Chapter 94: The Elemental Punches
The return journey the next day was much faster. For one, Scorp was faster as a Gliscor, but more importantly, his stamina and ability to control the wind had greatly improved. Will also noticed something he hadn't before. As a Gligar, its pincers and wings were connected, which meant that when it attacked with its pincers, it was difficult to maintain its glide. It had to choose between attacking and gliding. But after evolving into a Gliscor, the two actions could coexist. Its pincers were completely separate from its wings, so their movement didn't interfere with each other. This was a combat enhancement you could only really discover in the real world.
They set out early in the morning and were back at the palace by evening, nearly twice as fast as their trip out. The new Gliscor, sensing its own changes, danced with excitement upon their return, constantly showing off its new form to Liz and Charizard.
"Gliscor, you and Charizard, go outside and have a battle."
Will glanced at Charizard's not-particularly-concerned expression and decided to make them fight. Before, Charizard was only a tiny bit weaker than Scorp, a nearly imperceptible difference, so he probably thought he could surpass him after gaining another two levels. But now, Will felt it was necessary for the Gliscor to thoroughly crush Charizard's arrogance and make him recognize the gap between them, lest he become too complacent.
There's a saying: "Don't let pride blind you."
Because of his past knowledge, Will had always been more partial to Charizard. He had always assumed that, aside from himself, Charizard would be the strongest Pokémon under Liz's command in the future. But now it seemed that if Charizard maintained this leisurely attitude, he would sooner or later be left far behind by Gliscor. In the future, Gliscor would be Liz's strongest general.
"Gliscor~"
The Gliscor excitedly raised its pincers and charged out without hesitation. It was eager to test its new strength and see just how much it had changed.
"Charizard," Charizard yawned and flew out confidently.
"You all go and watch too," Will told the other Pokémon. This was to put pressure on Charizard, and also to see if he could inspire a desire to become stronger in the others.
"I want to go too~"
Iris didn't even wait for Will to ask, she just rode her "Little Splasher" and followed them out.
Once they had all left, Liz's expression gradually grew complicated.
"Lan."
"What is it?"
Will glanced at Liz, surprised to see such an expression on her face. It seemed something had happened that she had to do but found difficult.
"Well, in a few days, there might be something I need to ask you to do."
"What is it? Just say it."
"It's rather dangerous, but there are not many Pokémon who can do it. I need you to help me scout a relatively safe sea route that will allow our army to reach the land of Kanto from Jubilance Town with minimal losses."
Liz frowned as she looked at him. It was clear she didn't really want him to do this; in her eyes, it was very dangerous. It would require him to go underwater to observe the distribution of Pokémon. If he encountered a powerful Pokémon, his life would be at risk. But there truly weren't many who could accomplish such a task. Will could fly in the sky and swim in the sea. Even if he encountered an unbeatable opponent underwater, he could fly away. Entrusting this matter to him would minimize the losses.
"Is that all? Leave it to me," Will said, agreeing with a casual wave of his hand.
What seemed dangerous to Liz was not dangerous at all to him. There were definitely many Pokémon in the ocean that could beat him, but they were mostly in the deep sea. The shipping lane he needed to scout wouldn't be too far from the coast; the probability of encountering a Pokémon above Lv. 55 was very low. Besides, he had mastered Extreme Speed. It would be a bit too embarrassing to be killed by a sea-dwelling Pokémon now.
"You must be careful," Liz said, stepping forward to hug him, her voice tinged with anxiety. "I don't want to involve you in the war, but the Dragonite Kingdom really needs your strength."
"I said I'd help you achieve your dream. If you don't let me participate in the war, wouldn't my efforts for the past two years have been for nothing?" Will said, patting her back.
"I am currently mobilizing troops to go to Jubilance Town. They will take the sea route to Kanto and then flank the enemy from behind when the main battle breaks out. The whole process will take about a month. You just need to find the route within that time."
"Understood."
By the time Will and Liz had finished their discussion, the battle between Gliscor and Charizard was over. The Gliscor was visibly ecstatic. In contrast, the Charizard seemed to have turned gray, but the flame on its tail was burning fiercely.
His fighting spirit has been ignited, Will thought, nodding with satisfaction as he looked at the flame on Charizard's tail.
Every Charizard has its own personality. Ash's was very proud and arrogant, and its reaction to defeat was extreme. When it was thrown into the lake in the Charicific Valley, it was so devastated it almost let its tail flame go out, nearly dying. It was only after a long period of training there that it regained its confidence, this time backed by real power, able to defeat even an Articuno.
But Liz's Charizard was different. Ever since it was a Charmander, it had been full of life, optimistic, and always looking forward to tomorrow, stubbornly chasing its dream of flying. So, even though it was defeated today, it wouldn't be crushed. It would still look forward to tomorrow, to becoming a little stronger, and to the day it would surpass Gliscor.
"Keep up the good work," Will said, not saying much more. He walked over, patted Charizard's shoulder, and then left. Charizard nodded. Will was the Big Bro he admired most. With his encouragement, he felt he would be fine!
The next day, Will didn't rush to the sea to scout the route. At his current speed and strength, the process would take ten days at most. He still had twenty days to spare. He planned to use this time to travel back and forth to Mt. Silver, learning moves from the Dragonite Chief during the day, and then coming back at night to review and train Gliscor and the others.
"The war will most likely arrive in two or three months. There isn't much time left."
With a slight sense of urgency, Will used Extreme Speed early in the morning and flew to Mt. Silver.
In Dragonite Valley, it had been a year since he had last left, back when he was still a Dragonair. When he appeared in the valley again, even without him saying a word, the Dragonite there quickly guessed it was him.
"Nite," the Dragonite Chief said, looking at Will, who was now almost as tall as he was. He nodded forcefully, expressing his admiration. He hadn't expected a kinsman who had grown up alone outside the clan to reach such a level. In the entire world, besides himself, you couldn't find a second Dragonite taller than Will.
"Ying-ying~" a voice sounded by his ear. At the same time, Will felt a cool serpent coiling up his leg and around his body. A moment later, the face of the female Dragonair appeared before him.
"Long time no see," Will said, raising a hand in greeting, not minding that she had wrapped herself around him. Although in his eyes, most Dragonair looked the same, he could still recognize that this was the one who had a crush on him. It seemed that now he was even more charming. Besides this Dragonair, other Dragonite and Dragonair also wanted to come and get close, but they were all driven away by the one currently wrapped around him.
"I came specifically to ask you to teach me some moves. I may have to bother you for a while," Will said, ignoring the Dragonair and addressing the chief. He felt a little embarrassed to keep coming here for help, but he didn't have anything to offer them in return right now. He could only say that if the Dragonite clan ever encountered danger in the future, the Dragonite Kingdom would provide what help it could.
"Dragonite," the chief was as generous as ever and didn't mind teaching him at all. They were usually bored in the valley anyway; this gave him something to do.
"Thank you."
"Nite?" At that moment, the chief suddenly asked Will if he had seen anything unusual on his flight over.
"Hm? I didn't notice anything. What's wrong?"
"Dragonite~" the chief spread his arms. He said that the underground ruler of Mt. Silver had been in a bad mood lately, causing some tremors in the mountain.
Will shook his head, puzzled. If the Dragonite Chief didn't know what was going on, how could he?
For the next twenty days, Will came to Dragonite Valley every morning and returned to the palace in the evening. During this time, he successively "recalled" three moves: Fire Punch, Wing Attack, and Thunder Punch. He also learned the non-native move, Ice Punch. At the same time, with his daily high-speed travel, his proficiency with Extreme Speed grew higher and higher. He might not be able to drift mid-flight, but he could at least stop wherever he wanted.
"The war between the human kingdoms is about to begin. I don't know when we'll meet again. You all take care," Will said on his last evening, bidding farewell to the Dragonite Chief. He didn't say much else. With the Dragonite clan's location and environment, even if a war broke out, it wouldn't affect them.
He gave the female Dragonair the same farewell as last time: "As long as we're alive, we'll see each other again."
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