Chapter Thirteen: Observations on the Lone Sword Sheath
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Clatter—
Fifty thousand Pokédollars credited!
Although Adu seemed somewhat incredulous himself, for someone of his caliber, fifty thousand Pokédollars likely wouldn’t even cover the cost of a cloak. It’s said he often goes to the department store to buy the same cloak, filling an entire cabinet with them!
As for the shipping method, of course, it’s still routed through Yanmo City, just like the evolutionary stones. Considering that Adu’s hometown apparently is Yanmo City, perhaps this champion is currently somewhere within Yanmo City itself. So, could Adu be a courier?
“Another item sold! Well done, Momentum Cloak! You’ve arrived at the perfect time!”
“Keep it up! There are still other items to make! The goal is to revitalize the workshop and dominate all the item shops in Chengdu...!”
“From now on, when people from Chengdu go out to battle others, they must use items!”
Besides the Momentum Cloak, there were also Momentum Headbands, Expert Bands, and Black Belts.
However, the old battle uniforms and the materials from Fighting-type Pokémon didn’t have any black coloration. If the band made isn’t black, can it still be called a Black Belt?
Holding that thought, Guangtai crafted several more Momentum Cloaks, then began working on the remaining three items.
The first to be completed was naturally the Momentum Headband.
‘Work completed: obtained “Momentum Headband”!’
‘Effect: A powerful band crafted from Pokémon materials and special techniques. When worn, even if hit by moves that would normally cause near-fainting, sometimes it can survive with 1 HP.’
‘Unique effect: Near-faint immunity — when using moves that would normally cause the user to faint (such as Explosion), there is a 5% chance to remain at 1 HP!’
‘Knowledge gained: 1’
‘Momentum Crafting: Momentum item crafting efficiency +5%.’
“This one’s impressive!”
Guangtai was momentarily stunned. The unique effect of the Momentum Headband was somewhat unbelievable, though a 5% chance wasn’t very high; even with the Serene Grace ability, it would only be 10%.
Hmm, it looks great on paper but is actually a bit underwhelming in practice. However, if one were to build an entertainment team specifically to use Explosion, it might have a surprising effect—winning one match could make the whole day enjoyable.
Interestingly, this time no “random material clues” appeared during the Momentum Headband’s crafting. Perhaps it’s because its effect overlaps with the Momentum Cloak, which overrides the original effect?
Next, Guangtai crafted the Black Belt.
‘Work completed: obtained “Black Belt (Red)”!’
‘Effect: Although called a Black Belt, it is red in color. When worn, Fighting-type moves’ power increases.’
‘Unique effect: Contact — Contact-type moves’ power ×1.1.’
‘Knowledge gained: 1’
‘Fighting Crafting: Fighting-type item crafting efficiency +5%.’
“Oh, power of contact moves boosted—a low-tier version of Iron Fist—and this effect overrides the Power Headband.”
One item serving as two... However, hardly anyone wears the Power Headband itself. After all, in the game, the Expert Band is available, which is far superior to the Power Headband, isn’t it?
Speaking of Expert Band... I can’t craft the Expert series of items yet, which is a bit disappointing.
Besides, the Lone Sword Sheath had been assisting with work continuously. But since it was the same type of task, Guangtai’s interface displayed:
‘Lone Sword Sheath assisted you in completing a craft, gaining experience and growth!’
‘Lone Sword Sheath leveled up! Its Attack Effort Value increased.’
No new moves or knowledge were gained. It seemed that for repeated tasks, only experience and effort values were obtained.
...
The next day.
After a small profit, Guangtai took some farming and clearing tools from the workshop, ready to tidy up the wasteland overrun with weeds, scattered stones, and branches.
When it came to this kind of work, Lone Sword Sheath immediately showed great enthusiasm!
“Yo!”
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These weeds, rocks, and branches were perfect targets for sword practice!
“Want to help? Oh, great.” Guangtai was happy to see Lone Sword Sheath’s spirited look, so he pointed to the weeds and said, “Then let’s start by clearing these.” With that, Guangtai began picking up the branches alone.
“Yo!”
Without hesitation, Lone Sword Sheath spun in the air, its blade smoothly drawn from the scabbard. The scabbard was caught by a blue ribbon as Lone Sword Sheath’s gaze sharpened. It flew to a higher patch of grass, and the blade began to tremble!
The sword gleamed white as it swept swiftly through the weeds, instantly clearing them all!
“Is that... a Iaido Slash?”
Guangtai watched the familiar effect and memories stirred in his mind. Before the Generation IV era, Iaido Slash could clear large patches of grass on the map.
“Iaido Slash clears grass and branches, and then there’s Fury Cutter—an Insect-type move that’s also very effective against Grass-types.”
Guangtai watched as Lone Sword Sheath swept the weeds like autumn wind scattering leaves, chopping fallen branches too, switching from Iaido Slash to Fury Cutter.
Fury Cutter’s power increases with each consecutive hit, so now the white glow on Lone Sword Sheath’s blade had grown considerably. One sweep could clear a large area of grass!
“Yo!”
Lone Sword Sheath seemed excited!
Cutting weeds was far more satisfying than chopping wooden stakes—this must be what “mowing” feels like!
“Yo!”
Soon, Lone Sword Sheath finished weeding, floating back and forth in the air, eager to try on the stones! It selected a medium-sized rock, spun its body, and swung its sword!
Clang!
The blade struck the rock, producing a crisp sound. The sword trembled, its eyes wide open in surprise, while the rock slowly cracked, its fragments falling like dust.
“Iaido Slash can’t easily cleave stone. Naturally occurring stones are Rock-type, so you need Fighting- or Steel-type moves for them.”
Guangtai grabbed a pickaxe and broke the cracked rock into smaller pieces, watching Lone Sword Sheath wobble in a dazed state. He shook his head:
“This won’t do! You can’t force it without learning the corresponding type moves. Usually, learning Rock Smash from the Fighting type will easily break rocks, or Iron Head from the Steel type works too.”
Lone Sword Sheath’s blue ribbon scratched the sword’s hilt, eyes puzzled.
What’s Rock Smash or Iron Head? Never heard of them!
“Really? Show me what moves you know.”
Guangtai requested a demonstration.
Since Lone Sword Sheath’s revival, it no longer counted as an ancient artifact; ancient treasure hunters couldn’t detect its information anymore.
Lone Sword Sheath first demonstrated Iaido Slash and Fury Cutter. The energy and light emitted during these sword strikes were distinct, making them easy to tell apart. Fury Cutter was a multi-hit attack, while Iaido Slash was a single, instantaneous strike.
Next came a move emitting a grating sound, along with a metallic scraping noise!
“That’s a grating and metallic sound. But if you don’t listen carefully, it’s hard to tell the difference.”
Then a simple impact.
“That’s Impact.”
After that, it tossed away its scabbard, and a red glow enveloped the blade. The sword’s movement speed instantly increased dramatically!
“Throwing away the scabbard... could this be... ‘Body Lightening,’ cutting off unnecessary parts to greatly boost speed?”
Guangtai was speechless.
Steel-type Pokémon often use Body Lightening by shaving off iron flakes or plates from their bodies, which grow back easily. But your sword... you use that move by tossing away your scabbard!
“Yo!” Lone Sword Sheath was somewhat displeased at Guangtai’s reaction!
Just say if it speeds you up or not!
The only drawback is having to run back and pick it up after the attack—that’s embarrassing, so what!
Then came Shadow Sneak. Under the daylight, the move was clearer—the sword’s shadow dashed swiftly, forming a red-eyed shadow blade that flew behind a rock to ambush.
Guangtai had experienced this move firsthand.
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After Shadow Sneak, Lone Sword Sheath followed with a heavy, forceful slash, different in style from Iaido Slash.
“Is that ‘Cleaving’? I wish it could break tiles like the move Brick Break,” Guangtai lamented.
The last two moves demonstrated were “Aerial Ace,” where Lone Sword Sheath danced nimbly in the air slicing through, and “Rest,” where it closed its single eye and fell asleep instantly.
Then silence fell, but luckily Lone Sword Sheath soon awoke, assuring it wouldn’t oversleep.
So you woke up on your own to avoid worrying me!
“No, I wasn’t worried at all. But is that all the moves? Only one Steel-type move, Body Lightening?”
“What about Protect and Reflect? Do you know those?”
Guangtai stroked his chin, feeling a bit disappointed. Lone Sword Sheath shook its blade.
“Yo? Yo!”
Protect? Reflect?
I’m an offensive weapon! What do I need defense for? If you want defense, get a shield. Wait until I evolve twice into Aegislash and then talk!
Still, under Guangtai’s questioning, Lone Sword Sheath showed one last move.
It paused briefly, leaving behind an image identical in shape!
“Double Team? No, this is...”
Guangtai touched the image and found it was tangible!
It was Substitute!
In the games, Substitute looks like a dinosaur doll, but in the animated world, it resembles a Pokémon’s own image!
“This is great!”
With Substitute, you can perform many unexpected maneuvers. But Lone Sword Sheath seemed indifferent to this move, feeling it would weaken its own vitality.
“But the lost HP can create great value when necessary; you’ll understand this someday,” Guangtai smiled, patting Lone Sword Sheath’s hilt.
Together, man and sword worked all day on the wasteland, clearing most stones and branches. Surprisingly, clearing the weeds was easiest. They ate some tree fruit for lunch. As the sun set, they stopped working, moved the wood into the workshop, piled stones in a corner outside, and then began preparing dinner.
Next came the tree fruit problem, which required entering the forest to gather. Fruit like Berry Seeds depended on luck, but if the climate near Shendu was similar to Sinnoh, similar tree fruits should grow here too.
After dinner, the sky darkened completely.
Upon finishing work, thoughts converged into information.
‘Lone Sword Sheath helped you complete a task, gaining experience and growth.’
‘Knowledge gained: Grass Clearing — weed clearing speed +5%.’
‘Learned move: Scratch.’
Lone Sword Sheath had learned a new move again and was now swinging its sword at the air. Guangtai watched, somewhat dazed. It seemed that when Lone Sword Sheath used Scratch, it canceled its recovery animation...
Wait, is this really Scratch?
Just a few casual swings then cancel...
Guangtai shook his head, then took out his notebook inside the house to record some information on Lone Sword Sheath from the day—his observation journal.
Today focused on move observation.
‘Moves learned: Iaido Slash, Screech, Metal Sound, Cleave, Impact, Protect, Body Lightening, Shadow Sneak, Substitute, Aerial Ace, Scratch, Rest.’
Yes, it was a fruitful day. Time to sleep!