Chapter 182: Arrival, Kalos Region
It was a coincidence. Among the supplies Shigeru had prepared for them was a coil of rope.
The Lapras herd took turns pulling the boat, seven at a time. When one group got tired, the next would take over. This journey north didn't actually slow them down much. At least, in Will's eyes, their pace was about the same as Liz's. Who knows, maybe a thousand years ago, Liz had also been pulled along by some aquatic Pokémon.
On the first day aboard, Will and Meowscarada changed into their matching cat-pajama sets and then put on their thick winter coats. This icy ocean was simply no place for Grass-type Pokémon. If they had been any weaker, or if they hadn't bought these clothes, they suspected they would have frozen to death.
But for the Lapras, the temperature of this sea was merely "cool." While Meowscarada was dozing off from the cold, shivering in Will's arms, the Lapras were happily splashing and playing.
Time passed. Before they knew it, summer was over, and autumn was half gone. But for Will and the others, who spent most of their time at sea, the difference between summer and autumn was negligible.
Occasionally, they would encounter some isolated islands. The Lapras would kindly stop, allowing Will and Meowscarada to rest on the island for a few days before setting off again. In return, Will and Meowscarada would gather extra berries and edible wild plants to give the Lapras a change of pace.
Only by experiencing it firsthand did Will understand just how monotonous the life of a wild Lapras herd was. At least half the year was spent on the tedious open sea, and they had to face attacks from various Pokémon along the way. Some of the aquatic Alphas were so powerful that even Will had a hard time dealing with them; he would have to call on the other Lapras and Meowscarada to swarm them.
At the same time, this journey also made Will clearly realize the large genetic gap that currently existed between land and sea Pokémon. Compared to a thousand years ago, the combat genes of land Pokémon had been weakened too much due to the drastic reduction in survival pressure. But the combat genes of sea Pokémon had weakened to a much lesser extent. At the same level, the probability of a sea Pokémon exceeding its Pokédex size was far greater than that of a land Pokémon.
Perhaps it would only be in the future, when humans began to venture into the ocean in large numbers and open up shipping lanes, that this situation would be balanced. Right now, especially the Pokémon from the desolate deep sea, they were even more exaggerated than those of the Era of Primal Beasts, their genes likely passed down from an even more ancient time. Will had even seen a Gyarados that was over fifty meters long. When he saw that thing, he didn't even want to test its level. He had immediately told the Lapras herd to turn around and take a wide detour.
But thanks to these powerful sea Pokémon, in these four or five months, Will's level had rarely jumped by 3 levels at once. It had been a long time since he had leveled up so quickly.
...
One day at noon, after eating, Will was lying on the deck of the small boat, looking at the sun and feeling the temperature of the air. "We should be getting close," he muttered. The temperature now was about the same as it had been in the northernmost part of Sinnoh. He figured they must already be in the waters south of Kalos.
"Meow?!" Hearing this, Meowscarada's ears perked up. After months at sea, she was about to throw up. Were they finally arriving at the next region?
"Yes, almost there," Will nodded, scratching her ears. He pulled away a few strands of fur. It was autumn, her shedding season. In the cool, dry climate and with the lack of sunlight, her fur was prone to falling out, just like the leaves of a tree in autumn.
"Meow-meow!" Meowscarada batted at Will with her paw pad. She liked it when he petted her head, but not during shedding season. She didn't want to become a bald cat.
Will helplessly shook his head and opened his personal status screen. Five and a half years, and he was at the mid-tier of the Gym Leader level. He had wasted a lot of this body's good talent. Otherwise, with the training intensity from his time in Mt. Silver and the experience boost from Celebi, he should have already entered the Elite Four tier.
But say what you will, this life was ten thousand times easier than the last two. He fought when he felt like it and wandered when he was lazy. He wasn't living for anyone else; he was just doing what he wanted. It was a very comfortable life. If he had to do it all over again, he would still choose this leisurely pace.
With his level increase, he had also begun to try and master some of the more difficult moves on his own. But without a teacher, the progress was very slow. In the two and a half years since arriving in Sinnoh, he had only learned four new moves: Vacuum Wave, Solar Blade, Dragon Claw, and Focus Punch.
Dragon Claw was a superior replacement for Dragon Tail. With the Dragon Fang's power boost, its damage could now enter the high-damage category. And Solar Blade and Focus Punch were the respective ultimate physical melee moves for Grass and Fighting types.
As for Meowscarada... this child had been slacking off a lot in recent years, and a huge gap had opened up between them. Her current level was a mere 53. Perhaps realizing she could never catch up to him, she had entered a state of lying flat and rotting. She wasn't nearly as hardworking as she had been as a Floragato.
Sigh. He could see it now. His big cat was a Contest seed. She had no interest in battling at all.
Suddenly, the singing of the Lapras herd rang out. It was their call for discovering land and preparing to rest.
The two of them immediately jumped up and looked forward. A vast continent appeared at the edge of their vision.
"Kalos..." Will whispered.
The Kalos region... this was a legendary land. For anime fans, this region was definitely one of the most memorable. It was where the concept of "Mega Evolution" had been introduced, a fresh new idea for countless fans. Even if the mechanics in the games weren't as interesting as Tera or Dynamax, it was still cool. And the number of fans who valued aesthetics far outweighed the number who valued competitive battling. That was undeniable.
And... this was also the place where many fans believed Ash should have won the championship, a place full of regret.
But right now, Will was just excited to be able to see new Pokémon. After all, he still had the soul of a trainer. Of course he would be excited to arrive at a new place. Just like when he was a child, every time he saw Ash arrive in a new region and catch a new Pokémon, he would feel happy. And now, he would be setting foot on this land himself.
"Meow?" Meowscarada tugged on his arm, her eyes full of expectation.
"Hmm... it's unlikely. Your species isn't in this region either," Will said, shaking his head. Her kin were in Paldea, to the northeast of Kalos.
"Meow..." she drooped, disappointed. But she soon had no time for that, because the Lapras herd had already reached the shore!
The little Lapras called out to them. The next moment, two green shadows leaped from the boat and landed steadily on the grass of the Kalos continent.
"Thank you, Lapras. You've really been a lot of trouble these past few months," Will said, stroking the little Lapras's face. She affectionately nuzzled her head against him. To her, Will and Meowscarada were very important friends.
"Meow," Meowscarada walked up and hugged Lapras's neck, giving her two kisses.
In the distance, the patriarch was already calling for her. They had to leave. They had been slowed down too much by pulling the boat.
"It's okay. We'll meet again, just like before," Will said, patting the little Lapras gently. She nodded and turned to go, looking back every three steps, just as she had before.
But this time was different. "Meow-meow~" Meowscarada began to sing.
"La-praas~" the little Lapras heard her and sang along, until her voice grew fainter and fainter and finally disappeared.
"Meow..." Meowscarada's expression fell, and she buried herself in Will's arms for comfort. Will stroked her head.
"Meow?" Meowscarada looked up at him. Having arrived in a new place, she had no idea where to go and could only let him decide.
"Yes. No rush," Will said, shaking his head and looking around. An endless grassland. It was impossible to tell their location. He looked at Liz's phantom; she was heading due north.
He recalled the map of the Kalos region. The terrain was shaped like a five-pointed star, divided into three main parts. Unlike Kanto and Johto, which were mostly mountains and plateaus, or Hoenn, which was mostly water, or Sinnoh, which was mostly forest, the defining feature of Kalos was its vast plains, which made up 60% of the region.
And there were other special things about it. For example, you could hardly find any Ghost-type specialists here. And the Kalos Pokédex was the one that contained the most Pokémon. And... the language spoken here was different from the one in the northern hemisphere.
All in all, this was a place to look forward to. Perhaps he and Meowscarada would stay in Kalos for a while. Not just because of its many special features, but mainly because... he wanted to try his luck. To see if he could find a Sceptilite and a Key Stone here. He knew the probability was very low, but he had to try.
"Whew. This time, our journey will be much easier."
"Meow?"
"Because the Kalos region is all plains. There are a lot of rivers, but they're not very turbulent, so they're easy to cross."
"Meow!" Meowscarada raised her arms in joy. Plains were the best!
But because Will couldn't be sure of their current location, he also couldn't be sure where Liz would go next. He could only follow her phantom north. Along the way, they met many Pokémon unique to the Kalos region, a dazzling sight. But fortunately, the League here seemed to have been established quite early. The wild Pokémon were very peaceful, with almost no aggression.
"Meow~"
"Yes. It looks like it will be a relatively easy journey."
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