Chapter 54: Let's Go for a Dip!
"..."
After returning, Will was lost in thought. Liz had good instincts as a Trainer. She didn't just mindlessly order her Pokémon to attack; she knew to have it evade damage from its opponent. But how to solve the problem of move names?
Earlier, when Liz had said "burn it with fire," Blaze knew to use Ember. That was because it was the only fire-breathing move he knew. If he also knew moves like Flamethrower or Fire Spin, then a generic command like that might have caused him to hesitate, losing the rhythm of the battle as he tried to decide which move to use.
How does the army solve this problem? Will wondered. In the Beast-Caller army, when a trainer shouted "breathe fire" or "discharge," which move would their Pokémon choose to use? Did they decide on their own?
"Forget it, this is too much trouble. Let's just leave it. The problem of naming moves can be left to the humans of the future," Will decided after a moment, giving up on finding a solution.
Besides, Liz was the Queen. Even if she went to the battlefield, she would not be the one personally commanding the Pokémon. All Karp and Blaze needed to do was protect her. Right now, having her command Blaze in battle was more about deepening their bond.
"Let's go a little further out and see if we can find another suitable target," Will said, and led them a bit further away.
During the noon rest break, Liz and Blaze only had two battles, one win and one loss. They lost the second battle because Blaze, after fighting consecutively, was out of stamina. His level was too low, and he had no battle experience. He put his full power into every move, whether it hit or not. By the second battle, he had no strength left, and his Scratch was so feeble that he was defeated.
"It's okay, Blaze. We'll try again next time!"
As the caravan started moving again, Liz encouraged the dejected Charmander with a clenched fist.
"Yes, comforting a Pokémon after a defeat is also very important," Will nodded, watching the scene.
With her gentle personality towards Pokémon, Liz was a natural-born Trainer. Gentle people often find it easier to gain a Pokémon's affection and trust, which is a great advantage.
The days passed one by one.
One morning, Will's still-hazy eyes suddenly snapped open. In that instant, they became crystal clear.
"I smell it... damp air. This must be the scent of the sea."
Will quickly left the covers, rushed out of the tent, and lifted his head to look south.
Does the sea have a smell? Yes. In his past life as a human, Will had been to many beaches. Some seas had no smell. Some smelled foul. But since becoming a Pokémon, he had never even seen the ocean of this world, let alone smelled it.
Now, a scent filled his nostrils. It was a refreshing smell, so clean that it felt like all the pores on his body had opened at once.
"Lan?"
"Char?"
Liz and Blaze were woken by the commotion and came out of the tent, rubbing their eyes.
"We're almost there. Jubilance Town," Will said, turning to Liz.
"Looks like we are," Liz said, also feeling the sea breeze now, which woke her up.
"Lady Liz, we should arrive at Jubilance Town around noon," a guard reported, walking over when he saw she was awake.
"I can't wait. Liz, we're going now," Will said, shaking his body. He stretched his muscles, then coiled his tail around Liz and Blaze and flew off in the direction the sea breeze was coming from.
He had been cooped up for ten days, traveling through nothing but grasslands, lowlands, and forests. This was truly the Johto region, with such terrain everywhere. The neighboring Kanto region was probably much the same.
"Char-char!"
Once again in the air, Blaze immediately went from sleepy to excited.
"The air here is so humid. It's a little uncomfortable," Liz said, rubbing her skin, trying to dry it.
"Have Blaze breathe some fire to dry the air."
"CHAR-CHAR!!!"
The words were barely out of his mouth when Blaze lifted his head and used Ember on the sky.
"Ah! Blaze, what are you doing?!" Liz cried out, startled.
"Char?" Blaze tilted his head. Didn't he tell me to breathe fire?
"Haha," Will couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Of course, the main reason for his good mood was the excitement of nearly reaching their destination.
A journey that would take the carriage three or four hours would only take Will half an hour. But this speed was traded for comfort. Riding in a carriage for a few hours might give Liz a sore bottom. But being carried by Will at high speed for half an hour was mentally and physically exhausting, leaving her with an aching back.
Fortunately, all the physical pain and mental fatigue were washed away, purified, the moment the endless, azure sea appeared before their eyes.
"The ocean of the Pokémon world!"
Will stared at the sea below, immediately adjusted his direction, and dove towards its surface. Liz, having seen the ocean before, was not as curious.
"Ah, I can see Jubilance Town," her gaze was fixed on the coastal town.
At this stage, Jubilance Town was a small-to-medium-sized town with a permanent population of only a few thousand. It was once the territory of the Jubila Tribe, but it was now part of the Dragonite Kingdom. Its specialties were the sea breeze and the fragrance of flowers.
The old folks strolling on the country roads below noticed the giant beast in the sky. They all looked up, their expressions filled with amazement. For the people of Jubilance Town, it was their first time seeing a Dragonair. They had only heard from traveling merchants from the capital that "the Queen has a beast, and it's especially beautiful after it evolved," so they couldn't recognize him.
"Wait, Lan, what are you doing?!"
Liz was just about to raise her hand and wave to her subjects below. But as their altitude rapidly decreased, she immediately sensed something was wrong. They were only twenty meters from the surface, but Will had no intention of slowing down. Instead, he accelerated towards the ocean.
"CHAR-CHAR!!"
The dopey Charmander, however, didn't sense anything was wrong and was still dancing with excitement. Because Will was speeding up, it even hugged the nearby Liz and let out a cheer.
"LAN!!!"
"CHAR-CHAR!!!"
"Let's go for a dip!"
Will let out a long cry, and with Liz and Blaze in tow, he plunged headfirst into the ocean.
The world... instantly went quiet.
Before his eyes was a world of azure, with all kinds of sea fish and seaweed, and... an endless number of aquatic Pokémon from all over the world!
"This is... the ALL BLUE," Will thought, staring blankly at the underwater world, his brain shutting down for a moment.
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