Chapter 224: The Divine Skill—Dodge It!
"A Remoraid, huh. Not too bad," Will thought, glancing at the fish flopping on the sand.
Remoraid's base stats weren't high, but its combat power in the water was decent. It could shoot massive amounts of water and hit targets with extreme precision. It was said it could easily hit a moving target from 100 meters away, earning it the nickname "Ocean Sniper."
Its usual role was: Mantine's personal cannon.
Remoraid would use their sucker-like dorsal fins to attach to a Mantine, which would share its leftover food with them. This wasn't a parasitic relationship. When danger appeared, the Remoraid would fight alongside the Mantine. In the wild, a Mantine with more Remoraid attached to it has a much higher survival rate.
Moreover, Mantine's pre-evolution, Mantyke, would swim with schools of Remoraid for protection when they were small.
Smack!
Will was weak right now; he wasn't about to play fair with the Remoraid.
He didn't even wait for Lorelei's command. He rushed up with a Hone Claws-boosted Pound, slapping the Remoraid and sending it flying.
"Great job, Piplup!"
Lorelei was ecstatic. This was her first-ever Pokémon battle. She was trembling with excitement, even forgetting to order a follow-up attack.
The Remoraid was sent flying, but it shot a Water Gun in mid-air, using the powerful recoil to launch itself back into the sea.
"It's getting away! Piplup, chase it!" Lorelei yelped, frantically pointing at the water.
"Huh? Does it look like it's running to you?" Will thought, raising an eyebrow. He stood rooted to the spot. He felt his scalp tingle... the distinct sensation of being targeted.
Although he couldn't see the Remoraid from the beach, with his Aura, he could clearly sense it right in front of him under the surface, taking aim.
Pew!
A stream of water shot out from the sea. The crowd hadn't even reacted. By the time they realized it was a Water Gun, the stream was already about to hit Will.
"Piplup! Dodge—" Lorelei's fists were clenched. She was so nervous her tongue got twisted and she fumbled the command.
But it didn't matter. Did Will need Lorelei to command him? He wanted to cooperate with the little girl, but now wasn't the time for play-acting. This Remoraid's level was higher than his; one careless move and he'd be KO'd. He'd humor her later.
Under the crowd's shocked gazes, Will ducked, letting the Water Gun shoot right over his head.
"Whoa!!"
"What a fast reaction!"
"Yeah, I thought the Remoraid ran, but it launched a sneak attack! And the Piplup still dodged it!"
"That's one talented Piplup. It'll be amazing one day."
The crowd murmured in appreciation.
"Great dodge! Use Pound!" Lorelei quickly praised him, then immediately gave the order. She was starting to get the hang of it. Having watched a few tournaments, she wasn't like May, who didn't even know her Torchic's moves in her first battle.
Will cooperated this time. Mainly because Pound was the only attacking move he had. His current body couldn't use Extreme Speed.
Pew! Pew!
The Remoraid wasn't just going to sit there. It fired two more Water Guns, but Will dodged them both by twisting his body.
"Do you even understand the 'Dodge It!' meta, fish?" Will thought. The water streams grazed his body, making the crowd, who couldn't see underwater, nervous again.
But the next moment, the Remoraid was knocked out of the water, followed closely by Will, who used Pound again.
Smack!
With a crisp sound, the Remoraid was slapped onto the beach, its eyes replaced with swirls.
The crowd broke into cheers.
"Piplup! You're the best! Mwah!" Lorelei ran over, grabbed Will, and planted a big kiss on his head.
"You silly girl, catch it! It's going to wake up and escape!" Will frantically gestured at the unconscious Remoraid.
"Oh, right!" Lorelei fumbled for the competition's Poké Ball and threw it.
The ball blinked twice, symbolically, and then clicked shut. The capture was a success.
At that point, there were only five minutes left in the competition. No one was fishing anymore; just a few competitors were finishing up their last battles.
"Hehe, mister, take our picture, quick!" Lorelei happily grabbed a neighboring uncle from the crowd. It was her first-ever battle victory; she had to commemorate it.
"Alright, alright~" The uncle chuckled and took out a camera from his bag.
Lorelei immediately struck a pose, holding Will.
Click!
After the photo, Lorelei grabbed Will and the Poké Ball and ran to the prize table. She couldn't wait to get her hands on that Poké Ball! With a Poké Ball, she could have Piplup help her catch her next Pokémon.
"Hehe, what should I catch next? A Krabby from the beach would be cool... or a Seel... or a Shellder?" Lorelei bounced as she walked, already lost in her wonderful daydreams.
"I advise you to drop that idea, or your mom will tan your hide," Will thought, wiggling his flippers.
The League had clear rules. Kids had to be 10 to get their starter Pokémon from the local Professor's lab. That didn't mean they couldn't have a Pokémon before 10, but they couldn't get one from a Professor. And if they already had a partner, they couldn't go get a starter at 10, either. They'd just get a Pokédex and a few Poké Balls as encouragement.
But the League still urged parents to watch their kids and, if possible, have them wait until they were 10. This was because most people didn't have enough Pokémon knowledge. Some parents might get their kids a Pokémon early. And what would they get?
A Litwick, a Sneasel, a Whismur, a Budew...
Letting a kid under 10 raise one of those for their first Pokémon was just asking for trouble. Litwick suck life force, Sneasel are vicious, Whismur's evolution has a temper worse than a Primeape, and Budew is naturally poisonous. These are all terrible choices for a rookie.
But many parents didn't know this. They just saw a cute, harmless-looking Pokémon, got one for their kid, and then... things happened that nobody wanted.
Even with normal wild Pokémon, they had habits that could injure a child.
So the League emphasized it every year: wait until 10 and get a Pokémon from a lab. The ones raised by the League might not have the best talent, but at least their personalities were stable.
Another point: a small child probably has their hands full just raising one Pokémon. Two? That was a 10,000% guarantee of problems.
Even Ash, after traveling for so long, had these issues. His Bayleef being scolded for no reason. His Grotle being trained incorrectly and getting hurt. His Greninja being disappointed by conflicting orders in the heat of battle. His Pikachu feeling neglected when Riolu appeared.
The examples were endless. And that was Ash.
In Ash's first journey, everyone knew how much trouble his Charizard was.
With Lorelei's reckless personality, she was probably no better.
Although Will didn't need her to take care of him, Lorelei's mom wouldn't see it that way. She would never allow her eight-year-old daughter to raise two Pokémon.
If Lorelei tried, Will was certain she would get a beating. And he, for helping her catch it, would probably get one too.
"Hehe~" Lorelei didn't care about any of that right now. She was completely hyped.
She handed the Poké Ball with the Remoraid to the event staff. After receiving a standard red-and-white ball in return, she grabbed Piplup and left.
"Aren't you going to check the rankings? Third place gets a Water Stone," Will thought, craning his neck toward the prize table. He really wanted that Water Stone. Not because he needed it to evolve, but he wanted to see if he could use his Aura to interact with it and make something interesting happen.
"Aiya, no need to look! We won't place. Those old uncles are amazing fishers." Lorelei turned his little head back. This wasn't her first time at the competition. She knew how good they were.
"Where are we going now?"
"Heehee, we're going to sneak into Icefall Cave. We have to be back before dark," Lorelei whispered in his ear.
Will's eyebrow twitched. Without a second word, he struggled free and sprinted in the direction of their house.
"Piplup! What are you doing?!"
"I'm telling your mom!" Will shouted in his mind, not looking back.
Are you kidding me? Icefall Cave has Pokémon from Lv. 5 to Lv. 55. The Zubat and Golbat at the entrance are over Lv. 40. Are you trying to get us killed?
This was one thing he would not let her do.
"Piplup! You traitor!!"
No matter how much Lorelei yelled and chased him from behind, Will just put his head down and ran.
He burst into the house and started gesturing wildly. It took a while, but he finally made Lorelei's mom understand what was happening.
That night, Will slept with Lorelei's parents.
It wasn't that Lorelei wouldn't sleep with him.
It was that her parents wouldn't let her sleep at all.
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