Chapter 228: We're Off!
On the beach, Lorelei was by the water, commanding Lapras in a battle against a Goldeen.
On the other side, Will had picked a Krabby as his opponent.
It wasn't that Lorelei was playing favorites and preferred Lapras. It was just that Will wouldn't listen to Lorelei's commands.
He was too weak right now; he didn't have the luxury of "play-acting" in a battle just to humor her. Once he was stronger, he could afford to indulge her.
Nurse Joy's explanation to Lorelei had been surprisingly accurate: "Sometimes, Pokémon don't listen to their trainers because they think their trainers are too weak." This sentence had struck Lorelei to the core, motivating her to get stronger.
But Will stuck to his own rhythm. He would only follow her commands if he judged that, even with her poor instructions, he could still win easily. Otherwise, he wouldn't follow her orders at all.
On the beach, the Krabby had just raised its claw when Will sat down and lay flat on his back.
The next moment, a Water Gun shot from the Krabby's claw, skimming right over Will's head.
"Simple."
This wasn't some future-sight ability. It was just a basic read. A low-level wild Krabby only knows a few moves. From that distance, raising its claw meant either Water Gun or Mud Shot. He didn't even need to use his Aura Power to sense it.
Will got up, using Agility to close the distance. The Krabby's eyes widened. It raised its pincer, which gleamed with a metallic sheen, and brought it slamming down.
Normally, Will would have easily dodged and attacked from the side. But today, he was testing a new ability he'd been researching.
He raised his own flipper, and a water-blue energy instantly coated it. He met the Krabby's pincer head-on.
CLANG!
A heavy sound, like metal on metal, rang out. The Krabby stared in shock at the Piplup. His flipper's hardness and strength were somehow a perfect match for its own! Impossible!
"So it works..." Will thought. He then opened his beak, instantly forming a spinning Water Pulse and blasting the Krabby away.
He ignored the flying Krabby and looked at his own flipper, at the faint blue film covering it.
He had discovered that this Aura Power... was incredibly similar to Armament and Observation Haki from that other world's story!
Of course, it was only similar in its application for sensing and combat. In the past month, Will hadn't spent his time on level-grinding; he'd spent it all on training his Aura Power.
He had developed it in three main areas:
Communication
Sensing
Offense/Defense
Originally, he had tried to use Aura to improve his own "White" potential. But after a solid week with zero progress, he'd given up and moved on.
Communication was, simply, "talking." He could actively use his Aura to connect with a target's Aura and project his thoughts. It was a one-way street, however. He could talk to them, but he couldn't hear their thoughts in return.
Right now, only Lorelei knew about this. The little girl just thought they were "in sync," not that Will had a special ability.
He didn't use it to talk to people often; he was worried he'd scare them. Besides, his entire social circle consisted of Lorelei's family and Lapras. He was so familiar with them that they could already understand his "Piplup-Piplup" squawks, so there was no real need.
Sensing was just like Observation Haki. This was Aura's most basic function, one you didn't even need to train. Will had already expanded his range to five meters. Within that five-meter radius, he could "see" the world perfectly, even with his eyes closed. It just had no color. On top of that, he could sense the "Aura" in others to judge their mood and next move.
Combat was his latest research. He found he could use Aura just like Armament Haki. He could materialize his Aura and coat his body with it, increasing the physical damage of his contact moves or reinforcing his defense. The effect was excellent.
His next step was to try and project it outward. For example, to see if he could... create an Aura Sphere, a move Piplup can't normally learn, from scratch.
The distant Krabby scrambled to its feet. It raised its pincer and shot several Mud Shot pellets at Will.
Will didn't even look up, just sidestepped them all. He then rushed in with another Hone Claws-boosted Pound. It landed as a critical hit, finishing the Krabby off easily.
He glanced over at Lorelei, still battling with Lapras. After a month, Lorelei had only gotten a little more comfortable with battling. She was still just as reckless. She ignored all moves that weren't attacks. And even with her attacks, she just ordered them straight ahead, with no finesse.
When Will trained with Lapras, even though Lapras's level was much higher, its attacks almost never hit him. They were just too easy to dodge.
"Still got a year and a half. No rush," Will muttered, watching her. Lorelei was eight and a half. She had a year and a half left until she could travel. Will was sure she would bolt for the Indigo League in Kanto the second she was allowed. He could take his time researching his Aura, aiming to at least have all its branches "sprouting," if not "flowering," within six months.
With this in mind, a year and a half flew by.
The day after Lorelei's tenth birthday, at six in the morning:
"Piplup! Stop sleeping! It's time to go!" Lorelei shook Will awake.
"Are you trying to achieve immortality or something?" Will thought, opening his bloodshot eyes. He looked like death.
Since midnight last night, Lorelei had been trying to leave for the Kanto mainland. Her parents had to physically hold her down, telling her she had to wait. So what did the little girl do? She'd been so excited, she hadn't slept at all.
And she insisted Will stay up with her. He finally passed out from exhaustion, and now, not two hours later, she was shaking him awake again.
"Meee~" Lapras, on the floor nearby, also gave a pained cry. She hadn't slept either.
"Let's go~ You're super excited, right?" Lorelei picked Will up and kissed his face.
"Which eye are you looking at to see 'super excited'?" Will thought, pushing her away with his foot.
He was nowhere near as excited as she was. He'd already been around the world. He knew Kanto and Johto like the back of his flipper. If he had a choice, he'd rather stay home as a shut-in penguin and binge-watch dramas with Lorelei's mom.
"Okay, okay, let's eat breakfast and then go!" Lorelei grabbed a blue scarf from the side and wrapped it around Will's neck. This was a little habit she'd developed: dressing him and Lapras up. She'd even tried to force him into a dress once, but after he... corrected her, she'd toned it down.
Lorelei recalled Lapras, then picked Will up and walked out of the bedroom.
"Mom's not up yet," she muttered, looking at the empty living room. She looked down when Will didn't respond.
He had fallen asleep in her arms.
When Will opened his eyes again, he was on Lorelei's dad's boat. Her mom was there too. Both of them had come to see her off.
"First, go to Pallet Town and find Professor Oak. Get your Poké Balls and Pokédex, understand?" her dad instructed. As an experienced trainer, he knew the drill.
"Okaay, Dad! Just you wait! By this year, I'll be a way better trainer than you!"
"Haha, I doubt it."
"Hmph! You'll see! Piplup and Lapras are super strong!" Lorelei huffed and turned away.
"Be careful on the road," her mom said, smiling. "It's best if you find some friends to travel with."
She was worried, of course. The world didn't have that many bad people, but threats didn't only come from humans. She worried about natural disasters. But she couldn't keep her cooped up forever, just as her own mother hadn't kept her at home.
The trip from Four Island to the Kanto mainland wasn't long. The modern speedboat completely blew Tom's old boat from over a hundred years ago out of the water.
In half a day, Lorelei was holding Will and stepping onto Kanto soil.
"Bypassing Cinnabar Island and heading straight for Pallet Town, huh."
Will had been half-asleep, but he only needed one glance to know where they were. In his last life, he'd taken this same path from Hoenn to the Tree of Beginning. A hundred-plus years had just made the road flatter and the view more open.
"Mom! Dad! We're off!" Lorelei stood on the grass, turning to wave goodbye.
Will also raised a flipper, waving slightly. A glint appeared in his eye.
He wondered... if he would meet Meowscarada on this journey.
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