Chapter 134: An Altered History
The next morning, they set out again. Lapras and Sprigatito, having slept all night, didn't even know the Corsola had visited.
"Meow?"
Sprigatito, wide awake, was immediately back to harassing Will, burrowing into his arms and swatting him with her paws.
"Don't bother me, I'm sleepy. Let me sleep. If a Pokémon comes, wake me up immediately."
Will, having stayed up all night learning, had no energy to deal with her. Although he hadn't mastered Dig, he had a good feel for it now. When his Ground-type energy was sufficient, a few more tries should be all it would take. His intelligence was, after all, not on the same level as an ordinary Pokémon's.
"Meow..."
Seeing that Will was really tired, Sprigatito became obedient. She gently massaged his legs with her paws, her body giving off a sweet scent. Then she snuggled up and rested her head on his chin. Smelling the fragrance, Will quickly fell into a deep sleep. The rocking of the waves was the perfect lullaby.
When he woke up again, it was already high noon. The sun was directly overhead. Sprigatito was lying next to him, spread-eagled in the "sploot" position, also fast asleep. Her little belly, exposed to the air, was already getting a bit round. You couldn't tell normally, but when she lay flat, you could see how terrifying Myra's "fattening" techniques were. In just one week, she had managed to get this skinny little cat looking like this. If Sprigatito stayed in Azalea Town for a year, she'd become a Sprig-pig-ito.
"La-praas~" The Lapras's melodious voice came from ahead.
"Are we there?"
Hearing her call, Will grabbed a handful of seawater and splashed it on his face. The cold water woke him up instantly. He stood up and stretched his neck, looking forward.
A skyline of tall buildings appeared in his vision. These were real skyscrapers; even the smallest was at least five stories high, and the tallest was over a dozen. It was clearly far more advanced than Ever Grande City.
Besides the distant Cherrygrove City, there was a small, verdant island much closer to them.
"It's... changed."
Will stood on Lapras's back, stunned. This was completely different from his memory!
In the games, Cherrygrove City, despite being a "city," was actually the second-smallest town in the Johto region, the first one you arrived at after leaving the starting town. In terms of scale, it should have been on par with Azalea Town or Mahogany Town. But this... this was completely different.
How could this be a "second-to-last" town? Although he had only been to Ever Grande and Azalea, he was certain that the Cherrygrove City in front of him was one of the most famous and largest cities in the world.
"Is it because of the naval plan from a thousand years ago?" Will frowned. He couldn't think of any other possibility.
That flanking maneuver by sea... Jubilance Town, as it was called then, had been the port that had given its all, providing all the ships and supplies. Perhaps after that victory, the Dragonite Kingdom had decided to heavily invest in and develop this port town.
As Lapras carried him, he saw that they were now on the other side of the isolated island. A channel, marked by buoys, now connected the island to Cherrygrove, and medium-sized boats were sailing back and forth.
"It's pretty lively," Will grinned. For him, seeing that the home of the Gliscor clan had survived was, without a doubt, a good thing. It seemed it had now become a tourist attraction for Cherrygrove. He just wondered how many Gligar were left. With people constantly coming and going, many of them had probably been captured by humans.
"La-praas?" Lapras, hearing him muttering, turned her head curiously.
"It's nothing. Let's rest on that island for a bit. We'll have lunch and see if there are any berries. I haven't eaten a berry in a long time," Will said, pointing to the island.
"La-praas," Lapras nodded. She had been swimming all morning and was also a little hungry. Besides, without her parents around, she didn't dare dive into the sea to hunt. The incident with the Tentacool had left her a bit traumatized. To be able to "freeload" a meal with Will was an excellent outcome.
"Get up, you lazy cat. My god, how can you be so lazy," Will said, grabbing the scruff of the sleeping Sprigatito's neck.
"Meow~" Sprigatito was forcibly activated, rubbing her eyes in annoyance.
"Here, wake up. We're on land," Will said, scooping up a handful of water and splashing it in her face.
"Meow!" Sprigatito was instantly awake and glared at him, furious.
"Oho, you're a feisty one when you wake up, aren't you," Will said, plucking her little tail. He then laughed in her face.
"Meow..." Sprigatito gritted her teeth, fuming. I'm going to grow up! For the first time, she had the intense desire to grow up quickly, so she could surpass Will! She would do every single thing to him that he had done to her!
She imagined a future, much larger version of herself, holding him by the scruff of his neck, plucking his tail.
"Meow-hehehe~" Sprigatito couldn't help but laugh.
Will frowned, a question mark over his head as he looked at the kitten in his hands. Did I just break her brain?
While they were bickering, Lapras had already reached the shore.
"La-praas..." she called out, a little worried. She was afraid Will would just leave her here, since she couldn't go on land.
"Don't worry. Look, I remember there's a river that leads inland. We'll all go together."
"La-praas~" Lapras agreed joyfully. As long as she wasn't left behind, anything was fine. She was terrified of being alone.
Lapras circled the island and quickly found the river inlet. As they were heading inland, they were spotted by a group of human tourists.
"Hey! Look, it's a Lapras! That's a rare Pokémon!"
"No way, the two on its back are even rarer! I've never seen those Pokémon before."
"Seriously, what is this combination? It's so interesting, haha. Take a picture!"
"That one's a Grovyle, from my home region of Hoenn. But I've never seen that little cat before."
"Can we catch them? Should I throw a ball?"
"Stop! That's rude! Can't you see that Grovyle is wearing a backpack? It's clearly a Trainer's Pokémon!"
The crowd was noisy. The moment they saw Will's group, the island's natural scenery was forgotten. In this world, nothing is more alluring than a Pokémon.
"La-praas..." Lapras was clearly seeing humans for the first time. She was very frightened by the chattering crowd.
"Don't be scared. Just ignore them," Will said, patting Lapras's head. He then looked at Sprigatito. "Do you want to get in your Poké Ball?"
"Meow? Meow!" Sprigatito was confused for a second, then shook her head. She remembered what a Poké Ball was. It was that little ball that sucked her in. She didn't like it in there. She wanted to stay by Will's side. And besides, in her mind, humans were good creatures. From Tom, to Myra, to Gunther, everyone was nice.
"Just keep going," Will said, glancing at the humans without much concern. His impression of the people in this era was quite good. The worst he had met were the egg thieves, and even they had a moral code. In a way, the people of this era were so good it almost felt unreal.
"Wow! The Grovyle just glared at me!"
"Haha, Grovyle and Sceptile are known for looking cool and aloof. Their gaze is always a bit more intimidating."
"By the way, are all Grovyle in your region that big? He doesn't look like the ones I've seen in pictures."
"Huh? Now that you mention it... whoa! That Grovyle is huge! No, I have to get a picture of this."
"I'm more curious about that little cat. It's so cute~ Is it the Grovyle's baby?"
Will heard all of their discussion. Unlike Sprigatito, who only understood bits and pieces, or Lapras, who was too nervous to listen, he understood them perfectly.
"These people... they have too much free time," Will said, shaking his head.
But then he thought again... if he had been born as a human in this world, he would probably be even more fanatical than they were.
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