Chapter 355: A Peculiar Pokémon
"Is this... a Pokémon?" Alec asked as he approached, observing the rock with curiosity.
"Yes, it's a Pokémon with a rather niche role. But if used correctly, it can be very interesting and aligns well with your earlier suggestion," Cain replied with a smile.
"A Rock-type Pokémon?" Alec guessed, thinking it couldn't be anything else based on its appearance.
"You could say that. It's partially Rock-type, but it's also Bug-type."
"Bug-type?" Alec couldn't imagine how this rock could be related to a Bug-type Pokémon—it was hard to wrap his head around.
The system immediately displayed this Pokémon's details.
Pokémon: Shuckle (Light Green)
Gender: Male
Level: 31
Types: Bug + Rock
Ability: Sturdy
Held Item: Berry Juice
Egg Moves: Sweet Scent, Helping Hand
Basic Moves: Sticky Web, Withdraw, Constrict, Bide, Rollout, Encore, Wrap, Struggle Bug, Safeguard, Rest, Rock Throw, Gastro Acid, Power Trick
Learned Moves: Bug Bite, Stealth Rock, Earth Power
TM Moves: None
This Shuckle had reached level 31, which meant it had already learned Power Trick, giving it a new purpose in battle.
Until a Shuckle reaches level 31 and learns Power Trick, its primary function is as a living shield—though not entirely accurate, given its base HP stat is only 20, which is extremely low.
However, its total base stats are 505. So why does it only have 20 points in HP?
Even more surprising is that its physical and special attack stats are only 10 each, while its speed is the lowest at just 5 points. It's more fitting to describe it as a turtle.
But Shuckle's strength is obvious: its physical and special defense stats are extraordinarily high, both with a base value of 230.
What does this mean? This Pokémon was designed for defense. If an opponent can bypass its defense, they can take Shuckle down in one hit; however, most Pokémon can't manage this due to its incredible resilience.
In Cain's memory, no other Pokémon had defense stats as high as Shuckle.
Only Aggron and Steelix in their Mega-Evolved forms match Shuckle's base defense of 230. However, these Mega forms differ significantly in special defense compared to Shuckle.
Thus, Cain felt it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Shuckle the Pokémon with the highest defense among all Pokémon.
Of course, if Shuckle only had low speed, high defense, low HP, and low attack, it wouldn't be of much use to Cain. However, one move completely changes this scenario: Power Trick.
Power Trick is a Psychic-type move that uses psychic power to swap a Pokémon's attack and defense stats. This exchange affects only the base stats, excluding any boosts from stat-enhancing moves.
This means that Shuckle can theoretically achieve an attack value of 230 points—an incredible figure!
This move significantly impacts Shuckle's combat potential.
Sure, its slowness is a drawback that can't be changed, but there's another move to compensate for this: Trick Room.
The move Trick Room creates a battlefield where, for a limited time, slower Pokémon become faster, and faster Pokémon become slower, with the speed shift inversely proportional to their original speed.
If Trick Room is activated for Shuckle, it could become the fastest Pokémon on the field. If Power Trick is used to swap its defense with its attack, it would become a Pokémon with extreme speed and massive attack power. Its low health would no longer be a concern.
This is especially useful against Pokémon that rely on special attacks, as their attacks can't penetrate Shuckle's defense, while Shuckle can eliminate them with its enhanced speed and attack.
Of course, Trick Room must be activated by another Pokémon, as Shuckle cannot learn this move itself.
However, when Shuckle reaches level 34, it can learn another critical move: Shell Smash.
This is the move that earned Cloyster its nickname, "Dragon Slayer." While the conditions for learning Shell Smash are tough, Shuckle only needs to reach level 34 and have the appropriate potential to learn it.
Shuckle can become even more formidable if it has the ability Contrary. At higher levels, it can also learn Power Split and Guard Split.
Cain had previously considered capturing a Shuckle with the Contrary ability but had never encountered one until now.
This was Cain's first time seeing a Shuckle. Although this one didn't have the highest potential or Contrary, Cain thought it might be suitable for Alec to capture.
For his own team, this Shuckle didn't meet his standards for potential and abilities. But for Alec, it would be more than sufficient.
"Take a good look at it. This Pokémon has decent development, and its potential isn't bad. But it has some special usage methods that I'll explain once you've captured it," Cain said.
Then he instructed Slowpoke, "Slowpoke, use Water Pulse with your Psychic power to wake it up and clear its mind."
Shuckle not only has unusual stats and abilities but also decent resistances. It's weak only to Rock, Steel, and Water moves, while it resists Normal and Poison moves. Against all other types, it takes neutral damage, making it quite solid.
Shuckle fears water, so a shower will do it good!
Slowpoke used its Psychic power to envelop the Water Pulse it had just formed.
Slowpoke had been training to combine its Psychic abilities with Water-type moves for a long time and could now use them effectively in battle.
A sphere of water enveloped the red rock, submerging it.
Feeling the water's pressure, the red rock finally began to move. From the holes that seemed like eyes, yellow gummy-like appendages and a head emerged.
Now, this was Shuckle's true appearance.
(End of Chapter)