Chapter 220: Lorelei's First Partner
When Will woke up again, but before he opened his eyes, he felt something soft in his mouth.
The familiar texture made him instinctively start to suckle.
That's it. It was a baby bottle's nipple.
Even though it had been thirty years, the moment it entered his mouth, Will recognized it.
He opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the little girl who had knocked him out with a mop last night. On either side of her was a middle-aged couple, who must have been her parents.
They looked to be in their early thirties. The man had sharp, defined features, and the woman was still very graceful. Their daughter was definitely going to be a great beauty when she grew up.
Will continued to drink the sweet and sour milk from the bottle, sizing up the family of three. They seemed to be a happy, normal family.
"So the offerings I ate yesterday were from this family, huh." Will muttered to himself, recalling what the girl had said.
He had taken a beating, but he had eaten the offerings from her grandmother's grave. He couldn't really blame her. Plus, the girl had even brought him back and was feeding him.
"This little one has such big eyes! And a big head."
"Yes, and its color is different from a normal Piplup. It's so cute."
"But he's so clumsy."
The family discussed him openly, right in front of his face.
A newborn Pokémon might not understand. But Will understood perfectly.
If he wasn't busy drinking, he'd definitely show this little girl what's what.
Slurp. Slurp.
The sound of sucking came from the little penguin's mouth. The watching family couldn't help but smile at the cute sight.
"Speaking of which, why would a Piplup show up in the Sevii Islands region?" The man, presumably the father, spoke up.
"Sevii Islands..."
Will raised an eyebrow, his mouth still busy, but his mind started turning.
Sevii Islands. Ho-Oh, Lugia, the Legendary Birds... they all lived in this area. In the anime, the Sevii Islands and the Orange Archipelago appeared almost back-to-back, with no clear distinction.
The only dividing point was 'New Island.' And that was a small, isolated island that only appeared later because of Team Rocket; it wasn't on any map before that. In the movies, the Lugia and Legendary Birds living in the Sevii Islands were categorized as being in the Orange Archipelago. Because of this, many people mix up the Sevii Islands and the Orange Archipelago, treating them as the same place.
But that's not the case. The Sevii Islands belong to the Kanto region; they are an archipelago in Kanto's southernmost area. The Orange Archipelago is south of the Sevii Islands. In the past Era of Primal Beasts, this was a separate region. Although, thanks to the unification by the Dragonite Kingdom, the Orange Archipelago is now technically part of the Kanto region. But most people still subconsciously treat the Orange Archipelago as a separate region.
And because both places are archipelagos, the Sevii Islands are geographically closer to the Orange Archipelago than to the Kanto mainland. So even many Kanto natives often mistake the Sevii Islands for part of the Orange Archipelago.
But, whether it was the Sevii Islands or the Orange Archipelago, this whole sea was unfamiliar to Will. In his last life, when he circled the globe, he had chosen to go west through Hoenn, not east through Alola. If he had gone through Alola, heading north would have taken him past the Orange and Sevii Islands.
"I have no idea. And it appeared in the graveyard, of all places. If Lorelei hadn't heard a noise last night and gone to check, this little one might have starved." The woman shook her head, also unable to understand.
This region had a lot of Water-type Pokémon, but Piplup shouldn't be one of them. Piplup are Pokémon that live in cold climates. Even if an Empoleon or Prinplup wanted to breed, they shouldn't be running to the Sevii Islands. The Sevii Islands are pretty warm all year round, only a little cooler than Alola.
"Lorelei?!"
Will's big eyes snapped open, his gaze fixed on the little girl.
He never would have guessed. This childish-looking little girl was the future, mature, and cool-headed... Kanto Elite Four, Lorelei.
She was renowned for her calm and composed battling style, and also the insurmountable mountain that blocked Lance's path to becoming Champion.
Her team was mostly composed of Ice- and Water-type Pokémon. In the first few 'versions' (referring to the games), Lorelei's team had an equal number of Water and Ice types. Therefore, while she was called the 'Ice-type Elite Four,' calling her a 'Water-type Elite Four' wouldn't be wrong. If that wasn't the case, Misty, who loved Water Pokémon, wouldn't have idolized her.
And to say Lorelei was an insurmountable mountain for Lance... that wasn't just idle talk.
Using the different game generations as proof... In any generation where Lorelei was part of the Elite Four, Lance was just the Dragon-type Elite Four member, and the Champion was Green (the prototype for Gary in the anime). Only when the Indigo League Elite Four changed, in Generations II and IV—which can be seen as when Lorelei retired—was Lance able to become Champion.
From this, you could see Lorelei's strength was extraordinary. Despite having a major type advantage, the fact that she could keep Lance pinned down for three generations was proof of her power.
Moreover... Lorelei seemed to be the first-ever trainer to become an Elite Four member in Kanto and Johto. Just a few years after the Elite Four system was established, she became the first Elite Four member of the Indigo League. And the Indigo League was the first regional League established in the world.
You could say that among all Elite Four members, while she wasn't the oldest, she could compete for the title of the most senior. Therefore, she had to be at least somewhat stronger than a typical Elite Four member. And even a 'typical' Elite Four member had to be at the absolute ceiling of talent in their region to hold that position.
So, Lorelei was likely a trainer with Champion-level strength. It's just that... even among Champions, there are levels. In terms of raw power, Lorelei was probably still half a step weaker than Lance.
"I remember Lorelei being pretty old. At her current age... I must be about twenty-some years before Ash's time."
Will sized up the current Lorelei. She looked seven or eight years old, at most. Although her official age was never given, the ages of other characters were. By extrapolating from other characters... when Ash was 10, Lorelei should have been in her early thirties, a bit older than Cynthia.
Slurp. Slurp. Will had just about finished the milk.
"He must be the Pokémon Grandma chose for me!" Lorelei pulled the bottle from Will's mouth and picked the little penguin up. Her magenta eyes sparkled as she stared at Will.
"So, Lorelei, have you decided to make this Piplup your first partner?" her mother asked. She wasn't a battle trainer, so she didn't care about the Pokémon's potential. As long as her daughter was happy.
"Mhm! I already caught him with the Dive Ball Grandma left me!" Lorelei nodded emphatically, puffing out her chest to show the blue-and-white Poké Ball pendant.
"...?"
A question mark appeared over Will's head.
Since when was he captured? Did it happen while he was unconscious?
"Well, Piplup is a starter Pokémon from the Sinnoh region. It's a fitting choice for a new trainer like Lorelei." Lorelei's father clearly knew a lot, and he began to explain about Piplup. "Piplup are extremely proud. They hate being taken care of and are too haughty to accept handouts from humans. It won't be easy to build a relationship with one, so you'll have to work hard."
As soon as her father finished speaking, before Lorelei could even reply, Will became indignant.
"That's a load of nonsense!" Will raised a flipper, pointing at Lorelei's dad.
He didn't know about other Piplup. But this Piplup loved being taken care of.
"See? He's a feisty one," her father pointed out.
"Is he?" Lorelei's mother took Will from her and stroked his head. "Not at all. Look, he's letting me pet him just fine."
As she said this, she also gave Will's short, fat little tail a gentle squeeze. In response, Will just wiggled his tail in mild protest.
"Good boy, mua~" Lorelei's mother planted a kiss on Will's big head. It seemed she liked this docile little penguin even more than Lorelei did.
"Huh? This one really does seem a bit different," her father noted, his eyes bright.
"Why is he so tiny? They don't look this small on TV, do they?" Lorelei asked her father innocently. There was a strange hope in her eyes, as if she was wishing for something.
"Hm? Oh, this one was probably just born. He's still an infant. He'll get bigger in a few days."
"Oh." Lorelei sighed, a little disappointed.
"?" Will gave her a strange look. He got the feeling this little girl really wanted him to stay this small forever.
Lorelei ran over and snatched the little penguin back from her mother.
"Piplup! We're partners from now on! When I turn ten, we'll go on a journey! Mmm, just two more years!" Lorelei hugged Will, snuggling her face against his head.
Will paused for a moment, then nodded.
He had promised the owner of that tombstone that he'd look after her descendant.
Besides, living with humans would definitely be an easy life.
It looked like he could just coast through this life, too.
Will turned his head to the window, staring at the sky and muttering:
"It's been... about 120-something years since I died. Is Meowscarada still alive?"
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