Ash finds a letter with a sidequest in it, so we're off on a detour to Ponkan/Sunburst Island.
Isao/Mateo is a glassworker who inherited his shop when his grandfather passed on. Unfortunately, he's a bit of an insecure perfectionist. He refuses to sell his work because the stuff he just started making can't live up to his grandfather's decades of experience, and is therefore trash.
What he needs is to get over himself and realize that art is a skill you hone over time. Refusing to publish your story because you don't think it's as good as The Lord of the Rings will get you nowhere. Everyone has to start somewhere. Those who waffle over their draft until it's "perfect"? They're the ones who never publish anything at all.
But Isao's pretty sure he just needs to see the Crystal Onix, a unique Interactable Pokemon rumored to exist somewhere on the island's map. Seeing the Crystal Onix inspired his grandpa, so he figures he can become the same caliber of artist by just following the same procedure.
I don't think that's how this works, my guy.
To search for the Crystal Onix, Tracey reveals his second Pokemon: The Gen 2 Pokemon PIKABLU-- I mean, Marill. Now everyone in the party has a Johto Pokemon! Except Ash.
Marill finds their mark and Mateo reveals he thoroughly misunderstood the point of his grandfather's story by trying to defeat and capture the Crystal Onix.
This isn't a spur of the moment decision, either. He's been training a Cloyster specifically for this moment. And yeah, dude did his research. Cloyster's Ice weakness to Rock is far outweighed by their 180 base Defense; the second-highest of any stat in the game. Meanwhile, Onix has 2x weakness to Ice and 4x to Water, both of which can easily penetrate their dismal 30 Special.
And I want very badly to punch him in the face because training this Cloyster to try and gank the Crystal Onix is seriously what he's been doing rather than putting in the effort to hone his craft? The man's running a glassware business that is rapidly going out of business for lack of merchandise, he has a little sister to feed, and he splurged on a Water Stone?
I think Mateo might just be a bastard. I regret starting this side quest.
This plan amounts to nothing, though. It was a good plan, but Crystal Onix is a unique variant form whose Typing resists Water. (Probably Ice Type.)
Mateo seems to figure that out as well, as he switches to his Charmeleon. This one was not trained for this specific task like Cloyster, but instead to help Mateo with glasswork. But Ice is weak to Fire so the logic checks out.
This is a perilous decision as Crystal Onix still has moves like Rock Slide, but the ever-broken G1 Fire Spin wins the day. Mateo defeats Crystal Onix, and the light emanating from its super-heated surface bestows on him some supernatural power that will allow him to make great glasswork like his grandpa.
Just like that, we have successfully mugged a unique and mysterious Pokemon and stolen some sort of heavenly blessing from it that shortcuts artists into being instant masters of their craft, no effort required.
A sneak peak at what Iwark/Onix looks like in my Rebuild of Pocket Monsters doujin.
This one belongs to Shiba/Bruno. It’s a lot meaner compared to how Takeshi/Brock’s will look.
There are flecks of iron distributed in Iwark's rock body. Igneous rock comprises Iwark. It is an ancient Pokémon that has been around for eons. It lived among the ancient humans as well, back in times before classification.
(P.S. Daily new Pokémon drawings, follow to see them! As always, contact me at [email protected] for inquiries on glossy 8.5×11″ or 4×6″ prints of all existing drawings, as well as commissioned work. Commissions are not limited to Pokémon. For example, team commissions (trainer + 6 Pokémon) are typically $35.)
