Chapter 295: Reborn for the Fifth Time: The Young Master of the Wolf Clan!
Rustle, rustle~
The sound of leaves rustling in the wind echoed in his ears.
Although Will hadn't opened his eyes yet, he could tell he was probably in a forest.
"Aura... seems a bit abundant."
This thought appeared in Will's mind.
Logically speaking.
He should be a baby Pokémon right now.
Maybe even still in an egg.
He hadn't trained at all in this life, yet his Aura perception range was about 1 meter. This was clearly abnormal.
So.
There was only one possibility.
He had been reborn as a Pokémon naturally rich in Aura.
And such a Pokémon...
Will only knew one kind, and he was quite familiar with it.
'Panel.'
"As expected."
Will felt a bit dazed after seeing his panel.
Unexpectedly.
In this life, he had been reborn as Riolu, the pre-evolution of Lucario.
A true Aura Guardian.
Now, even if he used Aura Power in front of others, it wouldn't be too shocking or strange.
However, his current panel was much more impressive than in his first two lives.
A Riolu that mastered both Hydro Pump and Sacred Fire—there wasn't a second one in the entire Pokémon world.
Because Riolu and Lucario couldn't learn these two moves.
The Water and Fire moves their line could learn totaled only 3.
Two of them were weather moves: Rain Dance and Sunny Day.
The remaining one was Water Pulse.
And the latter could only be learned after evolving into Lucario.
So.
Inheriting Hydro Pump from his previous life was definitely a bonus.
Especially since Will still had the Mystic Water item.
"Black Belt and Silk Scarf will finally be useful."
Will muttered internally.
Increasing the power of Fighting-type and Normal-type moves.
These two items hadn't been very useful in his previous life.
Because he didn't master many moves of these two types, nor was he good at using them.
But this life was different.
The most numerous moves in Lucario's move pool were Fighting-type moves.
Unless he deliberately avoided learning them, Normal-type moves came next.
Plus.
With the Sea Crown and two Plates (Splash and possibly Dread?), these cheat items...
Will's potential in this life surpassed any of his previous lives.
He could clearly sense it.
His lower limit and upper limit were constantly rising with each life.
Like in his last life, he lived for a full hundred years.
Even without deliberate training in the last few decades, he had reached the lower tier of Master-class.
At that level.
The number of Pokémon who could beat him in a one-on-one fight could be counted on one hand.
Even without the "Alpha" or "Titan" title.
At that time.
He was already the veritable God of the Ocean.
"Is my potential higher than a normal Riolu because of Aura Power?"
Will looked at the potential column on the panel.
A normal Riolu should be Green.
But his was Blue.
This was good news.
At least in this life, his body was healthy, without any genetic defects, so he didn't have to worry about being stuck and unable to evolve.
He even suspected that starting with White potential as a Piplup in his last life was because he overloaded his genes by forcing atavism as a Sceptile in the life before that.
It was paying off a debt.
Now that the debt was paid, he had a normal start in this life.
Whether he could evolve in this life had a significant impact.
Because the gap between Lucario and Riolu was too big.
Whether in move pool or type advantage.
The former crushed the latter.
Not to mention anything else, just the move Extreme Speed was enough of an example.
Lucario could learn Extreme Speed naturally through leveling up, but Riolu never could.
Will knew it thanks to his second life as a Dragonite.
Will knew better than anyone how much having Extreme Speed affected combat power.
Whether as a Sceptile or a Piplup.
Extreme Speed.
Was the key move that had won him countless victories and even saved his life countless times.
Suddenly.
Will felt his body heating up.
Slightly dazzling sunlight gradually illuminated the world in Will's eyes.
He was about to be born.
"Woof woof!"
"Awooo~"
"Bark?"
Before he could see everything clearly, several dog-like barks appeared in his ears.
Will looked around.
Several small gray wolves, or dogs.
"Poochyena? Was I born in the Hoenn region?"
Will scanned these little guys.
The way they looked at him was strange.
Mostly confusion and surprise.
As if they were surprised that Will looked different from them.
Looking up.
Behind the Poochyena were some large black and gray figures.
Their parents and evolved form.
Mightyena.
"Born into a pack? And a Mightyena pack... this doesn't seem like a good thing."
Will frowned slightly.
Being born into a wild pack was sometimes good, sometimes bad.
In the era of magical beasts, it was definitely good.
Because he wouldn't have to worry about surviving his infancy; he would be protected by the elders in the pack.
But in the League era, being in a Mightyena pack wasn't necessarily good.
In the League era, survival pressure wasn't that high; even outside a pack, he could basically survive infancy safely.
And wild Mightyena packs had a strict hierarchy.
All members had to strictly obey the leader's commands, or they would be beaten and taught a lesson.
If they refused to change after repeated warnings, they would be beaten half to death and expelled from the pack.
Will didn't really want to listen to others' orders.
But that meant he might get beaten up.
Moreover.
"Why was I, a Riolu, born into a Mightyena pack?"
Doubt arose in Will's heart.
Mightyena and Lucario could breed (both are in the Field Egg Group).
It wasn't strange for him to be a Mightyena's child.
But the problem was.
This Mightyena pack in front of him was clearly a wild pack.
They were full of wild aura and behavior.
So the question was...
Given the habits and environment of wild Mightyena, would they breed with a Lucario?
Probably wouldn't even have the chance, right?
Lucario itself was a very rare Pokémon.
Hard to see even in Sinnoh, let alone in Hoenn.
Even if they met.
A Mightyena pack wouldn't accept a Lucario into the pack.
Unless...
His wolf dad or wolf mom gave birth to him elsewhere and then joined this pack with the egg.
And most of the time.
A Pokémon mother wouldn't allow others to take her egg away, not even the father.
So, he most likely had a wolf mom.
Slurp~
Just as Will was thinking, a wet, soft, slimy thing slid over his head.
Turning around.
Behind him lay a huge Mightyena.
Its height was two meters, twice the Pokédex value, clearly an Alpha. It must be the leader of this Mightyena pack.
And.
This pack had its own territory in this forest.
This was a symbol of strength.
Will estimated he was born into a relatively powerful Mightyena pack.
"Light red irises, grayer and softer fur... mm, it's a wolf mom."
Will nodded to himself.
Having lived so long.
Whether through deliberate study or accidental learning.
Anyway, with the theoretical Pokémon knowledge accumulated in his brain, he could call himself a Pokémon Professor.
Like right now.
Just by looking at a Pokémon's appearance, he could determine its gender.
"Awooo~"
At this moment, Wolf Mom looked up and howled long and loud.
Other Mightyena and Poochyena followed suit.
This was celebrating the successful birth of the child.
Reborn for the fifth time.
Will became the Young Master of the Wolf Clan!
Will turned to look at them.
Then.
He found these big and small wolves suddenly stopped and stared down at him.
?
?
A question mark popped up over Will's head.
Lick.
Wolf Mom licked the back of his head.
When he shifted his gaze to her.
"Awooo~"
Wolf Mom howled again.
Then looked down at him expectantly.
Will understood. He quickly stretched his neck.
"Riolu~" (Awooo~)
A bit embarrassing.
But as the other Mightyena and Poochyena responded, the embarrassment vanished instantly.
Not only was it not embarrassing.
It felt kind of majestic!
From this moment on.
The loneliness in Will's heart from losing family and friends one by one finally melted a little.
But at the same time, a worry grew.
He was afraid.
A hundred years later.
Another cycle.
Would he have to watch these kin die one by one again?
Ho-Oh was right.
He and they were no longer beings of the same dimension.
He had become a different kind of "Legend."
He had to constantly accept those partings and changes, unless he chose not to develop feelings for other people or Pokémon from the start.
Living like AZ, neither human nor ghost.
But then, what was the point of living?
Will didn't want to live like that.
"I want to change all this."
amidst the long howls, Will found a new goal.
In the past.
He respected the laws, respected life and death, respected reincarnation.
Now...
He had some new ideas.
If he was stronger than Arceus.
If he could master all kinds of abilities.
Then the rules should be set by him.
Then it wouldn't be him respecting the rules, but the rules following his will.
If he wanted Liz to live for a thousand years, Liz would live for a thousand years.
If he wanted to pull Meowscarada from another world, Meowscarada would have to appear in front of him the next second.
If he wanted Lorelei to return to her youth, Lorelei would become the little lolita from back then.
Unless...
They willingly chose death.
Then Will would respect their choice.
If he failed in the end.
Then start over.
He could start over countless times.
A life of constant parting was full of regret and pain. Accumulating bit by bit, sooner or later, he would lose his current self.
Especially...
He didn't have the right to die.
So.
He wanted to try to change these things.
Slurp!
Just as Will was expanding his ambition, Wolf Mom woke him up with a lick.
"?"
Will turned his head in confusion.
Wondering what she wanted now.
Then.
He saw Wolf Mom lying on her side on the ground, lifting one of her hind legs.
"I refuse."
Will shook his head firmly, his gaze as resolute as when he fought two Lugias in his third life.
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