Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

Karen cast a puzzled look at Stephen.

"It's her. Do it."

Stephen didn't have time to explain to Karen and waved at the Passimian perched on the branch.

Without doubting him, Karen immediately gave the order.

"Houndoom! Litten!"

From both sides, a dog and a cat swiftly sprang into action.

Meanwhile, in midair, the Honchkrow dodged the Ice Beam and struck the Passimian on the shoulder with its slender beak. The blow caused it to stumble and fall from the branch to the ground.

When the Passimian got back up, it realized it was already surrounded—Houndoom in front and Litten behind, blocking any escape.

"There's no need to hide anymore, is there? Why not show us your true form?" Stephen teased with a grin.

The Passimian shot Stephen a hostile glare but was mostly filled with curiosity.

Suddenly, a dark shadow surged out of the Passimian's body and dissipated within two seconds. What reappeared was no longer the Passimian but a small fox, its fur gray-black with a tuft of red hair on its forehead.

Zorua!

"Joker was... right after all!" Will exclaimed.

Karen's eyes were filled with disbelief. When she looked at Stephen's back, admiration glimmered in her gaze. Sure enough, Stephen's judgment was never wrong! (Sasuga Stephen-sama,)

[How did you know it was me?]

A loli-like voice with a slight tsundere tone suddenly echoed in Stephen's mind.

Telepathy!

Stephen was briefly stunned.

This Zorua... how delightful. She would undoubtedly become a future ace in Karen's team.

"You shouldn't have used Ice Beam earlier. Moves like Thunderbolt or Rock Tomb would have been more effective—they're strong against Honchkrow too," Stephen said with a smile.

"Joker, what are you talking about?" Karen and Will were confused. Zorua's telepathy was directed only at Stephen.

Seeing their confusion, Stephen addressed Zorua again.

"Zorua, we're not like those people who've been chasing you. You can use your telepathy on all three of us."

Zorua hesitated, still showing a hint of doubt. However, after a few seconds, the loli voice echoed in all three of their minds:

[Is this okay?]

Will was so startled he almost fell on his backside. Pointing at Zorua, he shouted, "Th-this is her voice!?"

Karen's eyes widened in astonishment.

Zorua's voice sounded again in their minds: [You still haven't told me how you figured out my true form.]

Stephen waved his hand, signaling Karen's three Pokémon to back off.

Karen, understanding his gesture, also gave a signal to Houndoom and the others.

Once the dog, cat, and bird cleared the way, Stephen motioned for Zorua to follow him.

Zorua hesitated. Perhaps it was the natural affinity people with the power of Viridian Forest exude, or maybe it was just curiosity, but Zorua eventually decided to follow.

Karen and Will quickly followed behind.

"Take a look at this," Stephen said, leading Zorua to the branch she had broken earlier with her Ice Beam.

He pointed to the broken end of the branch.

"You used Ice Beam earlier, but there's no ice residue left on the branch."

"This means the move was an illusion. I guess that you used Dark Pulse or a similar move instead."

Zorua's expression changed drastically. She hadn't expected this at all.

And everything this human said was correct!

Behind them, Karen and Will were equally stunned.

"Joker, are you saying that this little one pretended to use Ice Beam, but it was Dark Pulse?" Karen asked incredulously.

She had spent some time with Gladion's Zorua before, even if it was just a few hours, so she knew Zorua couldn't do something like this.

Zorua might be able to transform into other Pokémon, but the moves it used would still be it's own. It couldn't replicate its opponent's moves like a Ditto.

"That's what makes this Zorua so special," Stephen said, his tone filled with admiration.

"Ordinary Zorua or Zoroark can only use their Illusion ability on themselves or people very close to them. But this little one is different."

"She can even create illusions for her moves. For example, she can make it look like she's using Ice Beam, but it's Dark Pulse. She's truly the Master of Illusions."

"She's like that chameleon in Kung Fu Panda 4," Stephen added with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe she can even drag people into an illusionary world and trap them in eternal nothingness. What do you think of calling that Infinite Illusion?"

Karen and Will were completely dumbfounded.

This... was she really that powerful?

[That... that's not something I can do. I can only confuse people's vision,] Zorua's voice rang out in their minds again.

"Haha! Just joking!" Stephen laughed. "But I do hope you'll believe me. With our help, you can become the world's strongest Zorua... no, the strongest Dark-type Pokémon in the world!"

Stephen extended a hand to Zorua, smiling as he said:

"With that goal in mind, become our companion, Zorua!"

Zorua stared blankly at Stephen's outstretched hand.

For so long, she'd been on the run, always disguised as other Pokémon to evade her pursuers. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

But now, someone was offering her a helping hand.

Even though she was used to being a lone wolf, she couldn't help but feel moved by this moment.

[The people chasing me won't let you go if I join you,] Zorua said hesitantly.

It was obvious Zorua was worried that if she joined them, her pursuers would turn their attention to Stephen and his group.

"Hahaha!"

Before Stephen could respond, Will burst into laughter.

Karen couldn't help but smile as well.

"You're pretty funny, little fox. Kodai? We don't even take him seriously," Will said, laughing so hard that tears rolled down his face inside his mask.

On the surface, Kodai might seem like a big shot, much like Rose. Both were business tycoons.

But Kodai's level as a trainer was laughable to true geniuses like Stephen's group. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to resort to dirty tricks to capture Zorua in the first place.

"You underestimate us—and yourself," Stephen said, crouching down with a smile.

"Trust us. And trust yourself."

Sometimes, words truly are more powerful than fists.

At least, for Zorua at this moment, they were.

Seeing the change in Zorua's gaze, Stephen knew they had won her over.

He shot Karen a look.

Understanding, Karen quickly took out a Pokéball and approached Zorua.

Zorua instinctively took a step back, looking at Stephen with a bewildered expression.

Her gaze seemed to say, "Wait, aren't you the one capturing me?"

The way Zorua looked at him left Stephen momentarily stunned.

Why did this situation feel so familiar?