Chapter 29: Arresting Lord Lan
The next day, Will returned to the academy. During a break, he lured a Ponyta that was happily hopping around the plains over to the small lake.
With the Ponyta looking on in complete confusion, Will dove into the lake and then, from the water, launched a Twister at it. The whirlwind, carrying a large amount of lake water, slammed into the Ponyta's face, injuring it instantly. But this also enraged the Ponyta.
[Ember]
The Ponyta opened its mouth and spat out specks of fire towards the lake's surface.
Sizzle~
The embers hit the water with a faint vaporizing sound. Will, hiding in the lake, took no damage at all. At most, he just felt the water get a little warmer.
For the next few minutes, Will used his terrain advantage to continuously evade the Ponyta's attacks. But the Ponyta was a real hothead. Even after being beaten black and blue, it refused to run away and just kept glaring at the lake.
Finally, the Ponyta lost its temper. It recklessly charged at Will in the water with a [Tackle], only to plunge headfirst into the lake. It struggled frantically for less than three seconds before its eyes turned to swirls.
Seeing this, Will's face went pale with fright. He quickly rushed over, wrapped his body around the Ponyta, and dragged it onto the shore.
"You've got a Rash nature, don't you?" Will grumbled, then quickly carried the Ponyta out of the woods and onto the plains. He knew someone was definitely keeping an eye on this area. Therefore, a beast scholar was bound to come running out to check on the fainted Ponyta.
Sure enough, less than a minute after he appeared on the plains with the Ponyta, a beast scholar in a white coat came galloping over on a Tauros. Will couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at the three-meter-tall Tauros. A Tauros of that size was like a monster. If it appeared in the future Era of Leagues, it would undoubtedly be the star of the show; perhaps only a Legendary Pokémon could steal the spotlight from it.
Strong... definitely Lv. 40 or higher. Will couldn't judge the Tauros's exact strength, but based on his eye for power from his past life as a Beedrill, he could make a rough estimate.
"What happened here? Water? Did it fall in the water?" The beast scholar dismounted, knelt, and felt the Ponyta's wet coat, immediately understanding the situation. He quickly took out some kind of unknown root from his pocket, crushed it with his fingers, and stuffed it into the Ponyta's mouth.
"Did Lord Lan save it? Lord Lan is such a good boy. What those other two scholars said wasn't right at all." After administering some simple first aid, the scholar turned to look at Will and praised him with a smile. He even took out a rare berry and offered it to him. These kinds of berries were usually reserved as rewards for beasts who performed exceptionally well.
"That's right, it was all my doing," Will nodded, quickly snatching the berry and turning to leave. Since the Ponyta was fine for now, he needed to go find his next target.
Will spent the next three days in the same manner. By the end of the third day, he had beaten up every juvenile Fire-type in the academy. If he kept beating up the same ones, the experience he gained would most likely decrease.
On the fourth day, upon arriving at the academy, Will first dove to the bottom of the lake to check his status screen.
[Dratini]
Potential: Blue
Level: 10
Type: Dragon
Ability: Shed Skin
Height: 2.6m
Weight: 4.5kg
Moves: Focus Energy (Inherited), Wrap, Leer, Twister, Thunder Wave
"Not bad. Gained three levels and learned Thunder Wave. Next up... I'll take on the Water-types."
Will had already made his decision. The remaining Grass, Water, and Electric-types were all about the same. Against Grass and Electric-types, Thunder Wave's effect would be much weaker, but he could use the lake environment to his advantage. His movement speed on land was pitifully slow; he had to use this lake to fight Pokémon of a higher level. Against Water-types, he would lose his environmental advantage, but the paralyzing effect of Thunder Wave would be much stronger.
Gulp. Gulp.
"?"
Will suddenly heard the sound of drinking coming from above his head. He knew a Pokémon had come to the lake for a drink, so he swam up and poked his head out for a look.
A dumb-looking Psyduck.
"A willing victim," Will grinned.
He acted decisively. The white fins on his head flashed, and a faint yellow bolt of electricity shot out, hitting the still-drinking Psyduck.
"Psyy~"
The Psyduck trembled for a few moments, and its head drooped into the water. Will pressed his advantage and moved in for another attack, not knowing that this was all a setup.
"It really is Lord Lan. I was wondering why so many beasts had been injured by falling into the water these past few days, and why they were all brought back by Lord Lan."
Hiding behind a large tree at the edge of the forest, a beast scholar muttered to himself. For the past few days, he had thought Will was being a good Samaritan, saving those Fire-type Pokémon. To reward him, he had even given him several rare and highly nutritious berries.
But this was the truth! If they hadn't deliberately lured a Psyduck over to drink and test their theory, they would have remained in the dark. At first, they had considered that maybe Lord Lan just hated Pokémon that could create fire, but now it was clear that wasn't the case at all.
Lord Lan was indiscriminately attacking other beasts!
"We can't let Lord Lan continue this unreasonable behavior. Although he doesn't kill them, these beasts often need to rest for several days and use up a lot of medicinal herbs. It not only delays their growth but also consumes our inventory," said another scholar next to him, watching the scene with a worried heart.
When they organized battles, they were extremely careful. A fight didn't end only when one side was knocked out. Often, when one side had a clear advantage, they would call a halt to the match. This was to minimize injuries and the consumption of their herbal stock.
The Era of Primal Beasts was not the Era of Leagues, with its advanced medical equipment. The idea of just placing a Poké Ball on a machine and having it heal in a few seconds didn't actually exist in the Pokémon world. At the very least, it would take a Nurse Joy and a Chansey a day or two of careful nursing to fully heal a Pokémon.
The current stock of medicinal herbs at the academy had been gathered by Beast-Callers who risked their lives in the forest. They were extremely precious. The scholars did not want to waste them on cleaning up Will's messes.
"What do we do?"
"What else can we do? We capture Lord Lan and let Queen Liz discipline him. It's not like we can do it ourselves, can we?"
The two of them conferred and decided on a plan.
Arrest Lord Lan!
"We'll wait until Lord Lan defeats the yellow duck-beast. When he's weakened, we'll make our move."
"Right!"
~~~
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