Chapter 48: Four New Skills
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since Will's first encounter with the Ampharos herd. During this time, he hadn't stayed with them exclusively. In addition to his daily training with the Ampharos Chief, Will would also ask him about other powerful Pokémon herds nearby, then go and pay them a visit to say hello and issue a challenge.
In two months, Will had made contact with six different Pokémon herds.
The first was a Persian herd to the north. It wasn't large, with only three Persian and ten Meowth. The initial attitude of these cats towards Will was quite poor. The Alpha Persian was around Lv. 40 and had even toyed with him during their first meeting. Will was no hothead; he chose to run back to the Ampharos herd for reinforcements and gave the Persian a proper round of "shock therapy." Since then, the Persian herd has been very respectful towards him, sparring with him whenever he asks without a word of complaint.
The second was a Tauros herd. It was a considerable size, with a full thirty members. A remarkable thing about the Tauros herd was that their average level was very high; almost all thirty were between Lv. 25 and Lv. 35. Only the Alpha, a battle-scarred adult, was a higher level, comparable to the Alpha Persian. The Tauros herd was quite welcoming of Will's arrival, but it was a welcome full of fighting spirit, not friendship. Tauros are energetic, hot-tempered, and brutish Pokémon who like to confirm their strength through battle. They were extremely enthusiastic about Will's challenges, practically fighting each other for the chance to spar with him. Will spent the most time challenging the Tauros herd, taking nearly half a month to fight through all of them. From these frequent head-on clashes, he unexpectedly learned the move Take Down.
The third and fourth herds were both Miltank herds. The difference was that the former was a domesticated herd raised by the Dragonite Kingdom, while the latter was wild. Will had no interest in the former; it was a huge herd, but their average level was only 20. The wild Miltank herd, however, was very strong. Although there were only about ten of them, the lowest-level Miltank was Lv. 35. This herd was very gentle, with an attitude similar to the Ampharos herd's. Will would occasionally take Iris there to get some high-quality Moomoo Milk.
The fifth was a Rapidash herd. This herd wasn't large, but their strength was comparable to the Ampharos herd, with five Rapidash and ten Ponyta. A Ponyta generally needs to reach around Lv. 40 to evolve, so the number of Rapidash in this herd was a testament to their power. Will only greeted the Rapidash herd from a distance and didn't interact much. They were not particularly welcoming of his presence. While not hostile, they had no intention of befriending him.
The sixth was a Golduck herd near a large lake. The Golduck were the rulers of that lake, and their Alpha was at least Lv. 50. The herd wasn't huge, but it consisted mostly of high-level Golduck, with very few Psyduck. Will got along quite well with this group. After the Ampharos and Tauros, he visited them the most frequently.
Now, two months had passed, and Will's personal status screen had changed.
[Dragonair]
Potential: Purple
Level: 35
Type: Dragon
Ability: Shed Skin
Height: 9m
Weight: 40kg
Moves: Focus Energy (Inherited), Wrap, Leer, Twister, Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail, Agility, Slam, Icy Wind, Aqua Tail, Thunderbolt, Take Down, Water Pulse, Thunder
His level hadn't increased much, only by two. There were two reasons for this. First, the experience required to level up had increased dramatically. He might now have to fight dozens of evenly matched battles to gain a single level. Second, he had focused most of his energy on learning new moves from the Ampharos and Golduck chiefs.
This was evident from his skill list. Compared to before, he now had four new moves!
The value of Thunderbolt and Water Pulse needs no explanation. The former was the signature move of Ash's Pikachu, a powerful attack with a chance to paralyze and a very high accuracy rate. The latter could confuse the target and was also highly accurate.
The move Take Down, which he learned by accident, was a bit of a "chicken rib" for Will—useless to keep, a waste to throw away. It was a Normal-type physical move with mediocre accuracy that also caused recoil damage. Even if he needed a physical move, he wouldn't choose Take Down. Both Dragon Tail and Aqua Tail offered a better return.
Finally, the move worth mentioning specifically was Thunder. As an ultimate Electric-type move, it traded a little accuracy for much higher power. Will had learned the first three moves in just one month, but he had spent an entire month learning Thunder.
As for the accuracy issue, different Trainers had different ways to compensate. For Will, who was both the Trainer and the Pokémon, accuracy wasn't really a problem. He would never unleash a move like Thunder, which had high energy consumption and a long recovery time, without a 100% chance of hitting. The solution he had devised was to make good use of the move Wrap. First, he would bind the target with his body. Only then would he consider using Thunder.
Another evening arrived. Will painstakingly rescued an innocent Meowth from Iris's smothering affection and then took the reluctant little girl back to the palace. The first thing he did upon returning was to find Liz in her study. He felt that he was due for a molt today.
After evolving into a Dragonair, his molting frequency was about once a month. He had already molted twice before, with both Liz and Iris helping him. His body was so long now that it was a lot of work for Liz alone, so he had started roping Iris in to help.
"Lan, Iris, you're back. I have something to tell you," said Liz, who was feeding her Magikarp in the study. She turned and smiled as the two burst in.
"What is it?" Will asked, moving closer to look at the Magikarp. After more than two months together, the bond between the two girls and their Magikarp was already quite good. He felt it was about time to take them out to level up and prepare for their evolution into Gyarados.
"The day after tomorrow, I have some business to attend to in Jubilance Town. Do you want to come with me?" Although she was asking both of them, Liz's gaze was fixed on Iris. She knew that Lan would definitely go with her; there was no need to even ask.
"Jubilance Town? Perfect," Will's mind raced, recalling the name. He remembered that it was a coastal city in the southernmost part of the Dragonite Kingdom.
Jubilance Town is right by the sea, he thought, his gaze shifting to the Magikarp.
"I want to go!" Iris exclaimed, her face full of longing and anticipation. Of course, she wanted to go to Jubilance Town with Lan and her aunt. For her, this was basically a vacation, and she certainly wasn't going to miss it.
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