Chapter 298: Recognized by the Pack
Times have changed.
Wild Pokémon battles usually don't end in death anymore.
Unless...
The opponent is on the menu, and the hunter is very hungry.
But there are few Pokémon in this world that prey on the Mightyena line.
Moreover.
This is the Mightyena clan's territory.
Wolf Mom wouldn't allow any species with malicious intent toward Mightyena and Poochyena to stay within the territory.
So.
Moving within his own territory, Will basically faced no life-threatening danger.
The biggest danger might come from human poachers.
Thus.
Will didn't need to keep minions around him at all times like in his first life as a Beedrill.
He did that in the era of magical beasts...
To prevent being exhausted after battle and unable to protect himself, leading to death.
Or to defeat enemies he couldn't beat alone, helping him level up quickly to survive crises.
But he wasn't facing such a crisis now.
Currently.
Four puppies were being noisy.
Other Pokémon ran away as soon as they heard them.
Walking for half a day without seeing a shadow of a Pokémon.
This not only didn't help Will, but greatly delayed his leveling.
Action followed thought.
However, after returning home, Will still applied to Wolf Mom first.
Telling her he wanted to act alone, and that the other companions would only drag him back.
Wolf Mom frowned and thought for a while.
But she still agreed to Will's request.
This saved him the trouble of ditching the puppies.
However, Wolf Mom was still quite worried about him.
She specifically instructed Will on three points:
Hide when seeing humans.
Do not run out of the Mightyena clan's territory.
If you see Persian or Meowth, find a nearby Mightyena immediately.
Will promised repeatedly to keep it in mind before Wolf Mom let him go.
After gaining freedom of movement.
Will's training pace was much faster.
He could tell at a glance which Pokémon he could beat.
When encountering Dark-type and Water-type Pokémon.
Will would even rely on the power of his two Plates (Dread Plate? Splash Plate) to challenge Pokémon much higher level than him.
Under these circumstances.
In just one week, Will went from Lv. 5 to Lv. 15.
Another new day.
"Leveling is fast in the early stages."
Will stood up from Wolf Mom's leg and looked around.
Today was a special day.
According to Will's observations over the two weeks since his "birth."
The Mightyena clan had a fixed weekly activity.
He didn't know which specific day of the week it was, but it happened roughly every 6 or 7 days.
The activity content.
Was battling and sparring between members of similar age.
Will didn't know if this was inherent to the Mightyena clan or something Wolf Mom learned from humans.
Anyway, such activities indeed helped form a competitive atmosphere within the clan, promoting mutual growth.
As a member of the Mightyena clan, Will naturally couldn't avoid it.
Besides.
Will found that his title as the "Young Master of the Wolf Clan" was somewhat nominal.
Simply put.
Probably because his appearance and behavior were too unique.
Most members of the Mightyena clan didn't like Will very much; only some ignorant Poochyena puppies didn't mind.
Wolf Mom noticed this too and was quite troubled.
But she couldn't help it.
She was the one who gave birth to a puppy that wasn't a Poochyena.
At times like this.
Proving himself with strength and talent to gain the recognition of the clan members.
This was the first thing Will had to do.
He didn't care if these Mightyena and Poochyena liked him.
He just didn't want to make things difficult for Wolf Mom as the leader.
If Will was rejected by the majority of members in the future, Wolf Mom might eventually have to leave the clan with Will.
It wasn't that the Mightyena would drive Wolf Mom away.
The probability of that happening was very low because Mightyena were very loyal to their leader; unless it was a major issue, they wouldn't reject the leader.
There was only one possibility for Wolf Mom leaving with Will.
That she couldn't stand Will's situation in the clan anymore.
Or.
Wolf Mom would have to be cruel and expel Will for the sake of the clan.
These two situations.
Were relatively common in wild Pokémon groups.
Will didn't mind leaving the clan.
But he didn't want it to happen in a way that would make Wolf Mom sad and aggrieved.
So.
Today was important.
Although Will could use his status as the Young Master to sit out today's activity and watch.
He obviously wouldn't do that.
Will scanned the surroundings, looking at the puppies around him.
The Poochyena of his age were basically all below Lv. 10.
He obviously didn't take these puppies seriously.
Beating them all wouldn't mean much; at most, he'd get recognition from the Poochyena.
The backbone and majority composition of the Mightyena clan were the other Mightyena.
'Mightyena and Poochyena are Dark-type, weak to Fighting. And... I have the Dread Plate (immune/resist Dark?), taking no damage from Dark moves. I can totally challenge Mightyena over half a year old.'
Will's gaze swept over individual Mightyena.
Mightyena as a species.
Their team fighting level in the Pokémon world was Tier 1 or 2.
But in single combat, they might rank Tier 3 or even Tier 4.
Because most Mightyena hunted in groups from a young age, they might not have fought alone many times until now; their 1v1 battle experience was quite scarce.
Wolf Mom could easily take the leader position because she had trained outstanding 1v1 abilities in human society.
This was a good thing for Will.
In single combat.
He was Tier 0.
"Wolf Mom, I want to challenge him!"
Will tugged at the long fur on Wolf Mom's neck and pointed at a Mightyena.
This Mightyena had already fought once.
According to Will's observation.
Its level was around Lv. 26, 11 levels higher than him.
Although its combat power was only at the lower end among Mightyena, it wasn't young; in the eyes of other members, it should be an existence a child shouldn't mess with.
If Will challenged it, it should attract quite a lot of attention.
"Awooo?"
Wolf Mom frowned, glanced at Will, and shook her head.
"I can beat him! Trust me."
Will wasn't surprised and insisted.
Just as he thought before.
The Mightyena clan had a strict hierarchy.
That Mightyena was at least half a year old, a teenager in the clan, but a senior to Will.
Although Will was the Young Master.
It still smacked of "insubordination."
If he won.
Fine.
That meant Will was the "superior," not violating clan rules.
If he lost.
Will's status would only worsen, disliked by more kin.
"Awooo."
Wolf Mom still shook her head.
She didn't think Will could beat that Mightyena.
Once Will lost, he would definitely be ostracized and bullied in the clan.
And as the leader, she couldn't blatantly protect Will; she could only watch.
Her idea was simple.
Let her puppy just be a wallflower honestly.
As long as she was the leader, Will wouldn't be driven out.
"...Fine."
Will pursed his lips; he had to find his own way.
Challenge from the bottom up, one by one, proving his strength bit by bit.
If he beat all the puppies of the same age.
Then challenging an older Mightyena would become a normal thing, right?
Action followed thought.
To challenge a Mightyena, Will had to ask Wolf Mom.
But to beat those Poochyena, there weren't so many scruples.
Left hook Vacuum Wave.
Right hook Brick Break.
Level suppression plus type advantage, plus damage boost and increased crit rate.
Will beating these Poochyena was truly like kicking kindergarteners.
A total of a dozen Poochyena.
Will defeated them all in just five minutes.
"Woof awooo?!"
Wolf Mom's eyes widened.
She hadn't expected her puppy to hide such skill.
No wonder he was so confident about fighting a Mightyena just now.
However, in her opinion, relying on moves alone wasn't enough to beat a Mightyena, so she stuck to her previous decision.
Will wasn't in a hurry either.
He continued to challenge those newly evolved Mightyena.
Gradually.
Some members began to focus on him.
"Woof woof!"
"Woof!"
The dozen defeated Poochyena were now surrounding Will's battlefield, cheering for him.
Clearly.
Will had beaten them into submission.
They had recognized Will, the young Young Master, and were willing to call him Boss.
This was a racial trait of the Mightyena line.
They only recognized excellent trainers as leaders and stronger Pokémon as bosses.
At this moment.
Will's opponent was a Lv. 24 Mightyena.
And he himself had risen to Lv. 16 through those battles.
The Mightyena's gaze was wary and cautious, not daring to underestimate Will at all.
This was also a form of recognition.
"Awooo!"
Flames ignited in the Mightyena's mouth as it rushed to bite Will with burning fangs. Fire Fang.
Will used Agility to retreat quickly.
His current body strength couldn't support using Extreme Speed yet; he could only use Agility as a substitute.
At the same time.
Will delivered a Low Sweep wrapped in Aura energy.
The not-so-powerful kick hit the Mightyena on the snout.
Although it wasn't enough to send it flying, it made its head buzz.
"Roar!"
The Mightyena turned its head and roared upwards. Roar.
Will felt a pain in his ears and paused for a moment.
The Mightyena seized the opportunity and bit Will's leg. Bite.
Watching Wolf Mom's heart tightened, her paws digging into the ground.
Just as everyone thought Will couldn't hold on and would surrender.
He suddenly struck out with a palm.
Smack!
Super effective.
The knife-hand strike hit the Mightyena's crown, dealing a critical hit with type advantage. Brick Break.
The Mightyena rolled its eyes back and fainted on the ground.
Will looked down at his calf; only the fur was a bit messy, smoothed out with a stroke.
"Dark-type Bite is useless against me (thanks to the Dread Plate/Justified ability maybe? Or just resistance?). But... my stamina is bottoming out; I can't continue challenging."
He murmured, looking around.
The gaze of the entire Mightyena clan converged on him, pairs of glowing red eyes looking a bit eerie.
But sensing the Aura in their hearts.
Will pressed his lips together.
Recognition of the Clan.
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