Ch.170 Beyond Bold Ideas

To Mai's shock, Akira just gave a slight smile.

"I'd love that too, but total replacement? Nah. Pokémon are awesome, but humans still have their unique edge."

That holds true in both the Pokémon and Jujutsu worldviews.

Mai barely exhaled in relief when Yoshikichi chimed in.

"Total replacement's off the table, but partial? Doesn't take much—just half the sorcerers' workload, and the Jujutsu Alliance's whole gig gets awkward. That's the real trigger for you and Gojo Satoru flipping the table on the brass."

Akira grinned without a word.

Sure, he and Gojo Satoru had a full-on plan to smack down the higher-ups, but no matter how hard they hit, they'd only snag a chunk. Dropping the conservatives' clout and support to zero? Pipe dream.

Think Taiwan—Blue Party's a mess, but they've still got their diehards and turf. Not collapsing anytime soon.

To fill that gap, Akira needed a new angle.

Not every Pokémon could pull a Master Lu's Gengar—training itself, earning its own cash, running solo missions—but pair 'em with humans, and those hurdles vanish.

Handing out the latest batch of baby Pokémon wasn't just 'cause Akira couldn't raise 'em all. It was a test run.

If the first wave of Trainers hit the mark, he'd scale it up.

One track: recruit new Trainer candidates, dish out matching Pokémon eggs. Another: spread Pokémon know-how—lectures, trading cards, or straight-up ripping off the Pokémon IP that Nintendo's invincible legal team keeps locked down.

Once Pokémon sink into the public's bones, the conservatives are done making waves.

Then, it's Akira and Gojo Satoru's call—overhaul the Alliance or torch it and build fresh.

Akira leaned toward the latter. The Alliance's framework was ancient, bloated baggage.

With Pokémon in play, roles like Overseers—pro support for sorcerers—could get axed by half. Retrain 'em as Trainers, playing nanny to Pokémon.

The Alliance's top-down dispatch system needed a reboot too.

Sure, Tengen's barriers could roughly track curse density and movement, but high-grade sorcerers cluster in Tokyo and Kyoto. Spotting trouble to boots on ground takes too damn long.

If it's an Alliance, loosen the reins. Pokémon's Gym, Elite Four, Champion setup fits better.

Three metro hubs, a few urban circles—Kanto's original map was Japan anyway. Pick Gym Leaders from the first Trainer batch.

Water-type Cerulean Gym's mermaid, world's top beauty: Kasumi "Maki" Zenin.

Rock-type Pewter Gym's boss, big-sis stan, Joy-and-Juniper-certified expert… Todo Aoi's the only fit. Milf-chaser, muscle-head.

Hey, how about snagging an off-Pokédex Steelix for him?

Milotic plus Steelix—enough to make Kanto's newbie Trainers cry uncle.

Let 'em taste the pain of my Red version days, picking Charmander and hitting a wall.

The more Akira thought, the smugger he got, a dark aura oozing out. Mai and Yoshikichi shivered.

Mai took two steps back without thinking.

Yoshikichi wondered if he'd screwed up—maybe he should blast this unhinged nut out with his years-hoarded stash.

Luckily, Akira's daydream flared and faded fast. "Sorry, spooked you. Just hit on a doable idea. Per our deal, I'll try healing you first."

Yoshikichi gave a tiny nod, eyes half-shut, leaning back naturally against the tub's edge.

Akira raised a hand, light swirling as high-level Reverse Technique spilled out.

Fancy effects, zero results.

No surprise there.

Reverse Technique only fixes damage.

But Heavenly Restriction locks in before birth—missing limbs, fragile skin? That's baseline, not injury.

Fixing it needs more than repair—different tools.

Akira's first thought: Dragonite-template's Viridian Power.

It's billed as recovery, but Pokémon and Jujutsu systems differ. Might work.

A glow unlike Reverse Technique flared up—less refined, warmer, brighter.

Under Viridian Power's shine, Yoshikichi's scar-twisted face softened.

Too bad after minutes of full output, Yoshikichi just shook his head. "Stop."

"Nothing at all?" Akira pressed.

This was Viridian Power, tied to mystical Aura and enigmatic Mega Evolution. Even at its weakest, it's a flex—basic healing's the floor. It can force level-ups, speed evolution, the Pokémon world's duct tape.

"Not nothing. Skin burns feel better—eases the symptoms. But it's not a root fix."

Yoshikichi pointed to a screen on his right. Living with black tech, he'd been tracking his stats live.

"Not totally useless means the path's right. We can take it slow," Akira said, more upbeat than Yoshikichi.

"At least get this frail skin to handle light."

Yoshikichi, burned by hope too often, kept it neutral till results proved out—no expectations, no letdowns.

"Hope it's not a long wait," Akira sighed.

Leveling a Trainer template's way harder than Pokémon grinding—no shortcuts, just slow slog.

His highest right now was the starter Ash template—hence the beefy physique.

Upgrading Viridian Power… what, keep hurting Pokémon to heal 'em? Even if it worked, Akira wouldn't. They're family.

Better off chasing Xerneas or Ho-Oh's memetics—life and rebirth powers could regrow limbs easy. Skin? Slap on a new epidermal system.

Wait—rebuild.

A wild—no, wild doesn't cut it—idea hit Akira.

Weird, kinda inhumane, but more doable than anything else.

The more he mulled, the more it clicked. "Got another shot. Mind if I try? Might get freaky."

"Go for it," Yoshikichi said, no nonsense.

Freaky? How freaky can it get—freakier than me?

With the green light, Akira took a deep breath.

Template swap—Dragonite to Sabrina.

Psychic power, activate.

Target: right elbow.

Full blast.

A light totally unlike Viridian Power lit up Yoshikichi's missing limb—less warm, more eerie. It twisted, gathered, latched onto the stump.

When psychic glow encased it, the arm stretched fast, morphing into… a bear paw?

"Wha… huh…?"

PS: Bet you didn't see that coming—Sabrina's powers pulling this off. How's that for flair?