Chapter 142: The Relentless Grind of Time
Compared to how she is now, Will still preferred Sprigatito's old personality. Although she was mischievous, she was also straightforward and never hid her feelings, which was very cute. It was back then that Will truly felt like he was raising a daughter.
And now, it was as if she had gone from being a baby to a teenager. Floragato had learned to hide her true feelings and personality from him. The childish behaviors from her kittenhood were now almost completely gone. But this couldn't be helped. Pokémon grow up fast, and the special training Will had put her through had only accelerated the process. Will had been mentally prepared for this and could accept it.
Unless you used an Everstone, it was only a matter of time before most Pokémon evolved from their first stage. Moreover, Will had sensed that Sprigatito herself had wanted to evolve. Although he didn't know the reason for her desire, as her master and father figure, he had of course given her his full support. The strange thing was, the moment she evolved into Floragato, that intense desire to evolve seemed to have weakened considerably, which puzzled him.
Will told Floragato they would be leaving in the morning, then moved to the side. He could see that with him around, she seemed a bit reserved, like a child playing with friends when their parent is watching.
Leaf called for his Gyarados-carriage. "Come on, I'll take you for a tour of Cherrygrove. This is your first time here, right?" he said, and then led Will and his Blastoise outside.
Will didn't say anything. With Blastoise here, he couldn't speak freely. If he said he'd been here before, Blastoise would translate for Leaf, and he'd have to make up another story. It was better to just go along with it.
"Pull back the curtain and take a sniff. This is Cherrygrove's greatest feature," Leaf said, pointing to the carriage window.
Will pulled the curtain aside. The scent of flowers rushed in, instantly filling his nose with all sorts of sweet aromas. And in that moment, he saw many Bug-type Pokémon on the city streets outside.
"Cherrygrove has been famous in Johto since ancient times for its flower fragrance and sea breeze. When the moist sea air mixes with the scent of the flowers, it makes it even stronger," Leaf said with a grin, clearly proud of his hometown.
But Will had heard all of this from Liz a thousand years ago.
"Well~ it's because of these flowers that the city attracts a lot of wild Bug and Grass-type Pokémon. Add to that the fact that it's a coastal city, and you'll find that Water, Grass, and Bug-type trainers are very common here," Leaf said, patting his Blastoise. He gave a thumbs-up. "But in my opinion, Water-type Pokémon are the most charming of all!"
"You really don't mince words, do you," Will said with a grin, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window. He realized that Leaf, while not a bad person, was very blunt. He just said whatever came to mind. First, he had called Floragato's personality "difficult" right to her face, and now he was praising Water-types in front of a Grass-type. His behavior was just like Shooty's from the anime.
If it were any other Grass-type Pokémon, and they could understand what Leaf was saying, they would probably be a little offended. But Will didn't mind at all. After all, his soul was essentially that of a human, a trainer. Every trainer has their favorite type; there was nothing wrong with that.
"By the way, why are you coming with us to Blackthorn City?" Will asked. It was a long journey. The distance was more than double that of the old trip from the Dragonite Capital to Jubilance Town. Back then, it would have taken half a month by carriage. Now, although technology had advanced and they had a yacht, the terrain of Johto had changed so much that there was no longer a direct route. They would have to take a detour that was twice as long. Will estimated it would take at least a week. A young master like Leaf could have just stayed at home; there was no need for him to suffer through this.
"I was afraid you'd get lost again. Besides, I've invested in building a Pokémon Kindergarten in Blackthorn, and I was planning to go and check on it anyway," Leaf replied.
"I see," Will nodded. It seemed Leaf was really traumatized by their month-long disappearance.
Leaf took Will on a tour that lasted until evening. The scale of the modern Cherrygrove City was truly massive. The Gyarados pulled the carriage for a whole afternoon, and they still hadn't circled the entire city. And the most amazing thing was, no matter where they went, they could smell the city's floral fragrance.
After just one afternoon, Will felt the sweet scent had clung to him and probably wouldn't fade for several days. Planting flowers and trees was something every household in Cherrygrove did.
They returned to the mansion and rested for a night. The next morning, they set off decisively. The trip would consist of Will, Floragato, Leaf, Blastoise, and two sailors to rotate shifts on the yacht.
Leaf led them to the west coast of the city, where Will saw the yacht. It was different from Tom's. Tom's was a speedboat, designed to carry people back and forth. It was faster and larger. Leaf's was a fishing yacht. It was smaller, able to navigate rivers stably, and much quieter, so as not to scare away the fish. The trade-off was that it was much slower, which was why he had hired two sailors, so they could travel day and night.
"Let's go!" Leaf said, hopping on board.
They set off, heading south from the west coast, planning to follow the southern coast of Johto until they reached a river that led directly to Blackthorn City.
Seven or eight days passed in a flash. There wasn't much to do on the boat. Leaf was completely absorbed in fishing, though he rarely caught anything. Floragato, on the other hand, grew more and more restless with each passing day of boredom, her fur often bristling for no reason. Even so, she still maintained an appearance of being calm and composed on the surface. To help her calm down, Will decided to start teaching her some simple moves.
As they reached the middle of the river segment of their journey, the yacht deliberately slowed down.
"Sceptile, look. That's the direction of Mt. Silver," Leaf said, running to Will's side and pointing at a small mountain in the distance.
A question mark appeared over Will's head. He had been to Mt. Silver; it wasn't that small.
"Not that one, further beyond it~ It's blocked by this hill," Leaf quickly explained. "There used to be a road here that went straight to the southern foot of Mt. Silver, but it was blocked for some reason."
"Oh," Will nodded, feeling a little emotional as he looked at the small mountain. In the past, the banks of this river had not been high mountains, but lush, endless plains. Now, it had become so crowded.
"That Mt. Silver is an incredible place. The Kanto and Johto League is on the Indigo Plateau there. They say it used to be the habitat of the Dragonite from the Dragonite Clan, but later a great silver bird slapped it from across the sky, and it became the plateau it is today," Leaf said, shaking his head. "That's what the League records say, anyway. I don't believe it. How could a Pokémon be that powerful? Impossible."
"I hope you never have to find out how powerful they are," Will smiled. He knew that with the power of a Legendary Pokémon, such a thing was indeed possible. It was just that when those creatures revealed their true strength, the world was usually in for a disaster.
The only thing that puzzled him was... why would Lugia randomly attack Mt. Silver?
"As for what Mt. Silver is like now, no one really knows. The Pokémon League forbids ordinary people from going up there," Leaf continued.
"And in the other direction, that's where the old Dragonite Capital used to be. Time is a scary thing. The first kingdom on the Johto continent, just gone without a trace," Leaf said, turning and pointing to another mountain range, sighing.
Will didn't turn around, just glanced over his shoulder. It was a barren, treeless land. He only looked for a second before turning back.
"Not interested? Let's go then," Leaf said, looking at him strangely. He felt that the Sceptile's expression had just become very odd. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he had never seen it before.
The yacht sped up, heading north. The Sceptile couldn't help but glance back one last time. In the long river of history, how many secrets and truths have been buried by time, and how many can truly understand everything that has happened in the past.
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