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A slightly cool morning. The rising sun had just begun to climb into the sky, shining over a lush forest path.
"Huff, huff~ Control your breathing! Piplup, keep it up! Run a little longer and we can rest! Elekid! Stop slacking off! Run, run, run! Get moving! Look at Zorua!"
Warm sunlight gradually spread through the forest. At that moment, Liam was leading three little Pokemon behind him on their morning run.
"Pi! Pi! Piplup!"
"Elekid!"
"Chi chi chi~"
At this time, Piplup had already fallen far behind the group. It ran weakly, looking completely drained, its body wobbling as if it might collapse at any moment.
Running ahead of Piplup was Elekid. Elekid looked completely uninterested, jogging lazily in a perfunctory manner.
At the very front was Zorua, who was clearly the most energetic. The little one stayed tightly behind Liam the entire time.
Perhaps it was because it belonged to a canine species—Zorua clearly loved running. It hopped along happily behind Liam, constantly making cheerful sounds.
"Piplup~ pi…"
After running for a while longer, Piplup finally reached its limit. Its body swayed, its foot slipped, and it fell to the ground.
"Ah—are you alright, Piplup? Did you get hurt?"
Seeing Piplup fall, Liam quickly ran back. He picked it up, brushed the dirt off its body, and asked with concern.
"Piplup…"
Piplup weakly shook its head, indicating it was fine.
"Hehe, alright then. Let's rest for a bit."
Liam smiled and gently rubbed Piplup's head. He could tell the little Pokemon was exhausted. Turning around, he called out to Elekid and Zorua, signaling them to stop and take a break.
"Elekid!"
"Chi chi chi~"
Liam walked to the roadside and sat down beneath a large tree. Elekid and Zorua quickly ran over and surrounded him, both looking curiously at Liam. Their eyes focused on Piplup, which was resting quietly in Liam's arms with its eyes closed.
Facts had proven that the mysterious energy flowing within Liam's body truly had strengthening effects on Pokemon. After using it several times, Piplup's base stats had already increased by several points.
This was a sign that Piplup's physical condition was gradually improving. Liam firmly believed that as long as he continued, Piplup would one day become strong.
Yesterday, after Liam had successfully guided his mysterious energy into Piplup's body, the little Pokemon's condition had immediately begun improving. The effect was remarkable.
After all, Giovanni's Beedrill and Persian had stayed by Giovanni's side for who knew how many years before reaching their current level. Yet Liam had only tried once and already achieved noticeable results.
However, after discovering that his power could enhance a Pokemon's potential and physical condition, Liam had immediately released Garchomp and tried channeling his energy into it as well.
But Garchomp showed no reaction at all.
Liam had been confused. At first he thought maybe he hadn't transferred enough energy to meet Garchomp's threshold.
But Lulu later explained.
Pokemon obtained from the system all possessed perfect genes. Aside from growing stronger through their own development, external methods had very little effect on them.
Similarly, if wild Pokemon in nature already possessed perfect or near-perfect attributes, their stats were also extremely difficult to improve through outside forces.
Piplup's physical condition was currently very poor, which was why Liam's mysterious energy showed such obvious effects.
But once Piplup's stats reached their natural limit, further improvement would become extremely difficult.
After understanding this, Liam didn't worry too much. Piplup's stats were still very low right now. It would take a long time just to reach average levels.
There was no need to rush—slow and steady would do.
"Piplup~"
Soon the rest time ended. Nourished by Liam's energy, Piplup quickly recovered its stamina. Its round face regained vitality, and it happily raised its little flippers and chirped toward Liam.
"Alright~ everyone's recovered. Let's keep moving! The next town isn't far now. We'll rest properly when we get there! Let's go!"
The forest path they were traveling would lead to Oldale Town, which wasn't too far from Littleroot Town. Liam planned to arrive before noon.
"Beep beep~"
"Hello? Liam! Have you arrived in Hoenn yet? Did anything happen on the way?"
After running intermittently throughout the morning, Liam finally reached Oldale Town before noon.
The first thing he did upon arriving was visit the Pokemon Center and contact Delia.
Seeing the worried look on Delia's face on the screen, Liam smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Delia. I've been traveling on my own for years. I'll take care of myself. I've already arrived in Oldale Town in Hoenn. Just letting you know I'm safe—and I'm sending these three little guys to you."
As he spoke, Liam took out the three Poochyena he had caught earlier in the forest and transferred them to Delia one by one.
He also introduced Piplup to her.
However, Liam didn't tell her that Zorua had already hatched yet. He planned to wait until the Pokemon Egg on Delia's side hatched before mentioning it.
After finishing the call, Liam rested briefly at the Pokemon Rescue Center. Then he left Oldale Town and headed toward the next city—Mauville City.
Since his ultimate destination was Lilycove City, Liam didn't plan to take any detours. His route was clear: head straight for Mauville.
That said, there was one matter in Oldale Town that Liam had considered.
The Oldale Ruins, an ancient ruin near the town.
There wasn't much treasure in those ruins, but the underground lake beneath them was home to Relicanth, which was worth noting.
Relicanth could help humans dive into the deep sea and was also a necessary condition for summoning the Regi trio.
To be honest, Liam had seriously considered catching a few.
But in the end, he gave up the idea.
He had come to Hoenn with no intention of provoking the two legendary monsters sleeping in the Seafloor Cavern, and he wasn't particularly interested in the three golem Pokemon either. On top of that, opening the ruins was troublesome.
After thinking it over, Liam decided to ignore it entirely.
The distance between Oldale Town and Mauville City was fairly long.
Instead of letting Aerodactyl carry him, Liam chose to travel on foot with Piplup. Along the way, he continued improving Piplup's body while letting it challenge wild Pokemon they encountered to gain battle experience and refine its fighting skills.
After three days of travel, Liam and Piplup finally arrived in Mauville City.
By then, the little Pokemon's stats had changed to:
"Ding—"
Piplup (Piplup)
Base Stats: Total 269 / 314
HP: 47 / 53
Attack: 46 / 51
Defense: 42 / 53
Sp. Atk: 51 / 61
Sp. Def: 48 / 56
Speed: 35 / 40
.....
In just three days, Piplup's base stats had increased by 50 points.
This was practically a qualitative leap. The once fragile little Pokemon was no longer so weak, and confidence now shone in its large eyes.
"Whew~ finally we can get some proper rest. Piplup, you worked hard these past few days. Come back for now."
Standing outside the Pokemon Center in Mauville City, Liam stretched lazily. Then he returned Piplup to its PokeBall with a relaxed smile and prepared to enter.
But just then—
"ROOOAR!!"
"Ah! Move! Get out of the way!!"
A thunderous roar and a panicked shout suddenly came from behind him.
Liam was startled and quickly turned around.
And what he saw was—
A white-haired middle-aged man in a gray sweater riding a clearly mechanical Raikou. His face was filled with terror as he charged forward at full speed straight toward Liam!