Chapter Seventeen: Mischievous Thunderballs of Antiquity

With Professor Giantwood's anticipation and Misty's curiosity, Amu pressed the Poké Ball...

A massive "wooden Poké Ball" materialized before Amu!

Misty stared in surprise. "Huh? Is that an Electrode? No... that's... a Primal Electrode!"

Amu realized as well—this was undoubtedly an extremely rare Pokémon.

However...

While powerful Pokémon are generally rare due to their difficulty in reproducing, rarity does not always equate to strength.

Take the "Electrode" before them, for instance.

Ordinary Electrodes aren't considered rare; they're abundant in areas prone to thunderstorms or around power plants. They are pure Electric-type Pokémon, and at first glance, look like oversized Poké Balls—the standard size in the Pokédex being 1.2 meters in diameter.

This Electrode, however, was different. It bore distinct wooden patterns on its body, and upon closer inspection, its eyes and mouth differed from the usual Electrode...

But it was indeed an Electrode—

A Primal Electrode!

In the games, this is known as the "Hisui Form Electrode." In ancient Sinnoh—called the Hisui region—the game "Legends: Arceus" takes place in this very era.

In this Pokémon world, though, there is no such thing as a "Hisui Form."

At the time, all Electrodes looked like this; it wasn't about being Hisuian or not. These Pokémon, whose appearance differs from the modern species but are from a recent ancient era, are generally referred to as "Primal [Species]."

"A Primal Electrode... it really is a Grass-type," Amu commented. He had never played "Pokémon Legends: Arceus," and had only learned this after arriving in this world.

The base stats of the ancient Electrode are no different from modern ones, but it is no longer a pure Electric-type; instead, it's a dual-type Electric/Grass Pokémon.

"An ancient Pokémon... certainly rare, but that doesn't necessarily make it stronger, does it?" Misty remarked with a somewhat odd expression.

From the perspective of type matchups, gaining the Grass type actually adds three new weaknesses—what was once weak only to Ground now becomes weak to Poison, Bug, Fire, and Ice as well.

Although Grass typing gives it STAB on Grass moves, it's hard to argue that it's stronger than today's Electrode...

"Primal forms being stronger should be the exception, not the rule—otherwise, why would they have evolved into modern forms at all?" Amu said with a broad-minded tone.

It's not the same as with ancient fossil Pokémon, whose extinction is debated but often attributed to environmental disasters. Some revived fossil Pokémon remain strong even in the modern era.

But when a Pokémon's modern and ancient forms differ, it can only mean that the modern form is better adapted to survival, since the environment hasn't changed that much.

"But if it's just rare, it's not much use to a Trainer like you who pursues battle..." Misty clearly felt that this wasn't very useful—an ordinary Electrode might be preferable.

The wooden Electrode glared at her in response—it clearly understood!

"No, there are many unsolved mysteries about Primal Pokémon. Within them lie some of the core secrets of Pokémon—such as Evolution itself! Even for Trainers focused on battle, raising Pokémon is not just about the Pokémon's growth... it's also about the bond and the journey that guides the Trainer's own growth," Professor Giantwood countered Misty.

He spoke as he looked at Amu, making it clear his real purpose was to impart this lesson to Amu—when you raise a Pokémon, it isn't just the Pokémon that grows; the Trainer does as well...

Thus, sometimes, the choice of which Pokémon to raise should not only consider the needs of the battle team, but also the needs of the Trainer's own growth!

Misty pouted from the side. She seemed to already harbor some resistance toward Professor Giantwood and had little interest in his words.

"Core secrets?" But Amu was clearly intrigued.

Seeing Amu's reaction, Professor Giantwood nodded approvingly and began to share with Amu some of the "unsolved mysteries" surrounding Primal Pokémon.

Most Primal Pokémon forms can't be said to be stronger than modern ones, but their rarity is unquestionable...

After all, Primal Pokémon are not as ancient as fossil Pokémon; fossil Pokémon, in fact, benefit from resurrection technology.

Primal Pokémon, in modern times, are only found on rare occasions, usually as well-preserved dead eggs that are then activated using modern technology.

The number of well-preserved dead eggs is far less than the various fossils.

More crucially, fossil Pokémon revived from fossils, while initially struggling to adapt to the current climate, can eventually reproduce. But Primal forms, even if they reproduce, will completely integrate into the modern species within one to three generations, only producing the modern form as offspring!

"Completely blend into the modern population? What if two Primal Pokémon breed?" Amu asked the obvious question.

"It's the same. Even if both parents are Primal Pokémon, their offspring are still very likely to evolve directly into the modern form."

This defied Darwinian logic...

But, of course, the fact that Pokémon "evolve" upon reaching a certain level is itself already non-Darwinian.

The origin of Pokémon is still hotly debated in academic circles. What is known is that two million years ago, there was a sudden explosion of Pokémon species, leading some scholars to believe that Pokémon might have fallen from the sky as alien creatures two million years ago... But as research continued, fossils of Pokémon dating back hundreds of millions of years were discovered, sparking even more controversy!

In some sense, the unique traits of Primal Pokémon might be tied to the very mystery of Pokémon's origin.

Professor Giantwood also owned a Primal Electrode—the mother of this one—which was his main partner, as his research focused on Poké Balls and the principle behind Pokémon transfer...

The Primal Electrode resembles the ancient prototype of the Poké Ball, while the modern Electrode resembles the Poké Ball of today. This is a key focus of Professor Giantwood's research!

He went on to explain, "Moreover, archaeological evidence suggests that in the Primal era, gigantic specimens of Pokémon were fairly common, but now, such cases are rarely seen. The Totem Pokémon of Alola are a different matter..."

"Professor Giantwood, I understand! I will do my best to get along with this Electrode and grow together," Amu replied with interest.

"But whether you can handle this Electrode will truly test your ability to communicate with Pokémon. Though I haven't deliberately trained it, it's already at level fifty... If you can't communicate effectively, it may not obey your commands—so don't think of this as a shortcut," Professor Giantwood said, half-teasing.

Hmm, already level fifty without any serious training... Misty once again sensed that familiar air of privilege.