Chapter 148: A Tactical Test, The Power of an Elite
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, Will and Floragato had been in the Dragonite homeland for over a month and a half.
Ordinarily, outside Pokémon were not allowed to stay for long unless they decided to become a permanent part of the clan. But the old Dragonite matriarch stood above the rules, so such things were meaningless to Will and Floragato. They had settled in for a longer stay, with no definite departure date.
On the plains, Floragato was battling a young Dragonair, with Will and the old Dragonite standing on the sidelines, coaching. During this time, the two of them had become like the elders of the plain, guiding various Pokémon and the younger generation of the Dragonite Clan. Many of the clan's youths had been skeptical at first, but they soon discovered that although Will's level wasn't the highest, he possessed real knowledge, and many of his ideas were even beyond what the Dragonite matriarch could offer. So, they quickly changed their tune.
Of course, because Will had his own priorities, most of his time was still spent coaching his own apprentice and daughter, Floragato. But unfortunately, in her battles here, she lost seven or eight out of every ten. This wasn't because she was weak, but because Will would only choose opponents for her that were stronger. At least five levels higher, with a type advantage—these were the two basic criteria.
Will analyzed these battles constantly, searching for ways to help her become stronger. He had taught her Take Down, Agility, Thunder Punch, and Energy Ball. Her own level had risen from 25 to 33, and she had naturally learned Worry Seed and Slash. She was not far from evolving. Will was planning to consider their departure time after she had evolved.
Floragato never once complained about being tired. Even when she was knocked to the ground and couldn't get up, she would grit her teeth and say nothing. This perseverance even surprised the old Dragonite, who praised Will for raising a good apprentice. Whenever that happened, a proud look would appear on Will's face, as if he were the best master in the world. When Floragato saw that look, she would be both annoyed and amused, but it would always fill her with more motivation. She loved seeing him look proud of her.
The battle ended. The loser was Floragato. The Pokémon within the Dragonite Clan were no joke; their skill level was very high, especially the Dragonair and Dragonite. Hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge and teaching from their elders had given them all impressive movesets.
"It's a pity I couldn't teach her any Fairy-type moves," Will sighed, looking at the panting Floragato on the ground.
She could learn them, but between him and the Dragonite, across their combined knowledge of 15 move types, neither of them knew any Fairy-type moves. And looking for a Fairy-type tutor in the Dragonite Clan was a bit of a joke. Aside from a Xatu who might know Dazzling Gleam, there wasn't a single Pokémon in the entire clan that could master a Fairy-type move.
"She can learn them slowly in the future," the old Dragonite said with a gentle smile.
"You're right," Will nodded.
"Why are you in such a hurry to train her? She's still very young," the old Dragonite asked, looking at him strangely. She felt he was being a little too strict. She herself was gentle and patient, and as an elderly female, she sometimes felt the little Floragato was a bit pitiful.
Will shook his head and didn't explain. The old Dragonite had never been a parent, so she wouldn't understand. But Will had raised both his Golbat and now Floragato, and he understood deeply.
Tomorrow and accidents, you never know which will come first. He might not even meet her again in his next life. Unless he died of old age, he would never let anything happen to her. But once he was gone, how she lived her life would be entirely up to her. To prepare for that possible accident, he wanted her to be as strong as she could be.
"Alright, that's enough training for today. You go get some rest," Will said, walking over to Floragato and carrying her to the side.
"Are you going to start now?"
"Of course. As a master, I have to lead by example," Will nodded.
In the month and a half he had been here, he hadn't just been spending his time on Floragato. Making himself stronger was the most important and reliable path. He glanced at his own status screen and nodded. A month and a half, four levels gained. Compared to before, it didn't seem like much, but the higher the level, the slower the progress. This speed was even a little faster than his time as a Dragonair, and back then he'd had Iris's Dragon Force helping him. He was quite satisfied.
He had also learned two new moves: Rock Tomb and Focus Blast. The latter was a powerful, special-type Fighting move, and one of the most suitable for his own stat distribution.
"Do you want me to spar with you?"
"Yes, please," Will nodded without hesitation.
In the past half-month, he had gotten a good sense of the old Dragonite's strength. Although she was old and her power was starting to decline, she was still solidly at an Elite Four level. He chose her as an opponent because he had only just learned Focus Blast and couldn't control its damage output. He was afraid he might seriously injure another opponent, but with her, he didn't have to worry. With a thirty-level gap and a type disadvantage, she could stand there and let him hit her with his strongest Grass-type moves and probably not even get a scratch.
Will and the Dragonite took their positions. Floragato and the other Dragonair, who had been resting, immediately sat up, their full attention on the upcoming battle. It wasn't just them. The other Pokémon and clan members wandering nearby also rushed over to watch and learn.
With a shared glance, the battle began.
BOOM!
Will stomped the ground, and a grayish-yellow energy flowed into the earth. One after another, sharp, giant rocks erupted from the grass. This wasn't to attack her; it was a test of a tactic he had devised.
"Good, it works," he grinned. A normal Rock Tomb summons rocks to fall on the target. But Will's version was different. He was using it to imitate a forest environment, creating pillars for him to jump between, allowing him to utilize his natural speed and species advantage, and to forcibly change his direction mid-Extreme Speed, making his attack paths more unpredictable.
[Extreme Speed].
Will's body shot forward, and the moment his feet touched a rock, he pushed off with all his might.
BOOM!
The massive impact shattered the rock, but Will was already a green blur, shooting towards the next one.
"So fast!"
"I can't see him! I can't see him at all!"
"Is that Extreme Speed? A Sceptile can learn that?!"
"Meow."
"That Sceptile's Extreme Speed seems even faster than my Dragonite's?!"
"At this speed, not even Grandma Dragonite will know where he's going to attack from!"
The crowd of onlookers gasped in amazement. In their eyes, they could only barely catch a glimpse of a green shadow in the instant he paused on a rock.
But for the old Dragonite, although his speed was beyond her imagination, it was still within her range of sight. So, in truth, his tactic didn't give him much of an advantage against her. However, if his opponent had been a newly evolved Dragonite, it would have been very difficult to react.
From the moment he started moving to the moment he appeared in front of her took less than two seconds. In those two seconds, he had crossed more than twenty meters and shattered four giant rocks.
WHOOSH!
A powerful, spiraling sound whistled through the air. The crowd turned their heads and only then saw that Will was already holding a golden, spiraling ball of energy and was about to slam it into the Dragonite's chest.
[Focus Blast].
Thump!
The old Dragonite simply raised her palm and caught it. She didn't even use a move, and the Focus Blast just fizzled out.
"...You're a little too strong," Will said, his jaw dropping. He watched as a few wisps of gray smoke rose from her palm, then he pulled back his hand, completely baffled. A Dragonite's special defense was high, and it had a 2x resistance to Fighting. But he truly hadn't expected it to do zero damage.
"It was very powerful," the old Dragonite smiled, encouraging him. She held out her palm for him to see. The Focus Blast had left a faint black mark in the center.
"Really?"
"Yes!"
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