Pokémon Are Also Monsters

[Shedinja: Common Template, Pokémon, Temporary Summoned Unit, Bug/Ghost Dual-Type.

HP=1, MP=60. Strength 9, Dexterity 6, Spirit 6, Charisma 8.]

[Summon Trait - Wonder Guard]

[Known Moves (Skills): Scratch, Harden, Metal Claw.]

Seeing the Shedinja floating in the sky, blankly and motionless, Cheng Tian couldn't help but take a deep breath of air filled with the scent of the river.

Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters, the influence of this thing had long since broken through its original boundaries, expanding from the simple realm of gaming to all sorts of fields.

Perhaps some might call Bulbasaur a Garlic Turtle, Diglett a Dog Turd, and Dugtrio Three Piles of Dog Turd, but Pikachu, the eternal mascot of the Pokémon series, was basically unmistakable.

The amount of money this electric mouse, along with the entire Pokémon IP series, had earned for Nintendo was already beyond calculation.

Saying that Pokémon were a part of traditional Japanese yokai didn't seem too out of place.

Pokémon! Are also yokai!

As a veteran gamer, Cheng Tian had naturally played Pokémon before. In fact, when he realized that he had actually conjured up a Shedinja, colloquially known as a "Demon Cicada," his mind instantly flooded with terms that those in the know would understand, such as "Bug Resistance," "Will-O-Wisp," "Endure," "Grudge," "Protective Goggles," "Ability Swap," "Sturdy," and "Focus Sash."

However, compared to Cheng Tian's mental brainstorming, the Specter Armor group that had attacked was the one that reacted most strongly to the Specter Armor turning into a Demon Cicada.

Their reaction was quite fast. Upon discovering that one of their companions had been NTR'd into a Demon Cicada, the two Specter Armors closest to it immediately launched an attack.

It was a combination of approaching pressure and shield strikes. The large shields, almost like tower shields, slammed directly at the empty-faced Demon Cicada.

Whether it was because it hadn't received Cheng Tian's instructions or because of its own nature, the Demon Cicada didn't make any attempt to dodge, allowing the shields to hit its insect shell... and then the two shields actually passed right through Shedinja's body, colliding with each other with a clang.

The Demon Cicada's body was like it was in a phase space, with the two shields "inside" it completely overlapping in coordinates but not affecting each other.

Its pitiful 1 HP showed no signs of wavering.

[Wonder Guard: Pokémon Ability. Possesses an incredible protective power. Under its protection, only attacks of types that are "super effective" can hit Shedinja.]

As one of the most unique existences among the thousands of Pokémon in the entire Pokédex, Shedinja/Demon Cicada's HP would always remain constant at 1 HP, no matter how strong it became.

But in return, only attacks of specific types could hit it, eliminating its seemingly fragile but actually sturdy one HP.

If classified according to Pokémon types, Specter Armor could probably be categorized as "Ghost/Steel," like Honedge and Aegislash.

Of course, this only referred to their form. In reality, fighting Specter Armor was no different from fighting an empty knight's armor being remotely controlled. However, in terms of attack methods, Specter Armor only had shield strikes, which could only be considered "Normal."

In other words, they couldn't hit the Demon Cicada at all.

Perhaps due to the skill's influence, which had created a temporary bond of "trainer and Pokémon partner," Cheng Tian could vaguely read a questioning thought from the Demon Cicada's empty gaze: "Trainer, why haven't you given me an order yet?"

At that moment, Cheng Tian's chuunibyou kicked in.

"Shedinja! Use Metal Claw on the backs of the enemies around you!!!"

Cheng Tian shouted his trainer command without any shame, and the Demon Cicada, upon receiving the order, lit up its eyes like a Gundam booting up, as if its main camera had been turned on.

A strange surge of power rose along with the Demon Cicada's exertion. At the same time, the Demon Cicada's very short and cute little hands shone with a silvery-white light.

Its short and nimble wings created afterimages, using its pseudo-phase shifting to pass directly through the Specter Armor, circling around to its back, and then a silver light flashed.

Two very obvious X-shaped claw marks appeared on the back of the Specter Armor that the Demon Cicada had chosen as its target, and its body was knocked forward a certain distance!

[Metal Claw: D-Rank Skill/Lv1, Pokémon Skill, Active Skill. Use steel energy to strengthen or construct claws to cleave your opponent.

Deals Strength*2 points of Steel-type physical damage to the target. Each attack has a 10% chance to trigger a delayed "Attack Power Increase" state, but also has a 5% chance of missing.

Using the skill consumes 2 MP and has no skill cooldown.]

While the Demon Cicada was executing its temporary trainer's command, Cheng Tian was also simultaneously creating a magic throwing weapon based on the one-handed axe he had exchanged for the Goblin Cleaver from One-Ear at the campfire. He pre-aimed and threw it in a parabolic arc at the Specter Armor that had been hit by the Demon Cicada's Metal Claw.

The axe was also one of the weapons that Arthur was accustomed to using in his lifetime, so Cheng Tian's throwing accuracy with the axe was far superior to that of the cleaver.

It was just a shame that Cheng Tian had unequipped the Vampire Hunter template, otherwise Simon's throwing axe experience could have further improved his accuracy.

The thrown axe successfully avoided the frontal defense of the tower shield, directly hitting the back of the Specter Armor's head with the X mark, and the force of the impact directly knocked its helmet off, revealing a headless knight-like appearance.

But this headless Specter Armor didn't even bother with Cheng Tian, who had thrown the axe from below, and continued to approach the Demon Cicada with great determination, raising its shield again.

As mentioned before, the souls inside the Specter Armor were actually the lowest level, with only basic consciousness. They couldn't execute too complex instructions. At their execution level, the highest priority was "interfering with humans crossing the river."

The second priority was to counterattack the closest enemy unit in self-defense.

The Demon Cicada's Metal Claw counterattack directly activated this second priority mechanism, and it was even a chain reaction.

As long as Cheng Tian and the others maintained their current position and didn't approach the river, the Specter Armors would ignore them and prioritize ganging up on the Demon Cicada.

...But the Demon Cicada's only 1 HP remained unshaken.

The clanging of shields colliding echoed constantly above the three men's heads. All shield strikes that attempted to attack the Demon Cicada would ultimately only clash with their comrades.

And occasionally, there would be an ear-piercing, hollow knocking sound like a gong mixed in—

Yes, the thrown axe was also working.

Under the perfect kiting of the Demon Cicada, this unparalleled 1 HP tank, Metal Claw, combined with Cheng Tian's axe throws to the back, cleared a full three waves, totaling 18 Specter Armors, after which no new Specter Armors appeared.

All that floated down the river were fragments of armor pieces, large and small.

And the three living men also seized this rare opportunity, crossing the final two narrow river channels after two consecutive running jumps.

The Demon Cicada, having endured countless useless shield strikes, slowly landed beside Cheng Tian, and their eyes met.

Then, the chubby little insect claws, which showed no sign of how sharp they were when using Metal Claw, bumped against Cheng Tian's fist.