However, Honedge didn't seem to give up. It had the attitude of "I have plenty of great ideas that will surely help you ascend to the throne," and its humming sword cries grew sharper.
It was urgent—strangely excited even—and its cries began to shift in tone!
As its cries changed, Hikaru suddenly realized he could no longer grasp the general meaning behind them.
This wasn't its usual cry. It was mimicking something. The Pokémon speech contained too much information for Hikaru to fully comprehend—his current knowledge simply wasn't enough to decipher it all.
He was still a rookie, after all.
Seeing that Hikaru didn't understand, Honedge blinked its singular eye, seemingly deep in thought. Under Hikaru's curious gaze, Honedge acted on its own—it opened the door.
It rushed outside into the rain and began writing on the muddy ground.
Hikaru was stunned!
A Pokémon… writing words?!
On second thought, it wasn't too surprising. In this world, the written language might have evolved from the symbols of Unown, and it wasn't unheard of for highly intelligent Pokémon to learn human script.
But these were ancient characters.
When it came to ancient texts, relic enthusiasts like him were useless. Only true archaeological masters like Cynthia could decipher them.
That said, Hikaru had previously studied the written languages of the Pokémon world.
He focused his attention on the characters Honedge had etched into the earth.
His system didn't respond, nor did it retrieve any new knowledge. Was it because he didn't recognize the ancient text?
But he wasn't an expert in deciphering old scripts—this was a job for Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh. If that ancient kingdom had been built by both the Celestica people and the citizens of the Ancient Castle, then could these symbols be from Hisui, the ancient Sinnoh?
They did resemble Unown text somewhat… and weren't Unown symbols essentially just Romanized Japanese?
But there were differences—they weren't an exact match.
It seemed that he had to decipher at least the first character before unlocking any knowledge. That would have to wait until he had time.
After staring at the symbols for a while, Hikaru sighed in defeat and shook his head.
"I don't know what you wrote, but I'll assume it's something good."
"Oh, I get it now! The sounds I couldn't understand earlier were you mimicking how ancient people spoke. No wonder it sounded so awkward—I had no clue what you were saying."
"But let me tell you—sovereignty is never eternal."
Honedge's single eye fixated on Hikaru, as if deep in thought.
Then, controlling its body, it swung itself like a sword, circled Hikaru a few times, and let out an excited cry!
It seemed to have reached a conclusion—
While most kings inherited their thrones through bloodlines, what did lineage matter when a kingdom was already destroyed? The first king had supposedly been an ordinary person chosen by his predecessor.
If the previous monarch was gone, then Honedge could simply choose a new one!
In that case, it would become the sword and blade of the next ruler. Besides, the destruction of the kingdom was Aegislash's doing—not Honedge's problem!
Come to think of it, the former king had been rather foolish—it had noticed long ago!
Why not establish a new monarch?
Hmph! This guy might be illiterate, unable to read the words it had carefully transcribed from a coronation ritual, but that was fine!
Those words had been part of a sacred text stored behind the king's throne.
"Humans obtain the lives of beasts, and in return, they entrust their lives to them."
Back when the kingdom still stood, even as a Pokémon capable of writing, Honedge had never lacked eager human knights wanting to form a pact with it. But none of them had ever caught its interest!
This guy, though, was different. He had bested Honedge in battle without a weapon. That alone proved he was worthy of wielding it.
He would become stronger—because there was a vast chasm between fighting barehanded and fighting with a blade!
"Yoh~~"
Honedge suddenly abandoned thoughts of the past and grew excited about its newfound goal, twirling in place enthusiastically.
Hikaru, watching this energetic display, was speechless.
Theoretically, despite being a Ghost-type Pokémon, the Honedge line wasn't particularly emotional, given that they were bound to an ancient sword.
Why was the one he encountered so animated?
Was its nature… Clumsy?
A Pokémon with a Clumsy nature had increased Special Attack but decreased Special Defense. They preferred bitter flavors and disliked sour ones.
"Yoh~ Yoh~"
Honedge hovered above the damp soil as Hikaru snapped back to reality. He had been staring at the symbols too long—he almost felt like they were pulling his mind in.
Speaking of which, he had more pressing matters to attend to!
Hikaru called Honedge inside, dried it off with a towel, and inspected its blade and scabbard.
"Yoh? Yoh!"
Honedge peered up, unsure what he was doing.
"Hmm… You've been dormant for so long. With how exposed to the elements you were, you must've rusted a little, right?"
After a close examination, Hikaru confirmed his suspicions. Honedge lacked the shine of modern crafted weapons, and there were deep red stains and brownish residue on its blade.
"It's definitely rusted."
Blades deteriorate without maintenance. A natural outdoor environment is a terrible place for preservation. While Honedge was a Pokémon, many Pokémon possessed the properties of the materials they were bound to.
For example, Duraludon had a metal body but corroded easily and disliked the rain.
As a craftsman, Hikaru had experience restoring tools, artifacts, and ancient relics. He had just acquired a technique for polishing materials, and he still hadn't finished refining the Evolution Stones.
Might as well do it all at once.
"Remove the rust, clean the surface, repolish, and wipe off any impurities—"
Honedge let out an excited "Yoh Yoh!"
Oh, polishing its blade?
It had often been maintained by craftsmen in the past!
Then, Hikaru noticed something new.
[Rare Material: Tattered Cloth]
[Description: A worn piece of fabric from Honedge. It gradually absorbs the life essence of living beings. When an ancient sword becomes a Pokémon, this cloth becomes part of its being.]
[If Honedge participates in craftsmanship, it might gain something…?]
[Clue Obtained: Soaking tattered cloth in a spiritually charged environment for several days can transform it into a Tattered Cloth. Certain haunted locations may serve as optimal refinement sites. Utilizing the power of Ghost-type Pokémon can expedite the process.]
[Known Haunting Site—Abandoned Workshop (Home).]
[Abandoned Workshop: A forsaken workshop, long deserted. The decayed building harbors residual grievances. A recent death has been reported here.]
[Spiritual Activity Level—Low: Unsettling, but no supernatural occurrences.]
Hikaru: "...?"
His house was haunted?
Oh, right. Someone did die here—he did!
And this workshop was an old, abandoned building left behind by his father. It had been deserted for years, situated near a forest and far from the village. When the original owner returned, no one had set foot here for ages.
Combine that with an actual Ghost-type Pokémon… Yeah, it was a haunted site.
He glanced at Honedge's blue ribbon.
Tattered Cloth
A material like this should be unnerving, but realizing his home was already a haunted place, all sense of unease evaporated.
No problem, then!
Wait—was this why he had unlocked talisman crafting? Because of this fabric?
Many Pokémon wore ornaments that were once ordinary items but, through their elemental energy, became part of them. These items could be replaced.
Hikaru returned inside, with Honedge floating in behind him. He turned back for one last look.
As a craftsman, having his first Pokémon be an ancient sword…
Yeah, that made sense.
With that thought, he pulled out a brand-new notebook.
Originally, it was meant for work records.
But as he glanced at Honedge, he felt an odd sense of sentimentality.
So, lifting his pen, he recorded today's events in the blank notebook.
Recording in progress, please do not power off.
A fresh page turned:
"Honedge, an ancient Pokémon."
"Has a somewhat Clumsy nature."
"Met at my abandoned workshop—home."
"Dislikes bitter flavors."
"Gets carried away easily."
Record complete.
(End of Chapter)
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