Chapter 126: The Greatest Talent in History
The Pokémon Hospital.
This was what the Pokémon Center was called in this era. And in it was the only normal-sized Pokémon in all of Azalea Town: Nurse Joy's Chansey.
"It's just a little cold," Nurse Joy said, holding Sprigatito and gently scratching her chin. In an instant, the kitten melted in her arms, purring comfortably.
You had to hand it to her. No matter what kind of Pokémon it was, Nurse Joy knew the precise techniques to handle them. Sometimes it made you wonder if the Joy family had some kind of special power passed down through their bloodline.
The Pokémon Hospital in Azalea Town was very small, almost like a roadside clinic. The only staff were Joy and her Chansey. If a place as important as the Pokémon Hospital was this small, it went without saying how under-staffed Officer Jenny's police station was.
But though the sparrow is small, it has all its vital organs. Treating a little cold was an easy task.
"Grovyle, you're next. Let's get you checked out. You're not very old either, are you?" Nurse Joy said, placing Sprigatito in Chansey's arms and turning towards the treatment room.
Hm? Impressive, Will thought, raising an eyebrow. He was impressed. To be honest, Will couldn't even tell how young he himself was, but Nurse Joy had seen it at a glance.
He entered the treatment room. It didn't smell of medicine as he expected, but rather had a strange, pleasant aroma. It was probably the special Pokémon Incense. Different scents had different effects, and the incense used in Pokémon Centers usually had a calming effect on Pokémon.
"The weather hasn't been great these past few days, so the sunlight isn't getting through. That's not good for a Sprigatito that needs photosynthesis. If you want her to recover quickly, she'll need a shot~"
As Nurse Joy was speaking, she had already prepared the medicine.
"MEOW!"
The moment Sprigatito saw the needle in Joy's hand, she could no longer lie still. She leaped out of Chansey's arms and jumped into Will's, desperately trying to burrow inside him.
"Behave and take the shot. This is what you get for not drying off properly yesterday," Will said, patting Sprigatito's rear and pinning her to the table.
"Meeoow~ (Oh, the heavens! The earth!)" Sprigatito despaired. To be betrayed by the one she loved most... what more could she say? "Meow~ (Just let me die~)"
She squeezed two tiny tears from the corners of her eyes and stared at the light overhead as if it were the last sun she would ever see.
But unfortunately for her, Nurse Joy wasn't buying it. Although she also thought the Sprigatito was adorable and pitiful, she had been giving injections for many years. What hadn't she seen? For a Pokémon like Sprigatito, which was naturally gifted at acting, even if this was her first time seeing one, she had heard all about their traits. She certainly wasn't going to fall for it.
With one hand, she gently stroked the kitten's head. With the other, she took the syringe and, in one quick and precise motion, stuck it in Sprigatito's rear.
"Alright, all done," she said, pulling the needle out less than two seconds later. Chansey immediately used Heal Pulse. A pink glow shone on Sprigatito's backside, and the tiny needle mark vanished.
"Meow?"
Sprigatito was stunned. The tears in her eyes hadn't even fallen before she sucked them back in. She twisted her head to look at her butt. She hadn't even felt any pain.
"Meow!"
The kitten immediately felt that she was amazing and puffed out her chest, strutting in front of Will.
"What's there to be proud of?" Will flicked the cat's forehead.
"And now you, Grovyle. Come on over and stand on this," Nurse Joy said, leading Will to a machine. The moment he stood on it, all kinds of data appeared on a screen in front of her.
They already have this kind of tech in this era? Will thought, looking at the screen full of numbers he couldn't understand. It looked so high-tech.
"Hmm... this is..." Joy's hesitant voice made Will's heart jump. Don't tell me I'm sick? That's impossible, right?
"You are... unhealthily healthy."
"Phew... you scared me."
Will sighed in relief. That made more sense. After all, he had a part of Celebi's energy inside him. How could there be anything wrong with his body?
"It's strange. Your body's life activity is more than five times higher than the standard baseline recorded in the books. This means that while other Grovyle might live for five hundred years, you could live for two thousand five hundred."
Nurse Joy frowned, got up, and walked over to him. She began to thoroughly examine his body.
"The bones are very resilient."
"Muscle density seems to be much higher as well."
"And these leaves... being so vibrant, does that mean they're more efficient at absorbing energy from the sun?"
"The blades on your arms are longer and sharper... your tail length also exceeds the average..."
The more she examined, the more amazed she became, even taking out a small notebook to jot things down.
"Meow-meow!" Sprigatito, seeing Joy getting handsy with Will, got angry and tried to jump over and bite her. If Chansey hadn't been holding her, she would have caused trouble again.
"Stay put!" Will ordered, pointing a finger at her. Only then did she sulkily quiet down.
Will was, of course, also very curious about his own physical condition. He knew his body had more potential than a normal Grovyle's, but he had no way of judging just how much more, and could only guess based on his "Orange" potential. Now that Nurse Joy was giving him a concrete analysis, he was finally starting to understand just how strong his potential was in this life.
Joy recorded all the data. Then, she pulled out one of ten family-issued Pokémon Pokédexes, found the one she needed, and began to compare his data to the Grovyle page.
"No wonder your Joy family is so unshakable. You're all basically Pokémon Professors," Will muttered, shaking his head at the sight of the books. Each one was over 20 centimeters thick. If you had to master all ten of these books just to become a Nurse Joy, he probably couldn't graduate even if he had two lifetimes.
"This is incredible! This data is worth reporting to the family!" Joy stood up in amazement after a while. She grabbed a camera and took two pictures of him.
"Grovyle, your talent, among the Grovyle population... is the highest in recorded history. At least, in the records of the Joy family, there has never been one with higher talent than you," Joy said. She then walked up and couldn't resist touching his skin again. When she first saw him, she hadn't thought he was that special. But now, she was looking at him like he was a priceless treasure.
"Am I that strong?" Will asked, looking down at himself. A strange idea popped into his head. If he were still in the Era of Primal Beasts, with this body's talent, and he had gained the "Alpha" or an even higher designation... what level would he have been able to reach?
He didn't think about it for long. He was in the peaceful Era of Leagues. There was no point.
"Do you know that there are Legendary Pokémon in this world?"
"Yes."
"In our family, there are records of a Legendary Pokémon named Latias. I've never seen one, but according to our family's data... when you evolve into a Sceptile, your talent might even surpass hers."
"Is that so? That's certainly not bad," Will said, a small smile playing on his lips.
It wasn't surprising that the Joy family had data on a Latias. In the future, the high-ranking Pokémon Inspector Joy was a Latias's partner. Who knows if this was the same one. As for surpassing Latias... without Mega Evolution, Latias was just a mid-tier Legendary. So for a Sceptile to be able to surpass it was indeed an incredible talent. And Latias could Mega Evolve, but so could Sceptile.
"Grovyle!" Suddenly, Joy grabbed both of Will's hands, her expression excited.
"Chansey?!"
"Meow?!"
The nearby Chansey and Sprigatito were startled by her outburst. Will looked at her, confused.
"Are you willing to become a Pokémon of the Joy family? We will give you the world's most cutting-edge support and customize the most perfect development plan for you, to make you the most dazzling Pokémon in the world!" Joy exclaimed, her voice full of sincere and surging hope.
But unfortunately for her, he refused.
"Why?! If your strength grows, with your constitution, you could have a virtually limitless lifespan!"
Lifespan? Forget it. I'm not interested in living for a thousand years. As long as I can live this life to the fullest, that's enough.
Will shook his head again. A lifespan... to him, wasn't that just a number? To put it arrogantly, he would grow old, but he was immortal. Even if he were killed, he would just come back one day. Even if he were sealed, when his lifespan ended, he would just be reborn. And no one knew what his identity would be in the next life.
But it was precisely because of this that he could never let anyone know about his ability. A single enemy that could never be killed... it was a terrifying thought. Some would think to never provoke him, but others would try everything to control him.
He had already fought for two lifetimes. This time, he just wanted to rest, to be the "salted fish" he always wanted to be, and to do the things he wanted to do. Like travel around with Sprigatito, look for those so-called Legendary Pokémon, and meet some kind and interesting people and Pokémon. That sounded nice.
And besides, with his talent, even if he didn't go out of his way to battle, he would still be able to stand at the pinnacle of this world in a few decades. There was no need to go to the Joy family to train. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
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