Chapter 35: A Second Trip to the Wilds!
Seeing Gyarados finally calm down, Kenji recalled it to its Poké Ball and immediately handed it over to the gym's medical staff for initial treatment. For a more thorough recovery, however, a visit to the Pokémon Center was necessary.
Worried about Gyarados's condition, Kenji skipped his afternoon training. He said a quick goodbye to Melody and headed straight to the Pokémon Center with both Beedrill and Gyarados. He requested deep-healing treatments for both his partners.
By the time the treatments were complete, instead of heading home, Kenji went back to the Edgecliff Gym.
After evolving, Gyarados was massive—easily three times the height of a grown man, roughly six meters long. Kenji's tiny apartment obviously couldn't accommodate such a behemoth. From now on, it seemed Gyarados would have to eat its meals at the gym.
On the way, Kenji stopped and bought a large bag of mid-grade Pokéblocks. If he continued feeding this giant high-grade blocks, he'd go bankrupt in no time. Reluctantly, he downgraded its diet.
Arriving back at the aquatic training area, Kenji released Gyarados. He poured half the bag of Pokéblocks into a large feeding trough. Having just evolved and then gone through an intense battle, Gyarados was ravenous. Its eyes lit up at the sight of food, and it began to devour the blocks voraciously.
In just a few minutes, the entire half-bag was gone.
Kenji watched, slightly dumbfounded. That bag contained enough food to feed his Magikarp for about four days. Now, as a Gyarados, it had consumed two days' worth in a single meal. Its appetite had grown just as monstrously as its power.
Even after finishing, Gyarados looked up at Kenji, clearly still hungry, its eyes fixed on the remaining half-bag in his hands.
Kenji sighed.
In the end, Gyarados ate another quarter of the bag before finally seeming satisfied. A single meal had nearly wiped out his entire supply.
With some time still left before heading home, Kenji decided to have Gyarados demonstrate its new moves. A Pokémon couldn't master every technique equally well; it was better to focus. After seeing Gyarados perform each move, Kenji selected six for focused training: Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Aqua Tail, Ice Fang, Crunch, and Scary Face.
Dragon Dance was a top priority. As a move that boosted both Attack and Speed, its importance couldn't be overstated. Waterfall wasn't just a powerful attack; its effect, mimicking the charge needed to climb a waterfall, would grant Gyarados explosive bursts of speed, dramatically improving its mobility, especially in land battles. Aqua Tail, Crunch, and Ice Fang were chosen as its primary offensive arsenal. Scary Face, while technically a status move, was more about intimidation in the real world than simply lowering speed like in the games. Its effectiveness depended heavily on the user—a Scary Face from a cute Gardevoir wouldn't have nearly the same impact as one from a terrifying Gyarados.
Having chosen the core moveset, Kenji outlined a basic training regimen for Gyarados. After it finished another training session and ate its dinner, he finally left the Edgecliff Gym for the day.
The next morning, Kenji didn't go to the gym. Instead, he bought large quantities of both Bug-type and Water-type Pokéblocks, stuffed them into his backpack, and took a taxi toward the city outskirts.
It was time to get the materials for Beedrill's 4-Star fusion.
As the taxi passed through the archway in the Perimeter Wall marking the boundary between the city and the wilds, the buildings grew sparse, replaced by increasingly dense forests. About five or six kilometers past the gate, the taxi pulled over.
Kenji paid the driver, slung his heavy backpack on, and stepped out. He sighed, feeling the weight. Gyarados's appetite was a serious burden. He was carrying so many Pokéblocks that the bag felt like it was filled with rocks.
He really needed to invest in a proper storage backpack. In a world with technology advanced enough to shrink a six-meter Gyarados into a tiny ball, it wasn't surprising that dimensional storage bags existed—bags that looked normal on the outside but held several square meters of space inside, like the storage rings from fantasy novels. They weren't cheap, typically costing around 500,000 Pokédollars, but they weren't impossibly rare either. Before, such an expense was unthinkable, but with several million in his account now, it was a luxury he could afford. Carrying food for just two Pokémon was already this heavy; what would happen when he had a full team?
Mulling it over, Kenji walked off the main road and headed into the forest. He soon found a suitable clearing near a small stream. It was only 8 AM.
He dropped his backpack and released both his Pokémon. Beedrill took to the air, while Gyarados materialized in the water with a splash. After preparing their breakfasts, Kenji pulled out a bread roll for himself.
Once they had eaten, he recalled Gyarados and shouldered his pack again, ready to venture deeper into the woods. The wilds were dangerous, full of potentially aggressive Pokémon. For safety, he kept Beedrill out, flying alongside him as a bodyguard.
Besides protection, Beedrill's Swarm ability had a secondary, passive effect outside of battle: it allowed Kenji to sense the presence and approximate location of nearby Bug-type Pokémon. This sensory ability was invaluable, allowing him to avoid unnecessary confrontations. His only goal today was to gather enough materials for Beedrill's 4-Star fusion.