Chapter 157: The Trouble with Being Large
That afternoon, after a full meal, the group rested on the grass. Will, however, was busy, teaching Shigeru and his Turtwig a new move: Energy Ball.
It was a relatively high-power, special-type Grass move, and it was quite difficult to learn. According to Will's observation, the Turtwig's level was not high, only in the teens. It barely had any Grass-type energy in its body, let alone the capacity to learn moves of other types. Therefore, the move he taught it had to be a Grass-type one, so as not to hinder its growth.
The remaining factor was its battle style. The Turtwig line's stats are distributed to be a physical tank, excelling at standing its ground and fighting with physical moves. The interesting thing is, most physical Grass-type moves are close-range, and a Turtwig is not fast. This isn't a design flaw in the turn-based games, but in reality, a slow Pokémon with only close-range moves could be defeated before it ever even touched its opponent. So, even though it didn't match its stats, Will chose to teach it the ranged move, Energy Ball. At least it would be able to hit something.
"Turtwig!" At Will's direction, the Turtwig tried again, but unfortunately, it still failed.
"Come on, Turtwig! You can do it! We'll master it today!" Shigeru knelt on the side, cheering with all his might.
"Don't be in such a rush. Energy Ball isn't a simple move. How could it possibly be learned in one day? It will take at least a week," Celestia said, shaking her head. It was clear she had a better understanding of Pokémon.
"Whoa!" Turtwig, under Will's guidance, tried again, but still failed.
"Come on, Turtwig! You can do it! We'll master it today!" Shigeru knelt on the side, cheering with all his might.
"Don't be in such a rush. Energy Ball isn't a simple move. How could it possibly be learned in one day? It will take at least a week," Celestia said, shaking her head. It was clear she had a better understanding of Pokémon. A Turtwig's intelligence is roughly equivalent to that of a normal human child; learning a new skill doesn't happen overnight. However, she was impressed with Will's teaching ability. In just a few sentences, the Turtwig had already been able to start practicing.
And that Meowscarada... Celestia's gaze shifted to the other side. The Meowscarada was controlling dozens of petals, making them dance in the air, which made the little Budew kick its legs with excitement.
"Incredible," Celestia marveled. She was familiar with the move Petal Blizzard; her mother's Roselia knew it. But her mother's Roselia was her main partner, and her mother was an active-duty inspector for the Sinnoh League. And at full power, it could only produce about the same number of petals as this Meowscarada.
After their rest, Shigeru and Celestia packed their bags and headed towards Jubilife City. The Obsidian Fieldlands weren't that large; reaching the city would take three days at most. In the third morning, they arrived.
This city was huge and had a completely different style from a coastal metropolis like Cherrygrove. Jubilife was the central hub of the Sinnoh region, and its level of development surpassed even Cherrygrove's. You could already see the primitive forms of various electronic devices here. The entire city was cold and dry, a stark contrast to Cherrygrove's humid and cool climate.
As a Grass-type, Will might have preferred Cherrygrove's environment, but personally, he found the dry air more comfortable. He turned his head. Through the power of the Time Ripple, he could see Liz's phantom. She was standing in place, tapping at the empty air in front of her. She must have arrived at the ancient Jubilife Village.
From what Celestia had told him, the era Liz had traveled to was exactly the one from the Legends: Arceus game. He now had a rough idea of what she would do next. His memory wasn't perfectly clear, but since she had eventually returned to Johto, it meant she wouldn't be in any real danger here. He had nothing to worry about.
One question, however, did puzzle him. Professor Laventon in Hisui had Poké Balls, and he had come from the Galar region. Did that mean Galar had developed them a thousand years ago? The Apricorn craft of Johto had only been born 400 to 600 years ago. Or... was the Johto craft itself a derivative of Laventon's technology? It was hard to say.
"Follow me. Luckily, my place is on the first floor. Sceptile, you can go in through the window. The door would be a problem," Shigeru said, looking back at Will.
"Sorry about that," Will said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He was too tall to fit through human doors. And his own Poké Ball had been left in the flower garden in the Dragonite homeland; he couldn't use it to get in and out.
Leaving his Poké Ball there had its pros and cons. The pro was that no one could control him by stealing his ball. The con was his current situation. He was extremely conspicuous on the street, and getting into human houses was a real hassle.
"It seems being large isn't always a good thing," Will sighed, feeling the stares of the passersby.
In the Era of Primal Beasts, the advantages of being big far outweighed the disadvantages. It greatly increased a Pokémon's chances of survival. But in this peaceful Era of Leagues, his large size was more of a hindrance than a help. Besides looking cool, it was useless.
Meowscarada, on the other hand, didn't care. In fact, she thought this was normal. After all, she was so beautiful and cute, and Will was so tall and mighty. It was only natural that humans would stare at them.
"Meow~" she stepped lightly on Will's tail and, with a leap, landed on his shoulders. Now they were even more conspicuous.
"Hey! Are those your Pokémon? How about a battle?" a trainer called out, walking up to Shigeru and Celestia.
"Ah? No..." Shigeru was about to explain when Celestia tugged on his arm.
"Sorry, we're in a hurry," she said with a polite smile, quickly pulling Shigeru away.
"Why didn't you just tell the truth?" he asked once they were on a less crowded street.
"Are you crazy? If you told them they were wild Pokémon, those people would have gone into a frenzy. Do you think we'd ever have been able to leave?" Celestia said, frowning at him.
"Oh, right," Shigeru nodded, then gave her a thumbs-up. "You're the smart one."
"...Let's just go," Celestia sighed. If Shigeru's family wasn't so rich, she had no idea how her childhood friend would have survived in this world. The Rowan family, it was true, only produced two types of people: cunning, steady geniuses, or righteous, brave, reckless idiots. Shigeru was clearly the latter.
They arrived in front of a tall building, which looked like an apartment complex. Shigeru lived on the first floor.
"Sceptile, wait by this window. I'll go in and open it for you," he said, leading the others inside first.
"You can go in and take a look too," Will said to the Meowscarada on his shoulder.
"Meow," she shook her head decisively. She wasn't in a hurry and would rather wait a few more seconds with him.
The window was quickly opened. Meowscarada went in first, and then Will followed. The room's ceiling was over four meters high, but it still felt a little cramped for him. And the interior doors were too small for him to pass through. This meant he was trapped in this one room.
"This was Celestia's guest room before. Sceptile, you and Meowscarada can stay here for now. It'll be easier for you to get in and out," Shigeru said, then left, calling back over his shoulder, "Let's go out for lunch! I'll show those guys at the training grounds what a really strong Pokémon looks like!"
"Just make yourselves at home. Don't worry if you break something. That guy is richer than you think," Celestia said, giving Will a smile. It seemed that whether it was the Celestia of now or the Cynthia of the future, her gentleness towards Pokémon was the same.
"Thank you for your trouble," Will nodded politely. Being able to stay indoors was enough. It was a shelter from the wind and rain, but more importantly, it would keep them from being harassed by the people outside. And compared to living in a tree in his first life, and a cave in his second, this small bedroom was a huge improvement.
"Meow?"
"You don't have to stay here with me. Go and see what a human's house looks like."
"Meow," Meowscarada nodded and walked out of the room. At 1.8 meters, she was tall but still within the normal human range, so the house did not restrict her movements.
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