Walking down the mountain road on the way home, Xia Hunao asked the system, "System, give me Gwagwa's current stats directly."
The system asked, "It's evolved into Frogadier, and you're still calling it Gwagwa?"
Xia Hunao's face was expressionless, "Less nonsense, give me the stats directly."
Stats: HP 48, Attack 27, Defense 26, Special Attack 50, Special Defense 27, Speed 51
Xia Hunao nodded, "Alright, I got it."
Looking at Xia Hunao, whose style was vastly different from his previous 'idiotic' demeanor, the system felt something was off. This state of Xia Hunao might lead to trouble.
Fortunately, Xia Hunao didn't make the system worry too much. On his way home, he didn't engage in any destructive or shoplifting behavior. He returned home peacefully, took a shower, and went to bed for the day.
The next morning, Xia Hunao yawned and asked the system in his mind, "System, your state seems a bit off, why do you even have dark circles? Did you go searching for some forbidden information last night?"
The system looked at Xia Hunao, "Damn it, you should be asking me? What's your situation? Do you remember what you did yesterday?"
Xia Hunao thought for a moment, "I don't remember, I just remember Gwagwa seemed to evolve. Wait, I can't recall what happened yesterday. Am I sick? System, what's going on?"
The system gasped, "This is bad, Host, this is a big problem."
The system's solemn tone made Xia Hunao a little nervous. He squeezed the blanket tightly, "So, what's wrong with my body?"
"It's not your problem, it's probably a problem with the overall environment."
Xia Hunao didn't understand, "What do you mean?"
"It means that as the time since Arceus's death increases, this world might be gradually developing in an uncontrollable direction."
With the system's explanation, Xia Hunao understood how troublesome the situation was.
Arceus, as the creator deity, possessed the authority over all legendary Pokémon. For example, Dialga's and Palkia's control over time and space was one of Arceus's authorities. The emotions and willpower controlled by Embody and Azelf among the pixie trio were even less of a concern.
After Arceus's death, the distribution of these authorities became more straightforward, and at the same time, more prone to losing control. After all, Arceus, with its divine authority, was gone.
Xia Hunao's change yesterday was likely due to his emotions and willpower being simultaneously affected, which caused him to act strangely. After a night's rest, Xia Hunao had eliminated these adverse effects, and the memories interfered with by those adverse effects naturally ceased to exist.
The system advised Xia Hunao, "I think you should find a way to improve your emotional control. After all, Gwagwa and Diancie have synchronization rates. The higher the synchronization rate, the more pronounced the empathy effect. The three of you are very likely to do something irreversible under the combined influence of your emotions. Yesterday was just the first time, so it was corrected within a day. But who knows about the future."
Xia Hunao took a deep breath, "Then do you have any solutions? Is deep breathing useful?"
The system shook its head, "Do you think deep breathing will be useful? It might at best calm your rapid heartbeat, but it won't do anything else. My suggestion is Tai Chi. This practice can truly cultivate one's character."
Xia Hunao's first thought about Tai Chi was almost failing his university physical education class, and the second was...
The system advised him, "Don't overthink it. Do you think that Tai Chi is real Tai Chi? I'll give you a video, and you can learn from it. It's best if Frogadier learns it with you too."
Xia Hunao thought the system was right. He took Frogadier out and went to a small park to learn Tai Chi. Although Frogadier didn't understand, it would follow Xia Hunao's instructions.
The sight of a person and a frog practicing Tai Chi together quickly attracted the attention of the old men around. Meanwhile, Xia Hunao continued to discuss the previous issue with the system.
"System, will I encounter other problems in the future?"
The system pondered for a moment and then replied, "My conjecture is this: the chaos caused by Arceus's death won't last too long. After all, all authorities are controlled by related legendary Pokémon. Even if Arceus's death causes a period of chaos, it won't worsen once those Pokémon strengthen their control over their respective authorities. However, as you know, things like emotions and willpower will certainly be affected. This is why I asked you to enhance your control."
Xia Hunao continued practicing Tai Chi, "So, there will be an impact, but it won't be fatal, right?"
"Yes, you can understand it that way. As long as all intelligent beings don't collapse themselves, there won't be a problem."
After practicing Tai Chi for a while longer, although Xia Hunao wasn't a "Tai Chi master," his Tai Chi was now quite decent. Frogadier, who was following him, also looked somewhat practiced.
"System, do you think it's a bit incongruous for Gwagwa to practice Tai Chi? After all, he's a ninja. It would be better if it were a Pokémon like Ninja, like Infernape or Urshifu."
The system compared the differences between the three Pokémon practicing Tai Chi and replied, "Perhaps you're right, but I'm not very familiar with how ninjas train their minds. It's not like meditating under a waterfall with a calm mind, right? So, you'll have to make do."
Xia Hunao's movements paused slightly, then returned to their natural flow, "Never mind, anyway, when he finally evolves into Greninja, he'll have more ninja-like operations. But Tai Chi Frogadier seems quite interesting too."
Speaking of Tai Chi Frogadier, the system and Xia Hunao both froze. Then, Xia Hunao asked, "System, why do I suddenly have a bunch of rabbits in my head? No, several rabbits."
The system thought for a moment, "Perhaps it's because you've been exposed to related games too much in your past life. It's led me to think of those rabbits too. But there doesn't seem to be a Tai Chi Frogadier, so this is your original creation."
"Then, I'll borrow your good wishes. I hope when they create Tai Chi Frogadier, they'll remember to send some money to me on Lingyao Star."
After practicing Tai Chi for a while, Xia Hunao wanted to spar with Frogadier. Perhaps their Tai Chi push hands would have a unique effect.
Xia Hunao turned around and, taking advantage of Frogadier's lack of proficiency in Tai Chi, started push hands with Gwagwa under the system's instructional videos. While practicing push hands, Xia Hunao even said, "If the occasion were right, I'd let Diancie come out and practice Tai Chi too. It would also help her manage her emotions."
Watching Xia Hunao gradually synchronize with Frogadier's rhythm, the system asked him, "Do you want to learn to dance? Given Diancie's status as a little princess, you two dancing ballroom would be the most appropriate."
Xia Hunao's movements slowed by half a beat upon hearing about dancing, and then he lost Frogadier's rhythm.
The push hands between the person and the frog didn't last long. Xia Hunao, with a relaxed state of mind, stopped his Tai Chi, and Frogadier followed suit.
Xia Hunao returned Frogadier to its Poké Ball and headed to the secret base. Just now, he had thought of some very interesting ideas that he wanted to experiment with.
...
Secret base training area. Xia Hunao held two water-filled balloons. He squeezed them; they felt good...
Xia Hunao shook his head, "Getting sidetracked, getting sidetracked. Gwagwa, learn from me. Condense two water spheres in your hands."
Gwagwa followed Xia Hunao's movements and condensed two water spheres in his hands. Then, he watched Xia Hunao's next move.
Xia Hunao, holding the two water spheres, began to practice Tai Chi. Gwagwa also followed Xia Hunao's movements, controlling the two water spheres and practicing Tai Chi.
Water is a very unstable substance, at least not controllable in human hands. The water spheres in Xia Hunao's hands were somewhat manageable due to the balloons, but the water spheres in Gwagwa's hands were different. After practicing Tai Chi for a short while, the water spheres in Gwagwa's hands dispersed.
Xia Hunao naturally saw this scene, "Gwagwa, do you know what water is?"
While having Gwagwa continue his water-controlling Tai Chi, Xia Hunao explained the concept of water from the Daodejing to him. Their practice continued for over half an hour. The water spheres in Gwagwa's hands gradually stabilized and began to rotate with his hand movements, giving them a somewhat mystical aura.
Seeing Gwagwa's movements becoming more proficient, Xia Hunao gave the command, "Gwagwa, Water Pulse!"
Gwagwa instinctively brought his hands together. As a result, the two rotating water spheres collided and dispersed, vanishing.
Xia Hunao approached Frogadier, "Come on, Gwagwa, do it again. Create two rotating water spheres, and then directly use these two spheres to launch Water Pulse."
Gwagwa began practicing Tai Chi again, gradually bringing the two rotating water spheres in his hands closer together, and then they were struck out together.
The two water spheres rotated in the air, tore at each other, and finally merged into a large water sphere that burst, spun, and rippled.
Watching the swirling ripples, Xia Hunao nodded, "I knew it would work. System, how was that Water Pulse just now?"
"How was what? Sixty. No matter how fancy you make your Water Pulse, it's still Water Pulse. It won't go from 60 power to 80 power."
"Tsk. So, it was practiced for nothing?"
The system shook its head, "You can't say that. Although the power of that Water Pulse didn't increase, it did have some effect on the special effects."
Xia Hunao's thoughts changed upon hearing this, "Gwagwa, let's practice more. Also, System, what special effects?"
"The original Water Pulse has a chance to cause confusion. And your Tai Chi version of Water Pulse, after my analysis, the probability of confusion should be further increased. I think it should be around forty to fifty percent. You'll have to test the specific data yourself."
"Oh? That's quite impressive. As the saying goes, Wuji gives birth to Taiji, Taiji gives birth to Liangyi. Let's just call this move 'Clear Water Ripple'."
System: "No, what logical connection do these few sentences have?"