【Shedinja: Normal Template, Pokémon, Temporary Summoned Unit, Bug + Ghost dual Attribute.
HP=1, MP=60. Strength 9, Agility 6, Spirit 6, Charisma 8. 】
【Summoned Unit Trait—Wonder Guard 】
【Moves Held （Skill ）: Scratch, Harden, Metal Claw. 】
Seeing the Shedinja floating motionlessly in the sky with a vacant look, Cheng Mouren couldn't help but take a deep breath of the air filled with the scent of river water.
Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters, Pets, or Fantastic Monsters, and the influence of this thing has long since broken out of its niche, expanding from the simple game domain to various fields.
Perhaps some people call Bulbasaur a 'Garlic Turtle,' call Diglett 'Dog Poop,' and call Dugtrio 'Three Piles of Dog Poop,' but Pikachu, the eternal mascot of the Pokémon series, is basically recognizable by everyone.
How much money this electric mouse, along with the entire Pokémon IP series, has earned for Nintendo is already an incalculable amount.
It doesn't seem too out of place to say that Pokémon are a part of traditional Japanese Monsters.
Pokémon! They are also Monsters!
Cheng Tian, this old gamer ASS, naturally couldn't have never played Pokémon. Even when he realized he had manifested a Shedinja, commonly known as the 'Ghost Cicada,' a series of terms that those in the know would understand instantly popped into his mind, such as 'Bug Bite,' 'Will-O-Wisp,' 'Endure,' 'Grudge,' 'Safety Goggles,' 'Trace,' 'Sturdy,' and 'Focus Sash.'
However, compared to the brainstorming Cheng Mouren, the ones who reacted the most strongly to the Ghost Armor transforming into a Shedinja were the attacking Ghost Armor group itself.
Their reaction was quite fast; upon discovering that one of their companions had been NTR'd into a Shedinja, the two nearest Ghost Armors immediately launched an attack.
It was an approach pressure combined with a Shield Bash, almost what could be called a Tank's Great Shield slamming directly towards the expressionless Ghost Cicada.
Whether it was because it failed to receive Cheng Tian's command, or due to its own nature, the Ghost Cicada made no attempt to evade, allowing the shields to strike its insect shell... Then, both shields actually passed straight through the Shedinja's body, colliding with each other with a clang.
And the Ghost Cicada's body, as if existing in Phase Space, was perfectly superimposed in coordinates with the two shields 'inside' it, yet completely unaffected by them.
Its pitiful 1 HP showed absolutely no sign of wavering.
【Wonder Guard: A Pokémon Ability. It possesses an incredible protective power; under its guard, Shedinja can only be hit by Attribute moves that are 'Super Effective.' 】
As an existence that can be called the most unique among the thousands of Pokémon in the entire Encyclopedia, no matter how strong Shedinja/Ghost Cicada becomes, its HP will always remain fixed at 1 HP.
But in exchange, only Attack Methods of specific Attributes can hit it and deplete that seemingly fragile yet actually sturdy single drop of health.
If classified according to Pokémon Attributes, the Ghost Armor could probably be categorized as 'Ghost + Steel,' similar to Honedge and Aegislash.
Of course, this only refers to the manifested form; in reality, attacking the Ghost Armor is no different from attacking a Headless Knight Armor being remotely controlled. However, in terms of Attack Method, the Ghost Armor only possesses a shield-striking move that can only be classified as 'Normal.'
In other words, they couldn't hit the Ghost Cicada at all.
Perhaps due to the temporary Bond constructed by the influence of the Skill, resembling that of a 'Trainer and Pokémon Companion,' Cheng Tian vaguely perceived a confused Thought from the Ghost Cicada's vacant gaze: "Trainer, why aren't you giving orders yet?"
At this moment, Cheng Mouren's chuunibyou flared up.
"Shedinja! Use Metal Claw on the back of the enemy nearest to you!!!"
Cheng Tian shamelessly shouted his Trainer command aloud, and the Ghost Cicada, having received the order, actually lit up its eyes like a Gundam powering on, its gaze shining like the main camera that had just been energized.
A strange power fluctuation rose along with the Ghost Cicada exerting its Strength, and simultaneously, the Ghost Cicada's very short and cute little hands began to emit a silver-white radiance.
Its short and stout Wings flapped into afterimages, and utilizing its pseudo Phased Movement state, it passed through the Ghost Armor, circled behind it, and then a Silver Light flashed.
The Ghost Armor selected as the Ghost Cicada's attack target instantly gained two very distinct X-shaped claw marks on its back, and its body was propelled forward a certain distance!
【Metal Claw: D-Rank Skill/Lv1, Pokémon Skill, Active Skill. Reinforce or construct Claws with Steel energy to slash your Opponent.
Deals Strength*2 physical Steel Attribute damage to the target. Each attack has a 10% chance to trigger the subsequent 'Attack Power Up' status, but also a 5% chance of missing.
Using the Skill consumes 2 MP, with no Skill cooldown. 】
While the Ghost Cicada was executing the temporary Trainer command, Cheng Tian simultaneously used the One-handed Axe—which he had obtained earlier from One-Ear in exchange for the Little Demon Cleaver at the campfire—as a Blueprint to create a Magic Throwing Object, aiming a parabolic throw at the Ghost Armor that had just been hit by the Ghost Cicada's Metal Claw.
Since the Axe was one of the weapons Arthur habitually used during his life, Cheng Tian's throwing accuracy with Axes was far superior to Cleavers.
It's just that Cheng Tian had unequipped the Vampire Hunter Template; otherwise, Simon's Axe throwing experience would have allowed his accuracy to increase even further.
The thrown Axe successfully avoided the front defense of the Tower Shield and smashed directly onto the head of the Ghost Armor bearing the X marks on its back. The force was so great that it knocked its helmet clean off, revealing a Headless Knight-like appearance.
But this headless Ghost Armor completely ignored Cheng Tian throwing the Throwing Object below, continuing to move persistently towards the Ghost Cicada and raising its shield again.
As mentioned before, the Specters inside the Ghost Armor are the lowest tier, merely Soul Units with basic Consciousness. They cannot execute overly Complex instructions; at their execution level, the highest priority is "Interfering with Humans crossing the river."
The second priority is self-defense counterattack against the nearest Enemy Unit.
The Ghost Cicada's Metal Claw counterattack directly activated this second-priority mechanism, triggering a chain reaction.
As long as Cheng Tian and his group maintained their current position and did not approach the riverbank, the Ghost Armors would ignore Cheng Tian and his group and prioritize ganging up on the Ghost Cicada.
...But the Ghost Cicada's sole 1 HP remained completely unmoved.
The clanging sound of shields colliding continuously echoed above the heads of the three men. Every Shield Bash attempting to attack the Ghost Cicada ended up only hitting its comrades.
And interspersed with this were the harsh, hollow striking sounds, like a gong being struck—
Yes, the thrown Axe also landed its blow.
Under the perfect kiting of the unparalleled 1 HP Tank that was the Ghost Cicada, Metal Claw combined with Cheng Tian's back-smashing Axe throws cleared a full 3 waves, totaling 18 Ghost Armors, before no new Ghost Armors appeared.
Drifting down the river were fragments of Armor parts, large and small.
And the three living people seized this rare opening, crossing the final two narrow river channels after two consecutive running Jumps.
The Ghost Cicada, having endured countless useless Shield Bashes, slowly landed next to Cheng Tian, their eyes meeting.
Then, its chubby little bug claws, which showed no sign of the sharpness used when executing Metal Claw, tapped against Cheng Tian's fist.