Chapter 57: Two Gyarados Underlings!
The coastal waters of Jubilance Town were relatively shallow, with only a few dozen meters separating the sea's surface from the seabed. As Will entered the ocean with the two Magikarp, he could see many Krabby and Shellder wandering on the sand below.
Generally, Krabby wouldn't stay in a place like this. They preferred to sunbathe on the sandy beaches of the coast. But they had no choice. In the Kingdom Period of the Era of Primal Beasts, the relationship between humans and beasts was still not harmonious. It was even more intense in the preceding Tribal Period, where a Krabby that went ashore faced the mortal danger of being hunted for food. As a result, they now mostly stayed underwater.
"These guys probably don't have high levels," Will thought, losing interest after a quick glance.
The nature of the Shellder species meant their levels were generally not high. They spent their entire lives avoiding conflict with other Pokémon. They wouldn't attack proactively, and when attacked, they would just close their shells and wait for the enemy to leave. Therefore, their only means of leveling up was through natural growth. It was only in the Era of Leagues that people would begin to train Shellder and discover their value.
As for the Krabby, he could deduce their strength from their evolution conditions. A Krabby only evolves into a Kingler at around Lv. 28. Therefore, Will could basically conclude that all the Krabby he saw were below Lv. 30, making them unsuitable targets.
"Let's go a little deeper."
Will led his two Magikarp underlings, who now looked full of spirit, further into the sea. The Magikarp had been cooped up in those glass tanks for so long that they had started to develop a "shut-in" aura. Returning to the ocean, their spirits instantly lifted, their vibe changing from that of a nerdy shut-in to a popular extrovert.
There were so, so many Pokémon in the ocean. No matter where he looked, there were dozens in his field of vision. So, after swimming just a dozen or so meters, he had already spotted several suitable opponents.
"Let's take out these five first."
Will looked down at the sand below, where five good-sized Staryu were resting. A Staryu's Pokédex height is 0.8 meters, but the five before him were about 2.5 meters. Clearly, their levels were not low, at least Lv. 25 or higher, but not exceeding Lv. 40.
A Pokémon that reached Lv. 40 through natural growth would be quite old. The Ampharos Chief, the Tauros Chief, the Persian Chief—all were no exception. A wild Staryu was much like a Shellder; it wouldn't actively attack other Pokémon, so it could only grow naturally. By the time they reached Lv. 40, they would surely be on their last legs. And with his Pokémon senses, Will could tell that these five Staryu were not old.
"Glub-glub? (Are we fighting them?)" Liz's Magikarp asked, turning to Will. Iris's Magikarp on the other side also looked at him. Their minds were simple; they didn't consider the question of whether they could win or not.
"Yes. I'll attack first. When they're not paying attention, you two use Tackle to sneak in some hits."
This battle would mainly be him fighting 1v5. The Magikarp just needed to tag along for the experience. If he defeated these five Staryu, it should be enough to raise both Magikarps' levels by two or three.
With that said, Will whipped his tail and launched a Twister. The huge vortex caused quite a commotion under the sea, and some of the fish and Pokémon that had been loitering nearby immediately fled.
Smack!
The Twister was huge and hit all five Staryu at once, successfully enraging them. The red cores in their centers began to flash, and all five used Water Gun simultaneously.
Will casually twisted his body to dodge, then used Agility to close the distance. His speed in the water was even faster than on land.
While the five Staryu were using Water Gun, the two Magikarp seized the opportunity, charged in, and thrashed about, getting in a few hits and officially participating in the battle.
"Get back! Get far away!" Will immediately ordered the two Magikarp to leave, and then his body began to glow with a yellow light.
[Focus Energy]
[Thunderbolt]
BZZZZT!
The brilliant golden electricity, conducted by the seawater, struck all five Staryu at once and triggered a critical hit. The red cores in their centers flickered and then went dim. They had lost the ability to battle.
The nearby fish and shrimp that hadn't escaped in time, as well as the two Magikarp who had been a bit too slow, were also caught in the blast. Fortunately, they were only grazed by the stray sparks at the edge of the attack and weren't knocked out.
"Terrifying," Will grinned.
He knew that broadening his movepool was the right choice. Learning Thunderbolt from the Ampharos Chief had been a massive gain. The Water Pulse he had learned from the Golduck Chief would also surely come in handy in the future.
"Let's continue!"
Will snapped back to his senses and led the two Magikarp to continue their conquest. They advanced victoriously, each time using Thunderbolt to take out three or four Water-type Pokémon at once.
By the time the afternoon was over, Will felt he had knocked out at least thirty Water-type Pokémon.
[Thunderbolt]
Will squeezed out the last of his electric energy, knocking out two Tentacruel.
"That's it. I can't use Thunderbolt anymore," Will panted, feeling a little tired. In game terms, his PP for Thunderbolt was depleted. Moreover, after fighting for a whole afternoon, he didn't have much stamina left. Today's training was over.
"Hm, I finally leveled up."
After about half a month, Will had finally gained another level. Only he knew how difficult the process had been. It was a shame Iris wasn't here. Otherwise, he couldn't even imagine how many levels he could have gained during their stay in Jubilance Town.
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, Will felt a blindingly strong light from behind him. He turned his head and was forced to close his eyes against the glare. When he opened them again, the two Magikarp were gone. In their place were two enormous and ferocious Gyarados.
"Whoa, the Gyarados of the Era of Primal Beasts are ridiculous," Will couldn't help but gulp as he looked at the two behemoths.
His own length was 9 meters, which was already terrifyingly long. You couldn't find many Pokémon longer than him. But these two Gyarados were even more absurd, reaching a length of 13 meters! And, growing proportionally to their Pokédex entries, their weight was probably around 470kg, nearly half a ton! They were monsters.
Who said Magikarp was weakened in ancient times? It evolves at Lv. 20. After evolution, it has this ridiculous physique and a base stat total of 540. It's only weak to Rock and Electric. It can learn moves of thirteen out of the eighteen types. Its Mega Evolution reaches a BST of 640, crushing a host of lesser legendaries. And you call this weakened?
If this was the weakened version, then in ancient times, the Gyarados line must have been the undisputed rulers of the world.
"Let's go. Let Liz see your new faces," Will said, staring at the two Gyarados. Their eyes held a deep, controlled ferocity, which meant they had their violent tempers well in check.
It worked. Will knew his decision to suppress their levels and have Liz and Iris build a bond with them first had been the right one.
"ROOOOAR!!!" x2
The two Gyarados let out a vigorous roar. The massive sound waves reverberated through the sea, scaring away many of the more timid Pokémon. Even some high-level ones didn't dare to approach.
Will swam fast through the sea with his two new Gyarados underlings. The elegant and noble Dragonair, flanked by two domineering and mighty Gyarados. No matter how you looked at it, the scene was beautiful.
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