Chapter 25. The Art of Being Cute
The party ended, and Liz carried Ryū back to her boudoir. However, as soon as he got into bed, Ryū started feeling uncomfortable. He knew he was about to shed his skin again.
"How is this happening so fast?! Is it because I ate too much nutritious food?" Ryū clearly remembered completing his skin-shedding just that morning. Normally, a wild Dratini shedding its skin once a day is considered quite fast, but he didn't expect himself to be even faster, needing to do it again during the day.
Perhaps this was the speed a Dratini should have in the Pokémon Era, and the frequency of shedding decreased in the later Alliance Era. This is not impossible. As time passed and the era progressed, the survival pressure on Pokémon gradually decreased, and their natural growth ability also declined.
After all, they no longer needed to fight tooth and nail for survival, so the gene for becoming stronger, deep within their bones, naturally weakened over time. A comparison between the ancient, super-giant Dragonite that appeared near Glitter Lighthouse and the chubby, just over 2.2-meter-tall Dragonite of the future makes this clear.
Therefore, perhaps in this era, shedding skin twice a day is the proper frequency for a Dratini. If this is the case, Ryū doesn't know how big he will become in the future.
"Aran, what's wrong?" Liz, who had changed into her pajamas, looked at Ryū beside her with surprise. Although she couldn't understand what he was saying, she could vaguely sense that he seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"No, I have to find a way to get Liz to help me shed skin, otherwise, if I shed skin twice a day, how am I supposed to live?" Ryū's large, watery eyes rolled. He then vigorously rubbed himself on the bed. Soon, a wrinkled, translucent white layer of skin rubbed off.
"Shedding skin again?" Seeing this, Liz immediately understood what was happening.
"Mew~" Ryū burrowed into Liz's arms, arched his body, and looked up with wide eyes, deliberately making soft, meaningless sounds.
'Damn it, I'm actually turning into a simp.' Ryū felt a secret sense of shame. This was the first time he had done such a thing, but he didn't expect himself to be so skilled at it, as if he were a natural simp. It made him wonder if he was a genius.
"No~ Aran needs to try hard by himself." Liz could tell that Ryū was asking for her help. But thinking of what the Pokémon scholars had said, she turned her head and refused his request.
"Mew~ Mew~" Ryū increased his efforts. This time, he mobilized the moisture within his body, letting it mist into his eyes while also letting out some pathetic wails.
"Hmm... what should I do..." Stared at by such a pair of large, watery eyes, Liz's heart began to waver intensely.
"Mew~" Seeing this, Ryū quickly wailed louder while also rolling around on the bed.
"Is it really that painful? I'll just have to try." Liz was startled by Ryū's actions and quickly hugged him. Then she carefully and gently peeled off a small piece of the shed skin. She waited for a moment and, seeing that Ryū had no violent reaction, she continued her actions.
"Mew~" The sound Ryū made was different from before; this time, it expressed his comfort.
'Unexpectedly stress-relieving?' Only after hearing this did Liz breathe a sigh of relief and quickened her movements, gradually becoming engrossed in the feeling herself. Liz looked at the skin she was holding in her hand and found that the texture was surprisingly good and very tough. She immediately realized that the skin Ryū shed was a very high-quality material.
However, such a small amount of skin couldn't be made into anything for now. She decided to collect it first and see what she could make later. With Liz's help, Ryū completed his skin-shedding in less than 5 minutes. He didn't need to expend any effort at all; he just lay there and let Liz serve him.
["Charm, Get!"] Ryū comfortably wagged the tip of his tail. Although the Charm skill didn't show up on his status panel and wasn't useful for other Pokémon, for two-legged beasts, this thing was truly a killer weapon. Especially for older female two-legged beasts.
"Okay, now you can sleep soundly, right?" Seeing Ryū's comfortable look, Liz couldn't help but smile. Then she extended her arms and pulled Ryū into her embrace, which was still considered generously accommodating. They leaned against each other and gradually fell asleep.
Days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye, a week had gone by. This morning, before Ryū even opened his eyes, he felt his head being supported.
"Aran, it's time for breakfast, ah~" Liz's gentle voice sounded in his ear. Ryū didn't even lift his eyelids, obediently opening his mouth to wait for feeding. The next moment, a nipple was placed in his mouth, and he sucked greedily.
After eating breakfast, he rolled over, originally planning to rely on Liz and sleep a bit longer, but Liz clearly disagreed.
"Don't sleep anymore, you're not a baby anymore. It's time to go to kindergarten." Liz held the now 2.5-meter-long Ryū and swayed him slightly. Yes, Ryū's length had reached 2.5 meters, longer than the Dragonite of the future, which was only 2.2 meters tall.
However, this was not too surprising. Even the Dratini of the Alliance Era had an average body length of a full 1.8 meters, not much different from the significantly shrunken Dragonite. Now, in the Pokémon Era, it was normal for Ryū's body length to far exceed that of the Dratini in the Alliance Era. Moreover, he had only recently left his infancy; he would only get longer in the future.
Everyone except Ryū, including Liz, was amazed and exclaimed at his growth rate. Many members of the Dragon Tamer Clan who were originally uncertain about Ryū's potential could now be sure that he would definitely be a majestic and powerful Pokémon in the future.
"Kindergarten? You must be joking. I'm a Pokémon, and you want me to go to kindergarten?" Ryū opened his eyes and first looked at his status panel.
[Dratini]
[Potential]: Blue
[Level]: Lv. 5
[Attribute]: Dragon
[Ability]: Shed Skin
[Height]: 2.5 meters
[Weight]: 4.3 kg
[Skills]: Hone Claws (Inherited), Wrap, Glare, Twister
Ryū looked at the panel and compared it to his Weedle period in his previous life. He found that his progress was faster in his previous life. At this time, he should have already evolved into a Kakuna, whereas in this life, he had just left infancy and only gained a little combat power.
This was still the case even with the large amount of highly nutritious MooMoo Milk he had consumed, and there was still a considerable gap. If he hadn't been picked up by Liz and had grown up in the wild eating plankton or small fish and shrimp, the gap would only be larger, even ridiculously large.
However, this was not unexpected. Bug-type Pokémon just grow fast, which is normal. This is their biggest advantage compared to other types. If Bug-type Pokémon grew at the same speed as Dragon-types, it would be incredibly unfair. Not only would it be difficult to surpass Dragon-type Pokémon in future strength, but even their lifespan would be incomparable. Perhaps the only thing they could offer were the two derogatory words, 'cheap.'
"Okay, let's go. There are many other little friends in the kindergarten. You need to get along well with everyone."
"???"