Chapter 110: Swablu Legion
“……That’s how it is.”
Inside the Lord’s Hall, Geralt was silently reporting the situation to Lei Wen.
Lei Wen: “…”
As expected, is raising Cranidos too difficult for novices?
Lei Wen began to doubt if he had chosen the wrong candidates.
Although these knights possessed considerable strength, they were helpless against a Cranidos made entirely of steel.
Iron swords couldn’t pierce Cranidos’s armor, and swinging their fists sent painful vibrations through their own steel plating.
After a moment of thought, Lei Wen asked, “How many Cranidos have been captured in total?”
“Ten,” Geralt replied.
“Oh? That’s not bad. How did the knights who defeated them later manage it?” Lei Wen asked with some surprise.
Geralt nodded. “The knights who came later thought of a good method. Since iron swords couldn’t pierce Cranidos’s armor, perhaps blunt weapons like hammers could stun them.”
“We borrowed hammers for blacksmithing from the blacksmith, and then challenged Cranidos again. The results were quite good; some Cranidos were quickly knocked out, and when they awoke, they agreed to follow us.”
“…” As expected of ancient people, Lei Wen couldn’t help but twitch his lips.
“However, there is one more thing, Your Highness,” Geralt added.
“What?”
“We have seventy knights in total, but there are only twenty Cranidos inhabiting the area near the mine…” Geralt explained.
“In that case, we’ll have to form other Monster Legions,” Lei Wen fell into thought.
What other monsters near the territory are suitable for forming an army?
Gyarados? No, Magikarp are useless, and difficult for ordinary people to raise.
Golduck Legion? That’s a good option. These Pokémon can attack with powerful Hydro Pump and also use psychic moves like Telekinesis to control enemies.
Although psychic abilities are mediocre in games, in reality, against types they are not weak to, they are almost invincible. Ash’s encounter with Sabrina in the anime demonstrated this well.
Hmm… perhaps a Magnemite Legion could also be formed.
Magnemite’s evolution, Magnezone, can unleash a terrifying Zap Cannon for long-range attacks and also use Discharge, a very large area-of-effect move.
More importantly, it can fly.
However, the number of Magnemite is also somewhat scarce.
If all else fails, Mareep’s evolution, Electric Dragon, can serve as a lower-tier option.
Farm-raised Mareep are docile, and Mareep hatched from a Pokémon Egg are easier to bond with people, making them easy to handle.
Then there’s the Altaria Legion.
Many Swablu inhabit the area near their territory, and their evolution, Altaria, possesses many wide-ranging destructive moves.
For example, the Perish Song, which causes Pokémon that hear it to fall into a near-death state after a few minutes.
Or the classic Dragon-type ultimate move, Draco Meteor.
Altaria can even learn moves like Hurricane.
With this in mind, Lei Wen quickly came up with an idea.
“In that case, the others will switch to different Pokémon Partners!” he declared.
Geralt was slightly taken aback.
Lei Wen then produced a portrait of Swablu, recorded by Christina.
Geralt looked down and saw a bird monster with a sky-blue body, wings as fluffy and white as flowing clouds, and two long blue feathers on its head.
“What is this?”
“It’s called Swablu. I believe you’ve seen it before,” Lei Wen said. Recently, with the arrival of spring, wild Swablu have often flown into the territory and landed on rooftops to observe humans.
“This is a very docile monster. It’s not afraid of people, and compared to Cranidos, Swablu is very easy to approach.”
Hearing this, Geralt became somewhat worried.
Having two different types of monsters in one legion, they likely wouldn’t be able to train together.
Lei Wen saw through Geralt’s thoughts and said with a smile:
“But it’s never been stated that a human can only have one Pokémon Partner.”
They are all his wings.
Geralt was slightly stunned, then quickly understood.
“More importantly, monsters, like humans, reproduce. If a Pokémon Egg is produced between monsters, it can be given to knights raising another type of monster, allowing for cross-training and sharing of training experiences, saving time,” Lei Wen explained.
Geralt suddenly realized: “Your Highness is wise!”
After that, the army would be slowly expanded, soldiers recruited, and the prepared Pokémon Eggs distributed to them. This process would be repeated, allowing for the formation of a powerful army in a short period.
“Alright, you can go back now. Take some people to interact with Swablu. Later, I will write down the information and raising methods for Swablu for you.”
Geralt nodded: “Yes!”
*
It proved that, compared to Cranidos, the difficulty of capturing Pokémon like Swablu was much easier.
In just three days, Lei Wen received a report from Geralt stating that they had successfully captured Swablu through food lures and other methods.
Thus, led by Geralt, Lei Wen set off for the training grounds the knights normally used.
It was a large open space located within the forest.
When Lei Wen arrived, sixty-nine knights, excluding Geralt, stood in neat rows. They were clad in armor and wore swords at their waists, looking very formal.
These knights were divided into two groups.
One group stood with a Cranidos beside each of them.
The other group had Swablu perched on their heads, standing gently on their heads like hats.
Looking at this scene, Lei Wen could almost imagine what these Pokémon would look like after evolving.
At that time, those Cranidos would transform into mighty, strong, and colossal Aggron.
And those small Swablu would evolve into elegant and beautiful Altaria.
Just thinking about that scene made one excited.
It was truly something to look forward to!
Although these knights were all over twenty years old, they were currently as excited and thrilled as children who had received new toys.
Monsters… they had actually captured monsters!
Just like the noble and powerful Monster Tamers who had once visited the Royal City!
The crowd looked at Lei Wen, their faces full of anticipation as they waited for him to speak.
Lei Wen scanned everyone and then slowly began:
“In this world, monsters can be found in the sky, the oceans, the forests, and the deserts. Humans and monsters are both part of this land.”
“I believe that after this period of interaction, you can all feel that monsters, like us humans, possess intelligence and emotions.”
“People and monsters play together, fight together, help each other, and live together in this place.”
The crowd listened quietly.
Every word spoken by Prince Lei Wen brought a corresponding image to their minds.
Snowrunt playing with children, Sandshrew helping with tilling, Machop helping to log and build houses, Darumaka helping to start fires, Potter brewing Berry Juice, Combee gathering nectar, Pansear firing clay bricks…
Humans and monsters had gradually built their home on this territory.
Unknowingly, they had been living with these monsters for so long…
At this very moment, thinking of this, the eyes of these knights looking at their Pokémon Partners were filled with emotion.
