Chapter 64: Hold On! Resist That Feeling!
On the way back from Cherrygrove City, Ryū shifted his focus from the Gyarados to Charmander.
Currently, the Gyarados and Gligar were both around Lv. 25. Having reached that level twice himself, Ryū had a good sense of their power. Charmander, however, was a different story. When Ryū first met him, he was only around level 5. While in Cherrygrove City, Liz had occasionally commanded him in battles, but her skills were questionable, and Charmander's own battle sense was nonexistent. He was usually injured after just one or two fights each day. Because of this, he had only gained a level or two during their entire stay.
The road back to the Royal Capital was like the second route in a game after leaving the starting area; the wild Pokémon were generally not high-level. Since they couldn't serve as experience for himself, Ryū focused all his energy on training Charmander.
In just one week, he managed to raise Charmander from Lv. 7 to Lv. 14. It was like a master cultivator teaching a talented genius—effortless.
However, just as they were about to reach the Royal Capital, a small incident occurred.
"Very good, Charmander. Use Ember to end the battle," Ryū instructed.
"Char!"
Sparks flew from Charmander's mouth, knocking down a wild Meowth.
[Aqua Tail]
Ryū casually swept his tail, extinguishing the small patch of grass Charmander had ignited and officially ending the battle.
"CHAR!!!"
Just as Ryū finished, a passionate roar erupted behind him. He turned to see Charmander emotionally agitated, the flame on its tail burning fiercely as a white light began to glow around its body.
'This isn't right!'
Ryū's eyes widened as he shouted, "Hold it in! Resist that feeling!"
"Char..."
Hearing Ryū's voice, Charmander subconsciously began to follow his instructions, though he didn't understand why.
But Ryū understood perfectly. Charmander's level was not yet high enough to evolve naturally. This was an evolution triggered by intense emotion, not by sufficient energy. Many such cases had appeared in the anime, where a Pokémon forcibly evolves in a crisis to save its trainer.
But this was a form of "pulling up the seedling to help it grow." A classic example was Ash's Charmander. When it first arrived at the Charicific Valley, its problem was pointed out immediately. It had forcibly evolved twice in one day, from Charmander all the way to Charizard, resulting in a smaller physique and making it weaker than other Charizards. Although it later trained hard to compensate for the energy deficit, the disadvantage in its size was difficult to overcome.
"Success, phew." Ryū watched as the white light on Charmander's body gradually receded, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Char?"
"If you ever feel that way again, calm your emotions first. If the feeling is still there after you've calmed down, then you can let it happen," Ryū explained simply.
"Char," Charmander nodded obediently.
"He should be close to evolving into Charmeleon," Ryū estimated.
However, he wouldn't be training Liz's Pokémon for a while after this. He planned to live alone in Mt. Silver for a time. It might be long, or it might be short. His goal was to train there until he evolved into a Dragonite. Of course, if anything happened with Liz, he would rush back immediately. But before he left, he had to arrange a place for her Pokémon to continue growing.
The next morning, the group arrived back at the Royal Capital.
Ryū had barely returned to the palace when Ryuuki came running to him, holding a Natu.
"Where did you get a Natu?" Ryū's eyes widened. He couldn't imagine how Ryuuki had managed to catch a Pokémon on her own.
"Alan! Look, this is Dazey! My partner!" Ryuuki held the Natu high, looking proud.
"Amazing, amazing," Ryū said, extending his tail to gently stroke Ryuuki's head, and then the seemingly dazed little Natu. The Natu's body stiffened, clearly terrified of Ryū's immense size.
"Alan, did you miss me?"
"You should hurry and find your Gyarados," he thought, coiling his tail to gently roll Ryuuki and her Natu out of the bedroom. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.
"Alan seems to be tired, Dazey. Let's not disturb him. I'll take you to see Little Flutter!" Ryuuki said, running towards the backyard.
Of course, "Little Flutter" was her Magikarp. When Liz pointed to the super-sized Gyarados and told her that this was her Little Flutter, Ryuuki was so shocked that she dropped Dazey.
The Natu, however, didn't have time to care. It stood rooted to the spot just like Ryuuki, frozen in terror. Ryū was big, but he looked gentle. This Gyarados, however, looked like it could swallow eighty Natu in a single bite.
"Roar~"
Ryuuki's Gyarados, seeing that its Trainer didn't recognize it, thought for a moment. Then, inspiration struck. It quickly lay on the ground and began to use Splash, angrily flopping against the earth.
Dazey's eyes widened.
"...What is she doing?" Ryuuki frowned.