Chapter 208: The "Alpha"
Five years passed in the blink of an eye. It was now League Year 48.
In the past few years, the residents of Rota City had discovered a strange phenomenon: a huge basin had appeared around the Tree of Beginning. It was an abrupt crater, at least a hundred meters in diameter, in the middle of a flat plain. Human scholars had tried to investigate it, but they were always driven away by the nearby Pokémon.
...
At this very moment, inside that crater, a green figure over five meters tall was rushing towards three pillar-shaped Pokémon. His speed was so fast that his feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
Seeing the Sceptile approach, the three Regis attacked simultaneously.
"RE-GI!" Regice raised its hands, and a fierce, bone-chilling blizzard erupted from behind it, sweeping toward Sceptile, trying to stop his advance.
At the same time, Regirock's light points flashed. The sky above the crater was filled with thousands of sharp stones. A rain of rocks, the likes of which might not be seen for ten thousand years, instantly formed.
Registeel, standing in the middle, was even more direct. It tucked in its limbs, kicked off the ground, and shot forward like a bullet.
Opposite them, Sceptile's eyes were locked on the silver Registeel, his pace never faltering. He punched forward. A violent shockwave of air tore through the blizzard, scattering it.
Then, as he ran, Sceptile spun 360 degrees, his tail sweeping the ground. The earth seemed to awaken. Countless leaves burst from the ground, swirling upwards, covering the entire crater in a green, reverse waterfall. The terrifying rain of rocks was pulverized.
Regice and Regirock swayed, shielding their "faces."
CLANG!
A crisp sound echoed through the crater. Registeel was sent flying back by a single punch from the Sceptile, crashing into the dirt wall of the crater seventy or eighty meters away.
"MEW!!"
Mew's cry sounded, announcing the end of the battle. The winner, who had held the absolute upper hand from start to finish, was Sceptile.
"Hah... it's almost stagnated," Will stood in place, rubbing his slightly red right fist. Registeel's body was just too hard. He didn't know when it had started, but his level had almost completely stopped rising. No matter how much he battled the Regis or Mew, the experience he gained was minuscule. It felt like he had hit a bottleneck.
But his current level was Lv. 88. He should still be a ways off from the peak of the Champion class. He shouldn't be hitting a bottleneck this early.
He had been at the Tree of Beginning for over seven years. He had maintained a steady pace of about one level per year to reach his current state. The three Regis were around Lv. 82-83, and Mew was around Lv. 86-87. Will had become the undisputed strongest Pokémon at the Tree.
"Perhaps, from now on, I can only gain a decent amount of experience by fighting opponents above my level," Will muttered, shaking his head.
Were there even any Pokémon stronger than him? Ordinary Pokémon were out of the question. Even the Alpha Tyranitar from Mt. Silver was probably only at his current level. Perhaps in the deep sea... but other than that, there were only the gods.
"Mew?" Mew landed on his head, patting it.
"I don't know... I don't know how strong that Shadow Lugia is. So, I'd better get as strong as I can, just to be safe," Will said, rolling his neck and looking for Meowscarada.
In the past few years, she had also learned about Shadow Lugia and had, for once, started to train hard, hoping she could help. But her level had only risen 4 levels in seven years.
"Meow~" Meowscarada poked her head over the edge of the crater.
"Mew~" Mew immediately abandoned Will and flew over to her.
"Hah..." Will sighed. There were only two ways for him to rapidly increase his strength now. One was Mega Evolution. The other was to become an "Alpha" or "Alpha." But both paths were blocked. The first hope was still with Platane. The second... he couldn't figure it out.
He had thought that when his strength surpassed the Regis and Mew, he would naturally become the Alpha. But he hadn't. He didn't know what part of the process he was missing.
Is it because my reputation isn't big enough? Or because I haven't claimed a territory?
He felt that these were the only two differences between him and the Tyranitar of Mt. Silver.
Do I really have to waste time on that?
He shook his head, then looked at Mew, and then at the giant Tree of Beginning. A wild idea popped into his head.
In the legend, Sir Aaron had used the power of Mew and the Tree to soothe the hearts of the warring Pokémon. So, the Tree could project its will. What if... he had the Tree of Beginning recognize him as the new Alpha?
He was right.
Will told Mew his idea, and Mew relayed it to the Tree. He didn't know what the Tree said in response. He didn't need to.
The feeling of his body beginning to stretch and grow, his physique rapidly expanding, was all the answer he needed.
He hadn't become the Alpha because the true Alpha of this territory—the Tree of Beginning—had not yet acknowledged his status.
But now... he was the new Alpha.
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