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Hard work eventually pays off.
The most important thing between a Pokémon and its trainer is cooperation.
Since Honedge was willing to listen to Li Xiang and even actively improve itself, progress was naturally swift. By mid-October, it reached Level 32, with no signs of evolution.
Then, by the end of October, it reached Level 33—still no evolution.
Mid-November, Level 34—no evolution.
Early December, Level 35.
Finally, under Li Xiang's expectant gaze, Honedge's body lit up with a brilliant blue light, surrounded by the fireflies of miracle, undergoing a earth-shaking transformation.
The evolution occurred after a battle, in a park.
The battle process was relatively straightforward: Honedge entered the field, used Swords Dance, and then defeated its opponent, Venomoth, with a single Aerial Ace drawn like an slash.
It didn't give the opponent any chance to react.
Especially when Li Xiang shouted its signature poem from the sidelines—the brilliance of that sword strike was like a divine, otherworldly flying immortal.
Although the process was so embarrassing he nearly dug a three-bedroom apartment out of the ground with his toes, as long as it increased combat power, even shouting until his voice cracked was a minor issue.
The evolution glow attracted quite a bit of attention; idle people gathered around, curiously watching Honedge from outside the field.
The change was brief.
The biggest difference between Honedge and Doublade was that it changed from one sword to two swords. The sword became crescent-shaped with a slight hook at the bottom.
The scabbards of the two swords were embedded together with a leaf-shaped brown shield, making it look much bulkier. Additionally, Honedge's sash was originally navy blue and sky blue, but now it had become pinkish-purple and pink.
Even its eyeballs turned into pink gems. Somehow, it gave off a girlish feeling.
"Single ponytail turned into twin tails... Wait, why would I think that?"
Li Xiang shook his head, then began to wonder whether Doublade now had one consciousness or two.
He remembered online sources describing Doublade as twins, claiming they could communicate through telepathy and execute extremely complex continuous attacks.
They also declared that even master swordsmen could hardly achieve what they could do.
Li Xiang thought that was nonsense—a living sword that moves on its own is completely different from a sword controlled by a person. The key point was whether Doublade had "split personalities"—one consciousness becoming two.
He really wanted to know this, but since there were too many people around, some tests he wanted to perform weren't feasible.
So, he reached out to Doublade.
"Sword—"
Shing! Shing!
The sound of blades being drawn changed from one to two.
A flash of cold light—two frosty blades pressed against Li Xiang's neck, tight against his skin.
Doublade held the leaf shield combined with its scabbard using its sash, its pink gem-like pupils reflecting a cold light.
Bystanders gasped; some tried to release their Pokémon to stop this "rampaging" fellow after evolution, but Li Xiang stopped them.
"Hey, it's me, I'm here. The signature poem, 'Sword energy spans thirty thousand miles'?"
He looked into Doublade's eyes, seeing the chaotic emotions there, knowing it was still confused after evolution.
"We only read half of the Biography yesterday, remember now?"
Hearing the signature poem and the following sentence, the chaos in Doublade's eyes gradually faded.
It withdrew the blades pressed against Li Xiang's neck. Simultaneously, its gaze towards him suddenly became somewhat aggrieved and helpless.
The blades returned to their scabbards. It wrapped its sash around Li Xiang's neck and gently rubbed its body against his face, as if apologizing.
The fact that this sword actually felt guilty meant it had genuinely intended to strike earlier, not just joking like before.
It had just reined itself in at the last moment.
'Wow, truly terrifying.'
"It's fine, it's fine."
Li Xiang patted the thin leaf shield; he wouldn't get angry about this. After all, evolving from a single entity to multiple entities, mental confusion was normal.
Similar scenes had appeared in the anime.
Speaking of which, this shield was really thin, like sheet metal. No wonder it was said the shield was immature and couldn't be used to withstand moves like Aegislash's round shield.
Thanking the surrounding bystanders who had intended to help, Li Xiang picked up Doublade, which had at least doubled in weight, and quickly ran home.
...
Regarding Doublade's consciousness, Li Xiang had once had a special idea.
Since, under normal circumstances, it was a weapon transformed into Honedge, did that mean the weapon itself could generate a soul?
If so, perhaps Doublade's consciousness could very likely be one part Yatama and one part Shimazaki Hitomi.
Whenever this speculation crossed his mind, he found it very intriguing. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Doublade still had only one consciousness.
It wasn't like the online descriptions said, becoming "twins." For it, the two swords were merely like the left and right brain, or the left and right halves of the body.
Li Xiang didn't know if this was normal, but after its consciousness stabilized, Doublade never did anything outrageous again. It returned to being that chuunibyou short sword that loved martial arts and listening to poetry, and that wasn't a bad thing.
Back to testing.
Regarding evolution, not to mention the potential dangers of consecutive evolution, if Li Xiang urgently needed Doublade's combat power, he might have shoved a Dusk Stone into it as soon as he got home.
However, he wasn't lacking in combat power.
Currently, having Incineroar and the others was sufficient. Moreover, even now, Doublade's coordination with him couldn't be called perfect.
Doublade's combat ability also wasn't up to a level that satisfied him.
It was fine for crushing weak opponents, but formally serving as part of the team's structure, taking turns on the field and holding its own? Better not.
It hadn't had enough candy, and its level wasn't very high either. Better to take it step by step slowly; the Dusk Stone wouldn't run away.
Plus, in a few months, they would go to Mist City to practice two-sword style. As a Pokémon designed with two-sword style as its prototype, Doublade could fully fulfill the role of being Li Xiang's weapon.
This way, he could also avoid bringing the Evil Cloud Severer to Mist City.
Li Xiang, satisfied, patted Doublade's body. The latter looked somewhat confused, not understanding what Li Xiang was saying.
Strength testing phase.
Like with Metagross before, the first step was to test what new moves it had learned.
Compared to the simple-minded Metagross that learned four useful moves in a row, Doublade's learned moves were a bit stranger.
First, Iron Defense— body enveloped in silver light, raising defense.
Then, Shock Wave— composed of countless tiny electric currents with homing ability.
Next, Magnet Rise— completely immune to Ground-type energy, allowing Doublade, which originally only floated slightly above the ground and couldn't fly high, to break through the skies.
And finally, Spite— erodes the opponent's attribute energy.
'How to put it...'
Li Xiang had thought it would learn some more exciting moves.
He didn't expect it not to learn even Iron Head or Shadow Claw.
But, something better than nothing. The key point was that after evolution, Doublade had become large enough.
When it was Honedge, its body was too small and lacked buoyancy, so Li Xiang couldn't have it carry him while flying.
Now, he could completely stand on it and have it carry him using Magnet Rise.
'Isn't this a form of sword flying?'
It just wasn't very stable.
Li Xiang tried it and felt shaky, easily falling off.
'Hmm... indeed, Metagross and Corviknight's backs were steadier.'
As cool as sword riding was, it couldn't compare to his life. Li Xiang felt he better not show off like this.
Attack power had increased a lot. Physical defense was excellent, but special defense was extremely poor, and HP was also extremely low.
Low HP was characteristic of Ghost-type Pokémon. Aside from a few like Drifblim, Jellicent, and Golurk that looked durable, most others weren't great.
He didn't dare hope for too much. Ghost-type battle styles were famously tricky and elusive; rarely were there types that attacked head-on stupidly.
.....
When one sword became two swords, almost all attacking moves benefited greatly.
Like Fury Cutter— the more times it hits, the higher the power. With two swords attacking, efficiency naturally increased significantly.
Additionally, interestingly, Doublade could manipulate one sword to leave its body while the other sword remained in the scabbard.
The maximum separation distance seemed to be about five meters. Beyond five meters, one sword couldn't fly out, as if an invisible rope bound them together.
But in this situation, there were plenty of tactics to explore.
Just as Li Xiang was silently considering Doublade's strategies, in the distance, on the field, Doublade's two pink eyes looked at each other, a strange light in their gazes.
One sword slowly extended its sash and, under Metagross's questioning expression, gripped the other sword's hilt.
Shing!
Drew the sword!
Doublade seemed possessed, suddenly starting to wield the other sword—not randomly, but with highly disciplined movements.
Metagross, seeing this, agilely retreated on its four legs, eyes fixed on Doublade, and poked Li Xiang's arm with its left hind foot.
"Hey! Don't bother me, I'm thinking—Holy crap!"
Li Xiang stared dumbfounded at Doublade, watching it practice the Shimazaki family's secret sword technique from beginning to end.
If Li Xiang, who had received the transmission, performed the Shimazaki sword art at level 10, then Doublade's Shimazaki sword art was at least level 50!
Simply incomparable!
"Clang!"
Doublade suddenly clanged its body, using its other sash to hook at Li Xiang.
This was... challenging him to practice?
Looking at the eager light in its eyes, Li Xiang felt a strange emotion surge within him.
"Come on, come on! Let's see how much the Shimazaki family's prodigy girl is really worth!"
He picked up a wooden sword of equal weight from the side and walked towards Doublade. "No using attribute energy, just comparing technique!"
Doublade nodded its body, then gave him a "Are you sure you can do it?" look.
'Hey! This little brat! If I can't beat my senior brother, can't I beat you?'
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. "Let me make this clear first—don't throw a tantrum if you lose. I can be pretty petty."
"Clang!"
Doublade clanged its body again, its eyes slightly angry, as if saying, "Why so much talk?"
"Fine, you're awesome. Just wait."
Li Xiang stood ready not far from Doublade, adopting the Zhenxing Blade starting stance, excitement in his eyes. "Hah!"
He charged forward abruptly!
...
Ten minutes later.
"No, no, I'm definitely done for, no more practicing."
"Flesh and blood! Flesh and blood!"
"I'm telling you! If you use psychic power to control me again, I'll get mad!"
"Big sister, let's talk nicely, I was wrong, I really have no strength left."
Clang~