Chapter 59: Room and Board Provided
In the dead of night, after eating his fill, Will was faced with a problem. The bed was too small for him to sleep on. Their new, larger bed was two-and-a-half meters, but that was hardly enough for Will's nine-meter length. He had to coil most of his body, which was still very crowded and uncomfortable.
But no matter the situation, Liz never considered sleeping separately from Will. The thought of finding a separate room for him or building a large pool never even crossed her mind. She had grown accustomed to sleeping while hugging the soft Will and didn't want to be apart.
The Gyarados, however, were another story. Chapter 58: How on Earth Did You Recognize Him?!Their size and weight were too extreme; a simple turn in their sleep could cause considerable damage. So, for now, they had to stay in the shallow coastal waters of Jubilance Town, which they were more than happy to do.
The winter nights in Jubilance Town brought sea winds that were even more ferocious than during the day.
CRASH!Tinkle, tinkle.
Will, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly startled awake by a loud, sharp noise. He instantly opened his eyes and looked to the side. The bedroom window had shattered into pieces on the floor. Lying among the shards was a purple, tongue-lolling Pokémon.
"A Gligar?!"
Will's eyes widened as he watched the Gligar on the floor rub its head and stand up. This Gligar was not small. It was a full 2 meters long, nearly double the Pokédex value. Its level must be quite high. However, a Gligar doesn't stand that tall; at least a meter of that length was its tail. Without the tail, it was probably only about a meter high. Even so, the size of this Gligar felt off to Will. The Gligar he remembered from the anime was a tiny thing, not even reaching Ash's mid-thigh.
"Gli?!"
After getting up, the Gligar was startled by the sight of the massive Will. It quickly put its pincers together in a gesture of apology. It assumed it had intruded on Will's territory and was afraid of being eaten. After all, Will was enormous. It felt that if it didn't apologize properly, it was doomed.
"..."
Will looked down, silently staring at the Gligar without a word. Cold sweat began to form on the Gligar's forehead, but it didn't dare make a move.
In reality, Will was considering whether he should help Liz capture this Gligar. Gligar are numerous but not commonly seen. They can be found in most regions except for Kanto, Hoenn, and Galar, but their colonies usually live on high cliffs near the clouds, places that are difficult for ordinary people to reach. So, seeing and catching one was not an easy task.
Moreover, Gligar's evolution, Gliscor, was very strong. Its power didn't just come from its 510 base stat total, but also from its unique Ground/Flying typing. Of the 18 types, it was immune to the popular Ground and Electric types, and was only weak to Water (2x) and Ice (4x), with no other shortcomings. A 4x weakness to Ice is the mark of a true powerhouse.
But... where would I find a Razor Fang?
The reason for Will's hesitation was Gligar's evolution requirement. It needed the item "Razor Fang." But where could he find one in this reality?
"You'll have to compensate," Will decided after a moment. He would keep the Gligar for now. Even if it couldn't evolve, a Gligar's typing was still an advantage, even if it was a bit weaker. Besides, there was still plenty of time. He could check the palace treasury when they got back; maybe he'd find one there. The Dragonite Kingdom's army was always exploring the Mt. Silver range and often brought back strange items.
"Gli!" the Gligar paused, then nodded vigorously.
"Lan~?" Liz's voice came from under the covers. The series of noises had woken her up. Blaze, on the other hand, was still sleeping like a log. Not only was he not awake, but the flame on his tail was burning even brighter. He was probably having an exciting dream.
"I want you to become her underling. You will listen to her from now on," Will said, indicating the groggily-sitting-up Liz.
"Gli? Gligar! (Her? No way! I, Gligar, have unyielding bones! I will never submit to a human!)"
The Gligar looked at Liz, frowned as if disgusted by her weakness, and then shook its head in resolute refusal.
"..."
Will fell silent. He hadn't expected this Gligar to be so hard to fool, unlike Blaze. It must have been alive for some time.
Grumble, grumble.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from the Gligar's stomach.
"...She can give you delicious food and a warm nest," Will offered.
A simple translation: room and board provided.
"Gligar! (I was born to be her underling!)"
The Gligar's eyes lit up. It immediately dropped to one knee and pledged its loyalty to Liz.
"Huh?" Liz, now fully awake, looked at the scene before her and tilted her head in confusion.
"..."
Will stared at the Gligar, wondering where it had learned such a human-like gesture. It was the first time he had seen such a... "humanized" Pokémon. He had to take back his previous assessment. This Gligar wasn't hard to fool; Will just hadn't been using the right bait.
Whoosh~
A fierce sea breeze blew in through the broken window, making Liz shiver. "Lan, it's cold," she mumbled, shrinking back under the covers and hugging the warm Blaze. As for the Gligar, she seemed to have already filtered it out of her perception.
"Come with me," Will said, looking out the window. The winter night clouds were thick, obscuring the starlight. He guessed that the Gligar had been caught in a strong gust of wind, lost control of its trajectory, and glided right into their room. Although Gligar has the Flying type, they can't truly "fly"; they can only glide. The advantage of gliding is that it's silent, but the disadvantage is that it's easily affected by the wind. A skilled Gliscor would have no fear of strong winds, but an inexperienced Gligar could easily be blown off course.
"Gligar!" the Gligar nodded.
Will used his tail to wrap up Liz, Blaze, and the blankets, moving them to the next room. He then took the Gligar to the kitchen. As someone who was also raising a Pokémon, Elder Barb naturally kept food for them on hand. It was a collection of fragrant flowers and berries, likely Ledyba's favorite. Will wasn't interested and tossed it to the Gligar.
"Gli-gli~" The Gligar picked it up and started gnawing. It looked like it hadn't had a good meal in a long time.
After it had eaten its fill, Will brought the Gligar back to the bedroom to sleep. The rest could wait until morning.
The next day, Liz went to find Elder Barb in the main hall.
"What is this?" Barb asked, looking blankly at the Gligar by Liz's left leg, then at the Charmander by her right. If the two hadn't appeared together, she would have thought the Charmander had mutated.
"This is Scorp," Liz said, her expression unchanged. Her own mindset had changed quite a bit. She was no longer surprised by a strange beast suddenly appearing by her side. When she woke up and saw the purple beast in her room, she hadn't been scared at all. She vaguely remembered Will talking to it last night. Since Will had kept it by her side, she instinctively understood his meaning.
It was a good feeling. Liz truly believed that. With these children by her side, she had completely forgotten the taste of loneliness. The winter morning even seemed to have become warmer. And a bit... smoky?
"Liz..." Elder Barb suddenly said, her head down.
"Yes?"
"Your dress is on fire."
"?... BLAZE!!!"
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