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

"By the way, Luo Ke, although we are friends, you saved my grandfather, so we have prepared a gift for you as a token of our gratitude."

As she spoke, Alice placed a box on the table and then slowly opened it.

What appeared in Luo Ke's eyes was a rotten sword.

boom!

Upon seeing the sword, Roko opened his two Poké Balls, and Victini and the sword sheath jumped out together.

'Tinnitini!'

Victini's voice rang in Rocco's mind, informing him that the sword contained a kind of will and power of extremely high quality that was difficult to detect and whose activation method was unknown!

'alone!'

The single sword sheath was expressing to Luo Ke that when its spiritual power explored the sword, it was invited by the will contained within the sword, and the sword expressed an emotion that seemed to be an affirmation to it!

Their reactions, combined with the sword's shape, meant that if Luo Ke had only guessed before, he was now basically certain.

Isn't this Zacian's 'Rotten Sword'?

After having this guess, Rocco looked up at Alice and was about to say something when Alice interrupted him with a smile.

"It seems your friends also like these collectibles. That's great. My grandfather and I struggled for a while when we were thinking about what to give you as a thank-you gift."

"Just take it. This decaying sword has been sitting in the Lorraine family's treasury as a collectible for who knows how many years. If it's useful to you, it's definitely better than letting it go to waste."

"As for what this sword is for... please don't tell me. After all, we're not only friends, but also rivals. I don't want to know one of your moves or tactics beforehand. If you absolutely have to tell me, it must be on the battlefield!"

Hearing Alice say that, Rocco breathed a sigh of relief.

Just like before in Los Angeles, when Eureka transferred money to him, he understood Eureka's intentions and didn't continue to be polite with her. Now, looking at Alice's smiling but exceptionally firm eyes, he seemed to hear Alice's often-repeated phrase—"There is no such thing as admitting defeat in the Lorraine family dictionary!"

So he kept this in mind, nodded slightly to Alice, and put away the decaying sword.

"okay, I get it."

......

4. Evolution of the Single-Sheath (1)

After saying goodbye to Alice, Rocco returned to his home. Instead of going straight to get the things he had packed the night before, he took out the decaying sword and looked at the single scabbard.

"Single Sword Sheath, what exactly is the meaning of the recognition you mentioned before?"

"This sword should be related to a legendary elf. The other party is unlikely to harm you, but sometimes even if such elves have no ill intentions towards other things, things that are touched by them without authorization can still cause all sorts of trouble."

Hearing Rocco speak so seriously, Victini and Ditto also looked at the scabbard.

In fact, no one wants their partner to become stronger and better than they do, but the situation is indeed unclear, so until then, they are more worried about their partner.

The single sword sheath certainly understood this, and given its inherently serious nature, it explained it to Luo Ke and the others.

'alone.'

Roco had Bictini as his translator, so he understood.

The meaning of "single sword sheath" is very simple.

The so-called sense of acceptance is that when its spiritual power first comes into contact with the sword, there is resistance on the sword. It's not just pure power, but also a will attached to it. However, after that will comes into contact with its spiritual power, it seems to have verified something through the spiritual power, and then actively withdraws its resistance, allowing its spiritual power to connect with the sword.

However, at Lorraine Manor, Rocco didn't say he would accept this decaying sword, so the matter didn't continue.

Upon hearing what Dujiancha said, Luo Ke frowned and asked Dujiancha more questions about spiritual power.

Many Pokémon players may be unfamiliar with the concept of "spirit power," but it is actually listed in the Aegislash Pokédex.

In the Pokémon works that Luo Ke had encountered, this power was rarely mentioned in detail. It basically seemed similar to mental power. It wasn't until he actually traveled through time that he began to understand the details of these things.

The single sword sheath has now given Luo Ke some specific explanations about spiritual power.

"In other words, for Ghost-type Pokémon, spiritual energy is both power and the essence of their existence, just like the 'life' of other Pokémon."

"So that means the will within this sword has acknowledged your will through this point?"

Although he found a plausible explanation, Luo Ke's brows furrowed even more deeply.

At this moment, the single sword sheath also spoke.

'alone...'

The reason it followed Rocco off the ghost ship was that it wanted to become stronger during its adventure with Rocco.

And besides that...

When it first joined the team, it didn't quite understand some of Ditto's behaviors.

In its view, Ditto's role in the team is to battle Pokémon that Roko cannot fight.

This position is actually quite important.

After all, considering the Pokémon that Roco has caught so far, they are most effective when they team up with Roco to assist him in battle—it can be said that Roco, as the trainer, is the tactical core and output core of this team.

In Dota, that would be a perfect position 1 carry.

It's the type that requires consuming resources to deal damage.

So when Rocco is unable to play, the team, having lost its core player, basically collapses in terms of its tactical system. It has more than enough support capabilities, but lacks in other aspects. This is when Ditto steps up to help the team win.

Standing in such an important position, there's no need to be anxious.

It was just that, being a serious person who liked to take care of people, it kept quiet because it was considering Ditto's feelings.

Even when it invaded the building where the professor was, it was happy to see Ditto's happiness as it continued to perform its functions, and it was also happy that its companion had opened up.

Until Rocco went to bombard that meteorite!

At that time, Ditto helped Roco carry a standard Z-Mod, and Victini and Roco were the best partners.

It was the only thing that could not help in any positive way; it could only take on some cleanup work after the war.

The scabbard began to understand Ditto.

Since joining the team, it has been having a lot of fun eating, drinking, playing, fighting, and joking around with everyone.

Furthermore, because the team includes Roco and Victini, one possessing extraordinary wisdom and the other possessing superhuman strength, they can provide it with a strong sense of security in any situation.

It's really easy to be with them, and it's easy for the animal to grow to like the team.

So when it realized that it was the only one who needed to be protected when everyone else was in trouble, a strong sense of resentment arose.

'alone!'

It needs to become stronger!

If it encounters a similar meteorite problem again, it won't hide alone in its Poké Ball; it will fight alongside everyone!

Luo Ke was somewhat lost in thought upon hearing the monogram's confession.

'Tini...'

Bictini was still trying to persuade it, but Rocco, after letting out a long breath, pushed the rotten sword to the scabbard.

'Tini!?'

Victini's eyes widened, while Rocco leaned back on the sofa and spoke to the scabbard.

“Sword Sheath, I believe in you—and don’t feel too much pressure. If things really do turn out badly, we’re still here for you.”

"I will do everything I can to turn that bad ending into the one we want."

"After all, I'm the trainer for this team."

So go ahead and do it.

Upon hearing Rocco's words, Victini first sighed softly, then flew to Rocco's side, smiled at the monosword sheath, and waved its little paw at it encouragingly.

Ditto, being the one who understood the scabbard best, also nodded at the scabbard.

At this point, Luo Ke had already considered all sorts of consequences, and based on that, he was also prepared to take responsibility for everything for his companions.

That's why he trusted his elf without reservation.

The single sword sheath understood this, so it initially considered not taking the risk, but when it met Rocco's gaze, it understood.

What it needs to do now is not to give up, but to make the choice it most wants to make, in order to repay the trainer's trust!

Yes.

When problems arise, its companions help it clean up the mess. Unlike when it was on the ghost ship, it no longer needs to carry everything on its own shoulders—it now has companions it can rely on!

Without further hesitation, the scabbard released its spiritual power, connecting with the decaying sword to complete what had been left undone at Lorraine Manor.

When the scabbard connected with the decaying sword, the sword slowly flew up. Under the force of the impact, the rust on it began to fade, revealing the true form of the sword!

At this moment, Rocco thought of the spirit associated with this sword, Zacian's Pokédex entry.

Zacian in his Sword King form has a sword-like object in his mouth. Legend has it that this sword can cut through everything in the world, hence it is also known as the Fairy King's Sword!

At this moment, the sword, now free of rust, took on the appearance of the Fairy King's sword.

After revealing its true form, it flew directly to the single sword sheath and crossed paths with it.

Then, light burst forth from the scabbard and the Fairy King's sword!

That's the unique radiance that elves possess when they evolve.

So Rocco, Victini, and Ditto were all somewhat taken aback.

They had considered various possibilities, but they never expected that the single sword sheath, which had strong spiritual power but had never shown any signs of evolution, would evolve at this moment.

and...

The evolution of the single-scabbard also includes the Fairy King's Sword!

Knowing that Zacian has a Sword King form, Rocco couldn't help but have this thought.

Surely we can't... have a Sword King form with a single or double scabbard, right?

......

5. Evolution of the Single-Sheath (2)

In Luo Ke's view, the spiritual power of the single sword sheath had long reached the standard for evolution, and the reason it had not evolved was most likely that it was unwilling to evolve.

As his companions, they naturally had no objection to this, so from the time Dujiancha joined the team until now, Luo Ke and the others have never mentioned this issue to Dujiancha.

But this is not the case.

Does the sword sheath not evolve because it doesn't like to evolve?

There is no such thing as a lie.

It can't evolve!

It was quite puzzled by this, because it had long felt that it had reached the level to evolve, but the evolutionary response was slow to appear in its body.

So much so that during the Ghost Ship arc, many of the Pokémon under its protection had already evolved once or even twice, but it still didn't react at all!

This situation had persisted for so long that it had become numb and indifferent. Only now, when the light of evolution covered it, did it finally understand the reason why it had failed to evolve successfully all along.

The evolution from a single scabbard to a double scabbard is different from the usual evolution.

As described in the encyclopedia, the dual-scabbard is an evolutionary pattern from a single scabbard to 'twins'.

That is, to turn the original single sword sheath into two consciousnesses.

One flew out to attack, while the other protected the still-incomplete shield.

We usually communicate using telepathy.

But the single sword sheath is different from its ordinary counterparts. Its will is too strong, completely imbued with the characteristics of steel, to the point that even its spiritual power is affected, becoming sharper.

So even if it has enough spiritual power, it can't become two, which prevents it from evolving normally.

But things are different now.

Instead of splitting into two, the Fairy King's Sword, under its spiritual connection, successfully grew a blue sword band in the same style as the single sword sheath, and at the same time, a single eye, just like the single sword sheath, also grew on the hilt.

When an incomplete shield appears, it is inserted into it, crossing with the scabbard of the monocle.

Thus, the evolution was completed.

Another sword, another consciousness, all occupied by the Fairy King's sword.