A week later.
Arthur and Lena had watched their dad's Scyther battle their mom's Paras for the first time—a week after Scyther hatched. Paras had been with her much longer and had the level advantage, but its base stats were nearly half of Scyther's, so the playing field should have been fairly even.
To his surprise, Paras won.
The deciding factor was an Egg Move—Metal Claw—which Paras used repeatedly to counter Scyther's quick strikes. Combined with Anna's signature strategy of status effect spamming—something Paras could pull off even at a low level—Scyther was slowly worn down.
In the end, it couldn't keep up and fainted.
Meanwhile, Rosaria had sent Wentia to his house to collect one hundred Poké Balls and one hundred Pokédexes for distribution among the hundred Bloodthorn.
The delay of one week? He hadn't crafted them yet.
He was only one person—there was no way he could complete two hundred items on his own.
So, he finally agreed to collaborate with Rosaria, allowing her to take over manufacturing the Poké Balls and Pokédexes.
Their core systems remained undisclosed—he had concealed them behind layers of his own magic runes. He only allowed the finished 'code' to be copied and embedded into the devices. As a result, they only learned how to produce a basic model of each—functional as decorative replicas at best.
With that, he was finally free from the burden of crafting and mass-producing them himself.
He also upgraded the Pokédex to include Pokémon genders.
The omission in earlier versions wasn't an oversight. Arthur simply hadn't known how to distinguish the genders of certain Pokémon. Even with the help of the Memora Potion, if he lacked prior knowledge of a species' gender differences, there was no way to encode it into the template.
It wasn't as easy as assigning "genderless" to Pokémon that naturally had no gender.
So, he left it up to nature—allowing physical differences between individuals to signal gender. After all, he was just the coder, not the executor.
Now, with a growing library of templates and a newly researched magic circle capable of generating Pokémon models, he could accurately determine each Pokémon's gender in advance and include the data within the updated Pokédex.
Anyway, the past week had been quite hectic.
First of all, Lapras grew faster than Arthur had anticipated, throwing everyone into a mild panic. Lena's indoor pond—nestled inside her private room—was far too small for Lapras now. They had to keep expanding it until half of her room was filled with water.
It hadn't been a problem before, since Wartortle, Squirtle's evolved form, was still mostly a land turtle. Its size changed only slightly—its color deepened, and its tail and ears rippled like waves.
Arthur had to inscribe more magic circles throughout her room to manage things like respiratory issues, drowning risks, slipping hazards, and more. There's no way he would install magical security cameras to monitor Lena's safety, so his only option was to ensure the magic circles provided reliable protection, with occasional maintenance.
Lena, however, was delighted by the modifications. As a Water Elemental Mage, she dreamed of building a "Shell Team"—a future team composed entirely of Water-type Pokémon with shells.
Thanks to information from the Pokédex, she also requested Arthur to install a small "air conditioner" zone in the pond for Lapras's comfort. On top of that, she began singing along with Lapras when she was in her room, so Arthur had to install soundproof magical barriers on the walls.
Her singing was surprisingly beautiful—melodious and pleasant, like a rough diamond yet to be polished. Arthur, his parents, and their Pokémon all enjoyed listening, but it was better to give Lena some privacy, even though she didn't mind being heard across the house.
Lapras was still small, so its singing was overwhelmed by Lena's voice, but Arthur predicted it would grow louder soon. The soundproofing was also a precaution for the future.
As for his Misdreavus... in the eyes of others, its cuteness vanished the moment it learned to levitate.
It loved pranks—but not ordinary pranks. Its tricks were the horror type—designed to make you cry, scream, and run in fear.
It would sneak into Lena's room at night to spook Wartortle while it slept, triggering a chain reaction of fear that rippled through Lena and Lapras. Their fright was absorbed as energy by Misdreavus, leaving all three shivering and sleepless until dawn.
The same was true for Hector and Anna—at least the first time. After that, Misdreavus never dared prank them again, all because of his mom, Anna.
What exactly she did to intimidate it? Arthur had no clue. But every time Misdreavus encountered Anna's warm, smiling presence, it would panic and hide behind him.
In the end, Arthur had to drop everything else and focus on training Misdreavus—patiently teaching it to control both its mischievous behavior and its instinct of feeding on fear.
Fortunately, they lived near a forest teeming with animals and monsters. Although fear from intelligent beings like Pokémon and humans was the most satisfying for Misdreavus, the abundant fear from the creatures in the forest was enough to fill its "stomach" each night.
Still, quantity wasn't quality. The fear from wild beasts was plentiful but lacked the rich essence that came from intelligent beings.
So Arthur spent time training Misdreavus to master Confusion, teaching it to adjust its power at will. He even instructed it to use a weakened form of Confusion on him while he slept, plunging his mind into a state of disarray and conjuring vivid nightmares.
Arthur, who hated sleep paralysis even more than nightmares, willingly sacrificed some of his rest to feed Misdreavus.
He actually enjoyed horror movies, so their relationship became a perfect symbiosis.
From one perspective, Misdreavus was easy to raise—it didn't need much physical food, feeding mostly on fear. But that same reliance on fear made it difficult to manage.
Luckily, thanks to its refined control of Confusion—honed through both training and inducing Arthur's nightmares—Misdreavus managed to learn Confuse Ray ahead of schedule.
As for its "intangibility," the experiment was a success—well, mostly.
While it had developed the instincts and nature of a Ghost-type, Misdreavus could still be struck by non-elemental attacks if it was caught off guard or willingly allowed itself to be touched.
Though such moments were rare.
For example, the only person who could touch Misdreavus without triggering its instinctual defenses was Arthur—because it held no guard against him. Lena, however, had to get Arthur's permission first. Without that, Misdreavus's ghostly instincts would activate, causing it to completely avoid her touch, even if it wanted to be touched.
The stamina drain wasn't significant, as long as no one frantically 'mashed buttons' to repeatedly destroy and restore its alternate space.
The last test was to see how a Ghost-type move would affect a Normal-type Pokémon, but since Misdreavus has yet to learn any Ghost-type moves other than Destiny Bond, this will have to be postponed for now.
Honestly, Arthur wasn't very optimistic.
Making a Normal-type completely immune to Ghost-type attacks was nearly impossible—unless he was willing to empty his wallet on high-quality materials to enhance each Normal-type Pokémon Egg. But that approach was too draining and not cost-effective.
If he planned to create no more than a hundred Normal-type Pokémon, maybe that approach would be feasible. But since he had no intention of stopping there, he had to compromise.
In practical terms, Normal-types had about a 99% damage reduction against Ghost-type moves, which was satisfying enough.
If true 100% immunity was ever required, he could reserve it exclusively for Legendaries.
Another discovery Arthur made after countless trials and errors was that the Pokémon Type Chart also influenced the world's elemental magic—though only partially.
For example, a Wind Spell dealt at least 30% less damage when cast on Pikachu. Although this reduction wasn't as high as the 50% resistance against Flying-type moves, it was still better than nothing.
Arthur speculated that the world somehow "corrected" itself when Pokémon were born. The 'code' he embedded in the Type Chart translated into actual elemental resistances in Ocasia.
This led him to wonder how the world categorized Normal and Fighting-type moves within its elemental system.
Common sense suggested Normal type was non-elemental.
But what about Fighting-type?
For instance, if someone was strong enough to slap a boulder and crack it in half, would that be considered a Normal-type or Fighting-type move? Since a boulder was a 'Rock-type', it would seem like a Fighting-type attack. But there's no elemental energy emitted from the slap, so it was hard to say for sure.
Considering this, Arthur's thoughts shifted from Psychic being the most popular type to Fighting becoming the dominant type in the world of Ocasia.
After all, if a person already possessed immense physical strength through non-elemental attacks, mastering Fighting-type energy could elevate them to new heights.
While magic was accessible to many intelligent beings here, countless others lacked the talent to pursue it. For them, mastering Fighting-type moves could offer a completely different path to power—one distinct from that of Knights and Mages.
Arthur himself didn't have the answers. He only input the Type Chart and Pokémon genetics as lines of 'code', letting nature take its course.
But perhaps, someday, someone would discover a way to learn Fighting-type moves directly from Pokémon.
---
Due to the chaos caused by the two newly hatched Pokémon, the scheduled battle had to be delayed by two days.
Now, both his Misdreavus and Lena's Lapras had reached level 6—a remarkably fast start for recently hatched Pokémon.
In the Pokémon Battle Dome, they stood at the edge of an arena with a shallow pool built into one side for Lapras.
"Bro... I know I asked for this battle," Lena said, glancing at Misdreavus floating nearby, "but how am I supposed to even touch a Ghost-type?"
Arthur chuckled and replied calmly, "Only Normal and Fighting-type moves can't affect Ghost-types. As long as you don't use those, you'll be fine."
There's also Ground-type moves, since Misdreavus has Levitate. But that's not absolute—some Ground-type moves, like Mud-Slap, can still hit if they're launched into the air.
Lena paused, frowning slightly. "Wait... does that mean moves like Growl or Sing don't work either?"
The question caught Arthur off guard for a moment. Still, he shook his head. "Not exactly. Ghost-types are immune to most Normal-type damage moves, but status moves like Growl—which lowers Attack—can still affect them."
"So only offensive Normal-type moves don't work?"
"Not necessarily..." Arthur furrowed his brow. He wasn't entirely sure himself.
Pokémon move mechanics were complex. With his average memory, he couldn't remember every detail. But he did recall there were exceptions—ways to make Normal-type moves work against Ghost-types.
"Some Pokémon with the ability Scrappy can hit Ghost-types with Normal and Fighting moves," he said, recalling the Miltank template he'd recently been working on—one with the Scrappy ability. The progress on it had been interrupted thanks to Misdreavus's antics.
There were probably other exceptions, but none came to mind at the moment. He wasn't about to down another Memora Potion just to dig up obscure information.
Although he'd confirmed time and again that, as long as he didn't overdose, Memora Potions had no negative side effects—how many people in the world had consumed as many as he had and could testify they were completely harmless?
If any existed, they had to be in the top 0.01%, just like him.
At the edge of the arena, Pikachu raised its hand with narrowed eyes—signaling that the match was about to begin. Beside it, Lena's Wartortle stood ready, watching coolly from the sidelines.
"Pi~Pika~…"
"Pika!"
Pikachu dropped its paw, signaling the start of the battle.
"Lapras, stay in the water and use Sing!"
"Misdreavus, use Growl—keep your distance!"
Both gave their commands at the same time.
Lapras slipped into the pool and began to sing, a soft, melodic tone rippling across the water. Meanwhile, Misdreavus floated back, its eerie Growl echoing through the arena. The two sound-based moves collided midair and canceled each other out.
"Oh, that really worked?" Arthur smiled and nodded to himself.
In truth, Sing's effectiveness diminished with distance, so even if it had landed, it wouldn't have affected Misdreavus much—Arthur had deliberately positioned it far from Lapras.
But Growl had done more than just weaken the attack.
This was exactly the outcome Arthur had hoped to test.
Unlike in the games, where Growl only lowered the target's Attack, in reality, it could also be used defensively to disrupt incoming sound-based moves—though likely only against non-damaging ones like Sing. It probably wouldn't work against offensive sound moves like Disarming Voice.
From his experiments, Arthur had also discovered that Growl could also subtly lower other stats—not just Attack. Its core principle was intimidation: if the target's will to fight was shaken, the result could ripple into Speed, or even Defense. Of course, its effectiveness depended on the opponent's strength and mental resilience. Against a significantly stronger Pokémon, the effect would be negligible.
At this stage, both Pokémon were around the same level, and Misdreavus's base stats weren't far behind Lapras's, so their sound-based moves canceled each other out.
"Lapras, Water Gun!" Lena shifted strategies without hesitation, realizing her Sing tactic had been neutralized.
"Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!" Arthur called out.
He chose to let Misdreavus tank the hit in exchange for landing a confusion status effect. Although Lapras had the Hydration ability and was currently in the water, it wasn't raining—so the confusion would still take effect, at least partially.
However, Misdreavus hesitated.
Instead of following Arthur's command, it panicked and tried to dodge the incoming Water Gun.
The delay cost it—despite the last-second attempt to evade, the blast still landed.
Arthur sighed, but he didn't blame it.
It had only been a week since Misdreavus hatched—just a handful of days to grow close. Even if they enjoyed each other's company, asking it to willingly take a hit was a lot.
Misdreavus trusted him more than anyone, but their bond hadn't deepened enough for unconditional trust—at least, not yet.
Back when his Pikachu was still a newly hatched Pichu, it had been surprisingly trusting, following his commands without hesitation. Lena's Squirtle had been the same—outliers, both of them.
Misdreavus turned and gave Arthur a sheepish look, its expression filled with quiet apology.
Arthur gave it a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."
Lena remained silent, giving them space—choosing not to issue any commands to Lapras, at least for now.
After a moment, Misdreavus turned its attention back to Lapras, refocusing.
Arthur smiled and gave Lena a small nod, signaling he was ready to continue.
She nodded in return.
"Lapras, Dome Rain!" she commanded.
"Huh?" Arthur blinked, confused. What kind of move is that?
He had no idea what Lena was planning, so all he could do was give a quick warning. "Misdreavus, be careful!"
Misdreavus tensed as it watched Lapras spray water upward, soaking the dome's ceiling. The spray splashed across the surface, forming droplets that began to fall steadily—creating a makeshift rain.
Using Water Gun like that? She's a genius indeed… Arthur thought, impressed. Still, it wasn't real rain, so its effects would be weaker than actual weather condition.
"Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!"
This time, Misdreavus obeyed without hesitation. A swirling orb of eerie, glowing light formed in front of it and flew toward Lapras, flickering distractingly as it moved.
Arthur narrowed his eyes, careful not to look directly at it.
The moment the orb reached its target, both Lapras and Lena instinctively turned to watch it—and were immediately caught by the disorienting effect.
"L-Lapras, f-follow the plan!" she managed to call out, forcing the words through the haze of confusion as she tried to steady herself.
Thanks to Hydration, Lapras quickly shook off the confusion and began to sing once more—seemingly understanding what Lena had meant by "follow the plan".
Sing? Why? Arthur blinked, puzzled.
Sound didn't carry well in rain—and even if this was just pseudo-rain, the dripping water would still distort soundwaves.
In the game, rain didn't affect sound-based moves. But this was real life—and in real life, Sing should've been weaker under these conditions.
Then he noticed Lena shake off the last of the confusion and grin—confident, maybe even triumphant.
Unsure of her intent, Arthur didn't let it distract him. "Misdreavus, use Confusion!"
While Misdreavus was a Ghost-type, its first offensive move was, unexpectedly, the Psychic-type move Confusion—a technique that invaded the opponent's mind.
Misdreavus narrowed its eyes and focused, channeling the psychic energy it had honed by regularly plunging Arthur into nightmares. A faint glow surrounded it as the mental attack shot toward Lapras.
Caught mid-song, Lapras suddenly froze, its head drooping as a groan escaped its throat—its mind overwhelmed by a splitting headache. Despite its naturally high Special Defense, the mental assault landed cleanly due to its defenseless state while singing.
"Eh?" Lena gasped, a visible question mark practically forming over her head.
Arthur wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away.
"Misdreavus! Circle around Lapras and keep using Confusion! Don't give it a chance to recover!"
Misdreavus obeyed immediately, darting through the air in an unpredictable pattern as it launched wave after wave of psychic energy.
Lapras staggered, struggling to maintain its composure as each hit struck its mind.
With confusion taking hold again, its movements slowed and coordination faltered—each attack pushing it closer to collapse.
"Lapras! Sing!" Lena gritted her teeth and gave the command quickly.
But this time, the target wasn't Misdreavus—it was Lapras itself.
Lapras forced out a trembling note, trying to soothe its disoriented mind through its own calming voice.
Arthur raised an eyebrow, then gave a small nod.
"Not bad," he murmured, genuinely impressed. Using Sing as a self-soothing tactic against confusion—it was clever.
But in the end, the miracle didn't come.
Lapras's song faltered. Its head dipped forward, splashing into the water with a soft thump. Its eyes clenched shut, pained by the lingering chaos in its mind.
It had fainted.
"Lapras!" Lena cried, plunging into the water without hesitation. She swam swiftly to her partner's side and carefully administered a Potion, her touch as gentle as she could manage.
"Pika~ Pikaa!" Arthur's Pikachu grinned and nudged Wartortle, its expression smug—clearly teasing, My trainer's stronger~
Wartortle gave it an unamused glance before leaping into the water, swimming toward its own trainer with a huff.
Arthur watched the scene, feeling a mixed of emotions.
He was happy—he had won.
But also a little disappointed… He had wanted to test Destiny Bond.
He'd already tested it on native monsters before—it always resulted in both fainting together. He had even tested it on himself once, and fainted as well. So, by all logic, it should work fine on Pokémon too, without threatening their lives.
Once Lena had comforted Lapras and returned it to its Poké Ball to rest, she walked toward Arthur. He was currently crouched down, happily petting Misdreavus with one hand and hugging his Pikachu with the other.
She approached quietly, a faint look of puzzlement shadowing her face—still trying to grasp why her plan hadn't worked.
Arthur noticed, slightly tilted his head, and waited for her to say something.
When she didn't, he broke the silence. "So, sis… what exactly was the plan with your Dome Rain?"