NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: Chapter 27
The Pokémon Hikaru had encountered so far all had difficult personalities and less-than-ideal abilities.
Honedge's Lax nature wasn't great. It had only one ability, so there was no choice there.
Petilil was the same. Her Stubborn nature would be excellent if she could evolve into Hisuian Lilligant, but that wasn't possible yet. Her ability, Own Tempo, was far inferior to Chlorophyll.
Hikaru had not cultivated Mints that could alter a Pokémon's nature. Mints were rare plants, unavailable in Kanto and Johto. Even department stores in major cities might not stock them.
Battle Frontier had them as exchange rewards, but the cost-efficiency was too low for him. Besides, he wasn't strong enough to challenge the Frontier just yet.
He vaguely recalled that Petilil could learn Sunny Day and Encore, as well as Helping Hand and Pollen Puff. In Generation V's Unova, she could even learn Toxic.
Toxic and Pollen Puff were useful against Grass-type opponents.
"If she could evolve into Hisuian Lilligant, things would be easier—Victory Dance, Triple Axel, Swords Dance, Close Combat… and Weather Ball under Sunny Day could even become a Fire-type move."
"She needs a Sun Stone—and evolution must take place in a Hisuian environment."
"Ancient texts mention that Hisui's lands share similarities with Johto's. That may explain why Hisuian Pokémon have appeared in this untouched forest."
After finishing his observations of Petilil—who had fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion—Hikaru prepared Pokémon food for her and shifted his focus to carving the ancient ruin tablets.
With Petilil assisting in plant growth, he no longer had to worry much about farming.
A Ruin Stone was placed on the workbench, and Hikaru's mind was gradually filled with knowledge of the ancient engraving techniques used to carve such relics.
The ruins' stones bore the marks of time, holding the essence of ancient history and an air of mystery.
Following the guidance of his craftsmanship skills and the engraving style of Johto's ruins, Hikaru began cutting and processing three stone slabs.
Honedge floated over curiously, and Petilil hopped onto the workbench, fascinated by the weathered stones.
"You want to help too? Perfect. Show Petilil what you're capable of."
Hikaru grinned, grabbing a regular stone and sketching a tic-tac-toe grid on it with chalk.
"Go ahead—try cutting it however you like. But first, practice on this ordinary stone."
Honedge touched its hilt with its blue ribbon, focusing intently.
"Yo."
I have to show our new companion just how impressive we are!
Invisible psychic threads emerged under Honedge's concentrated gaze, aligning perfectly with the chalk lines. For a brief moment, Honedge felt the same sensation as when using Psycho Cut!
The psychic threads overlapped with the markings, and Honedge drew its blade.
Psycho Cut!
A blade formed from pure mental energy, capable of slicing through any opponent!
This time, however, Honedge didn't release the energy outward. Instead, it maintained its Psycho Cut in a controlled state, carefully carving the stone. The sword's tip glided precisely along the chalk lines, performing clean cuts that left Hikaru genuinely impressed.
"Amazing precision!"
The cuts were nearly flawless, following the chalk guidelines without deviation. The stones scattered neatly, forming a pile of perfectly cubed fragments. The energy of Psycho Cut had even penetrated the stone's core, cleanly separating the rock and leaving smooth surfaces.
In a way… isn't this just like Rock Smash?
No—this was much better.
This technique eliminated the need for cutting machines to process large stones!
"Well done, Honedge!"
"Yo!"
Honedge relaxed, though it had no mouth to show it. Concentrating so hard on cutting the stone had left it feeling a little anxious, but Hikaru's encouragement quickly put it at ease.
"This is how it always is at first. With more practice, you'll get used to it. Mastery comes with experience."
Hikaru reassured Honedge, who soon let go of its anxiety and set its sights on the four remaining ruin stones.
Meanwhile, Petilil watched in excitement, her three leaves trembling with anticipation.
"Waa!"
Her voice made it clear how amazed she was.
Honedge's demonstration had shown Petilil a glimpse of true strength!
"Lili~ Waa!" Petilil eagerly asked Honedge how it achieved such precise cutting.
Honedge, eyes shut smugly, exuded an "Aren't I incredible?" aura.
"Yo! Yo yo pu~"
"Because I worked with Hikaru and mastered a new move—Psycho Cut! That's how I can cut so precisely. If you work hard too, you'll definitely learn stronger moves!"
"Lili!" Petilil twirled her leaf-like skirt in motivation.
Yes! I will get stronger soon!
While the two Pokémon exchanged thoughts, Hikaru was already fully engrossed in his work.
Among the five ruin stones, he selected three and began engraving unique patterns onto them.
Gradually, his craftsmanship knowledge guided him toward the Symbolic Tablets.
Hikaru paused for a moment, his expression shifting slightly.
The carvings were related to Unown.
But that was expected.
"I should have known—Unown are classified as the Symbol Pokémon, and the ancient tablets found in ruins were often inscribed with Unown-like symbols.
"The so-called Symbolic Tablets are small engraved stones that form ancient words when pieced together."
The carving process took a long time.
To Hikaru's surprise, because he was using the Johto Ruins Engraving Style, the technique slightly boosted both human and Pokémon mental stamina, reducing accumulated fatigue.
Though he had been intensely focused, he felt increasingly refreshed instead of tired.
His mental and physical fatigue gradually faded.
Hikaru lost track of time.
The three ruin stones weren't particularly large, but engraving Unown symbols and their intricate surrounding patterns took significant effort.
"They resemble the Ruins of Alph tablets… is this an influence from Johto's ancient civilizations?"
Before he knew it, five hours had passed.
He ate some instant food before resuming work.
Honedge and Petilil watched intently, their focus sharpening as well.
"Done. Symbolic Tablets—begin cutting."
Zzzzz!
Upon Hikaru's command, Honedge stopped conversing and activated Psycho Cut once more.
Its precision was at its peak.
In craftsmanship, elegance was unnecessary—the work itself was the true expression of mastery.
The three stone slabs were sliced not only on the surface but also into thin segments.
Since the symbols formed words, there had to be multiple pieces. By fully sectioning the three stones, Hikaru created at least five sets of characters, allowing for the formation of complete sentences.
Clatter!
As the cut stone pieces fell into place, they aligned perfectly, revealing evenly spaced intervals.
Hikaru watched intently, unwilling to miss a single moment.
A memory surfaced.
This style…
It resembled the Ruins of Alph stone slabs.
Could this be due to the influence of Johto's ancient peoples?
Or perhaps…
Was it similar to the tablets carried by Professor Shurī in the movie "Pokémon: The Spell of the Unown?"
Those were wooden tablets, not stone, but they bore similarities to Johto's ancient relics.
Across different regions, ancient civilizations had blended their knowledge, producing distinct yet interconnected Unown inscriptions.
All such stone tablets could be classified as Symbolic Tablets!
Hikaru picked up a carved tablet.
It was small—small enough to fit between his thumb and forefinger, much like a puzzle piece.
His mind filled with new insights:
[Work Completed: Symbolic Tablet]
[Description: Ancient text engraved in Unown-like symbols, creating a mysterious tablet. Said to contain the essence of creation itself.]
[Effect: Enhances the creator's mental strength. Forming words with the symbols establishes a special connection to Pokémon associated with those words, possibly invoking their power. The tablet can also foresee unique Pokémon-related events.]
[Knowledge Acquired: +1]
[Ancient Inscriptions: Your understanding of all ruin-related knowledge increases by 25%.]
Honedge, having assisted in the craft, gained experience and leveled up!
[New Move Learned: Brick Break!]
[Skill: Precision Cutting—Allows highly accurate stone/wood cutting with minimal error.]
"Yo~?"
Honedge felt a surge of new strength and gleefully swung its blade—
"Hey! Don't wreck the floor!"
"Yo ∑（⊙）!"
I got too excited—I got too excited!
"Lili!"
Petilil's eyes widened in amazement. She had just witnessed Honedge grow stronger through precise craftsmanship, learning a new move in the process.
That meant she could do it too!
She needed to tend to the herbs and crops right now!
Once she made up her mind, Petilil twirled her leaf-like skirt and gestured at Hikaru, signaling that she wanted to head outside to the fields immediately.
"Right now? It's still raining, you know," Hikaru pointed out.
Then he smacked his forehead, realizing something—Petilil was a Grass-type Pokémon.
Rain was actually good for her.
Petilil explained that, as a Pokémon deeply connected to soil, she felt far more comfortable in the earth than inside a building.
And with that, she hopped down from the workbench, bounced to the door, and happily leapt outside!
(End of Chapter)
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