Resurrection of a "Legendary" Pokémon, needing the help of a tester?
Roy was puzzled:
"What exactly do you mean by 'tester'?"
Latias floated in front of Roy, opened her mouth slightly, and released a dazzling ball of light.
The orb flew to Roy's hand, revealing its true form—a red and blue gemstone with an unusual design. The blue portion appeared unusually dim...
Roy recognized it instantly:
'Soul Dew...'
This was an item closely associated with Latios and Latias, and calling it an "artifact" wasn't an exaggeration.
The red color within the gem represented Latias.
The blue represented the fallen Latios.
What was the essence of the Soul Dew? It hadn't been explained clearly in the Pokémon shows, but Champion Steven had speculated in the games that it contained the crystallized souls of Latios and Latias.
Now it seemed that speculation was likely correct...
Latias explained in a gentle tone: "The power and authority of my brother and I come from the domains of 'Dragon' and 'Psychic.' The stronger 'Psychic' authority was held by my brother, while the relatively weaker 'Dragon' authority is under my control."
"My brother's death led to the dormancy of the 'Psychic' power."
"Conversely, if the 'Psychic' authority can be revived, my brother can be resurrected."
"To activate my brother's 'Psychic' power, we need a Pokémon with strong mental abilities to channel spiritual energy into this gem—the Soul Dew—to trigger resonance and awaken his power."
"I am willing to pass on the 'Infinite Calm Mind' technique that both my brother and I developed, to help nurture a Pokémon with sufficient spiritual power..."
Roy was stunned and a little speechless:
"So Elite Carter's Pokémon aren't powerful enough?"
"No, they're still one level short."
Latias shook her head: "For a human, he's already very impressive... In my experience, only a Trainer who possesses psychic abilities themselves can cultivate a Pokémon's mental power to truly exceptional levels. That's why the tester preferably should be psychic."
"Carter is a special case. He's just an ordinary person, but he's been the most powerful among all the testers I've seen in the past hundred years."
These words raised Roy's respect for Carter to another level.
Elite Carter was truly amazing... Roy promised himself he'd be less harsh toward Cade in the future.
If Carter's psychic power was one level higher than an Elite's, then what would be needed was probably Champion-level power.
For many years, China hadn't had a Psychic Champion, which explained why Latios had never been revived.
"You have mastered aura abilities, so you're qualified. The question is whether your Pokémon are..."
Latias circled briskly beside Roy. Despite having lived for countless years, her tone resembled that of a young girl.
"Go ahead, bring out your Pokémon."
"Let me see if their mental potential is sufficient."
Roy tossed his Poké Balls as requested, summoning Riolu and Squirtle.
Facing Latias, who emanated an incredible aura, both Pokémon appeared somewhat nervous.
Squirtle anxiously put on his sunglasses and nudged Riolu with his hand, signaling his friend to watch his lead—and to grab Roy and run if anything went wrong.
Riolu: ???
How could he see Squirtle's eyes when they were hidden behind sunglasses?
"Not Psychic-type Pokémon..."
Latias's telepathic voice carried a hint of disappointment.
Non-Psychic Pokémon could also develop mental powers, but they weren't as naturally suited as Psychic-types.
She used her psychic energy to gently examine the minds of the two Pokémon to assess their mental potential.
Mental talent depended on various factors: species traits, typing, personality, willpower, experiences, and more—all requiring careful evaluation.
Squirtle's species had normal mental aptitude. Being a pure Water-type offered no mental bonus. Its personality was too straightforward and not particularly intellectual, though its willpower was strong.
—Comprehensive evaluation: Medium.
Latias shook her head at Roy, indicating Squirtle hadn't qualified.
Immediately afterward, she began examining Riolu.
The Riolu species possessed excellent mental potential. While its Fighting-type offered no mental bonus, it had a calm personality, keen intuition, and strong willpower.
—Comprehensive evaluation: Excellent.
"He passed?"
"Yes," Latias nodded, her tone jubilant. "Despite not being a Psychic-type, having such mental potential truly makes it special."
Roy smiled and rewarded the canine Pokémon with his favorite head pat.
Squirtle, who hadn't been selected, showed no disappointment. Instead, he laughed cheerfully, patted Riolu on the shoulder, gave a thumbs-up, and congratulated his friend on the achievement.
'This little goofball...'
Roy gave Squirtle an amused look.
Just then, Latias telepathically communicated with sudden surprise.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
"Is there a Pokémon in your backpack? No, it feels like a Pokémon egg about to hatch. What type is it?"
Having nothing to hide, Roy nodded and removed the Pokémon egg from his backpack, saying with confusion: "This is an Alolan Vulpix egg, an Ice-type Pokémon..."
He was puzzled by Latias's reaction.
Why was she so surprised?
Could it be that...
Roy suddenly remembered when he had sensed Vulpix with his aura abilities, he'd been touched by the incredibly resilient spirit and will of this unborn Pokémon.
The next moment, Roy's conjecture was confirmed.
Latias withdrew her probing psychic energy and spoke with unprecedented joy: "This Pokémon egg should have died long ago, but because of the Pokémon's powerful will to survive, its mental potential has been awakened. Its consciousness and spirit endured until it was fortunate enough to meet you and be saved..."
"A tenacious will, an extraordinary experience, a pure heart—"
"This Vulpix has the greatest mental potential I've ever witnessed."
Roy never expected that before even hatching, his Vulpix would surprise him this way.
How many years had Latias lived?
At least thousands.
Even though she essentially stayed home and didn't venture out often, she must have encountered tens of millions of Pokémon.
For her to declare Vulpix's psychic gift as the best she'd ever seen—the significance was immense.
Roy felt his confidence surge, once again dreaming of reaching the 'championship' level!
"Don't get too excited," Latias added. "This Vulpix awakened its will to survive while facing death, tapping into its mental potential. As a consequence, its physical abilities will likely be quite weak..."
The reason was simple.
It was like allocating character points in a game—if all the potential points went to mental power, naturally there wouldn't be enough left for physical attributes.
True prodigies were beings with more potential points than ordinary individuals.
Roy's Vulpix was indeed a prodigy. It had invested all its potential into mental power, reaching a level that impressed even Latias, a Legendary Pokémon. Consequently, its physical abilities would be limited.
"A Pokémon specializing in one area, even more extremely than Squirtle," Roy thought with mixed feelings.
At least he could rest assured about Riolu, who had excellent talents across the board.
However, specialization wasn't necessarily bad in Roy's view.
Being competent at everything sometimes equated to being mediocre at everything.
Even with Riolu, Roy had focused on developing its speed and power, shaping it into a speed-oriented fighter rather than a true all-rounder.
—Concentrate on one aspect and reach its peak!
This was Roy's philosophy as a Trainer.