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Journal Log 2

Shadow Pokemon, what are they one might wonder? I wondered this as well for a long time and I gave up some of the best years of my life in pursuit of this answer. My findings...there is still more for me to discover.

Shadow Pokemon Basics

Shadow Pokemon are being who is closely tied to the Mist and the Realm Between. Their presence was possibly first detected after the introduction of Mist and Magic into this realm. They are Pokemon who have extremely powerful souls and the potential to continually grow for unseen amounts of time.

So to begin understanding shadow Pokemon you must first understand how a Pokémon's soul works.

Pokemon Souls

From my research notes about magic, it's easy to determine that a Pokémon's soul is its willpower and its ability to grow. Magic taps into a Pokémon's willpower allowing them to use their power. Potential is the ability of a soul to continue growing allowing it to obtain greater power. If you want to think about it in a mathematical sense... PWP (Pokemon Will Power) * PO(Potential) = A Pokémon's power. This power is linked to a Pokémon's life span and there are only a few ways to change this rule I have found. One is having dragon blood for dragons are like shadow Pokemon but without being shadow Pokemon. Another is having mystical blood or ties.

Normal Pokemon are born with a power cap and no matter how hard they try will reach an end to their growth sooner or later. Shadow Pokemon do not follow that rule in several ways.

First, they are borne much weaker than their normal versions. Take my species Slowpoke for an example. A normal Slowpoke might be born with their strength already at something like 10. A shadow version might be born with their strength at 2, not even a 50% decrease but an 80%. Many shadow Pokemon do not survive very long after birth if they were born out in the wild or in harsh conditions. They will struggle will keep up with their peers and for a long time will be far behind everyone else. Shadow Pokemon are born with the potential of strong willpower but unless it is strengthened, they can live their entire lives being weak and will die sooner than a normal version of themselves.

Now let's say they do work on their willpower and grow, sooner or later they might catch up to someone of a normal variety. They will have to work harder to reach that point but they possess the ability to break their limits and continue growing, sometimes at a rate that others cannot keep up with. This can have some drawbacks since their growth is directly tied to their emotions and desires so if they desire growth they can have it, and if they desire something else then their growth will be less. A very interesting trait that still requires more research.

Lastly, I shall discuss Omens and Pokémon's chances of being born as a Shadow Pokemon.

Birth

I have not found many causes to why a Pokemon is born with what I like to call the Shadow Trait aka the Shadow Gene. It seems to affect Pokemon that live near concentrations of Mist affecting their offspring. This might be because they gather that magical energy within them and then when they reproduce it is passed to the offspring. I have also seen Pokemon who are highly magically gifted end up creating shadow Pokemon which yet again strengthens my earlier theory.

This trait/gene can be passed through a Pokémon's lineage without it activating until several offspring later, rare but it does happen.

Alas, more research must be done.

Omens

Omens are one of the most interesting parts of a Shadow Pokemon and are one of the areas that I lack research into since you rarely see an Omen in the natural world. You see Omens are a Shadow Pokémon's willpower, their soul gave a form. Omens are the magnification of a Pokémon's inner self, latent power that they are unable to obtain until the time is right. Until they are deemed worthy and can take it for themselves. This is where I spoke earlier of a shadow Pokemon ability to become stronger, well this is where and when it happens. Omens' strength is directly tied to their ability to communicate and later affect that shadow Pokemon world. At first, the Omen will only be a feeling within that Pokemon, later though they will being to communicate to their physical self through dreams and it is here that a shadow Pokemon will begin to interact with their other half.

An Omen truly begins coming into itself when it begins creating its own space within its soul. It is here that the process of an Omen and their natural self-bonding can truly unfold. By unfolding that Omen will at first try to teach their other half what their name is, all Omens have a name, and names are a source of power. By invoking a name, you can unlock that power.

Once the shadow Pokemon learns their other half's name they can begin unlocking further power as that Omen will introduce them to their Soulscape and the journey of discovery can truly begin.

Or that is at least what my research and uncovered so far.

Lost Souls (Late Entry)

During my studies, I came across what they call Lost Souls.

Lost souls... are the husk of shadow Pokemon who failed to awaken to their Omens in a timely manner. A shadow Pokemon can only not be with their other half for so long before that other half will attempt to claim ownership of their body and soul. Should that happen well...look at the fields outside of Port Lore and Prism City and you'll see the results. I might be wrong in some of my theories and further research is required.

Another theory I have is that lost souls are the damned shadow pokemon who failed to unlock their power, died and now have returned to this world. But...there are ghost for that. Again further research is required.

But all this takes time...Time that is quickly ticking away for me.

As I said more research must be done to understand all of these things discussed here. Though I am not getting any younger and there is still so much more that must be discovered. I wish to discover if there is a way that I could even obtain a hint of this power at least enough for me to extend my natural life so I may continue my research.

I refuse to allow death to close its grasp around me.