Chapter 100: The Original Timeline
On the sea.
Following behind Will were about thirty medium-sized sailing ships, each carrying approximately one hundred soldiers. This number didn't include their Pokémon. Counting the Pokémon, the total force was 3,500. Because high-level Pokémon tended to be large and heavy, they were unsuitable for sea travel, so this naval support unit only included 500 Pokémon.
While 3,500 might sound small, the combined total of both armies on the main front was less than 70,000, and only a quarter of that was comprised of Pokémon. The Tribal Period had only just ended, and the human population growth rate hadn't yet recovered. This war, despite involving two entire regions, was actually not that large in scale. This support force of 3,500 was already a very strong unit.
To make the fleet move faster, Will had been using a weakened Hurricane along the way to speed up their sails. The soldiers on the ships were all astonished by his power, marveling at the "Guardian Dragon of the Nation." To be able to accelerate thirty ships just by flapping his wings was a power they couldn't even have dreamed of.
The journey proceeded smoothly. No dangers occurred. The potential threats along this route had already been eliminated by Will.
"Lord Lan! Look ahead!"
Just then, a scout on the watchtower of the ship below suddenly pointed forward and shouted.
Will looked up, and his scalp went numb. The sky ahead was thick with Pokémon, a black mass of at least seven or eight hundred. The majority were Butterfree and Beedrill, but there was also no shortage of Pidgeotto, Fearow, Ledyba, and Venomoth. Bug-types accounted for more than 90% of them. These were all Pokémon commonly seen in the Viridian Forest.
In the future, the Viridian Forest would be world-famous as a bug forest, and the sheer number of Bug Catchers there was proof of this. It was only natural that the Land Kingdom's army would also have many Bug-type Pokémon.
"I see," Will murmured, looking at the massive flying army ahead. He finally understood why Sakaki had been so bold. This was his true trump card.
Just as the Dragonite Kingdom hadn't expected the Land Kingdom to have a naval force, the Land Kingdom hadn't expected them to use the sea route either. Only, Liz didn't know that the Viridian Forest contained countless flying bug Pokémon, and Will had never imagined that Sakaki could assemble a Pokémon army that didn't even need human command.
And Sakaki, on the other hand, could never have predicted that Will would not only become so powerful in two years but would also be an expert in naval combat, single-handedly carving out a relatively safe sea route.
As a result, by a twist of fate, their two flanking forces had collided. As for what this air force intended to do, Will could roughly guess. Sending them to the main front would be useless; the military gap between the two kingdoms wasn't something 700 low-to-mid-level Pokémon could overcome. But against ordinary people, these Pokémon were death-dealing beasts.
Their only possible target was the capital of the Dragonite Kingdom.
"Ruthless," Will's eyes turned cold, a trace of fury appearing in them. Thinking of Iris and Hestia, who were still waiting in the palace, his mood soured terribly. Knowing Liz's personality, if the capital was taken hostage, she would definitely try to negotiate. And for the stronger Dragonite Kingdom to be blackmailed into negotiations... the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Bzzz..."
Before Will could even give the order to attack, the enemy began to press forward.
"All forces..."
"Stop," Will said, raising a hand to stop the fleet commander just as he was about to give the order to engage.
"Lord Lan?... Could it be that Lady Liz has other arrangements in the capital?" the commander asked, his eyes lighting up as he whispered.
"Yes," Will nodded. But his reason for stopping the attack wasn't just because of the forces back home. It was because if a conflict broke out here, his own fleet would likely be annihilated.
He was more worried about the main front. If Sakaki had some other plan targeting Liz, it would be bad. And, just as Liz had said, if the naval force didn't block the forest from behind, the Dragonite army would suffer thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths in the pursuit. Even if they won the main battle, Liz would not be able to conquer the Kingdom of the Land.
Stopping this air force could be left to the Beedrill swarm back at the capital. The sea unit must get to the front lines. In any case, this air force might have to pass the Gliscor's isolated island on their way, and a conflict might break out there. If they were lucky, this air force might not even reach the capital.
But all of this was conditional on that Pokémon being stopped here.
Will's gaze shifted to the very back of the flying army. There was a Beedrill that was seven meters long. This was far beyond a simple "Alpha" level.
The Hegemon of Viridian Forest. It was the only conclusion Will could draw. Although the Viridian Forest was vast, its Pokémon density and competitiveness were no match for Mt. Silver. A Lv. 60 Pokémon could probably rule the entire forest.
This Beedrill was the reason Will had stopped the fleet from engaging. If it were just the Alpha Beedrill, Will would have led all their Pokémon to destroy it. But the problem was the 800 other flying Pokémon with it. On the sea, the humans' only attack was with arrows, and if the ships were sunk, it would be a disaster. If they fought, Will's side only had a few hundred Pokémon, half of whom couldn't even fly. If this Alpha Beedrill decided to fight them here, the naval unit would have few survivors, and Liz's flanking plan would be ruined.
"Liz, your decision was the right one," Will sighed, thinking back to their argument. In the entire Dragonite Kingdom, perhaps only he could stop this Beedrill here. If he had stayed on the main front, the capital would have been doomed. Even Wally's swarm couldn't stop this monster. So, Liz's decision had, by a twist of fate, been the correct one.
"You continue forward. The plan is unchanged. I will hold him here," Will gestured, conveying his intentions to the fleet commander.
"But..." The commander hesitated, then gritted his teeth and ordered the fleet to proceed. He wasn't sure if the beasts in the sky would suddenly attack them. But Queen Liz had already given the order: in all things, Lord Lan's command was primary.
"Bzz," the Land Kingdom's air force grew restless seeing the fleet below, but Sakaki's Beedrill forcibly held them back. By coincidence, it had the same thought as Will. The air force could not be stopped here; they must attack the capital, or the Land Kingdom had no chance of victory. As for the main front... if they lost, they lost. Sakaki had never expected them to win anyway.
So, Sakaki's Beedrill waved, ordering the air force to ignore the fleet and continue forward. A strange scene unfolded over the sea. Two enemy military forces simply passed each other as if the other didn't exist. Only Will and the Alpha Beedrill remained, staring each other down from a distance.
"Bzz."
"You are not getting through."
Will shook his head, his eyes deep. The air force wasn't the problem; the Beedrill swarm at the capital could handle them. But this Alpha Beedrill had to stay here. It could not be allowed to go to the capital, nor could it be allowed to return to the main front. He worried that if the air force failed, it might go rogue and try to assassinate Liz on the battlefield. The chance of success was low, but not zero.
Today, no matter what, Will had to drag this thing down with him here.
The original timeline... the Kingdom of the Land must have won, right? Will thought, looking at the Beedrill, his mind flashing through everything that had happened since he arrived in this world.
If the Dragonite Kingdom hadn't met him, they never would have discovered the "battle for EXP" tactic, nor could they have implemented the sea flanking strategy. And going back even further, if Liz hadn't met him in his first life, she might not have even survived the Silph Tribe, let alone gained the support of the Beedrill swarm. Without them, it was hard to say if she could have even united Johto and built her kingdom.
In the original timeline, without him, the path was clear. The Dragonite Kingdom would have been crushed. The Gligar island would have been purged, which is why in the games, it was a desolate, empty island. Perhaps this Beedrill would have flown past that island and personally slaughtered all the Gligar. And because Johto was ruled by the brutal Land Kingdom, the region would be plunged into constant war, finally incurring the wrath of Ho-Oh and Lugia.
But I'm here this time. History will not follow its original path.
Will and the Beedrill faced off. They both knew they could not advance until they dealt with the one in front of them. They waited. Three minutes later, after their respective forces had disappeared from view, both of them flapped their wings and vanished.
[Extreme Speed]. [Focus Energy]. [Wing Attack].
Will shot forward, appearing behind the Beedrill, his wing slamming forward. The Flying-type move would deal double damage.
Swoosh.
But in the blink of an eye, the Beedrill had already moved with Agility, its speed hardly any slower than his own Extreme Speed.
So fast!
Will's eyes widened. He had no time to think. The Beedrill's attack was upon him. [Pin Missile]. Countless small needles shot from its body, snaking through the air and attacking Will from all directions.
[Fire Spin]!
Will gathered flames in his mouth and spun his body, releasing a giant tornado of fire that enveloped him, forming a 360-degree flame shield. He then dove straight down into the sea, blocking the needles and obscuring the Beedrill's vision.
As a former Beedrill himself, how could he not know their weakness? Because of their wings, Beedrill cannot touch water. Once wet, their bodies become heavy and their speed plummets. Therefore, he had to make good use of the ocean below him, and...
[Rain Dance].
Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and soon a light rain began to fall. The Beedrill, hovering in the air, vibrated its wings at high speed. It sensed Will's intent, but there was nothing it could do. It didn't have a move to change the weather.
Under the cover of the sea, Will quickly stacked his buffs: three Dragon Dances and a Focus Energy.
[Surf]!
From beneath the waves, Will attacked. A thirty-meter-high wave rose from the sea, carrying him with it as it crashed toward the Beedrill like a hurricane.
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