Chapter 42: This Fish... Might Be a Beast
"And that's it?"
Under Will's supervision, Liz and Iris each completed the feeding of their Magikarp. One or two feedings might not make an impression, but after a few more, the Magikarp would begin to remember them.
For a Trainer, a Magikarp's simple mind was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage was the difficulty in getting from 0 to 1—the initial bond. Even after being defeated and captured, it might take a Magikarp a while to even realize it has a Trainer. But the advantage was the ease of raising their affection. Once that initial "1" was reached, the process of getting from 1 to 255 was much faster than with other Pokémon.
Without a doubt, the most difficult Pokémon to raise affection with were Psychic-types. Most of them were very intelligent, and some could even sense human emotions and thoughts.
"Yes. I'll remind you again in the evening," Will said, peeking into the pond. The two Magikarp had no reaction to seeing him; they didn't even know he was the one who had knocked them out.
After that, Will didn't rush to take the two Magikarp out for training. The primary task now was to build a decent level of affection between them and the two girls. It had to be high enough that after evolving, the Gyarados would still recognize them as their Trainers and not attack them. If their affection was too low upon evolution, the Gyarados might not even recognize Liz and Iris and could lash out.
Therefore, Will didn't go running around for the rest of the day. Instead, he kept Liz by his side, forcing her to "play" with the dopey red fish. As for Iris, the little girl was already quite curious about such a large fish and was happily hugging her Magikarp's head, staring deeply into its beady eyes.
"Someone, come," Liz said, not quite understanding Will's actions, but she felt that with the intelligence he had shown since he was a baby, he wouldn't be doing something pointless.
"Your Majesty."
"Go and fetch the two scholars. Have them take a look at this fish."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Soon, two beast scholars arrived at the palace backyard.
"Your Majesty." x2
"These two fish, is there anything special about them?"
"Well... this kind of fish... might be a primal beast," the two scholars exchanged a look, their faces troubled.
"Might be?" Liz asked, her eyes full of confusion. What a strange thing to say. The difference between a beast and a normal animal was enormous. The easiest way to tell was just to look at their combat ability. What did "might be" mean?
"This... according to our research, this type of beast is weaker than the vast majority of other beasts. Never mind facing other beasts, they have almost no fighting ability even against ordinary wild animals. They are, by all accounts, the weakest beast we have ever seen," one of the scholars said, scratching his head as he relayed their findings. "However, their vitality and some other characteristics do indeed meet the criteria to be classified as a beast."
"..."
Will listened from the side without saying a word. Magikarp were indeed very weak. They didn't learn Tackle until Lv. 15; before that, they were worse than a common animal. If not for this, Magikarp wouldn't have been reduced to surviving on tiny fish, shrimp, or even plankton.
"...Why did Lan catch them?" Liz murmured to herself, gently stroking Will. Based on her understanding of him, it couldn't possibly be for a reason as simple as keeping them as pets or fattening them up to eat later. But she really couldn't guess why he would capture two useless beasts.
"..."
The two beast scholars remained silent. To be honest, if even Liz didn't know what Will was planning, then it was likely no one in the world could guess.
"You'll know in the future," Will said, nudging the top of Liz's head with his nose.
"Oh well. I'll find out eventually," Liz said, standing on her tiptoes to rub her cheek against his, giving up on thinking about it. No matter what, she trusted his judgment.
Iris, after playing for a while, quickly lost interest in her Magikarp. All it did was splash around; it wasn't fun at all.
"Lan~"
In the end, Iris returned to Will's embrace.
"Lan, I have to get back. I still have a lot of things to do," Liz said, looking up at him. She had been stuck here because every time she tried to leave, Will would use his tail to coil her back. She could tell he wanted her to interact with the fish, but she really did have work to do.
"..."
Will tilted his head, thinking for a moment. Then, he remembered something.
He flew back to his and Liz's bedroom on his own and moved the large fish tank into her study. Only then did he return and deliver both Liz and her Magikarp back to the room.
"...I guess I'm raising a fish now," Liz said, looking at the fish tank next to her desk and shaking her head helplessly. The Magikarp swam happily in the large tank, occasionally stopping to stare at her.
Will watched this scene and nodded with satisfaction. This way, even while working, Liz could be in the Magikarp's presence. Even if she did nothing, its affection for her would gradually rise. But to speed up the process, Will made a special trip to the kitchen and brought back some shrimp and other aquatic creatures, placing them next to her desk. When Liz got tired from work, she could take a break by feeding her Magikarp, which would both relax her and raise its affection. Two birds with one stone.
I've worried myself sick for this family, Will sighed, shaking his head.
He then flew back to the backyard to find Iris. The problem with Liz's Magikarp was solved, but Iris's was not. Iris usually stayed at her own home, where Will couldn't supervise her. The little girl didn't come to the palace every day, maybe only two or three times a week. At this rate, the affection between her and her Magikarp would increase very slowly, if at all.
"It's time to bust out the Cuteness Technique," Will thought, finally coming up with a solution after much deliberation.
In the evening, it was time for Iris to go home.
"Auntie, Lan, I'll come play again next time," said Iris, who had played with Will all day. She wiped her small face and waved goodbye to Liz and Will, who were seeing her off.
"Of course. You're always welcome," Liz nodded gently.
But at that moment, Will's tail shot out and coiled around Iris, pulling her back.
"Ying~"
Will hugged Iris, like a child clutching a beloved toy, unwilling to let go.
"Mwah~"
Seeing Will so close, Iris seized the opportunity and planted a big kiss on him.
"Lan? Iris has to go home now. She'll be back in a few days," Liz said, looking at Will strangely. They had said their goodbyes many times before, but Will had never acted like this. Liz instinctively felt that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Mostly, seeing Will and Iris so close made her feel a little jealous, which clouded her thinking.
"Ying~"
Will cried out, then carried the squirming Iris back into the palace. He took her to an empty bedroom and tucked her into the bed.
Liz, who had followed them, finally understood his intention.
"Do you want Iris to stay here?"
"I want to stay here!" Iris said quickly, clutching the blanket with only the top half of her head showing. If she could live in the palace from now on, she could play with Lan more often. She was going to use Will's affection as a pretext to stay.
"No way! Your parents will be worried."
"Ying~"
"Auntie~"
Will and Iris simultaneously used Cuteness Technique on Liz.
"Well... just for one night."
It was super effective.
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