Chapter 44: Challenging the Academy's Top Dog
That night, thanks to the combined Cuteness Technique of Will and Iris, Liz finally agreed to let Iris live at the palace permanently. If Liz hadn't personally spoken up, Iris's mother would have never agreed to let her stay.
Having received her mother's approval, Iris was so excited that she couldn't sleep a wink that night. Inevitably, she spent the next day sleeping soundly.
Since he didn't have to worry about Iris, Will took the opportunity to go to Mt. Silver by himself. He scouted a little deeper into the middle ring, confirming the terrain and Pokémon distribution, and also selected his next capture target.
Half a month passed quietly.
Without being actively led into battles, the two Magikarp naturally did not evolve. They probably hadn't even gained a single level. But the good news was that their intelligence hadn't seemed to degenerate to the same level as their future Era of Leagues counterparts. It only took them three or four days to remember Liz and Iris. When the girls came to feed them, the two Magikarp would even proactively swim up to greet them. By the tenth day, they could even follow simple commands.
This was very gratifying for Will. If it weren't for the Magikarp, he wouldn't have had to use his Cuteness Technique on Liz to force Iris to stay at the palace.
At noon.
"Lan! Lan! Wake up!"
Iris came running into Liz's bedroom and threw herself onto the curled-up Will on the bed.
"So noisy," Will said, opening his eyes with a sigh. Ever since Iris had moved into the palace, he hadn't once been able to wake up naturally from his afternoon nap. But maybe that was a good thing; it kept him from getting lazy.
"Let's go, to the Primal Beast Academy! This afternoon, we're going to fight that big dinosaur with the flower on its neck!" Iris said, excitedly shaking Will's head.
"Why are you more excited than I am?" Will asked as he rose.
Iris's arms were still wrapped around his head, so she was left dangling in mid-air. The little girl wasn't afraid of getting hurt, though. Three months had been enough time for her to develop complete trust in Will. It was the kind of blind, unconditional trust a child has for a parent, no less than the trust Liz, who slept with him every night, had for him.
A Meganium... this won't be an easy fight, Will thought. He used his tail to pluck Iris off his head and then flew out the window.
The "big dinosaur" Iris was talking about was the Grass-type starter from the Johto region, Meganium. It was a brilliantly colored Meganium, standing four meters tall. In the Era of Leagues, it was the kind of Pokémon that would earn praise for being "well-raised." Probably because its biology was more plant-like, the scholars' methods of raising it like a plant had yielded excellent results.
This Meganium was currently the strongest student at the academy. Will estimated its level was approaching 40. His own level was only 32. The gap was not small, which was why he felt it would be a tough fight. But if I don't fight it today, I might not get another chance. That one is probably about to graduate and become a regular soldier.
Will carried Iris and quickly flew to the academy's lawn. From the sky, he immediately spotted the Meganium.
"Lan! Over there! Let's go, let's go fight it!" Iris's excited voice came from his tail. At the same time, the buff from the Dragon Force suddenly flowed into Will's body.
Will descended to the ground, placed the little girl on the grass to the side, and then approached the Meganium, who was already staring at him.
At the same time, more and more Pokémon began to gather around to watch.
"Bay~ (A fight?)" the Meganium asked, clearly having guessed Will's intention.
Will had already fought everyone in the entire academy; only she remained undefeated. In a way, she was the strongest of the reserve troops, the boss. That was why so many Pokémon had come to watch. If Will defeated her, he would be the new boss. From then on, the entire academy would be his turf. It would be up to other Pokémon to challenge him. If a new Pokémon ever disrespected him, he wouldn't even have to lift a finger; the other students would teach the newcomer a lesson.
"Yes," Will nodded, his mind already racing, formulating a battle strategy.
The level difference between him and the Meganium was too great. He had to make good use of his only advantage: type matchups. He had the Ice-type move Icy Wind, which was super-effective against Grass-types, and his own Dragon-type gave him a 2x resistance to Meganium's Grass-type moves.
"Bay!"
Although the Meganium was female, she had a fiery temper.
[Razor Leaf]
Confirming Will's intent, she immediately shook the petals on her neck, and a volley of spinning leaves shot towards him.
Will pushed off the ground with the lower half of his body, his tail powerfully shoving the lawn, launching himself into the air and narrowly dodging the attack. A large body wasn't always a good thing, as it also made for a larger target. If he hadn't been so agile, that move would have hit him.
[Leer]
An invisible wave emanated from Will's two aqua-blue eyes. In the games, this move could lower the target's defense by making them feel fear. But in reality, it wasn't so simple. Against reckless or overly bold Pokémon, this move was basically useless; it couldn't make them feel fear at all. For example, the two dopey Magikarp back at the palace could completely ignore his Leer.
"Bay..." The Meganium shuddered under Will's gaze, a hint of fear in its heart.
It worked, Will thought with a grin.
[Agility]
He seized the opportunity, increasing his speed and rapidly closing the distance to the Meganium.
[Focus Energy]
Only Will himself knew how useful this move, inherited from his first life as a Beedrill, was in a real battle. In the games, because it wasted a turn, it wasn't used very often. Although its effect was weaker in reality—increasing the critical hit rate instead of guaranteeing one—there were no "turns" in reality! As it was now, as long as his proficiency was high enough, he could even use the move while moving.
"Bay!"
The Meganium was not about to just stand there and take it.
[Petal Dance]
Its flower bloomed, and countless pink blossoms formed from Grass-type energy materialized out of thin air, converging into a small, spinning tornado that shot towards Will.
[Twister]
Will was forced to halt his advance. He whipped his tail forward, and a blue-and-white tornado was quickly unleashed. At the same time, he rapidly adjusted his position, circling around from above.
The level difference was too great; his Twister couldn't possibly cancel out the Meganium's Petal Dance. He was only using it to slow the attack down, buying himself time to dodge.
The Meganium's gaze was still focused on the point where the two skills collided. It didn't even notice that Will was already closing in from the sky.
"The disadvantage of not having a Trainer... it's just too obvious," Will grinned, an ice-blue light gathering in his mouth.
[Icy Wind]
~~~
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