Chapter 32: From Now On, You're My Number One Henchman!
With a final Twister, one that was about ten percent stronger than usual, Will successfully defeated the Sunkern.
It had been a tough fight, as both sides were evenly matched. The Sunkern was a higher level, but Will had a slight type advantage and had been strengthened by the Dragon Force.
However, although it was a "tough fight," it wasn't exactly an exciting one. After all, at their current levels, both Will and the Sunkern had very limited movepools, making it impossible to have a spectacular duel.
In the end, Will carried the Sunkern back to the plains to await pickup by the scholars.
"Lan! That was amazing!"
An excited Iris emerged from the bushes. Of course, Will didn't see the excitement on her face; he felt it.
"I have you to thank for it," Will said, his attitude towards Iris uncharacteristically better. He gently patted the little girl's head with his tail.
Seriously, the Dragon Force was incredibly powerful. The boost it gave to Dragon-type Pokémon was immense, strengthening his Dragon-type moves by a full 10%. It was only because his current movepool was so shallow—with Twister being his only Dragon-type move—that the battle hadn't ended even sooner.
"You're injured."
Just as Iris was about to hug Will, she suddenly stopped.
"Ugh... it's a small scratch," Will said, glancing down at his abdomen. He had been hit by the Sunkern's Razor Leaf there, but it wasn't a big deal. Dragon-types had a 2x resistance to Grass-type moves. Eating a couple of berries or applying some medicine would clear it up quickly.
"Wait here for me," Iris said, then turned and ran off, disappearing somewhere.
Will didn't intend to chase her. With his movement speed on land, he'd never catch up to her anyway. He did, however, notice that as Iris left, the strengthening power within his body gradually weakened and finally dissipated.
A quarter of an hour later, Iris came jogging back, out of breath. In her hand was a small bottle of green ointment, which appeared to be an herbal remedy for external wounds.
"Let me put this on for you, Lan."
Iris squeezed out a little ointment and then gently spread it on Will's injury with her delicate index and middle fingers. Her movements were so gentle that it actually made Will feel a little ticklish.
"That's enough. If you'd been two minutes slower, it would have healed on its own," Will said, wagging his tail to signal her to stop.
He knew his own body. It wasn't a serious injury, and it was already mostly healed.
"Quick, give me the buff. I'm going to fight again!" Will raised his head and nudged it towards Iris.
"What's wrong?" This time, however, Iris couldn't understand his meaning. She looked down at herself, wondering why Lan was suddenly so close. Did she have a strange smell?
"Never mind..." Will had no choice but to give up. It seemed Iris couldn't freely control the special power within her. The boost he had received earlier was a complete coincidence.
He led Iris back to the thicket where she had been hiding, then turned to select his next target.
"Are you going to fight again, Lan? Don't you need to rest?" Iris reached out and grabbed the tip of Will's tail.
"...Don't grab the tip of my tail! It's very sensitive!" Will shuddered, the sensation like getting goosebumps. The tip of a Dratini's tail was full of nerve endings, much like a human's lips, making it extremely sensitive.
He flicked his tail in response.
"Then you be careful," Iris said, her face full of worry.
And as she spoke those words, the mysterious strengthening power once again appeared inside Will's body.
Is the key to controlling the Dragon Force... emotion?
This time, Will noticed a clue. When Iris felt worried and hoped for his safety, she would unconsciously activate the Dragon Force to help him. But even if he figured this out, it was useless. He had no way of explaining it to her. He couldn't even read the written language of this world, let alone write it down. At most, he could try to guide her, first by making her aware of this special power inside her, and then by gradually teaching her how to use it.
Oh well, I'll deal with it later. Will thought for a moment and decided to give up on the idea for now. Iris wasn't his Trainer, and he didn't see her every day. It wasn't worth the effort. He'd just let nature take its course.
For the rest of the day, Will went on to challenge three more Grass-type Pokémon. But after defeating the last one, he made an incredible discovery. He had leveled up!
After defeating just four Pokémon, his level had gone from 11 to 12. This wasn't a game; leveling up wasn't that simple. Will had experienced this firsthand since being reborn in the Pokémon world. By his original estimate, he should have had to defeat six to eight Pokémon to level up. If things went smoothly, that would have taken two days. If things didn't go smoothly—for example, if he was seriously injured in a battle and needed a long rest—it could have taken three or even four days.
But now, that process had been shortened to a single day.
On the carriage ride home, Will was completely baffled.
"Could it be... you?"
Finally, he had no choice but to turn his gaze to Iris's face. The little girl was already exhausted and had fallen fast asleep, leaning against him. She was likely more tired than usual from using the Dragon Force so much. Otherwise, an eight-year-old child, who should be full of energy, wouldn't be this sleepy just from watching some Pokémon battles.
It has to be the Dragon Force.
Will couldn't think of any other possibility. The only thing different about today compared to the last two days was that Iris had been buffing him all day.
It was only then that Will seemed to remember. In his past life, he had definitely read online that the Dragon Force could accelerate the growth of Dragon-type Pokémon. But no one could ever explain exactly how it worked. Was it a direct or indirect acceleration?
Indirect, probably...
Will was inclined to believe the latter. After all, if it were the former, then the Dragon Force, which he considered a T3 or even T4 tier ability, would shoot straight up to T1. Directly accelerating the growth of a Dragon-type was simply too broken. The Dragon Force, combined with a late-blooming Dragon-type Pokémon... the combination was just insane.
So, Will preferred the theory that the Dragon Force increased the experience a Dragon-type Pokémon gained from battle.
If that was the case...
"From now on, you're my number one henchman! Besides Liz, we're the best of friends!"
Will affectionately nuzzled the little blue-haired girl leaning against him. Seeing him now, it was hard to imagine that just this morning, he had been giving her the cold shoulder for stealing his baby bottle.
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter