Chapter 60: An Unexpected Find
After breakfast, Liz, for a rare change, had nothing on her schedule and suggested that she and Will's group go out for a stroll. Will agreed without a second thought and led her to the seaside beach.
In the winter, the beach is not an ideal vacation spot. In the five major, interconnected regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and the Orange Islands, Johto is in the west and Kanto is in the east. These two are on the same line and are both temperate regions. Sinnoh is in the north of the Pokémon world, belonging to the frigid zone. Hoenn and the Orange Islands are in the southwest and southeast, respectively, entering the subtropical zone. Hoenn is closer to Johto, while the Orange Islands are directly below Kanto.
As for other regions like Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, and Paldea, they are much farther away. If you want a beach vacation in the winter, the most suitable place is the tropical Alola region, followed by the southern parts of Hoenn and the Orange Islands. In any case, the southernmost coast of the Johto region was still quite cold.
On the beach of Jubilance Town.
"So cool, so soft."
"Be careful not to get your feet cut on a seashell."
Will strolled along the beach with Liz, turning to see her carrying her cotton shoes, walking barefoot on the sand. With them were the two Gyarados, Blaze, Scorp, and Elder Barb with her Ledyba. It felt nice, walking on the beach together.
"This is the life I've always wanted," Will couldn't help but smile as he watched Blaze and Scorp chasing each other and playing up ahead. Since Liz wanted to relax for a day, Will didn't rush to take the two Gyarados out for training. If not for the threat of war, perhaps Will really would have tried to live a lazy life, doing what he wanted and freeloading off Liz until he died of old age.
"Lan, what do you think is on the other side of the sea?"
"...The enemy," Will answered helplessly, sweating a little. He wasn't just playing with the Attack on Titan reference. In this Era of Primal Beasts, the other side of the sea really was the enemy. Enemies from the Hoenn region, perhaps another human kingdom. If they discovered each other's existence, it would likely mean another war. That's just how humans were.
"When will peace ever come? Sigh..." x2
Will and Liz sighed at the same time, then looked at each other in surprise.
"Did Lan just say something similar to what I was thinking?" Liz asked, her eyes wide. She felt as if she had just understood his voice, that he was also worrying about a peace that seemed so far away.
"We said the exact same thing," Will replied. He was surprised that he and Liz had developed such a rapport without even realizing it.
"It's okay. With you by my side, working with me, peace will surely come."
"...I hope so," Will said, though he wasn't very optimistic. It was still very, very early. This was only the middle period of the Era of Primal Beasts. The peaceful Era of Leagues was at least a thousand years away. He could live to see it, but could Liz?
"Char-char!"
Just then, Blaze seemed to have found something and came running over excitedly, holding a large, pink pearl. Scorp followed behind, slowly carrying a large, tightly closed clamshell, which looked very heavy.
"Oh? What's this? It's so pretty," Liz said, bending down to take the pink pearl from Blaze's hand. It had a diameter of 20 centimeters; it was quite large.
"Hm?" Will frowned.
He was more concerned about the large clamshell Scorp was carrying than the pearl Liz was holding. That thing... didn't look like an empty, dead shell.
"Gli~" Scorp dropped the heavy shell on the ground, gave Liz a fawning wink, and then patted the shell beside it.
Thump. Thump.
"Clam... perl..." a sad, whimpering voice came from inside the shell.
"Hey, how can you two just steal someone else's things? Are you robbers?" Will's mind went blank for a moment, then he had a sudden realization. This was a Clamperl from the Hoenn region! It had somehow ended up on the coast of Johto, only to have its precious pearl stolen by Blaze and Scorp.
"Huh? Is this a beast?" Liz was also surprised to hear the voice coming from the shell. She was discovering that her Pokémon seemed to have a habit of picking up other Pokémon.
"We have to give this back to it," Will said, using his tail to take the pearl from Liz's hand and placing it on the ground in front of the large shell.
This pearl was extremely important to a Clamperl. When it prepares to evolve, it creates a magical pearl that can enhance its psychic power. It relies on this pearl, along with a Deep Sea Tooth or a Deep Sea Scale, to complete its evolution. If the pearl is taken away beforehand, the Clamperl will never be able to evolve. Only after it evolves does the pearl lose its value to it.
Generally, most Clamperl pearls are sold at a high price, perhaps ten times more valuable than a Shellder's pearl. The buyers are usually Trainers with Psychic-type Pokémon, or specifically, trainers of Spoink. This pearl has the effect of increasing a Spoink's psychic power, and they are always searching for such large pearls. It could be said that whoever has this pearl can capture a Spoink.
"Clam?"
Hearing the noise, the Clamperl pitifully opened its shell a crack. Only after seeing its pearl did it open up a little more. Upon seeing Will, it was so scared that it immediately slammed its shell shut again. But when it saw that nothing happened, it cautiously peeked out again.
"Here you go," Will said, placing the pearl back inside the Clamperl's shell. Liz, Blaze, and the others just watched from the side.
"Clam," the Clamperl sighed in relief, seeing the pearl returned to it, and expressed its gratitude to Will.
"It's nothing," Will said casually. It was Blaze and Scorp who had stolen its important belonging in the first place.
After returning the pearl, Will was about to take Liz and the others for a stroll elsewhere. But at that moment, the Clamperl quickly called out to him.
"Clam-perl."
The Clamperl closed its shell, and when it opened again, a crystal-clear blue gem had appeared beside it. It looked like a teardrop.
"A Mystic Water?! Are you giving this to me?"
"Clam-perl!" the Clamperl nodded.
"Thank you!" Will didn't stand on ceremony. He used the tip of his tail to pick up the small drop and swallowed it without a second thought.
A Mystic Water. Carrying this item could increase the power of Water-type moves by 20%. To think he would get one here. It would have been better to give it to the Gyarados, since they were Water-types. But the effect wouldn't be bad on him either. He could learn many Water-type moves and already had Aqua Tail and Water Pulse. He would never hesitate to prioritize his own strength first. The Gyarados underlings would have to wait their turn. As for whether he would digest it or... excrete it... that was a problem for another day. In any case, a Mystic Water was an inconvenient item to carry around; it was easy to lose. Swallowing it was the safest option.
In the games, players could indeed get a Mystic Water in the future Cherrygrove City, but it was a gift from a man. Now, in reality, he had unexpectedly received one from a Clamperl. Perhaps... if this Clamperl hadn't met him today, its Mystic Water would have been obtained by some stranger, passed down through generations as a family heirloom, and finally ended up in the hands of that man in Cherrygrove City, to be given to the player.
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