shaped gashes appeared on the back of the armor as it was knocked forward.
[Metal Claw: Grade: D / Lv1. Pokémon Skill (Active). Uses steel type energy to reinforce claws and slash at opponents.
Deals Physical Steel damage equal to Strength x 2. Each hit has a 10% chance to increase Attack, but a 5% chance to miss.
Cost: 2 MP. No Cooldown.]
As Shedinja executed the command, Chris produced a spectral throwing axe. He'd traded his Little Demon Cleaver to the one eared student in exchange for a one handed axe earlier at the campfire.
The axe was one of Arthur's signature weapons, so Chris's accuracy with it was significantly higher than with the cleaver.
'If I still had the Vampire Hunter template, Simon's experience would have made this even easier.'
The axe bypassed the tower shield and slammed into the back of the armor where Shedinja had left its mark. The force was enough to send the helmet flying, leaving a headless, "Dullahan" style suit of armor behind.
But the headless armor ignored Chris. It remained obsessed with pushing the nearest enemy off the island. It turned back toward Shedinja and raised its shield again.
Low level wraiths had limited intelligence. Their primary priority was "Interfere with humans crossing." Their secondary priority was "Counter-attack the nearest hostile unit."
Shedinja's Metal Claw had triggered that second protocol.
As long as Chris and the students stayed in the center of the island and didn't approach the edge, the Wraith Armors would ignore them and focus entirely on trying to push the invincible Shedinja.
And Shedinja's 1 HP remained as solid as a mountain.
The metallic clangs of shields hitting each other echoed above the water. Occasional, sharper gong-like sounds rang out whenever Chris's axes landed.
Under the perfect cover of the "1 HP Tank," Chris and the students cleared three waves of Wraith Armors--eighteen in total. No more spawned after that.
The only things drifting downstream were broken pieces of metal armor.
Taking advantage of the gap, the three of them made two quick, running jumps and landed safely on the far bank of the river.
Having tanked countless useless shield bashes, Shedinja drifted slowly down to land beside Chris.
Chris looked into its hollow eyes and held out a fist. Shedinja's stubby, rounded claw reached out and gently bumped against his knuckles.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]