Chapter 297: I'm Telling My Mom!
Wolf Mom didn't talk about her husband.
Will didn't ask.
It probably wasn't anything important to her, or perhaps it wasn't a pleasant memory, so she didn't mention it.
After hearing Wolf Mom's story.
Will could roughly determine what time period he was in.
Between League Year 150 and League Year 180.
Wolf Mom said she had battled trainers and many humans.
That meant "battling" was already a trend.
And participating in major tournaments in many places...
Meant battling had become a popular, publicly watched activity.
Judging from Wolf Mom's description of these major events, Will could basically confirm they were Regional Conferences.
Regional Conferences were established in League Year 150.
The Gym system started in 180.
But Will didn't hear anything resembling Gyms in Wolf Mom's story.
So he could roughly judge he was between League Year 150 and 180.
However.
It wasn't certain.
Because his first four lives were in the same world, on the same timeline.
His first three lives had caused too many changes to that world; by the fourth life, many things were unrecognizable.
But this world might be different.
If this was a parallel world without the "Guardian Dragon Alan" and the "Leaf God Sceptile"...
Then the establishment time of Regional Conferences and Gyms might be different.
His current time point could be shifted forward or backward by decades.
Most likely backward.
After all, his existence had pushed forward the relationship between humans and Pokémon, and thus the development of Pokémon battling.
As for...
Whether this world was a parallel world.
Will just needed to confirm if there was another "him" in this world.
He couldn't imagine.
If this world was still the original world...
Would he run into himself as a Piplup?
Meeting another version of himself would be a terrifying experience.
"Awooo."
A low growl came from beside him.
"I'm not hungry."
Will shook his head.
The next moment.
A huge berry was stuffed into his arms.
If Wolf Mom thought he was hungry, he had to be hungry.
Helplessly.
Will had to force himself to eat the berry, stuffing his already full belly.
Seeing her puppy behave, Wolf Mom nodded with satisfaction and wagged her tail, clearly in a good mood.
At this moment, other Poochyena ran over to bother him.
Will, in a bad mood, flipped onto one of the Poochyena's back, riding it like a horse.
"Woof!"
The Poochyena wasn't angry.
Happily carrying Will, it ran off to find other friends to play with.
Playing around a bit.
Will found it quite interesting.
He hadn't played hide-and-seek in a long time; playing with these puppies was actually fun.
Right now.
It was a Poochyena's turn to be "It."
Will and four other Poochyena were hiding.
Will immediately drilled into the nearby woods and climbed a tree.
Ordinary puppies couldn't climb trees.
And they usually didn't look up.
So for Will, this game was a guaranteed win.
Just as Will was observing the situation below.
A yellow Pokémon dropped from the canopy of a nearby tree, hopping closer to Will.
Hearing the movement, Will's ears twitched, and he looked over.
A Pidgey.
Will ignored it.
Pidgey were gentle, not very smart, disliked fighting, and generally wouldn't attack Pokémon not on their menu.
Peck, peck.
"Ouch?! You stupid bird, are you drunk?! Can't tell who's boss?"
Will glared, staring angrily at the Pidgey.
This silly bird, for some reason, suddenly pecked his tail twice.
It hurt like hell.
Will almost yelped like a dog.
"Coo?"
Pidgey tilted its head.
"Scram! Do you know who I am? Go ask around who has the highest status on this mountain!"
Will didn't want to argue with a bird that clearly had brain damage.
He ran to a neighboring branch, away from the Pidgey.
Unexpectedly.
The Pidgey stuck to him like a plaster.
It pecked at Will's arm with its beak.
Will delivered a flying kick.
"Coo?!"
Startled by Will's movement, Pidgey jumped back, then spread its wings in a battle stance.
"Bad news, I'm still a baby."
Will took a look.
Where he kicked the Pidgey, only two feathers were ruffled.
Zero damage.
Although this Pidgey clearly wasn't strong, probably just past its infancy.
It could still easily beat a 3-day-old Riolu.
Will could feel it.
The energy in his body right now.
Forget Sacred Fire and Hydro Pump, even using Vacuum Wave or Quick Attack was a struggle.
Not an opponent!
"You just wait! I'm going home to tell my mom!"
Will pointed a threatening finger.
Then he climbed down the tree.
As soon as he hit the ground.
The Poochyena who was "It" smelled him immediately and bit Will's tail.
"Shoo! Are you stupid? I don't have time to play with you."
Will pushed the Poochyena's head away.
He wasn't going to talk about martial ethics with a bird that pecked dogs randomly.
Today, he must go home and complain, call for backup to deal with that stupid bird.
He had to let that Pidgey know...
The prestige of the Young Master of the Wolf Clan!
Three minutes later.
Will led Wolf Mom to the tree, pointing arrogantly at the Pidgey still on the branch.
Wolf Mom looked up.
Then suppressed Will with one paw.
"Woof awooo!"
Wolf Mom scolded him.
She thought it was some formidable foe daring to bully her baby on her territory.
Turns out it was just another kid, barely weaned.
Regarding fights between kids on the mountain, the adults generally maintained a policy of non-interference.
As long as no lives were lost, and it wasn't a hostile clan with a deep grudge.
Everyone ignored how the kids fought.
Otherwise.
If you intervene today and I intervene tomorrow, sooner or later it becomes a war between clans.
Moreover.
If the kids were afraid to fight...
How would they gain experience?
How would they become stronger?
If you lose.
Train hard, get stronger, and beat them back yourself.
A puppy like Will, who ran to his mom the moment he got hit, was too embarrassing for the Wolf Clan leader.
Wolf Mom decided to starve him for dinner tonight.
Night fell.
After accepting Wolf Mom's forced feeding (wait, didn't she decide to starve him? Maybe she changed her mind or Will is misremembering/narrator unreliable here - let's assume forced feeding implies she changed her mind or it's just milk/basic food), Will ran to a nearby tree to mark a spot.
Then he wandered back, curled up in Wolf Mom's arms, and fell asleep.
In the blink of an eye, five more days passed.
Will successfully passed his infancy.
His height reached 0.7 meters, the average Pokédex value.
His weight exceeded the average by 1/4.
After leaving infancy, Will had accumulated some Fighting-type and Normal-type energy in his body.
This was enough for him to recall some past moves.
Although he couldn't recall high-consumption Fighting-type ultimates like Focus Blast or Focus Punch, moves like Vacuum Wave and Brick Break, which consumed less, were easily recalled.
Waking up this morning.
Will stretched his body.
Out of infancy, he could start formal training.
Riolu's evolution condition was a bit abstract—requiring friendship/happiness to reach a certain value. Will didn't know how to check that.
Anyway, grinding levels was definitely the right way; he'd evolve sooner or later.
Currently, Wolf Mom didn't allow Will to run too far.
His activity range was limited to the Mightyena clan's territory.
This range wasn't small.
From the mountainside up...
Half belonged to the Mightyena clan.
The other half belonged to a Persian clan.
The lower parts were divided among some weak, scattered Pokémon groups.
Within the Mightyena clan's territory.
High-level Pokémon and those numerous enough to form clans had been driven out by the Mightyena.
This turned the territory into the most suitable training ground for Mightyena pups.
By the time they could defeat all other Pokémon in the territory...
They would possess the strength to hunt outside the territory, greatly reducing the probability of encountering unmanageable enemies.
Realizing this.
Will had to admire.
As expected of a Wolf Mom who had lived in human society for decades; she deliberately created such an environment.
No wonder the Mightyena clan could become so large in a short time.
Wonder what the deal was with the Persian clan next door that could contend with the Mightyena.
Somewhere in the woods on the mountainside.
"Woof woof!"
"Quiet down, you'll scare away the other Pokémon."
Will knocked the head of the Poochyena beside him.
Mightyena pups acted in groups from a young age.
Even for daily play or practicing moves, they traveled in groups of three or more.
There were Poochyena with solitary personalities too.
Wolf Mom was like that when she was little.
And the result was getting caught by a human.
She wouldn't allow Will to be like that.
When Will planned to go out for training, she would call several other Poochyena to follow him.
So.
Right now, four noisy puppies were following Will's butt.
Wolf Mom meant to protect him.
But now it seemed...
Will was being forced to babysit.
Before long.
Will spotted a Burmy hanging from a branch.
Will looked up, then glanced at the four puppies behind him, shaking his head.
"Look, there's a Pokémon over there!"
Will pointed to the bushes nearby.
The four Poochyena's eyes widened, and they immediately rushed over.
Will didn't waste a second, punching upwards.
A Vacuum Wave shot out, instantly knocking the Burmy from the tree.
This Burmy wasn't high level either; Will finished it off in seconds, knocking it out.
By the time the four Poochyena returned, shaking their heads...
Will had finished the battle and hogged all the experience points.
"I have to ditch these puppies in the future, or they'll delay my leveling too much."
Will shook his head.
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