Chapter 11: The Swarm's Newcomer
Let's see how long you can keep this up.
Will waited quietly, watching the little girl play dead on the ground. In truth, he was feeling a little happy. It had been a long time since he'd had this kind of amusing distraction. For the past month, his life had been a monotonous cycle of eating, sleeping, and fighting. The constant pressure of survival forced him to get stronger every single moment. This was especially true now that he was the leader of a Beedrill swarm; he was constantly thinking about how to guide the entire group's development to ensure his own future safety.
"..."
The little girl lying on the ground twitched her lips in frustration. She could clearly feel the creature's eyes on her, but nothing was happening, which made her feel incredibly awkward.
After a two-second hesitation, she cautiously cracked open her eyes and turned her head to look at Will.
"..."
Will thought for a moment, then speared a Tangleberry with one of his stingers and offered it to the girl. Seeing Will move, the girl first shrank back in fear.
"!... Thank you."
But when she realized he wasn't trying to hurt her, but was instead giving her a piece of fruit, she was shocked and subconsciously whispered her thanks. Will's actions dealt a massive blow to the girl's understanding of the world. In all the knowledge she had ever learned, and in all her life experiences, she had never once heard of or seen a "primal beast" show such kindness to a human.
The little girl took the berry and began to eat it in big bites, her eyes scanning her surroundings. Her expression turned to one of terror, but then her gaze shifted back to Will, and she nodded with renewed determination.
"Hello! My name is Liz!"
Liz stood up and, mustering her courage, walked right up to Will.
"...Bzz."
Will didn't know what to say, so he just made a random sound. It didn't matter what he said anyway; the little girl wouldn't understand him.
"Are you greeting me? You're so friendly! Hahaha, from now on, we're friends!"
Liz reached out with both hands, grabbed one of Will's, and shook it up and down. To be honest, as she gripped the thick, hard, white stinger, Liz's heart was pounding in her chest. She was terrified that the beast in front of her might suddenly stab her to death.
But the situation was critical. This forest was filled with countless dangerous beasts. A normal little girl like her would surely die if she wandered around alone. Her only chance of survival was this creature in front of her, who seemed reasonably friendly! This beast was so big and looked so strong; surely it could protect her.
"...Bzz."
Will suddenly found this quite interesting. He buzzed again, curious to see what the little girl would say next.
"I come from the Dragonite Tribe outside the forest! I'm the princess of the Dragonite Tribe! My full name is Liz of the Dragonite Tribe!"
Liz had no idea what the beast's buzzing meant, but she was terrified of the silence, so she quickly began to chatter away at Will. Will just listened quietly, and the more he listened, the more he understood about the era he was in.
Not only was he in the Era of Primal Beasts, but he was in its first half: the Tribal Period. And Liz was most likely an ancestor of the Dragonite clan from the Johto region. That would make her an ancestor of Lance, the future Champion of both Kanto and Johto.
As for the forest he was in—or more accurately, the mountain—it was called Mt. Silver. It was the dividing point between the Kanto and Johto regions. On the other side of the forest lay Kanto.
Liz's tribe had entered the mines of Mt. Silver and clashed with the Silph Tribe from the other side. The two tribes had entered a state of war over the mineral resources.
The name "Silph" was also familiar to Will. It was the precursor to the economic powerhouse of the Kanto region in the Era of Leagues, a leader in Pokémon world manufacturing. They had created the foundational technology for Poké Balls and continuously innovated upon it. TMs, Potions, Escape Ropes, Repels, and various other held items were all developed by the Silph Co. But because they controlled so much key technology, Silph Co. was later targeted and controlled by Team Rocket.
"Incredible, truly incredible..."
Will shook his head as he listened. If his hands hadn't become two giant white stingers, he probably would have started clapping. Who would have thought that two famous powers, who would have nothing to do with each other in the future, were currently trying to beat each other's brains out in the ancient past?
Gradually, Liz began to feel cold. It wasn't quite the peak of summer, and the nights in the forest were chilly. For Liz to have only just noticed the cold after being awake for so long showed how dazed she was. The clothes humans wore in this era were not very warm; one look at the simple cloth tunic on the Dragonite princess made that clear.
As she spoke, Liz's body began to tremble slightly.
Seeing this, Will poked an Aspear Berry from the nearby fruit pile and offered it to her. The Aspear Berry, when eaten, could make the body feel warm and was generally used to cure the 'frozen' status condition. It was also a key fruit many Pokémon relied on to survive the winter.
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry..." Liz subconsciously took the berry and took a bite, then shook her head. By now, she was no longer as panicked or afraid. She could tell that Will meant her no harm, or at least didn't plan on eating her.
But soon, a warm current spread through her stomach, and she felt her body gradually warming up. She looked at the Aspear Berry in her hand, her eyes lit up, and she quickly took several more bites.
"Woah~ This is amazing! If we had this, the warriors fighting outside wouldn't freeze to death." Liz memorized what the Aspear Berry looked like. If she could get back to the Dragonite Tribe, she had to tell everyone about this fruit. Then, even if they couldn't start a fire in the wild, no one would have to suffer from the cold.
Will glanced at the kid, ate a few berries himself, and then lay down to sleep.
"Hey, can you please not sleep? I want to drink some water. Can you understand what I'm saying?" Liz crept over to Will's side and gently poked his body with a finger.
"..."
Will lifted his head, feeling exasperated, and pointed a stinger at the fruit pile. The meaning was clear: she could eat the fruit to quench her thirst. He had no intention of leaving the tree at night. Many Pokémon hunted in the dark, and for him, who was used to fighting in the daytime, the night was not a good time to be out.
"I'm not hungry... Oh, never mind." Liz blinked her eyes and pitifully ran over to grab two berries to suck the juice out of.
As she ate, she glanced over and saw that Will was already lying down, ready to sleep. She looked around nervously. From the dark forest, she could hear the strange and melodious cries of some unknown Pokémon. The sounds sent a shiver down Liz's spine. She trembled, quickly finished her two berries, and then ran over to Will's side, snuggling up close against him as she lay down.
"..."
Will glanced at the kid, then closed his eyes and ignored her.
The next morning, all the Beedrill, Kakuna, and Weedle of the swarm came to know that there was a newcomer in their midst.
A strange, small, and incredibly weak Pokémon.