Will and Floragato watched as the Lapras clan slowly disappeared into the distance. By the ti they turned to leave, they were already surrounded on the beach.
It wasn't a sea of people, but a large crowd had gathered, and many of them had already called out their Pokémon, their eyes full of excitent and eagerness.
"It seems the culture of battling has already beco popular in Johto and Kanto," Will noted, taking in the scene. In Hoenn, the first thing people did when they saw a Pokémon was judge its appearance. Perhaps that was why Contests had originated there; the people valued performance and splendor. But the culture in Kanto and Johto was clearly different. Even though the Pokémon League hadn't established official battle tournants yet, the activity had already taken root among the trainers.
"ow..." Floragato hissed. She was not in a good mood, and being surrounded by so many people was making her anxious.
"Don't worry. They don't an any harm. They just want to get beaten up," Will said, stroking her small ears. The fur, which was usually soft, had beco sharp to the touch, a sign of her agitation. But under his calming touch, it quickly softened again.
"ow!" she said, turning her head and twitching her ears, as if to say she didn't want him to pet her. But her body didn't move an inch.
"Aww, take a picture."
"That interaction is so cute."
"By the way, are that Sceptile and Floragato a couple?"
"I don't think so. They look more like a father and daughter, or a master and apprentice. Besides, I don't think those two species can have an egg, can they?"
So of the people who weren't interested in battling focused their attention elsewhere.
"ow?" Floragato looked at the tall buildings in the distance, asking Will if they should just run away over the rooftops.
"Hm? No need. We'll just wait," Will said, shaking his head. They had to find soone in Cherrygrove City, which ant they would be out in the open a lot. The mont they appeared, people would co flocking. There was no point in hiding. It was better to just wait here. The city's police would surely be alerted and would send soone to disperse the crowd. He could use their help to find this "Leaf" person that Tom had ntioned.
But the people surrounding them didn't know his plan. Seeing that they weren't leaving, so of the trainers rushed forward. The first to reach him was a young man in his teens.
"Sceptile! I'm A.J. from Ever Grande City! My goal is to beco the League's chief inspector! Please accept my challenge!" the young man said, holding a regular Poké Ball, his voice full of energy.
Will just glanced at him and gave no response.
"I choose you, Rattata! Let's defeat that Sceptile!" A.J. threw his Poké Ball.
"Ratt...ata?"
A Rattata burst nacingly from the ball. It landed in front of Will, slowly looked up... and up... and up... until its eyes t Will's cold, dead-fish gaze. An Era of Leagues Rattata is only 0.3 ters tall. Will was now 3.4 ters.
"Go, Rattata! Use Tackle! Defeat him!"
Hearing its trainer's command, the Rattata stared wide-eyed at him. Are you out of your mind? You want to fight THAT? Why don't YOU use Tackle?
After a mont of hesitation, the Rattata decided to obey. It charged at Will with all its might.
Smack.
Will casually swatted it with his tail, sending it flying back like a golf ball.
"Rattata! You did your best! I'm sure the Sceptile saw the power of our bond!"
"...Rattata," the Rattata looked at its trainer, a million curses running through its mind, and then it fainted.
A.J. was defeated.
"How unsightly! Step aside! This is not an opponent you can handle," a haughty voice called out from the crowd.
A young man with spiky blue hair, his head held high, strode forward.
"I am Jace. I will be your next opponent."
"Oh? From the Dragonite Clan," Will noted, sniffing the air. He felt a little interested. A blue-haired person wasn't necessarily from the clan, and this "Jace" hadn't given his full na. But Will could sll the faint scent of Dragonair on him. Having spent so much ti with the female Dragonair in the valley, he was now sensitive to the scent. The children of the Dragonite Clan probably picked it up from living in their ancestral lands.
A descendant of the Dragonite Clan... that made him, in a way, one of Will's own descendants. He didn't mind helping Liz and Iris teach the younger generation a lesson.
"Go, Charizard!"
"ROAR!"
At Jace's confident call, a ferocious-looking Charizard flew out of its ball.
"Not a Dragonair," Will raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. This was the only Poké Ball on Jace's belt. He had assud it would be a Dratini or Dragonair. A Charizard?
"Could the clan's signature Pokémon have changed?" Will wondered, but quickly shook his head. He could clearly sll the Dragonite scent on Jace. The clan definitely still had a Dragonite swarm. So, either they didn't have enough to give one to every child, or Jace himself had other ideas.
The Charizard was now standing in front of him. "ROAR!" it bellowed, annoyed that Will was just staring into space.
"What are you yelling about?" Will looked down at the noisy Charizard. His dead-fish eyes made its scalp tingle. Will was twice its height. The pressure was imnse.
"Charizard, fly!" Jace's voice restored its courage.
"ROAR!" The Charizard stomped its feet and, with a powerful flap of its wings, shot into the sky. Once airborne, it felt invincible. It looked down confidently... and froze.
Everyone on the ground—humans and Pokémon, including its own trainer—was staring blankly up at it. They must be stunned by my majestic form, it thought.
"Roar-hahaha~" the Charizard laughed wildly in the sky.
But the next second, the laughter died in its throat. He felt a strange sound from behind him.
Bzzzt...
BOOM!
Before it could even turn its head, a bolt of lightning slamd down on top of it. In an instant, the Charizard went from soaring in the sky to becoming a red teor plumting towards the earth.
CRASH!
It slamd into the beach, creating a huge crater and sending sand flying everywhere, creating a miniature sandstorm.
"Roar..." a pained cry ca from the pit.
"Charizard! Great! Use—"
Jace had just seen his Charizard's head erge from the crater when a crystal-clear sphere of energy shot down from the sky and smashed it back down. The massive explosion drowned out Jace's voice; the Charizard couldn't hear what command he had given.
By this ti, Will had already landed back on the ground and had vanished into the crater in a green blur.
CRACKLE!
The sound of electricity, loud enough to make one's teeth ache, and a blinding flash of light erupted from the pit.
Two seconds later, Will walked out, shaking his wrist.
A Charizard's Fire/Flying typing gives it a complete advantage over most Grass-types. If Will hadn't known Thunder Punch, this battle would have taken at least three or four minutes, and he would have likely gotten a few scratches. But as it was, the battle was over in less than a minute. In fact, it couldn't even be called a battle. It was just a one-sided beatdown.
When the Charizard had flown up, Will had used Extre Speed to jump up at the sa ti, following it and even getting above it. During that ti, he had also used Focus Energy and Swords Dance. Then, he had delivered a critical-hit Thunder Punch to the head of the laughing Charizard.
As it was falling, Will had used another Swords Dance in mid-air, then threw an Energy Ball to keep it down, preventing it from taking flight again. Then, he had used Extre Speed to rush into the pit and finish it off with a final Focus Energy and Thunder Punch.
By now, the Charizard was lying in the pit with swirly eyes, its mouth agape, completely unconscious. A stray current of electricity would occasionally spark across its body; it was clearly paralyzed.
It wasn't that the Charizard was too weak. It was very young, probably only about half a year old, but its level was already 36, on par with a Charleon. In this era, that was a rare genius.
The biggest reason it lost was, first, that Will was simply on another level. His physical stats, battle experience, and intellect were all far superior. Second, the trainer, Jace, had been completely useless. He had been so stunned by Will's initial speed that he had forgotten to give any commands, leaving his Charizard to get ambushed while it was laughing. It was a total rookie trainer move, not unlike May's first battle with her Torchic. He would have been better off just letting the Charizard fight on its own.
And finally, it was the Charizard's own personality problem. To this mont, Will still couldn't understand its ntality. After flying up and seeing its opponent was gone, its first instinct wasn't to search, but to laugh maniacally.
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