Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

Credits: Don't be a pussy

As Stephen and his two companions were gearing up and ready to head into the Lostlorn Forest, Proton's call came through again.

["Lord Stephen, something strange has happened..."]

Hearing Proton's words, Stephen and Will exchanged puzzled looks.

"What's up?" Will asked in confusion.

"I've been bored out of my mind this past month, so don't tell me the intel was fake, okay?"

["That guy Kodai... for some reason, he's gone quiet again."]

Currently working undercover at Kodai Network Group, Proton was taking advantage of his lunch break to hide in the restroom and make a phone report to Stephen.

According to Proton's intel, Kodai was supposed to send his trusted subordinates today to the Lostlorn Forest to capture a special Zorua. But for reasons unknown, Kodai had suddenly turned back. Proton was still investigating the cause.

["Lord Stephen, what do you think we should do? Cancel the operation?"]

"The intel about that Zorua being in the Lostlorn Forest shouldn't be wrong, right?" Stephen asked in return.

["There's no mistake about it. I had one of my most beautiful female subordinates seduce Kodai's confidant, Goone, to get this information. You know how men are—what they say in bed is usually trustworthy."] Proton sounded confident.

Stephen: …

Will's eyes lit up. As expected of Team Rocket, he thought.

Karen, on the other hand, looked disgusted. "Ugh! Gross!"

"Let's move out," Stephen said, hanging up on Proton.

"We don't need to rush so much. Stephen, what if there's some kind of trap behind all this?" Karen asked, concerned.

"To obtain rare Pokémon, you have to take some risks. Besides, don't forget," Stephen said with a smile, "we're strong."

His words were like a shot of adrenaline, filling Karen and Will with renewed confidence.

...

A few hours later, the trio arrived at the Lostlorn Forest.

To be cautious, they had already changed into their combat uniforms before entering.

"This forest isn't that big, but finding one specific Pokémon feels like searching for a needle in a haystack. Should we release all our Pokémon and have everyone look together?" Will suggested, holding up all the Poké Balls from his belt.

"No need for that."

Under the curious gazes of his companions, Stephen pulled out a round device resembling a large pocket watch.

"What's that?" Will leaned in with a "let me see" expression.

Soon, the device's screen lit up, displaying an arrow in the center. It was clear that this was their current location.

Then, Stephen took out a tuft of fur and inserted it into a small slot at the top of the device.

A progress bar appeared at the top of the screen, displaying the words "Analyzing..."

"Step—"

"Use code names during operations!" Karen interrupted Will before he could speak.

Will rolled his eyes. There's no one else here, though, he thought. But since Karen was far stronger than him, he didn't dare argue.

"Let's call this the Pokémon Radar for now."

Indeed, this device was a Pokémon Radar that Stephen had created, inspired by the Dragon Ball Radar. Its design was almost identical.

By placing a Pokémon's fur into the sensor, the radar would automatically scan the area for the same species of Pokémon.

This tuft of fur, naturally, came from Gladion's Zorua.

In the Pokémon games, the Pokédex has a similar function: once you've captured a Pokémon, it can help you locate its habitat.

But Ash rarely used it. After all, Ash's approach to capturing Pokémon was entirely based on fate.

Once the progress bar finished, the words "Analysis Complete" appeared, and a yellow dot showed up in the upper-left area of the radar.

"Whoa, this thing is awesome!" Will's eyes sparkled.

If I can get a hold of some rare Pokémon fur in the future, no matter where they hide, they won't escape me!

"This way." Stephen gestured for Will to quiet down so they wouldn't scare off the target.

As the arrow on the radar drew closer to the yellow dot, the three started scanning their surroundings.

The area contained three Pokémon:

A Passimian lounging on a tree branch, picking fruit.

A Scolipede darting through the grass.

A Scraggy lying on a rock, legs crossed, napping.

But there was no sign of a Zorua.

"It's not here?" Will wondered aloud.

"You idiot," Karen scolded.

Will had forgotten Zorua's innate ability.

"One of those three is the Zorua in disguise," Stephen explained.

"Zorua is naturally mischievous, like the Gengar family, and loves to play pranks on unsuspecting trainers. This particular Zorua has been constantly hunted by Kodai, so it's probably been using its illusion ability to evade capture."

"Oh," Will said, nodding in understanding. "So which one is it?"

"We'll test all three of them," Karen said, pulling out three minimized Poké Balls.

Inside were her current team's mainstays: Houndoom, Litten, and her newly evolved Honchkrow, which had recently evolved from a Murkrow using a Dusk Stone gifted by Stephen.

"Karen, this Zorua has been hunted by Kodai for a long time. It's likely very wary of humans, so be careful with your approach," Stephen reminded her.

Capturing a Pokémon is like writing a story: the beginning largely determines the outcome.

"Got it," Karen replied, taking a deep breath before tossing out the three Poké Balls.

"Let's go, Houndoom! Litten! Honchkrow!"

Houndoom charged toward the napping Scraggy.

Litten pounced at the Scolipede darting through the grass.

Honchkrow swooped toward the Passimian on the tree branch.

None of them used attacks—they simply rushed toward their targets.

As expected, all three wild Pokémon were startled.

The Scraggy caught off guard, saw Houndoom baring its fangs, and immediately fainted in fear, rolling its eyes back.

Houndoom nudged it with its paw. Sure enough, it was genuinely unconscious. This one's too weak to be the Zorua.

The Scolipede, seeing Litten—whose Fire type countered its Bug-type—instinctively shot a Pin Missile. Litten agilely dodged, and the needles embedded themselves into a nearby tree.

From this reaction, it was clear this was a real Scolipede. After all, Zorua couldn't learn Pin Missile.

Which left...

All three of them turned their eyes toward the Passimian in the tree.

"Garu!"

The Passimian opened its mouth and fired a curved Ice Beam at the approaching Honchkrow.

"Not this one either!?"

Even Karen was shocked. According to their research on Gladion's Zorua, it couldn't learn Ice Beam.

None of the three were Zorua.

"Did the radar malfunction?" Will muttered, confused.

Karen furrowed her brows. She trusted Stephen's skills, but the current situation was unexplainable.

Boom!

The next moment, Honchkrow dodged the Passimian's Ice Beam, which struck a tree behind them and caused a small explosion.

Stephen narrowed his eyes at the scene, then suddenly smiled.

"I see now. I've figured out what's special about this Zorua."

"No wonder Kodai is so desperate to capture you."