Chapter 130: The Little Lapras
"Ew~ you got yourself all dirty," Will said, waking up and seeing Sprigatito licking her fur.
"Meow-meow!" The kitten immediately bristled. She stood up and delivered an 18-hit Cat-Fu Punch combo to Will. She had worked so hard to protect him from the thieving rats, and this was the thanks she got?! She was furious!
She turned her head, but the two Rattata that had been lying on the ground were gone. Now she had no way to prove what she did!
"Come on, let's go. We'll get you washed up at the beach before the sun sets. I remember the ocean is to the east," Will said, shouldering his pack and picking up the cat. A Sprigatito's fluffy fur has plant-like components, allowing it to absorb sunlight to create energy. After a bath, if she sunbathed, her fur would be dry and fresh in no time.
They headed east. Soon, the sea breeze was on their faces, carrying with it a damp, salty smell. Will was no stranger to this smell.
Swoosh~
"La-praas!"
Mixed in with the messy sound of the waves, there seemed to be the cry of another Pokémon. It was a young, tender voice, like that of a small child, probably about the same age as Sprigatito.
"Meow?" Sprigatito also heard the sound and looked up towards the beach.
As they got closer, a scene of conflict appeared before their eyes. Two groups of Pokémon, one on the sand and one in the sea, were in a standoff. In the water were eight Tentacool. On the sand, the group was a bit more diverse: a Totodile, a Pichu, two Hoppip, and two Houndour.
But the most eye-catching one was a large creature they were all protecting: a Lapras. It was "large" only in comparison to the small Pokémon around it. In reality, this Lapras was only about 2 meters tall. This was very small for its species, equivalent to a 1.5-meter (4'11") tall girl in human society.
The situation was clear: the small Pokémon on the beach were protecting the little Lapras from the Tentacool swarm in the sea.
"Meow?" Sprigatito was like a little gossip-monger who had just caught the scent of drama. She stretched her head far out of the backpack, looking like she wanted to stand right in the middle of them and listen in.
Will glanced at them but ignored the drama. He just carried Sprigatito to the water's edge, dunked her in like he was rinsing lamb, and began to scrub the dirt from her fur.
Sprigatito, who had been completely engrossed in the conflict, was now completely dumbfounded. But Will paid her no mind. The sun was about to set; he had to get her clean and dry. They had already left Myra's house. There would be no fireplace to keep them warm at night, and the spring evenings were still cold. If she went to sleep wet, she would definitely be sick again tomorrow.
However, although Will was ignoring the two groups, they certainly couldn't ignore him.
From the Pichu group's perspective, if this powerful Grovyle joined their side, the Tentacool would definitely retreat. The Tentacool in the water were thinking the same thing. They wouldn't proactively invite him, but if he ignored the beach group, they could continue their standoff. After all, the Lapras couldn't stay on the beach forever. It would have to return to the sea eventually, and when it did, what could those land-based runts do to stop them?
Conversely, if he joined the Pichu group, a nasty fight was probably unavoidable.
"Pichu," the Pichu said, looking at its companions. It finally decided to go over itself. "Pi?" it asked, running up to Will and asking for his help.
"What are you all arguing about?" Will didn't refuse immediately, but first asked what was going on. Helping out wasn't a problem, since he had nothing else to do. But he wasn't about to just blindly pick a side.
"Pi~ Pichu..." The Pichu began to explain, using a lot of gestures.
As he listened, Will didn't stop scrubbing Sprigatito. Sprigatito, fortunately, was now also focused on the story, or else she would have definitely given him a few good scratches.
The story was simple. The little Lapras, who had just left its infant stage, had gotten separated from its family. It was singing as it swam around the sea, trying to find them. Then, it had accidentally wandered into the Tentacool's territory and woken them up. The enraged Tentacool swarm had chased it and beaten it up. The Lapras had no choice but to flee to the beach and ask the nearby Pichu and its friends for help.
Totodile, Pichu, and the others were all Pokémon who had grown up alone, without a clan. They didn't really have a concept of "territory." In their view, this ocean and these plains were for everyone to share. Anyone had the right to be here and do what they wanted. The Tentacool were clearly just being unreasonable bullies. And so, it had turned into a shouting match, with neither side willing to back down.
Pichu wanted Will, who looked very strong, to be the judge.
After hearing the story, Will felt a headache coming on. In the Era of Primal Beasts, where all Pokémon stuck with their own kind and hoarded land, this would 100% have been the Lapras's fault. Any Pokémon would have given the same answer. She had trespassed and woken someone up.
But, from a certain point on, especially with human intervention, many Pokémon had lost this cognition. Just like Pichu and its friends, they had no concept of territory. From their perspective, the world was for everyone, and the Lapras could sing wherever it wanted. Besides, the Tentacool never told anyone that was their territory. Humans at least put up fences or signs. How was an unknowing Pokémon supposed to not wander in?
From their respective positions, neither side was really wrong.
But if he had to pick one... it was still the Lapras's fault. Not for trespassing, but for singing in the middle of the night. Never mind in someone else's house; you can't even do that in a public space. When it's time to sleep, you should be quiet. Otherwise, what's the difference between her and a bunch of old ladies square-dancing at 3 AM?
Will finished washing Sprigatito and placed her on the sand to sun-dry. He then clearly explained his thoughts to the groups. He wasn't sure if, with their intelligence, they would understand him.
"La-praas~"
Fortunately, though the Lapras was young, she was smart. After hearing what Will said, she obediently and politely apologized to the Tentacool, graciously taking all the blame on herself. A Lapras's intelligence is quite high among Pokémon. The Pokédex even describes them as being able to "understand human speech." This was an effect almost on par with a Psychic-type's telepathy.
"Coo-cool..." But the Tentacool were not in a forgiving mood. If an apology was all it took, they wouldn't have chased it all the way to the beach.
"La-praas..." The Lapras drooped its head, tears welling up in its eyes. She had already admitted her mistake, but she still wasn't forgiven. What was she supposed to do?
"Totodile?! (Wani-wani?!)" The Totodile was a hothead. It hadn't even processed what Will had said. Hearing the Tentacool's response, it got angry and charged headfirst into the sea.
"Pika?!" The Pichu and the others were shocked. They were all panicked, not knowing what to do. They couldn't fight in the sea, especially the two Houndour.
"...Hm?" Will, who had been about to leave, suddenly glanced at the Lapras's shell, then looked up, across the ocean.
"Cherrygrove City should be just on the other side of this bay," he murmured. He then walked over to the Lapras and asked, "I'll help you convince them to forgive you. In exchange, you carry us over there. How about it?"
"La-praas," the Lapras, hearing it could be forgiven, immediately nodded.
"Meow?" Sprigatito, at his feet, tilted her head curiously. She didn't know how Will planned to "convince" the Tentacool, but she was curious.
"How to convince them? With 'reason,' of course," Will grinned.
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