Chapter 130. Research Task Complete, Diglett Joins the Team
As if anticipated in advance, the little Diglett's body froze in midair, unable to move an inch.
Pretend to offer a Berry, then smack with a brick.
Natsume cannot be defeated in his area of expertise.
"Natsume-sensei, what's with this Diglett?" Honora blurted, stunned.
Before Natsume could move, light flared again on Diglett's claws.
"Fury Swipes?"
Natsume blinked.
Can Diglett even use that?
"Diglett dig?" What is this?
Unexpectedly, the little Diglett did not continue to attack Natsume and Honora.
That claw strike smashed hard into a nearby rock.
"Diglett dig?" Whatever.
Right after, a third claw strike came down.
This time it didn't hit Natsume, and it didn't shatter the rock.
It slammed into a nearby pile of Berries instead.
"Splash—splash—"
Berries fell into the lake like raindrops, and the ones left on shore were all sour-flavor Berries.
As the ripples faded on the lake surface, the little Diglett stared at that pile of Berries, dumbfounded.
After a while, a teary-eyed little Diglett turned around and looked pitifully at Natsume and Honora.
"Diglett dig… Why did you throw my Berries into the lake."
"Uh…?" Natsume was stunned for a beat.
"Natsume-sensei, what exactly did you hear?" Honora asked, curious.
Natsume took her hand.
Honora started in surprise and lowered her head, but soon the information in her mind made her lift it again.
"Fine, I'll forgive you?"
"You really have taste. Sour-flavor Berries are the best."
"Unforgivable. I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
The little Diglett's voice kept sounding.
Natsume and Honora glanced at each other and saw the same confusion in each other's eyes.
"Natsume-sensei, is this schizophrenia?" Honora wondered.
In the books Natsume had given her, there was a section on Pokémon psychology.
Some Pokémon are indeed prone to mental illnesses.
Abandoned Pokémon and certain Psychic types whose powers go awry are the most common.
The League takes this seriously.
For example, to become a Pokémon doctor, besides medical knowledge, you must also study Pokémon psychology.
"Hard to say."
Natsume shook his head.
This Diglett seemed to be more than just schizophrenia.
That move it used just now…
"How did you get here?" Natsume's voice sounded in the Diglett's mind.
"Diglett dig— I don't know. I woke up and I was here."
"Diglett dig— Because I have all-purpose sour-flavor Berries."
"Diglett— I'm going to teach that Tauros a lesson."
Three voices rang out in Natsume's mind at the same time.
The little Diglett had three personalities, but it seemed each personality was unaware of the other two.
Natsume reached a conclusion.
"Natsume-sensei, what are you going to do?" Honora cried out as Natsume raised the brick.
"If I slam this brick on your head, what will happen?"
Natsume's telepathy sounded.
Honora froze.
"Diglett dig!" Don't hit me!
"Diglett dig!" I won't share a single sour-flavor Berry with you.
"Diglett!" Before I find that Tauros that sent me flying, I'm going to teach you a good lesson!
All three voices spoke at once.
"Huh?"
Even Honora showed a puzzled expression now.
This Diglett's condition wasn't quite the same as schizophrenia.
Personalities should alternate, but this little Diglett's three personalities could respond to Natsume's questions at the same time.
This was Natsume's first time seeing something like this.
No wonder this little Diglett carried an S-Rank research topic on its back.
After a round of tests, Natsume roughly understood its situation.
[Diglett, Lv. 15, Ability: Arena Trap.]
[Arena Trap: In battle, prevents the foe from fleeing.]
This little Diglett had three personalities.
But the three personalities were completely unaware of the other two.
The three personalities could respond to the outside world simultaneously.
When they responded, all three took effect.
For example, when Natsume made Diglett angry, it threw mud at him.
Mud-Slap, three times in a row.
Many moves that aren't inherently multi-strike can actually be used in succession through training in real life, but it's extremely difficult.
The vast majority of Pokémon can't do it, and the most you see is two in a row.
"What principle is this?"
Natsume was intrigued.
This wasn't schizophrenia.
How could several personalities act on the outside world at once?
All of a sudden, Natsume thought of Zygarde, the god of ecological order.
Zygarde's various Formes are aggregated from things like "Cores" and "Cells," like living cells.
A Zygarde Cell looks like a little green flatworm.
When 10% of Cells gather, Zygarde takes on a dog-like Forme.
When 50% of Cells gather, Zygarde becomes a king-cobra-like Forme.
At Complete Forme, it reaches its final Gundam-like Forme.
These Cores and Cells are distributed across the Kalos and Alola regions, serving as ecological watchdogs.
Among them, only the Cores possess their own consciousness.
As one of the few legendaries bearing Divinity that are widely dispersed and thus available for League research, Zygarde's Cores and Cells have been thoroughly studied by League scholars.
"Honora, pull up that paper for me, the one by Professor Sycamore."
Dodging the Diglett's mud, Natsume spoke to Honora.
Soon, the Rotom Phone was in Natsume's hand.
This kind of consciousness aggregation in Zygarde is called a hive-mind collective, whose essence is global order arising from local interactions.
Meanwhile, Zygarde's Complete Forme, once all Cells assemble, is controlled by two Cores.
Its mode of consciousness is pushed to the opposite extreme—a "single-will core."
Across League scholarship, the single-will core is considered highly fragile, far less damage-resistant than a hive-mind collective.
It is static and resists change, far less able to adapt dynamically to the environment than a hive-mind collective.
At the same time, Zygarde's Complete Forme perfectly demonstrates a single-will core: absolutely centralized, authoritarian, and outcome-deterministic.
It is the power that must be displayed in the face of irresistible ecological collapse.
After reading the paper, Natsume looked back at the Diglett.
This Diglett was very strange.
Its mode of consciousness felt to Natsume both like Zygarde's Cells and like Zygarde's Cores.
It seemed like a hive-mind, and also like a single-will core.
[Ding! S-Rank Research Task Completed! Master Ball Scratchcard +1.]
The system's voice sounded in his mind, and Natsume's expression turned odd.
So his guess was right?
"But… you've only got three personalities.
Zygarde has at least a hundred Cells."
As Natsume spoke, he caught the charging little Diglett in one hand.
His figure shifted, and he and Honora appeared at the lakeshore.
"Diglett dig—"
"Diglett dig! Diglett dig! Diglett dig!!!"
The instant the little Diglett touched down, countless Diglett surged up, like they were about to demand justice.
"Diglett dig! Diglett dig! Diglett!"
The little Diglett jumped in fright and stood there at a loss.
A Dugtrio at the front came up with a dark look, and the little Diglett grew even more uneasy.
In Natsume's perception, all three of its personalities were uneasy.
To be fair, it hadn't deliberately gotten lost.
With a condition where you can slap yourself and not even notice, getting lost was the least of it.
The fact it had grown this big was already a miracle.
Luckily it had lived within a Diglett collective until now.
If it had been a lone Diglett out in the wild…
Natsume shook his head and offered silent condolences.
Suddenly, he felt someone tugging at his pant leg.
"Honora, let go of my hand," Natsume said.
"It's not me."
Honora lowered her head, cheeks burning.
Looking down, they found it was the little Diglett.
"Diglett dig— Diglett dig— Diglett—"
Goodbye, everyone.
Same color as sour-flavor Berries. Nice taste!
I'm going to become the Diglett King!
All three voices rang in Natsume's mind at once.
Under countless glossy black gazes, the little Diglett hooked one of the Safari Balls at Natsume's waist.
It gave the ball a head-butt.
"Zzt—"
The little Diglett was drawn into the ball.
The fierce Diglett crowd froze.
Natsume: "…"
For once, he could still be a safe harbor for a Pokémon.
The Digletts chattered intensely, then decided that handing the little Diglett to this human might actually be a good thing.
"Trio trio!" We leave the little Diglett to you!
The leading Dugtrio bowed solemnly to Natsume and turned to lead the colony away.
They still had to search for a new home.
"I know, but there's no need to rush off."
Natsume spoke and released the little Diglett.
"You can keep educating it."
The little Diglett looked back at Natsume.
"???"
This time, the three personalities were in perfect unison.
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