Chapter 90: I Want to Be Strong
In the dead of night, in the palace courtyard, Will forced his eyes open. He had finally caught the one he was waiting for: Scorp, flying out of his room.
His guess had been correct. For Scorp to go from Lv. 25 to Lv. 40 in two years, the time spent at the Pokémon Academy during the day was definitely not enough. Will knew very well how slow the leveling process became after Lv. 35.
"So you've been sneaking out to train."
Will scooped a handful of water from the courtyard fountain and splashed it on his face to wake himself up. Then, he quietly followed the Gligar as it glided into the distance.
Liz was busy preparing for war, working from morning to night. She likely had no chance to notice the change in Scorp. But Will couldn't just ignore it. Although this obsessive training didn't seem to have any downsides for now, Scorp was still just a Pokémon. He might not realize the unknown effects that day-and-night training was having on his body and would just keep pushing himself.
Training without rest, day and night, was something not even Ash would consider. Moreover, the medical standards of this era were far from those of the future. If a real problem developed, they might not even be able to diagnose it, let alone treat it. Perhaps the negative effects just hadn't shown up yet, but over time, the accumulated strain would surely lead to illness. Will had to remind Scorp not to train so blindly that he ended up hurting himself. And more importantly, he had to find out the reason for his change in mentality.
Will followed Scorp across the plains until he saw a group of five Sneasel, active in the night. Scorp immediately began to descend. His intentions were clear: he was treating the five Sneasel as his prey.
"Fighting five at once? And they're Ice-types? You've got to be out of your mind," Will cursed under his breath, glaring at the Sneasel.
In this era, a Sneasel was not a good opponent. This wasn't just for a Gligar, which was 4x weak to them, but for any Pokémon. Sneasel usually live in cold places. Now that winter was approaching and the plains were bitingly cold at night, these clawed Pokémon had come down from the snowy mountains.
Most Pokémon are naturally kind and innocent, but Sneasel seems to be an exception. At least, the black Sneasel from other regions are completely different from their cuter Hisuian cousins. The Pokédex even describes them as "cunning and vicious, with a cruel and treacherous nature, sometimes being loathed and cast out by their trainers."
But setting aside their temperament, every Sneasel is a born fighter. They are adept at hiding in the darkness, relying on teamwork to attack their prey under the cover of night. While their typing is terrible, their stat distribution is excellent, and after evolving into Weavile, they become top-tier assassins. And against a Gligar, their type advantage is massive.
That's why Will said Scorp was out of his mind. A single Gligar taking on five Sneasel at night—what was that if not insanity? Will had just been worried that this stubborn Gligar would suffer a major loss from its blind training, and now his fears were being realized.
Will could go out and train alone because he had knowledge of these Pokémon and understood which enemies he couldn't beat. But Scorp was different. He knew nothing about Sneasel, and seeing their small size, he assumed he could win, completely ignoring the circumstances and type matchups. If he had run into a non-lethal Pokémon like an Ampharos, Arcanine, or Tauros, it might have been fine. But a Sneasel would absolutely torture and kill him after defeating him.
"Let this kid learn a lesson first," Will decided. He landed on the ground without making a sound and hid in the tall grass, watching as Scorp engaged the five Sneasel.
Although the Sneasel were small, their levels were not low, probably around Lv. 35 on average. A group of five together could hold their own on these plains.
Even though Scorp's level was higher, he couldn't withstand their combined assault. Sneasel are masters of pack tactics. Even if they hadn't coordinated, the five of them could have beaten him.
"Gligar~" a miserable cry sounded as Scorp was beaten back again and again. He already knew he was no match for them. To his credit, he wasn't a hothead and knew he had to run. But there was no way the five Sneasel would let him escape so easily. They pounced, dragging him down and beating him.
"Scared now, aren't you? Can't get away," Will shook his head from the darkness. He figured it was about time to rescue him.
Thump. Thump.
He didn't even have to attack. Just by standing up and taking two steps out of the grass, he scared the Sneasel half to death. Scorp was startled at first too, but he was too injured to fly and could only lie there pitifully as the behemoth approached.
It was only when Will was right in front of him that he recognized him.
"Gli?..." Scorp froze for a moment, then pursed his lips, his eyes immediately welling up with tears. But he was stubborn. He lowered his head and cried to himself, not letting Will see.
Will had intended to scold him, but seeing him like this, he stopped. He bent down and picked him up, quietly walking back towards the capital.
"Gligar~" Scorp lay in Will's arms, raising his pincers to cover his eyes.
"We'll put some medicine on it when we get back, and it won't hurt anymore."
"Gli..." Scorp choked back a sob, and then began to quietly tell the story that had changed him.
It had happened a year ago. At that time, Charizard was still a Charmeleon and couldn't fly. Scorp was still full of life and just wanted to play, often flying out to the nearby plains by himself. One day, he saw a little Pidgey being bullied by seven or eight Spearow. The innocent Scorp got angry. Having grown up under the protection of his clan, he had never seen such a thing. He charged in and beat up the Spearow.
After that, he and the Pidgey became friends and would often play together. But the Pidgey had its own flock, far from the palace. Scorp wasn't worried about the Pidgey flying back by itself. But his level was the lowest of all the Pokémon, barely Lv. 30. How could he protect it?
One day, on the way back, they were attacked by a Fearow. It was strong, and so fast that they couldn't shake it. The timid Scorp panicked, flying around aimlessly. He couldn't win, and he couldn't escape. What could he do?
The Pidgey, knowing it couldn't escape and not wanting to abandon its friend, decided to at least repay its debt. It charged the Fearow, tangling with it for a precious few moments and yelling at Scorp to run.
In a state of panic, Scorp had listened and fled. But after flying a short distance, he came to his senses. If I fly away, what will happen to Pidgey? He immediately rushed back, even though he didn't know what he could do.
But when he returned, the Fearow was gone. There was only the dead, half-eaten body of a Pidgey.
That scene had a huge impact on him. For the first time, he was so clearly aware of his own weakness, of the consequences it could bring. He realized that weakness... was a sin. It was the first time Scorp had ever questioned the meaning of his own existence.
From that day on, he changed. He never wanted something like that to happen again. So...
"Gli~ (I want to be strong~)" Scorp mumbled, lying in Will's arms, crying and choking on his tears of shame. His head was still bleeding, and his wings were torn, but he no longer cared about the pain, only about his own weakness.
Will stopped walking and looked down at the purple creature in his arms.
"Gli... Gligar! (I want to be very strong... I want to protect everyone!)"
If I had been strong enough then, Pidgey wouldn't have died. I never want anyone else to die because I'm weak. Scorp couldn't express such complex thoughts, but he knew he wanted to be strong. More than anything.
He could no longer control himself. He looked up at Will and began to wail helplessly, his tears and snot streaming onto Will's chest.
Will raised a soft, large hand and wiped the tears and snot from Scorp's face, then placed him on the ground.
"Since you've realized your own powerlessness, then you must indeed become stronger. But this road is not an easy one. Are you sure?" Will's voice came from in front of him.
Scorp stood obediently on the ground and looked up. Will's back was tall and filled him with a sense of security. He wanted to be a Pokémon like that too.
"Gligar," Scorp nodded heavily.
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