After leaving the mountain, Will and owscarada followed Liz's phantom towards Jubilife City.
"This ti, after we leave, we should be heading out of Sinnoh, to the next region," Will said, recalling the ga's plot. Liz should have finished most of her business in the Hisui region. That ant the next step was to continue north. As for the next region in the southern hemisphere... Kalos.
From near Snowpoint City to Jubilife City was a considerable distance, spanning more than half of the Sinnoh region. They walked slowly, and it took them over a month.
"ow?" Hearing that they were going to a new region, owscarada's eyes lit up with excitent. Although there were still many places in Sinnoh she hadn't seen, she had already t many of its Pokémon. She wanted to go to other regions and make friends with Pokémon she had never seen before!
"Before we leave Sinnoh, let's go say hello to Shigeru. He took care of us before."
"ow~" owscarada imdiately nodded. Jubilife was a big city with lots of good restaurants. And most importantly, Shigeru was very generous and would take them to eat a lot of delicious food. She wasn't looking forward to seeing him, but to him treating her to a al.
In Jubilife City, Will and owscarada didn't go to Shigeru's house. It was dayti; he would most likely be out. But at the training grounds, there was a high probability they would find him.
"?! It's Sceptile and owscarada!" a passerby recognized them.
Believe it or not, Will and owscarada were now minor celebrities in the Sinnoh region. Such a combination was just too rare. And they always had their strange accessories, which made them very recognizable. For example, today, at owscarada's repeated insistence, Will was wearing the matching cat-pajama set they had bought. They were both light-green, fluffy pajamas. They were very conspicuous.
"Torterra!! Can you still hold on?" Shigeru's voice ca from the field.
"Oh? Looks like he's about to lose. Speaking of which, his Turtwig evolved into a Torterra," Will said, a grin on his face as he rembered what a Torterra looked like.
"ow?" owscarada tilted her head, confused. She had never seen a Torterra before.
But the next voice that ca out disgusted them both. "Give up. With your skill level, you'll never be my opponent in this lifeti. And that Torterra of yours... so weak. I think you should just get rid of it and raise a new Pokémon."
A girl's voice. If you only heard the voice, you would think it was a sweet and lovely girl. But the words that ca out were not so pleasant.
"ow."
"Let's go take a look."
Will and owscarada walked towards the training grounds. The place was as lively as ever. But unfortunately, Shigeru and his Torterra had already lost. Torterra had swirly eyes, unable to fight anymore.
Across from them was a young lolita with light-purple hair in twin-tails. It was still just the beginning of spring, yet she was already wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a miniskirt. Her Pokémon was a Toxicroak, a Poison/Fighting-type.
Poison and Fighting... its typing isn't that different from Torterra's. In fact, Torterra should have a slight advantage. And he still lost? Will thought, shaking his head. He looked at the two Pokémon. A Toxicroak shouldn't have an easy ti defeating a Torterra. How had Shigeru lost? Is this kid really that bad?
"Cro-gunk!" the Toxicroak croaked, its red vocal sac puffing out in a victory cry.
"Good job, Toxicroak. Return," the girl said, recalling her Pokémon. She then looked at Shigeru. "I'll be in this city for the next week. If you're not convinced, you're welco to challenge again. And if you lose, I will humiliate you again. Understand?"
With that, the girl turned and left.
"Why would you reward him for that?" a bald man near Will muttered. Will quickly and discreetly moved away.
"ow?" owscarada pointed at the dejected Shigeru on the field.
"Let's not go to him now. He needs to be alone," Will said, shaking his head as he watched Shigeru recall his Pokémon and head for the Pokémon Center.
"ow?"
"What's the use of us stepping in? That wouldn't convince the kid. Shigeru and his Torterra have to beat them themselves," Will said with a shrug.
"ow..."
"We'll have to help Torterra get stronger. But honestly, that's not going to be easy," Will sighed. His and owscarada's fighting style was the sa: a relentless barrage of attacks, relying on bizarre offensive patterns and lightning speed. A Torterra was the complete opposite. If it attacked proactively, its moves were likely to be dodged. It was more of a passive, counter-attacking Pokémon.
Two completely different styles. Will really had no idea how to help it get stronger. But at least he only had to consider how to counter a Toxicroak. That lowered the difficulty considerably.
"Let's follow him for now. I think he'll be happy to see us," Will said, leading owscarada towards the Pokémon Center.
When Shigeru ca out, his eyes first lit up at the sight of them, then dimd again. "You saw, didn't you? At the training grounds..."
"Yes, we saw," Will nodded.
"Heh, how embarrassing. Sigh..." Shigeru laughed bitterly, then his smile faded. "Am I... really a qualified trainer?"
"You idiot. What are you saying?" Will said, not holding back. He smacked him on the back of the head. "As long as your Pokémon likes you, you're a qualified trainer. And I think you know in your heart how much your Torterra likes you."
"Ugh, Sceptile, I think... I can understand a little of what you're saying? Am I really a qualified trainer? My performance just now was terrible."
"It was just a loss. It's a process every trainer and Pokémon has to go through," Will said with a shrug.
"ow-ow," owscarada nodded in agreent. Thinking back on her own journey, she rembered how many tis Will had matched her against opponents five or six levels higher. She had failed again and again, but in the end, hadn't she grown into her current form?
"Are you two trying to comfort ? Thanks. I'm not that easily discouraged. I will beco a very strong Pokémon trainer!" Shigeru said, raising the Poké Ball in his hand and clenching it. "Torterra, we still need to keep working hard."
"Let us help you with special training," Will said, patting his shoulder.
"Huh?" Shigeru was stunned.
"Battle training," Will said, punching the air and pointing at Torterra's Poké Ball.
"...Sceptile, are you saying... you're going to help us train?!" Shigeru's eyes gradually lit up, his voice trembling with excitent. He couldn't help it. After all, this was the Sceptile that had defeated the captain of the League's Mining Corps a year and a half ago. His strength was known throughout the Sinnoh League!
"Yes," Will nodded.
"That's great! Hahaha! Torterra, we can beat that guy!" Shigeru jumped two ters into the air.
The sight made Will's eyes widen. If this were a thousand years ago, he wouldn't have been surprised. The humans of that era were all monsters. But for Shigeru to be able to jump that high... it was terrifying.
Sure enough. The humans of the Pokémon world... are basically a type of Pokémon themselves.
~~~
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