Chapter 46: A New Path
That night, as expected, the two beast scholars requested an audience at the palace. They had compiled all their speculations and discoveries and presented them to Liz.
Liz was also quite surprised by Will's growth rate. Although he was her beast, she wasn't by his side during the day. Therefore, she wasn't aware of the changes in his strength. To suddenly learn that his power had reached a level sufficient for him to graduate from the academy was a pleasant surprise.
But what she cared about more, of course, was the report itself. After reading its contents, Liz realized its immense importance and immediately convened a meeting that lasted late into the night.
The next day, Will woke up early as usual, but felt a sense of listlessness. He had already beaten everyone at the Primal Beast Academy. Although he could still gain experience by repeatedly battling the same opponents, the amount would surely diminish with each fight. Besides, he didn't think any of those beasts would accept his challenge again. When a weaker party challenges a stronger one, it's a challenge. When a stronger party challenges a weaker one, it's something else entirely.
Mt. Silver is pretty far. The trip would be very tiring for Iris, Will thought, rolling over in bed. As he turned, he saw Liz's sleeping face. From a human perspective, Liz was a great beauty, the kind of hardcore beauty that needed no makeup or filters.
Looking at her, Will couldn't resist the urge to tease her. He lifted his tail and gently scraped the tip along her neck.
"Lan~ stop it, I'm so sleepy," Liz's sleepy voice murmured. She burrowed her head under the covers and snuggled up closer, burying her face in Will's soft, warm chest.
"..."
Will stopped his mischief. Liz had gone to bed late last night, so she was bound to be more tired today. He decided to let her get some proper sleep. And so, Will closed his eyes again, content to just lie in bed with her.
At the same time, he considered if there was any place that could temporarily replace the academy and Mt. Silver as a transitional training ground.
"Pidgeo!!"
Outside the window, the cry of a Pidgeotto or a Pidgeot sounded. Will's half-closed eyes snapped open, an idea sparking in his mind. The sound reminded him of the end of his first life, of being torn apart by that Pidgeot. But the image was fleeting. What truly jolted him awake was the memory of where he had been attacked: the plains.
The Kanto and Johto regions are mostly plains and plateaus. While the Pokémon density in these places is low, the terrain is vast. The total number of Pokémon definitely won't be small.
Will turned his head to look out the window. The capital of the Dragonite Kingdom was built on a huge plain. He remembered that on his flights to Mt. Silver, he had seen Pokémon on the grasslands below several times.
Since Mt. Silver is not an option for now, I'll just train on the plains, Will decided.
The plains were right outside the city, very close. The flight wouldn't be tiring for Iris. Training on the plains had its advantages. The terrain was open, making it almost impossible to be ambushed. Because there were few places to hide, Will would be able to spot any approaching Pokémon immediately. For both him and Iris, the plains were relatively safe.
But the disadvantages were also obvious. Finding suitable targets would be difficult. The plains were vast, and the Pokémon were scattered. And even if he found some, their levels might not be right for him to use as experience packs. Too strong or too weak were both no good. In this respect, it couldn't compare to the tiered environment of Mt. Silver, where the Pokémon were densely and regularly distributed. The deeper you went, the higher their levels. There, he wouldn't have to search for targets at all, because everyone was a target.
I should at least give it a try, Will decided on his next plan. He wouldn't stay at the academy, but he wouldn't go to Mt. Silver either. Instead, he would forge a new path and check out the nearby plains first.
Half an hour passed, and Liz woke up. She immediately rushed to her office; it seemed she had some urgent and important matters to attend to these past couple of days. Will, meanwhile, coiled his tail around his little tool, Iris, and began to search for prey on the plains near the capital.
His luck was good. He quickly discovered a wild Ampharos swarm. The leader of this swarm was a massive Ampharos, nearly 3 meters tall. Besides the leader, there were about seven or eight other Ampharos, and dozens of Flaaffy and Mareep. The scale of this Ampharos swarm was quite large. In the Era of Leagues, it would be rare to see such a large wild herd; you'd mostly only see them on human-run farms.
Not far from the Ampharos swarm, there was a Dragonite Kingdom outpost. Generally, as long as the Ampharos didn't cause trouble for the kingdom, the kingdom wouldn't want to provoke this powerful beast swarm either.
"Lan, Lan! Look down there! Those little sheep are so cute!" Iris's innocent voice called out from his tail.
"The Ampharos line does have good looks. The Pokémon distribution on the plains is really different from the forest. This is promising," Will nodded, looking at the swarm below.
The Ampharos line was one that would almost never appear in the bloody and cruel forest. Their habits and preferences were not suited for forest life. The grasslands were a paradise for the peace-loving Ampharos family. Setting aside their strength for a moment, their popularity was quite high, thanks to their cute, non-threatening appearance and their generally warm and patient nature.
In the official popularity polls of his old world, the first stage, Mareep, had ranked 16th among Electric-type Pokémon, while the third stage, Ampharos, had ranked 5th. (Number one was Pikachu, for obvious reasons.)
Besides the Ampharos line, Will figured he could probably find other Pokémon that loved to run and graze on the plains, like Tauros, Ponyta, Doduo, and Rhyhorn.
"Lan~ let's go down and see! I want to hug those little sheep. You have a way, right?" Iris stared at the Mareep and Flaaffy below, practically drooling with desire.
"You little..." Will glanced at the girl, exasperated.
Generally speaking, not just children, but even adults wouldn't dare to recklessly approach a primal beast. Although Mareep and Flaaffy didn't look aggressive, they were still proper beasts. Who would dare to just walk up to them? But Iris was not only bold, she was also clever. She wanted to pet the Mareep and Flaaffy, but she knew it was dangerous, so she asked Will, who was also a beast, for help, hoping he could go and negotiate for her.
"Lan~" Iris reached out and rubbed the tail that was coiled around her, trying to coax him.
"Oh, fine. As it happens, the levels of those Ampharos don't look low. It's a good chance to test their strength," Will sighed in resignation.
He then carried Iris and flew downwards, landing at a spot that was neither too close nor too far from the Ampharos family. The position was just right. It wouldn't make them overly vigilant or provoke an attack, but it would allow them to notice his presence.
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