https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-153-Challengers-Intimidated-by-the-Green-Grass-Trial/12537182/
Chapter 152: The Working Diglett
Chapter 152: The Working Diglett
A method to help Salazzle evolve...
The first thing that came to Naoki's mind was to gain experience through battles, achieving the effect of training and thus aiding the Pokemon's evolution.
Or perhaps he could have it spar with the other Salandits?
That wasn't a bad idea.
Generally, Pokemon evolution is a cumulative process, and when a certain level is reached, a transformation occurs, turning them into more formidable beings.
So, he also needed to provide Salazzle with ample nutrition and energy.
This was something he could easily manage. Later, he would make a few more batches of the rock salt stir-fried soil that Salazzle loved to eat.
That dish could enhance Salazzle's physical strength, making it stronger and healthier.
With that in mind, Naoki asked the other four Salandits to share their insights on evolution with Salazzle, while he returned indoors to check the inventory in the storage cabinet.
He found that they still had plenty of rock salt at home, but they had run out of the special soil used for making the stir-fried dish.
That particular type of soil was produced in Azalia Town, and it was infused with various nutritional elements, making it ideal for Rock-type and Ground-type Pokemon.
Azalia Town...
Unfortunately, the distance between Azalia Town and Cerulean Town was too great, and he currently had no means to go there himself to dig for the soil. He could only purchase it from the Cerulean Market.
Since they were running low on ingredients at home, it would be a good opportunity to restock.
At nine in the morning, after finishing his work on the ranch, Naoki informed Motostoke and Golurk, then rode his mountain goat mount into town.
They first went to the Cerulean Market to buy a bunch of tree fruit and meat cuts, and finally headed to the stall that sold soil, where they purchased a large bag.
The stall owner, seeing him come by at regular intervals, smiled and asked, "Do your Pokemon really like it?"
"Indeed," Naoki nodded with a smile.
There was no need to worry about the rock salt stir-fried soil spoiling, so he always made a large batch to store, taking out a portion each day to feed to Salazzle.
"That's great!" The stall owner said, "I heard that when a Bagon is born, it eats this kind of soil when it's a young Girarra!"
"After a Bangora lays its egg, it specifically buries the egg deep underground. When the egg hatches, the young Girarra will eat all the surrounding soil before heading to the surface."
"The more of this soil there is, the greater the probability of finding Bangora and Girarra habitats!"
"Really?" Naoki only knew that Girarra was born underground.
"Yep!" The stall owner nodded, adding, "So if you come across this kind of soil in the wild, be sure to leave the area immediately. Bangora has a strong territorial sense, and it would be terrible if it considered you an invader!"
"Makes sense," Naoki nodded, not too concerned about this information.
Just then, other customers arrived to buy soil, so he took the opportunity to turn and leave, riding his mountain goat mount back to the ranch.
The ranch was still bustling with vibrant life.
Naoki carried the heavy bags back inside and glanced at the old-fashioned wall clock. Seeing that it was still early, he began preparing the rock salt stir-fried soil for Salazzle.
The Pokemon were all playing outside, leaving the room quiet, with only the sound of the spatula moving, occasionally interrupted by the calls of Pokemon from outside.
Naoki listened for a moment; it seemed like Golurk was instructing Motostoke and Aerodactyl.
Soon, a large pot of soil was ready, and Naoki poured it into a basin on the floor to cool.
Just then, Butterfree flew in from outside. "Bu!"
Naoki turned, "Hmm? What is it?"
Butterfree pointed outside in disbelief, urging him to come and see: "Bu!"
Naoki put down his work and followed Butterfree outside, more specifically, to the side of the farm fields.
This time, he didn't need Butterfree to remind him; he immediately noticed something amiss.
The once smooth soil in the fields now had obvious bumps, as if something had been tunneling underneath.
What was more distressing was that several newly sprouted seedlings had telltale bite marks on them.
"Buuu..." Butterfree flapped its wings gently, looking dejected.
Just then, something underground began to move.
Soon after, a Pokemon with an oval-shaped brown head and a red nose poked out from below—a Diglett!
"A Diglett?!" Naoki's guess was confirmed.
It seemed that this little Diglett was the culprit behind all this. Naoki immediately instructed, "Butterfree, catch it, and use Stun Spore!"
"Bu!"
Seeing the damage to the farm, Butterfree was also angry. It flapped its wings, and the yellow powder that could induce sleep drifted down.
Just as it seemed about to hit its target, the Diglett, as if sensing something, quickly retracted underground and began moving rapidly beneath the surface.
Soon, it stopped and once again emerged from the ground.
This time, it directed its attention to the person and Butterfree standing at the edge of the field.
"Chatter!"
Then, it burrowed back into the ground, seemingly intent on playing pranks.
Witnessing this, Naoki couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Diglett, a Pokemon that favored dark places, spent most of its time underground, surviving by nibbling on tree roots and similar sustenance.
Because the soil turned over by Diglett became appropriately aerated, and their droppings enriched the soil, making it ideal for cultivation, many farmers took great care to nurture them.
To accommodate these Pokemon, farmers would plant Diglett's favorite trees around their crops, using this method to have them help till the soil.
So, had he encountered a mischievous Diglett?!
Damn it, those were crops he had planted with his own hard work!
"Golurk!"
Facing the provocative Diglett, Naoki wasted no time and called for reinforcements.
Golurk, who had been sunbathing not far away, heard the call and rushed over like a rocket.
"Agas!"
"Catch it!" Naoki ordered.
Hearing this, Golurk turned his gaze to the field and, after seeing the culprit that had angered Naoki, his expression turned to one of disbelief.
The next second, he released a terrifying aura.
The Diglett, who had been wreaking havoc in the field, suddenly felt an invisible pressure and a formidable aura.
It immediately realized that there was an incredibly powerful Pokemon nearby.
The Diglett panicked and squeaked, then instinctively tried to retreat underground to escape.
But how could Golurk let it get away? Golurk stomped the ground, causing the tunnel that Diglett had dug to collapse instantly.
Then, with a swift rush forward, Golurk slashed with his claw, knocking the Diglett unconscious before it could flee.
Having completed its task, Golurk retreated to Naoki's side, concealing its strength.
Naoki then inspected the damage to the field.
Fortunately, Butterfree had discovered the intruder early on, and Diglett's path of destruction had not spread too far. Only a small section of the field was affected, with two corn seedlings chewed on.
Seeing this, Naoki breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked over to the unconscious Diglett, intending to pick it up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift it.
It was as if the Diglett's lower body was welded firmly to the ground.
"Damn, it's so hard to dig out?" Naoki was surprised. No wonder no one had ever seen what a Diglett looked like underground.
Butterfree flew up and asked, "Bu?"
Naoki guessed it was asking what to do next. After a moment's thought, he replied with a cold smile, "We can't just let it off the hook."
The "unconscious" Diglett shuddered.
Naoki noticed this and thought, "What a cunning little thing, even pretending to be unconscious!"
Since it was playing this game, Naoki decided to play along.
Pretending to be furious, he said, "This little pest is so annoying! It must be punished properly!"
Hearing the anger in his voice, the "unconscious" Diglett started to shiver in fear.
While it could escape by burrowing underground, it wasn't sure if it could outrun that terrifying Pokemon.
Naoki glanced at the Diglett out of the corner of his eye and said to Golurk and Butterfree, "What do you guys think we should do to punish this naughty little thing?"
Butterfree angrily replied, "Bu!"
Golurk added, "Agas..."
Naoki deliberately said, "In that case, let's lock it up, starve it for a month, roast it with Flamethrower, freeze it in the ice cellar, and finally, throw it into the river!"
Hearing this, the Diglett trembled even more dramatically.
A monster!
This human was a monster, even more terrifying than a red-skinned Pokemon!
Butterfree imagined the scene and felt it was too cruel. While this Diglett was mischievous, it didn't deserve such a harsh punishment.
Butterfree pleaded, "Buu..."
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" Diglett thought, "Yes, I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to play a prank on that human!"
Hearing Butterfree's plea, Naoki coldly hmphed and said, "Letting it off the hook isn't impossible, but only if it stays and works for me to make up for the damage it caused."
Golurk, standing by, watched the back-and-forth between Naoki and the Diglett, unsure of what to say.
He knew that Naoki was just bluffing and wouldn't actually carry out those punishments.
But the Diglett didn't see it that way.
In its eyes, this human was the most terrifying being in the world!
Its brain went into overdrive, imagining itself being locked up, roasted, frozen, and finally, thrown into the river.
How horrifying...
The Diglett regretted its actions, and just as these thoughts raced through its mind, it suddenly heard the human mention the possibility of letting it off the hook.
Upon hearing this, the Diglett quickly opened its eyes and, seeing the "astonished" look on Naoki's face, it nodded vigorously.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
It was willing! It was willing to stay and work to make up for the damage it had caused!
Naoki: "...” This Diglett was so easily scared.
He watched with interest as the Diglett "voluntarily" offered to work for him.
In fact, from the moment he had first laid eyes on the Diglett, he had wanted to keep it.
But this Diglett's mischievous personality had led to a game of whack-a-mole, forcing him to resort to Golurk's intimidation tactics.
"Are you really willing to stay and work?" Naoki asked.
The Diglett nodded frantically, "Squeak!"
Naoki was skeptical, "You're not planning to run away when I'm not looking, are you?"
The Diglett shook its head quickly, "Squeak!"
"Good, then let me see your sincerity." Naoki led the way, "Follow me. I have a job I'd like to assign to you."
The Diglett hurriedly followed.
Naoki signaled with his eyes to Golurk, asking him to continue playing with Motostoke and Aerodactyl.
But Golurk didn't feel like playing anymore, as Motostoke and Aerodactyl had also been drawn by the commotion and were now curious about what Naoki intended to do with the Diglett.
Seeing this, Naoki didn't say anything and simply led the Diglett to the salt house.
Diglett was startled. Looking around, it thought to itself that this area was too big, and it would take forever to dig...
But fearing that this human would think it was useless and lock it up again, Diglett nodded repeatedly.
"Good." Naoki added, "Work hard, and during this time, I'll provide you with food."
"Chatter!" Diglett dared not hope for too much.
Naoki left Golurk here to help it, such as breaking the wooden boards and smashing the underground stones.
Meanwhile, he went to prepare lunch for the Pokemon.
Today's lunch was still simple sandwiches and meat cutlets. After Naoki finished cooking and went to check on the situation in the salt house, he found that Diglett hadn't seized the opportunity to escape and was instead digging a big hole.
Seeing this, Naoki thought to himself that this Diglett was quite simple and straightforward. It didn't try to run away even though it had many chances to dig an escape tunnel underground.
Naoki asked Golurk to go eat first, then called up the hard-working Diglett.
Diglett poked its head out of the ground cautiously, expecting to be scolded by the human, but instead, it was greeted by the enticing aroma of food.
Diglett swallowed its saliva.
Naoki smiled and handed over the sandwich, "This is for you. Eat up!"
Diglett didn't dare to move.
Seeing its reaction, Naoki realized that it was probably truly scared.
He thought carefully and comforted it, "Relax, as long as you don't destroy my farm again, I won't hurt you, and the other Pokemon on the ranch won't hurt you either."
"By the time you're done digging the hole, if you want to leave, you can. During the time you're working, I'll provide you with food regularly."
Hearing this, Diglett blinked, "Chatter?"
It looked at the sandwich in front of it and then at the human.
For some reason, Diglett suddenly felt that this human wasn't so scary when he wasn't angry.
It cautiously took a bite of the sandwich.
As soon as it took the first bite, Diglett's small eyes lit up.
"Chatter!"
It had never tasted such delicious food before!
Diglett sped up its eating.
Soon, an entire sandwich was devoured, and the accompanying stamina-restoring effect left Diglett feeling rejuvenated.
Seeing Diglett's expression, Naoki thought that it probably wouldn't try to sneak away now.
After finishing its meal, Diglett continued to dig the big hole.
Meanwhile, Naoki turned back to the house to tally up the money they had earned in recent days.
With the evolution of Saltrox, the ranch's rock salt production had increased significantly.
Today was April 16th.
At this rate, by the end of next month, he would probably have saved enough money to build a house. He could then ask Cree to expand this small cottage into a larger one with a bathroom, a cellar, a living room, and a separate kitchen.
"Wow, it's really something to look forward to!"
Closing the account book, Naoki went to check on the pot of rock salt stir-fried soil.
Seeing that the soil had cooled down, he carried the pot over to Saltrox, who was resting under a tree, and placed it in front of it with an encouraging look. "Eat up! Once you finish this pot of soil, you should be able to evolve!"
What this Saltrox lacked was not strength but its physical condition, which wasn't as robust as the other Saltroxes.
It had congenital malnutrition, which could only be compensated for through postnatal care.
Even though it had been eating very nutritious food since coming to the ranch, its overall condition was still inferior to that of the other Saltroxes.
The rock salt stir-fried soil could enhance Saltrox's physical strength, and as long as it became stronger, it might be able to meet the physical requirements for evolution.
If it still couldn't evolve after finishing the soil, he would have it spar with other Pokemon to train and hopefully evolve into a Saltross soon.
"Salt, salt..."
Saltrox looked at the pot of soil in front of it, specially made by Naoki, something the other Saltroxes didn't have.
It was deeply touched, and its determination ignited. It began to eagerly eat the soil in front of it.
However, it had just finished lunch, and its stomach was already full. After a few mouthfuls, Saltrox lay weakly on the grass, emitting weak cries.
"Salt, salt..." It was exhausted...
Naoki couldn't help but laugh and sigh, "You silly thing, I meant for you to eat it slowly as a snack. You don't have to finish it all at once; you can save some for later."
Hearing this, Saltrox felt a bit embarrassed.
Naoki picked it up and weighed it in his arms, "Hmm, you've gained a lot of weight since the first time I met you."
"Salt, salt~" Saltrox happily snuggled against him.
Both it and the other Saltroxes were deeply grateful to Naoki.
Not only did he care for them like Saltross, but he also prepared various delicious meals for them every day.
Even Saltross didn't treat them as well as Naoki did!
Naoki simply hugged Saltrox and enjoyed the breeze under the tree.
He gazed at the vast wilderness before him, filled with emotion, "Once you all evolve into Saltross, I won't be able to carry you anymore!"
"Salt!"
Saltrox's eyes shone with determination.
No problem! When the time comes that Naoki can't carry them, they will carry him instead!
(End of Chapter)
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