Pokémon, you're not allowed to expel me from human form!

33. Dual Scabbard Evolution

Rocco didn't pay much attention to the things Alice said she brought for him.

Compared to this...

"Alice, what do you mean by 'I wanted to talk to you'?"

Walking side by side with Rocco on the streets of Eagle City, Alice looked at Rocco's puzzled expression and smiled as she continued the conversation.

"With the Z crystal mines you authorized, my family expanded our business and network in one fell swoop. During this process, we discovered an ancient underground ruin in the Shenzhou Hunting Area."

"The discovery of this ruin was entirely accidental, and it seems that no one has ever discovered it before. So after I heard about you, I thought I'd like to ask you—would you like to go on an exploration of ancient ruins with me?"

While Alice was explaining, Rocco pondered the situation and communicated with Necrozma and the others using his mental connection.

"Ancient ruins, still in the Divine Hunting Zone... Necrozma, could this be the ruins you're talking about?"

"Hmm...very likely."

Necrozma briefly shared her thoughts.

"At least before I was sent off the planet, at the end of the era of the kingdoms, there was only this one ruin in the Shenzhou Hunting Zone."

"And it's also possible that something caused these ruins to sink underground and haven't been discovered yet..."

"After all, because there are many dangers inside this ruin, a lot of protective measures have been set up on the outside. If even half of these measures are still working, it's normal for ordinary people not to be able to find them."

"The only problem is that I remember this ruin has always been guarded by the people of Dragon Village. Have they not come to look for this ruin in all these years? Or has Dragon Village also disappeared into history?"

What puzzled Necrozma, no one in Rocco's team could answer.

However, compared to those things, Rocco made a decision based on the current situation and spoke to Alice.

"Let's go together, I was planning to go to the hunting grounds anyway."

Alice smiled even more broadly when she heard Rocco agree to the offer.

Moreover, compared to the 'mask' she wore before, her smile now seemed more genuine.

Then, just like when they went to the ghost ship, Alice started talking to Rocco about it on the way.

Until they arrived at the place where Alice had stored her things—the Eagle City branch of the Minerals Guild.

"Okay, this is it."

Alice received a high-security box from the Miner's Guild. After unlocking all the security measures, she pushed the box to Rocco.

"Open it and take a look."

Upon hearing Alice's words, Rocco casually opened the box and saw the items inside.

Um! ?

Upon seeing this thing, Luo Ke, who hadn't paid much attention before, widened his eyes.

Even the Fairy King Sword inside his Poké Ball was very surprised.

because...

This is a 'rotten shield'!

'Well--'

The voice of the Fairy King's Sword echoed in Rocco's mind.

Its meaning is simple: the consciousness inside the shield is still asleep, but it has a way to awaken this consciousness, and just from the fact that the other party has already become so bored that he is going to sleep, the Fairy King's Sword is confident that it can persuade this guy.

With its help, the sword and shield will be intertwined, and the dual sheaths will evolve once more.

"Alice, this is indeed what I need. Thank you for collecting it for me."

This time, Luo Ke didn't refuse Alice, nor did he say much; he simply accepted it.

"I wish I could help you."

When Alice saw Rocco's reaction, she understood that Rocco no longer considered her an outsider, which made her especially happy.

Meanwhile, Alice, who had grown up, knew that since Rocco needed this thing, he would definitely need some private time, so she took the opportunity to ask.

"Alright, Luo Ke, I've given you the things and we've finished talking. I still need to stay here to handle some business matters, so I won't keep you company today."

As she said this, Alice stood up abruptly, then raised her eyebrows for the first time in a long time, looking at Rocco with a fierce gaze.

"So see you in the ring tomorrow!"

"Okay, see you in the ring."

Seeing Alice return to her familiar self, Rocco smiled slightly.

They made their agreement and walked out of the room together.

Just as Alice said, she really did have some business matters to attend to.

Rocco returned to the Grass and Tree Gym, went into his room, and then released Victini and the others, taking out the 'Rotten Shield'.

"The Fairy King's Sword, it's up to you now."

As Rocco made way, the Fairy King's Sword was decisively drawn and flew above the 'Rotten Shield', the eyes on the hilt emitting light.

At that moment, a consciousness awakened on the decaying shield.

It was a little puzzled when it first woke up, but when it saw the Fairy King's Sword, it seemed to understand something.

At this moment, the Fairy King's Sword had already told it everything about the current situation.

Having learned of the current state of the Fairy King's Sword, the decaying shield, or rather, the 'Fighting King's Shield' recorded in the Zamazenta Pokédex, he fell into deep thought.

The Fairy King's Sword was right; compared to existing in its current form, being able to follow a spirit is obviously more comfortable.

but...

The Shield of the Fighting King focused its consciousness on the dual sword sheaths.

There are some things it absolutely needs to know.

Therefore, it directly began to communicate with the consciousness of the twin sword sheaths.

Initially, it sensed the sharp spiritual energy emanating from the twin scabbards, which surprised it and made it understand why the Fairy King's Sword had chosen it.

Then it checked the strength of the dual sword sheaths' consciousness in its own way.

'Huh!?'

It was more sturdy than it had ever imagined!

This unwavering will, which can even hinder its own evolution, is highly regarded by the Shield of Fighting Kings.

That should solve the problem.

Swah——

The Shield of the Fighting King flew decisively toward the Twin Swords Sheaths, and when they made contact, a dazzling light of evolution immediately emanated from the Twin Swords Sheaths.

Within this light, its form changed once again.

The twin scabbards and their shields were fully grown, while the Fairy King's Sword and the Fighting King's Shield were intertwined, just like the twin scabbards now, and finally entered the twin scabbards.

Under the influence of these two forces, once the light of evolution completely dissipated, the dual sword sheaths evolved into Aegislash!

Unlike ordinary shield-wielding sword monsters, its sword has a blade similar to that of the Fairy King's sword. Although the shield it supports is still round, it has an additional layer of interlocking structures around the round shield, resembling scales, giving the shield more depth.

Having completed its evolution, the Aegislash sensed its own condition and the two powerful consciousnesses attached to it, and finally came to a conclusion.

'Well--'

At this moment, its already enormous spiritual power underwent a complete qualitative change.

Just like Ditto today, it has officially taken that step. Even without the Fairy King Sword and Fighting King Shield fighting for it, it has truly entered the Champion level!

And just as Ditto was able to embark on the path to the Champion by restoring Roko's stats, Aegislash could also embark on the same path as Ditto by understanding the power of Fairy King's Sword and Fighting King's Shield!

Now it has everything it needs!

......

34. Super-resolution!

"Alright, Aegislash, now that you've successfully evolved, let's go to the training grounds and test your current power—if we need to fight, the arena opens tomorrow, and we'll have plenty of opponents then."

'Well! '

The Shielded Sword Monster made the same sound as the Fairy King's Sword and the Fighting King's Shield.

This means that it fully agrees with Rocco's proposal.

'Tini!'

Victini saw that Aegislash had responded, so it was the first to fly to the doorway.

The strength of the team is always its top concern.

Ditto jumped onto Rocco's shoulder, and then they marched into the training ground of the Grass and Tree Gym.

When the Fairy King's Sword heard Roco say he wanted to test his power, it actually understood what Roco was going to do and was used to some of Roco's actions.

But the Shield of the Fighting King is new.

In its understanding, Luo Ke probably meant going to the training ground to unleash a few moves or something.

but...

rub--

Rocco gripped the Shield-Sword Monster, pulled out the sword in one swift motion, and then decisively picked up the shield with his other hand!

Fighting King's Shield: ?

It had no idea what Rocco was trying to do, but before it could even express its confusion, Rocco had already started swinging his sword!

With his movements, immense power propelled the Shield Sword Monster to tear through the air. The completely transformed spiritual power, combined with Rocco's swing, unleashed a slash powerful enough to cleave through the protective barrier!

This alone was enough to surprise the Shield of Fighting Kings.

But Luo Ke's actions were not yet over.

After swinging his sword, he decisively stomped his foot on the ground, instantly catching up with his own slash, and then raised his shield in front of the slash!

boom!

A deep thud exploded, and with the sparks flying from the clashing metal, the slash that had torn a gash in the ground couldn't even leave a mark on the shield!

Upon seeing this, Rocco, holding a sword and shield, had a gleam in his eyes.

But in reality, the Shield of the Fighting King understood that it was able to block this sword not only because the shield it carried was very strong, but also because Rocco used tremendous force to withstand the slash, preventing it from advancing an inch.

Otherwise, this spiritual energy strike wouldn't have dissipated so easily.

Is this something a human can do?

No... that slash looked like it was made by this person!

Thinking about this, the Shield of Fighting Kings is even less able to understand it.

The Fairy King's Sword and the Shielded Sword Monster sensed its emotions and began to communicate with it about Rocco's various wonders.

Their actions did not prevent Rocco from testing the sword and shield.

But as he tried, Luo Ke suddenly had an idea.

"Shielded Sword Monster, can you store a large amount of spiritual energy in your shield?"

'Well! '

"Hmm...that's good."

As Rocco spoke, he flicked his shield, signaling the Aegislash to gather its power into the shield.

This is not difficult. The only problem is that as more and more spiritual energy is injected, the shield becomes heavier and heavier!

If the Aegislash were to do this, while greatly increasing its shield's defensive capabilities, its speed and agility would certainly be severely limited.

However, this weight is different for Rocco.

Not only did it not affect his movements, but it also surprised him.

So Rocco used the power of waveguides to strengthen the shield, making it heavier!