Chapter 221: The Land-Penguin
Suddenly having a family, and three new family members... Will was a bit unused to it.
But, he ate what he needed to eat and drank what he needed to drink. After lunch...
"Piplup! Let's go to the beach!" Lorelei ran to Will's side and scooped him up.
Having just caught a Pokémon, Lorelei's intention to get on his good side was obvious. A kid's thoughts are written all over their face.
"Fine," Will (as Piplup) thought. "I'm full and a bit bloated, a walk sounds good." He nodded.
He had never been to the Sevii Islands area. It would be good to look around. He'd heard the Sevii Islands were warm and beautiful, Kanto's most famous vacation spot.
And Four Island, where Lorelei's family lived, required a special ferry ticket to reach. Because this was home to the Icefall Cave.
A place where Ice-type Pokémon gather. In all of Kanto and Johto, this was the only one. In the entire northern hemisphere, the only other place to find so many Ice-types was the northernmost tundra of Sinnoh.
The girl was full of energy. She held the little penguin and took off running, arriving at the sandy beach in no time.
Four Island's beach wasn't empty, but it was quiet. It was mostly just the local island children playing, accompanied by their parents' Pokémon.
Based on Will's observation, the Sevii Islands weren't underdeveloped. Each island had at least one small-to-medium-sized town. Four Island was the smallest of the seven, but it still had a decent-sized town. Lorelei's house was on the easternmost side of town, closest to the coast, so she often came to the beach to play.
"? Lorelei?"
"Lorelei~ Is that your father's Pokémon?"
"Wow, what a cute little penguin! I've seen it on TV. It's called Piplup, right?"
Lorelei's usual playmates gathered around, spotting Will.
"So many brats. This is bad..." Will thought, his eyes widening as he looked around. Five or six kids, all at that perfectly obnoxious age. He couldn't help but be wary.
"Hmph hmph~ This isn't my dad's Pokémon. Piplup is my Pokémon, see!" Lorelei, feeling the envious gazes, puffed out her chest like a little peacock.
"What?! No way! So cool!"
"Isn't Lorelei only eight? I thought you couldn't get a Pokémon at eight."
"Lorelei's lying!"
A little boy didn't believe her and questioned her loudly. Just as Will thought Lorelei would feel wronged or even cry... something shocking happened.
Smack!
Lorelei rushed up and punched the little boy right on the head.
"Ow!"
"Hmph! Believe me now?" Lorelei raised her little fist.
"I believe you! I believe you!" The little boy ran for cover, hiding behind a little girl. He knew full well Lorelei wouldn't hit a girl.
"Hah, I wasn't lying! If my Piplup wasn't so new, I'd battle you right now!" Lorelei tossed her head proudly.
Even if her voice was a bit shaky when she said it, the other kids couldn't tell. They all looked at her with envy and admiration.
"Lorelei, will you go on a journey when you're ten?"
"Of course! I'm not just going on a journey, I'm going to challenge all the Leagues! You just watch, Piplup and I will be famous! Maybe in two years, we'll even be the Tournament Champion!"
Will's ears perked. He sighed in relief. Becoming a Tournament Champion wasn't too hard. You just needed to be at a Gym Leader level to compete for a regional tournament title. It was much easier than becoming a regional League Champion.
Honestly, even though he could try the "Aura Power" path this life, that "White" potential made him nervous. He'd experienced the difference firsthand.
As a Treecko (Purple potential), he hit Lv. 16 in a day and evolved. As a Weedle (White potential), it took three days to hit Lv. 10 and evolve to Beedrill. This life... to reach Gym Leader level, let alone Elite Four... even if he trained incredibly hard, it would probably take at least a decade.
However... if he could develop his Aura Power into an "EXP boost" like Celebi's, it might speed things up. Aura Power. Its upper limit probably couldn't compare to the powers of Creation, but its advantage was its versatility. Communication, healing, attack, defense, sealing, sensing, calming... Aura could dabble in almost everything. It might not be the best at any one specialty, but it was good enough for most situations.
'I need to find time to research it,' Will thought, dangling his feet from Lorelei's arms. Then she put him down on the sand.
"Piplup! Let's go swimming! Show everyone your awesome swimming!" Lorelei's eyes sparkled.
"...Alright, alright. I'll satisfy your vanity," Will (as Piplup) thought, shrugging helplessly. He then strode proudly toward the sea.
'Hmph. Back when I was a pseudo-legendary, I was all-powerful.'
Having had his milk and feeling full, Will was feeling high and mighty. He stepped into the cool, soft seawater. A natural comfort spread from his feet to his brain. It felt... as if he were born to be in the ocean's embrace.
'Watch closely! I'll show you what a real sea dragon looks like!' Feeling hyped, Will pushed off his feet and dived forward.
Splat.
The shallow wave receded, leaving Will face-down on the wet sand.
"Hahaha!" The wicked little kids burst out laughing.
"Shut up!"
Smack!
"Ow! Why'd you hit me again? I didn't laugh that time!"
"Say one more word and I'll hit you again!"
Lorelei raised her hand. The boy scrambled back in fear. She then walked over and picked up the clumsy little penguin. Seeing the penguin-shaped print on the sand, she almost smiled, but quickly composed herself. "Piplup is just a baby! It's normal for his legs to be short!"
With that, Lorelei walked a few steps forward and put Will in slightly deeper water. She let go.
Splash, splash.
Glug, glug.
Will flailed on the surface for a second, then sank.
"Piplup!" Lorelei yelped, quickly scooping him up.
"Cough, cough!" Will choked on two mouthfuls of seawater, his face an expression of pure existential dread.
Head too heavy, feet too short. His old Dragonite swimming style didn't work. He hated to admit it, but this Piplup... was a land-penguin.
"Pfft!"
"Hahahaha!"
"A Piplup that can't swim!"
"How can a Water-type Pokémon choke on seawater!"
The brats laughed even louder. Lorelei shot them a glare, and they instantly went silent.
Will glanced at them, unbothered. For one, he was older and had more patience for kids. For another... he was a Piplup who couldn't swim. It was pretty dumb.
This was different from Misty's Psyduck in the anime. A Psyduck that can't swim is rare, but not unheard of. But a Piplup that can't swim? He might be the only one in the world.
"You don't know anything! The weirder they are as babies, the stronger they are when they grow up! My Piplup is going to be super strong!"
Will looked at Lorelei sticking up for him and patted her arm. 'Don't worry, kid. With me here, I'll make you famous even if you do nothing.'
Even though Lorelei was acting tough... Will could sense her true feelings. Sensing emotions was a basic Aura ability. He hadn't really trained it in his last life, but he'd used it constantly to activate Time Flowers and Tree crystals, so he was decent at this basic application. And right now... beneath her tough exterior, Lorelei was definitely dejected.
After her declaration, Lorelei carried Will to a quiet corner of the beach.
"Piplup, watch how I swim, and copy me." She patted his round head and started her lesson.
Kids on this island all know how to swim. But Will watched for a bit and gave up. Her human swimming style wasn't suited for a short-flippered, big-headed penguin. He'd already tried it. He just sank.
How did Dawn's Piplup swim in the anime? Will looked at the sky, thinking. It was... "Ah... it's similar to how a Weedle moves."
Will's eyes lit up. When Piplup swims, it moves its waist up and down to propel itself. When a Weedle moves, it contracts and extends its body to crawl. In human swimming, this is... the Dolphin Stroke.
Although Will had never learned it, he knew the basic motion and figured it wouldn't be too hard. He got in the water to try.
"Piplup?" Lorelei rushed over, about to scoop him up again. After all, he just couldn't swim.
But the next moment, Lorelei stared in delight at the little penguin swimming circles around her.
"Piplup! You're amazing! Mwah!"
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