After some effort and with the help of a few Pokémon, Akira directly transported the surrounding coral patches into the Digital World.
Originally, he had planned to use the [Sealing Bag] to capture them all.
Unexpectedly, the number of [White Bone Coral Worms] exceeded his estimates, so he simply took all the coral along with them.
Hmm, Akira felt that since acquiring the Digital World, his approach had become much more... straightforward and forceful.
But there was no denying that this method was incredibly convenient.
After spending some time like this, a familiar voice echoed in Akira's mind.
"Ding!"
"Pokémon incubation complete!"
Akira knew it was the Pokémon from this coral patch that had finished incubating.
Given that it was a coral patch, he could roughly guess what kind of Pokémon would appear.
Now was the time to unveil the mystery.
A white figure emerged.
The white figure had multiple extending branches, with a cute yet eerie face at its center.
Beneath it was a small stone, and the entire white figure seemed to sprout from it.
It was none other than Cursola, found in the Galar region.
It evolved from the Galarian Corsola.
Because its prototype was based on real coral, Cursola was classified as a Coral Pokémon.
Its typing was pure Ghost, which was evident from its slightly sinister appearance.
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Akira's eyes, but he wasn't particularly surprised.
This was one of the rare instances where he had guessed the Pokémon correctly.
Mainly because Cursola's characteristics aligned perfectly with this environment, especially since there weren't many coral-related Pokémon.
So guessing it wasn't too difficult.
From its appearance, after evolution, only the bottommost part of Corsola's body remained.
A translucent spirit broke free from the shell, with Cursola's head—that face—encased at its core.
However, its spectral form still retains the distinctive shape of its coral origins, featuring the typical skeletal structure of coral.
Aside from the facial expressions on its spectral visage, there are also drooping, eye-like features above it.
The reason it takes on this spectral form is that the Galarian Corsola absorbs energy from other living beings.
This energy then overflows from its body, manifesting as a purely spiritual appearance.
As the spiritual energy intensifies, the translucent spectral form breaks free from its shell, using the spectral body to protect the soul within its core.
It is said that one must be cautious of the spectral form enveloping its soul—if touched, the victim will become immobilized like stone.
This characteristic bears a striking resemblance to the Cursed Stone encountered earlier, suggesting it might be one of the reasons behind Cursola's existence.
Additionally, it has a habit of gathering under the full moon and releasing severed branches into the sky.
The reason for this remains unknown, but Akira couldn't help but feel this scene resembled the scattering of Cursed Stone dust.
With practiced ease, Akira invoked the Restriction and Vow, and information about Cursola flowed into his mind.
Name: Cursola
Ability: Body of Extinction
Type: Ghost
Strength: A-
Moves: Perish Song, Doom Desire, Hex, Curse...
[Soul Regeneration]: Upon death, Cursola can separate its soul and, after some time, regenerate and revive.
However, since the total amount of soul energy continuously diminishes, Cursola must replenish its soul after using this ability—otherwise, it will be unable to regenerate.
...
Drawing from experience, Akira immediately noticed something unusual about its ability.
He remembered that Cursola's standard ability was [Weak Armor], whereas [Body of Extinction] was its hidden ability.
This was rare—most of the Pokémon he had with hidden abilities were Starter Pokémon.
Moreover, [Body of Extinction] was quite effective, at least in Pokémon battles.
[Body of Extinction]: When hit by a contact move, both the user and the attacker will faint after three minutes.
In the games, it was three turns—here, it translated to three minutes.
Though called [Body of Extinction], its effect was similar to the move [Perish Song].
Both resulted in mutual defeat within three turns (or minutes).
The difference was that [Body of Extinction] was a passive effect, requiring the opponent to make contact.
Meanwhile, [Perish Song] had to be actively used but didn't require physical contact.
This was one of the more famous strategies in competitive Pokémon battles, known as the "Perish Trap" tactic.
It first gained prominence with Misdreavus, paired with Mean Look for trapping opponents.
Later, stronger Pokémon like Gengar took over the role, and eventually, others like Lapras were discovered, refining the strategy further.
The Perish Trap was a classic field-control tactic designed to disrupt the opponent's rhythm, though it had drawbacks like being time-consuming and reliant on specific team compositions.
It was highly effective, ranking among the most powerful rule-based moves in Pokémon battles.
Unfortunately, since it involved the user fainting as well, Akira had no intention of using it.
Shaking his head in mild regret, Akira continued reading—only to make a new discovery.
Soul Regeneration?
Did this mean Cursola could regenerate like actual coral?
It seemed strange, but Cursola did have the ability to absorb energy and strengthen its soul.
Moreover, its body was already a ghostly soul.
So, the idea that Cursola's soul could regenerate like ordinary coral wasn't too hard to accept.
After reading the description of [Soul Rebirth], Akira knew he had struck gold!
Without the [Soul Rebirth] ability, the characteristics of Cursola would be practically useless.
Or perhaps it could be considered a one-time mutual destruction weapon, similar to the move [Shared Fate], dragging the opponent down with it.
But now it's different.
As long as there is sufficient soul energy replenishment, Cursola can continuously revive and repeatedly activate the [Body of Extinction] effect.
It can take down enemies one after another!
In other words, any enemy facing Cursola must kill it within three minutes—otherwise, they are doomed.
Of course, this assumes the enemy uses contact-based abilities that require touching Cursola.
But even if they don't, it's no big deal—his Cursola knows the egg move [Shared Fate].
As long as the enemy attacks, regardless of the form, Cursola can still drag them down to hell.
And then return from hell itself.
Hmm…
A rather excellent Pokémon.
Somewhat similar to the Hisuian Zoroark he had recently obtained—both abilities are soul-related and possess strong survival effects.
The main difference is that Hisuian Zoroark focuses more on self-enhancement, while Cursola leans toward eliminating enemies.
Akira stretched out his right hand, palm open. With a thought, a pale gray stone appeared in his grasp.
A chilling sensation traveled from his palm to his brain, and then a faint shadow slowly emerged from the half-opened stone.
It felt like a wisp of a ghost—though calling it a ghost wouldn't be entirely wrong.
Galar Corsola is peculiar—it's a deceased Pokémon that evolved into its next form, Cursola.
So Cursola is both a dead Pokémon and a living one.
As the soul unfurled, Akira distinctly felt the surrounding temperature drop slightly, though the coral reef area wasn't particularly warm to begin with.
Soon, Cursola's spectral form fully manifested—a small face in the center, frowning, both adorable and slightly eerie.
Originally scowling, Cursola gradually relaxed its expression upon seeing Akira.
The spectral coral extended and pressed against Akira's hand, a cool sensation flowing across his skin—something that would feel refreshing on a scorching summer day.
Seeing the adorable Cursola, Akira smiled faintly, then summoned another item with his left hand.
It was a green crystal, originally a perfect hexagonal shape, though now only half remained.
The back half was all that was left.
This was the Soul Crystal Akira had obtained from the Dark Sonata's harp movement.
Half had been used by Meowth for the [Hundred Slash Blade], and now Akira intended to let Cursola try the remaining half.
Perhaps with this supplement, Cursola would see significant improvement—or at the very least, it could serve as an energy reserve.
The moment the Soul Crystal appeared, Cursola's attention locked onto it, its tiny eyes gleaming with [Covet].
It could sense how important this emerald crystal was to it.
So Akira handed the Soul Crystal over to Cursola.
The spectral body of Cursola, like a blob of jelly, engulfed the crystal within itself.
Through its translucent form, Akira could see the dark green crystal resting inside, emitting a faint emerald glow.
It dyed Cursola's originally pure white, transparent body a deep jade, adding an eerie undertone.
An uninformed observer might mistake it for poisoning.
From the sensations Cursola relayed, Akira knew this would greatly aid it—enhancing its soul's strength.
Hmm…Akira watched as the Cursola in his hand slowly absorbed the Soul Crystal, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of obtaining more Soul Crystals.
Back then, he hadn't encountered many things related to souls, so he hadn't placed much importance on Soul Crystals.
Now, however, he realized they were truly valuable.
Since arriving in the Dark Continent, Akira had grown increasingly aware that anything related to souls was extraordinary.
He also understood the significance of souls more clearly.
Thus, it was necessary for him to acquire more soul-related items, especially those that could enhance his soul's strength.
Currently, apart from the Soul Crystal being absorbed by the Cursola, the only other item he had with such an effect was the Moon Reflection Wine he had obtained from Ging.
But the supply was limited and would eventually run out.
He needed a method—something like a cultivation base—that could continuously produce soul-related Hope.
After some thought, Akira actually came up with a solution, one he already had the means to execute.
That was to utilize the Dark Sonata!
He currently possessed two methods of performing the Dark Sonata, both in written form and usable by anyone.
Meloetta, however, had a unique ability—she could perform all four Dark Sonatas without suffering any negative effects.
The Soul Crystal was formed through the harp movement of the Dark Sonata, which plundered the souls of living beings.
So, in theory, if Meloetta performed the harp movement of the Dark Sonata, she should also be able to produce Soul Crystals.
This was a method to obtain an endless supply of Soul Crystals.
As for the targets of plunder?
The Dark Continent was never short of test subjects.
After considering his options, Akira concluded this was the most reliable approach.
Later, he would find a densely populated area to test it. If this idea worked, he would never lack soul energy again.
Setting aside his thoughts, Akira sent the Cursola into the Digital World to let it slowly absorb the crystal.
He then continued forward, curious to see what lay ahead in the pond.
...
Amid the lifeless coral terrain,
Akira advanced step by step toward the pond, his footsteps utterly silent.
Whether it was his imagination or not, the closer he got to the pond, the more Cursed Stones appeared around him.
And their forms grew increasingly bizarre.
Some were enormous pythons, others resembled the tiger-like beasts from earlier, and some were massive eagles…
This place was practically a zoo, with various creatures petrified into Cursed Stones.
At a glance, they looked like stone statues for tourists to admire—except these "statues" could "devour" people.
Akira felt only mild surprise, not a trace of fear, as he continued forward.
Under his En, every movement of the Cursed Stones was laid bare before him.
At a certain critical point, several sounds erupted around him as the Cursed Stones he had been observing simultaneously lunged at him.
The eagle flapped its stone wings, somehow managing to soar through the air, its talons slashing toward Akira.
As if it were still alive, hunting sheep on the grasslands.
The python coiled its body, its rocky form bending in impossible ways.
Then it suddenly sprang forward, hurtling toward Akira, its gaping white maw sending chills down the spine.
Beasts like tigers and leopards dashed across the ground, each step leaving cracks in the coral terrain.
The tremors shook the earth, creating waves of vibrations akin to an earthquake.
In just a few moments, Akira found himself under attack from three directions—front, left, and right—far more densely than before.
This was abnormal.
It made Akira even more curious about what lay ahead.
Was this just a coincidence?
Or was there something unknown lurking in the pond up ahead?
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