Chapter 62: 50's Frozen Fantasy

Guang Tai’s eyes lit up, but when he saw that the material source was Steelix, he fell into deep thought again.

This Pokémon only exists in Galar and Paldea; there are none here, and it requires the Mirror Armor ability—this is too demanding.

Mirror Armor is a hidden ability.

By the way, could Iron Tail from Armaldo or the shed iron plates from Bonsly’s line serve as substitutes?

After all, Steel-type Pokémon yield plenty of materials.

Armaldo’s iron feathers, Bonsly’s iron plates, Bronzong’s bronze skin, Registeel’s black gold, Trapinch’s thick iron, and Heatmor’s aerospace metal.

Oh, Bronzong’s pre-evolved form is Bronzor—maybe collecting fragments of Bronzor could unlock the Mirror Casting technique.

“If I catch a Steelix, I’ll have a steady supply of iron materials, and unlike Armaldo, Steelix isn’t afraid of rain—it’s one of the best Flying-type Pokémon.”

He slightly retracted the Fantasy Heart.

After all, thinking about it now won’t help.

Guang Tai pondered the function of the Glass Whistle.

“Oh, the move power increased slightly—that’s the original effect of Soft Sand, preserved, along with the Ability Training and Avoid Critical Hit effects. I didn’t expect this Glass Whistle to be so useful—it’s far superior to the original from Hoenn!”

“Hmm, but maybe it’s because I used Soft Sand as the base material—this sand is already a special item, found in Regirock’s temple, likely infused with Rock and Ground-type energy.”

“But I don’t have any Ground-type Pokémon, so I’ll just sell this Glass Whistle. And better Pokémon training? That sounds almost like the ability of ‘The Secrets of the Earth.’”

Guang Tai looked again at the leaf of Lilligant.

Could adding a Pokémon’s type material produce a different Glass Whistle?

So Guang Tai plucked a leaf from Lilligant, gathered oak forest leaves, mixed them into the molten glass, and performed a second firing—resulting in a change:

‘A craft has been completed!’

‘Crafted Item: Grass Glass Whistle.’

‘Description: A tool made using Soft Sand, common materials, and a special Grass-type plant through unique glasscraft.’

‘Craft Effect 1: When blown by a Trainer or Pokémon, the power of Grass-type moves increases by 10%.’

‘Craft Effect: When blown by a Trainer or Pokémon, it allows perception of Grass energy, improving the training of Grass-type Pokémon; in Grass Perception state, critical hits from opponents are avoided.’

‘The effect is nearly identical, but move power boost dropped to 10%—perhaps because the main material is Ground-type Soft Sand? Still, this is quite good—a very practical item.’

‘If I replaced the Grass-type material with a Miracle Seed, the boost might reach 25%. But Miracle Seeds are extremely rare natural items—I wonder if my Seed Mutation knowledge can make one appear in crops?’

Drip—

The computer beeped.

Kanto Region, Seven Islands, Fourth Island.

The red-haired woman, Koga, one of the original Sinnoh Elite Four’s Ice-type Champion, had received a courier from Shen Du.

“Snowseal, Lapras, Cloyster. Hmm, these sculptures look quite ancient.”

“Seeing them in person feels different from viewing images online—how to put it? Like the feeling I got from the Ascan ruins. Can this really be made just by carving?”

Koga pinched her delicate chin, studying the 1/20-scale figurines, then read the accompanying instruction manual.

It was a user manual.

“Ice-type sculptures lower surrounding temperature—yes, it’s chilly. But it feels nice!”

“The Snowseal sculpture slowly restores HP for Ice-type Pokémon.”

This sculpture is basically an eco-friendly refrigerator!

“Ruu~”

Koga’s Snowseal suddenly shuffled forward, tilting its head at the sculpture nearly identical to itself but far older—it sensed a chilling aura from the carving, and it felt wonderfully comfortable!

“Snowseal, you like this carving too?” Koga crossed her arms, muttering to herself: “The climate of the Seven Islands is heavily tropical—only the Icefall Cave is cold.”

As Koga said, due to the tropical climate of the Seven Islands, all Ice-type Pokémon gather in the Icefall Cave on the Fourth Island; Koga usually lets her Pokémon rest deep inside the Icefall Cave, but recently, to avoid Team Rocket’s harassment, she hasn’t let them return.

The Fourth Island is Koga’s hometown; she lives on the eastern edge of the town.

“With these sculptures, I don’t need air conditioning to lower the temperature! Good, everyone, come out!”

Koga opened all her Poké Balls—of course, Lapras was too large to appear—and besides Snowseal and Cloyster, the other two were Slowbro and Mr. Mime.

The Pokémon immediately sensed the unusual temperature and fixed their gazes on the three sculptures—their chilling aura lowered the room temperature, making them feel extremely comfortable!

Cloyster, grinning mischievously, examined its own sculpture from every angle.

“The Cloyster sculpture makes ice items harder. Sounds like a training-related effect? Cloyster, use Ice Beam?”

Koga looked at Cloyster and decided to test it. After a moment’s thought, Cloyster kept its smirk and began condensing ice with the horn extending from its shell. As Ice-type energy gathered, a large Ice Beam formed—bigger than any it had made before!

The Ice Beam hit the floor. Koga touched it and found it was significantly harder than before!

And the chilling aura it emitted was also slightly stronger—though the increase was minor, Koga was an Ice-type expert; her instincts on Ice-type Pokémon were never wrong!

“It makes my Pokémon stronger too—this is amazing! Though it looks like something meant for a fridge.”

At Koga’s level—an Elite Four Trainer—growing stronger is extremely difficult; ordinary training won’t cut it, since Elite Four are essentially Champion-in-waiting!

Yet these sculptures, merely by being placed, influence the environment and Pokémon, producing positive enhancements!

Koga was delighted—and the final one, Lapras, was described as enhancing Ice- and Water-type energy. That was easy to understand: it likely concentrated ambient Ice-type energy to strengthen Ice-type Pokémon, making it most effective in the Seven Islands’ oceanic environment!

There’s water everywhere here!

“Taking this sculpture to the Icefall Cave will have a huge effect!”

Koga’s delight was obvious. Her Pokémon were all focused on the three sculptures, and Koga pulled out the “Aura Sash” from the courier box!

“This Aura Sash is identical to the one Agatha had—but hers is nearly worn out from my attacks. This fabric grants incredible power, yet wear is unavoidable.”

Agatha left in a hurry after defeating me—he must’ve noticed the sash’s wear. After all, even powerful items still degrade normally.

Compared to that, the sculptures’ effects are powerful too, but they can’t be used in battle—any move hit would shatter them. Koga thought to herself: Good, now I don’t have to worry about Agatha using his Dragonite sculpture to annoy me!

So Koga bought several more Aura Sashes—including the Aura Headband—mainly because this special Headband gives a 5% chance to avoid fainting when using Explosion!

And Cloyster definitely knows Explosion!

Next time I use it to blow up Agatha, that’ll be perfect! He always brags about his Dragon Clan’s deep bond—let him see the bond between me and Cloyster!

“If I’m lucky, I might even land consecutive Exploisions! If only there were a way to turn Explosion into an Ice-type move…”

“Also… Shell Bell.” Koga picked up a white shell-shaped bell.

“I’ve heard of this item—a bell made from Hoenn’s specialty shells; wearing it restores HP when attacking. Sinnoh has similar shells too—but how does it actually work?”

“In Kanto, it’s extremely rare.”

Koga gently shook the Shell Bell—the sound inside was pleasing, making her relax.

Even as a regular bell, it’s quite nice.

“The workshop has added a lot of new items lately! But nothing I can use… King’s Rock, Charcoal, Purifying Pendant! Oh, this one looks impressive!”

“The price isn’t high—I’ll buy it!”

“By the way, does the shop have any items that increase Freeze chance? Ideally, raise it to 50%—whenever I see Agatha, my head hurts!”

Just hit the opponent and freeze them solid!

Koga thought maliciously, then picked up her PokéGear and sent a message to “Guang Tai.”

As expected, the reply was—【“?”】

【“Apologies, but the workshop currently has no such item. And a 50% Freeze chance—I’m sorry to say, you’d likely be banned by the League.”】

“Hah~ No, huh?” Koga sighed.

A ban didn’t matter—what mattered was thrashing Agatha.

But instantly, she perked up and began chatting with Guang Tai.

“Boss, have you considered making dolls with special abilities? You definitely can, right?”

【“…Dolls? I could try. Your suggestion is good, but since there’s no prototype yet, the effects are unknown, and pricing is undetermined.”】

“Oh! Then I’ll reserve a Lapras doll first! Ah! But I’m not in a hurry to receive it!”

【“If you’re not in a hurry… that’s best. Thank you for your support.”】

“Huh—” Koga’s expression grew increasingly eager.

Dolls from the Magical Shop would have different effects from those at home—Koga had now confirmed this completely!

Agatha only buys battle items—does he think power is everything? Once I collect enough training items, his Dragon Clan won’t stand a chance against me!

Are there unique-effect dolls on the market? Pichu Doll?

But the supermarket said it lets you escape wild Pokémon battles—yet that’s just throwing it to distract them! That’s not a real unique ability!

Thinking this, Koga sent Guang Tai a message:

“Of course, I always look forward to the workshop’s new items—but since I’m an Ice-type Trainer, Boss, next time please add some Ice-type items!”

(End of Chapter)