Chapter 106: Talent That Surpasses a Pseudo-Legendary
"Celebi~"
Will casually studied his new body and then let it be. He wasn't really in the mood to ponder his potential in this life right now. The soles of a Treecko's feet are covered in small spikes, allowing it to hook onto vertical walls and climb with ease, even hanging upside down without falling.
It sounded very impressive, yes, but this ability was of no use to a newborn like him. So, Will could only look around for Celebi, hoping it was still there and could carry him down.
But unfortunately, no matter how much he called out or how long he waited, Celebi did not appear. He was dumbfounded.
Will: ...
Logically, since Celebi had given him so many special powers, it must have really wanted him to survive. But leaving him up here... if he didn't fall to his death, he would starve.
"...I'm screwed," Will said, looking up at the canopy. There wasn't a single fruit. He shook his head in despair. He was tempted to just jump off and start over. But falling to his death would probably hurt a lot, and it was rare to get such a good starting setup. He was a little reluctant to give it up.
Besides, with each reincarnation, the timeline might shift forward. He was afraid that the more he was reborn, the farther away he would get from Liz.
"What do I do..."
"Peli?"
"What the-!"
A voice suddenly appearing by his ear made Will jump. He whipped his head around and saw a dopey-looking Pelipper standing next to him. Will immediately turned and ran. What else was he supposed to do? Wait for it to eat him? To be honest, he probably wasn't even enough to get stuck in its teeth.
Suddenly, a realization hit him, and he stopped. He turned to look at the Pelipper, which was staring at him with a confused expression, as if wondering why this little green frog was overreacting so much.
If Will knew its thoughts, he would have sternly corrected it: he was a wood gecko, not a frog.
"Wait, there's something strange about this Pelipper," Will thought, his eyes narrowing.
There were two main things. First, its eyes. Not only was there no wariness, but there wasn't even a hint of malice. After surviving in the wild for over two years, Will knew the eyes of a wild Pokémon. He could tell that this Pelipper was definitely not one.
Second, it was very small. Not exactly small, but at 1.2 meters tall with a wingspan of about 2.8 meters, it was at a normal Pokédex standard, at least for the Era of Leagues.
The Era of Leagues?!
Will's eyes widened. It was as if all the air had been let out of him, and he collapsed onto the ground. In the Era of Primal Beasts, even domesticated Pokémon were well-fed and would not be smaller than their wild, often-starving counterparts. If this were that era, a Pelipper should have been between 1.8 and 2.4 meters tall to be considered normal.
Even if this wasn't the Era of Leagues, a long time must have passed since the early days of Liz's kingdom.
Which meant... Liz was dead.
Will lowered his head, his eyes filled with a dazed confusion. He didn't know what to do. In his past two lives, he had always thought about how great it would be to come to the Era of Leagues, find a Trainer to take him in, and just freeload and wait to die. But now that he was really here, he found himself wanting to go back to that old era. At least, in that era, he had his family and friends. And now, he had to face this world all alone again.
"Peli?" The Pelipper seemed to sense his sadness. It walked over and flapped its wings, at a loss, as if trying to comfort him.
But Will had no time for it right now. Even if the Pelipper were to scoop him up in its beak, he probably wouldn't react in time.
"Ah-nom~"
"...What are you putting me in your mouth for?!" Will yelled, angrily pushing the Pelipper's beak open and jumping out. His reactions were still fast.
"Peli..." the Pelipper replied, aggrieved. It thought Will was sick because he was unhappy and had intended to take him to a Pokémon Center.
"...Thank you. I'm fine. I just... don't know what to do for a moment," Will said, shaking his head. He reached out and stroked the Pelipper's side. It was fluffy. He leaned in and gave it a big hug. Thanks to Liz and his Dragonite form, he seemed to have developed a liking for hugging other creatures. The short, downy feathers warmed his heart and lifted his spirits a little.
"Peli?" the Pelipper asked, wondering if he wanted a tour of the city.
"A city? Hmm, okay," Will paused for a moment, then nodded. He didn't know what to do right now anyway. Maybe going out with the Pelipper would clear his head.
"Ah-nom~"
The Pelipper once again scooped him up in its beak, but this time it left it slightly open so he could poke his head out and see. Will didn't resist. A Pelipper's beak is huge, over a meter long, and can hold many small Pokémon. In the anime, there was even one that held three Pokémon in its mouth at once.
He looked up. It would probably take another ten minutes or so to fly out of the forest. And so, he began to focus on studying his status screen and his future.
Treecko and Grovyle were one thing, but he needed to look at the third stage, Sceptile. Its only praiseworthy stat was its 120 base Speed. Beyond that, it had almost no advantages. Its physical attack stat was low, yet its best setup moves were physical, and its movepool was full of physical attacks. Its special attack stat was decent, but not great, and its special movepool had no good moves. It was a mess.
Then came its Mega Evolution, which added the Dragon type. Good news: it was no longer weak to Fire. Bad news: it was 4x weak to Ice and now feared Fairy. Its 145 Special Attack and Speed were impressive, but its ability was Lightning Rod. A Grass/Dragon-type is already 4x resistant to Electric. Giving it an ability that grants immunity is completely redundant. Are you supposed to give up your Mega slot just so Sceptile can eat an electric attack for a teammate in a double battle?
Everyone says Mega Garchomp is a joke, that you can't find much worse. Well, Mega Sceptile is that much worse. That 4x weakness to Ice, a symbol of the strong, was just a joke on Sceptile. As a loyal fan, Will swore that if he ever met the genius who designed Mega Sceptile, he would treat them to a very personal Close Combat.
"Good thing I inherited Extreme Speed and was blessed by Celebi..." Will muttered.
In the real world, Sceptile was surely not as bad as in the turn-based games. A Dragonite with 80 base Speed, plus Extreme Speed, could outspeed a Lv. 65 Alpha Beedrill. With Sceptile's 120 base Speed, plus Extreme Speed... its speed would be off the charts. The only downside was that it couldn't fly, a truly epic nerf.
And that was its original speed. He had now been enhanced by Celebi. He didn't know what his Sceptile stage's talent would be, but it might even be stronger than a normal pseudo-legendary.
"What should I do? Find a trainer and challenge the Pokémon League? Boring. I don't want to follow anyone but Liz," Will thought, looking out at the clear blue sky, though he was in no mood to appreciate it.
He lowered his head and continued to stare at his personal panel. Gradually, his eyes widened.
"Time Ripple..."
Will's spirit was instantly revitalized. That's right! This world had the power to travel through time! Celebi and Dialga. The former could travel through time, the latter could control it. If he could find either one, he could see Liz again, or even bring her to this peaceful Era of Leagues!
If that happened, couldn't I fulfill my promise to her?
In that moment, Will's previously dim eyes lit up. He could reincarnate infinitely. If he couldn't find them in one lifetime, he'd try for ten. One day, he would find Celebi or Dialga.
"Hehe," Will happily wagged his tail. When a person has a goal, they have the motivation to live.
Although finding them would not be easy, he was a Grass-type Treecko, and he had Celebi's blessing. "Grass-types live a long time, and Sceptile has Dragon-type blood. Living for a thousand years shouldn't be a problem. In that thousand years, I refuse to believe that Celebi won't come looking for me. And if it doesn't, I'll go find Dialga..."
Will nodded, his decision made. His long-term goal was set. As for the present...
"First, I'll check out the city this Pelipper is talking about, and then I'll take a boat to the Johto region. I want to see what's become of the Dragonite Clan," Will planned his next steps.
He had so much time, he didn't even know what to do with it all. In that short time, he felt the Pelipper begin to descend.
"Are we there?" Will asked, curiously looking outside. His eyes began to light up.
A big city. The familiar modern architectural style appeared before his eyes, filling him with a sense of nostalgia. He couldn't wait to get out and explore the streets.
"Sure enough, I've been reborn in the Era of Leagues."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter