Pokémon: From Pirate to Just

"Eevee, use Double Team!"

At Sieg's command, Eevee split into two in the blink of an eye.

Another identical Eevee appeared next to the original. But while the real one wore a resolute expression, the illusion's face was stiff and expressionless. Only with close observation could one tell them apart.

"There are three main directions for training Double Team. First, increasing the realism of the illusions. Second, improving the speed at which the move is executed. Third, extending the duration the illusions can stay."

"Eevee, for now, you don't need to worry about the last two. Just focus on making the illusion look more lifelike."

Sieg squatted down and gently patted Eevee's head, offering encouragement while teaching her patiently.

This was the benefit of having a trainer.

If a wild Pokémon tried to train on its own, it would be impossible to develop such a meticulous training plan. At best, it would stumble through trial and error.

In fact, many wild Pokémon didn't even understand how to fight properly. All they knew was to use moves to attack, but before they were caught by trainers, they had no idea what kind of combat style suited them best.

That's why in the wild, you'd often see Pokémon with high Attack stats relying solely on Special Attacks, or defensive-type Pokémon that only know how to charge blindly forward.

Without a trainer's command, wild Pokémon were often significantly weaker than their trained counterparts of the same level.

Of course, some wild Pokémon eventually learned a combat style that suited them through experience and survival.

This is also why many trainers are hesitant, even resistant, to catching fully-grown wild Pokémon.

Because correcting the bad habits those Pokémon developed in the wild takes tremendous effort. Trainers would have to spend extra time and resources to fix physical and developmental mistakes caused by poor training.

So rather than go through that trouble, it's better to catch a baby Pokémon and raise it from scratch. That way, loyalty and affection are guaranteed.

More importantly, a proper training method can be customized from the start, avoiding the wasted potential and skewed paths that wild Pokémon often fall into due to a lack of guidance.

Of course, there are rare exceptions, Pokémon who grow and thrive in the wild on their own.

But those are very rare exceptions indeed.

And as luck would have it, Sieg had encountered one today.

"Crawdaunt, Scald!"

Sieg darted swiftly through the jungle, with Crawdaunt struggling to keep up on its stubby legs.

A stream of scalding hot water shot toward the wild Pokémon ahead. But to Sieg's surprise, the target took the hit head-on and didn't even flinch. It looked completely unfazed.

"What the heck, it changed into Water type again?"

"Counting its previous Fire and Ice forms... does this Castform have three form changes?"

"And judging by how smoothly it switches between them, it must be extremely proficient! No way I'm letting this one get away!"

With another shout, Sieg's Murkrow shot out from the jungle, summoning a gentle breeze that enveloped all his Pokémon; Tailwind.

Little Eevee leapt agilely between the branches, following her trainer in pursuit of the strange Pokémon. She seemed especially excited by the feeling of hopping from tree to tree.

How fascinating~

Gathering a ball of eerie shadow energy in her mouth, she suddenly launched it toward the blue gas-like figure ahead.

It was Shadow Ball, a move she had only recently learned from a TM. It was one of her few offensive moves.

The eerie energy orb, slammed into the Castform which had shifted into its Rain Form.

Its body crashed against a large tree... only to bounce off it like a sponge.

No damage from the impact at all.

The Castform's gaseous body made it highly resistant to physical attacks.

Still, in its Rain Form, its body resembled a soaked sponge, occasionally dripping water as it moved.

The Castform staggered to its feet, a balloon-like orb forming on its chest, changing from milky white to sky blue.

It was Weather Ball, launched at once.

Weather Ball's type and power change based on the current weather. Although it was sunny, the Pokémon's Rain Form had overridden the environment, turning the Weather Ball into a Water-type attack.

And even while launching that attack, Castform didn't stop. In an instant, it transformed again, shifting into its Snow Form, adopting the Ice type.

Its form-changing speed was nearly instantaneous, making Sieg even more thrilled.

"A wild genius Pokémon!"

Sieg wasn't just tempted to catch this Castform because of its adaptability to changing forms.

More importantly, this Pokémon possessed an unparalleled affinity for weather-based moves. No other species could manipulate weather quite like this one did.

By level 20, it could already learn Rain Dance, Sunny Day, and Hail naturally.

Sure, there were other Pokémon like Milotic and Quagsire that could also learn Rain Dance on their own.

But those Pokémon only learned such moves at much higher levels, often around 40 or 50.

Yet this Castform could grasp them as early as level 20.

Sieg had seen firsthand how hard Crawdaunt had struggled to learn Rain Dance. He'd been racking his brain over it. Now, a perfect weather-move tutor had practically delivered itself to his doorstep.

"Not to mention, this one switches forms so fluidly, its innate potential must be quite high."

"While it might not be suitable as a main team member, it would be perfect for my support unit. That way, its talents won't be wasted."

Still, this Castform seemed highly intelligent. It even understood type matchups. After turning into its Snowy Form, it aimed its Weather Ball directly at Murkrow.

Another Ice-type Weather Ball was launched.

It had to be said, being made of gas made the Castform a master of escape. If not for Murkrow's Tailwind buffing the whole team, Sieg might really have lost it.

Eventually, the exhausted Castform ran to the edge of a cliff. Realizing it had nowhere else to go, it prepared to make a final stand.

"Sharpedo, Aqua Jet!"

Sieg's command rang out, and in the next second, a blue jet of water blasted toward Castform like lightning.

It struck so fast that Castform didn't even have time to react.

"Go, Pokéball!"

Sieg hurled an Ultra Ball. For a Pokémon like this, it was worth the investment.

Ding-dong~

With a crisp sound after the shake, Sieg grinned.

With this Castform around, training weather-type moves would be a lot less painful for the rest of his team.

"Not bad, another great addition to the support squad."

He pulled out his Pokédex, shrank the Ultra Ball and clipped it to the back.

Beep-beep-beep~~~

Castform, the Weather Pokémon.

This Pokémon changes its form depending on the weather. In order to protect its tiny body, it gained the power to draw upon the energy of nature.

Ability: Forecast

Gender: Female

Type: Normal

Height: 0.3 meters

Weight: 0.8 kilograms

Energy Control: Excellent

Known Moves: Tackle, Headbutt, Ember, Water Gun, Powder Snow, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail, Weather Ball

Egg Move: Lucky Chant

Looking at the three bold words on the screen: Energy Control: Excellent, Sieg turned to Crawdaunt and said with a grin, "Crawdaunt, you're in luck."

The best weather-move teacher... Castform.

The world's finest talents shall all gather under my command!