Chapter 56: Sandshrew And Farmland
When Lei Wen hurried to the farmland, he saw a small bump on the ground rapidly moving from afar.
The knights of the Knight Order were blocking the path of the moving bump, trying to catch it.
But every time they were about to get close to the bump, it would nimbly change direction and move quickly to another spot.
“Damn it!”
A knight, angered by the monster that was destroying the fields, stomped his foot on the spot.
The others tried to intercept the bump’s path in advance, but without a doubt, they all missed, not only failing to catch the monster but also getting covered in dust.
“Snivy, stop it!” Lei Wen commanded in a deep voice.
“Snivy.”
Snivy calmly looked at the constantly moving bump, and the next second, a thin, green vine whip shot out from its neck.
The vine whip cut through the air, leaving a clear whistling sound.
With a “swoosh,” it accurately struck the bump.
The bump underground indeed stopped moving, and the Pokémon below shook its body, then burst out of the ground, revealing its true form.
It was an unknown monster with three brown heads, each with a red nose.
It was… Sandshrew!
As soon as it emerged, Sandshrew immediately and accurately looked at Snivy, who had attacked it.
This mischievous Sandshrew immediately retaliated, aiming at Snivy and repeatedly spitting out several clumps of dirty mud!
But Snivy was very agile, and at the moment Sandshrew attacked, it calmly leaped into the air and landed in another open space.
“Vine Whip,” Lei Wen said again.
“Snivy,” Snivy responded calmly, then ran straight towards Sandshrew not far away. A thin vine whip cut through the air again, heavily striking Sandshrew, delivering a triple hit.
“Pak pak pak!”
Super effective!
Sandshrew immediately let out a cry of pain. Seeing that it was no match, Sandshrew immediately wanted to turn and flee.
But how could Snivy give it such an opportunity?
It immediately used Grass Knot to block its path and restrain it.
“Finally, we’ve caught you, you despicable creature!” The members of the Knight Order rushed forward, surrounding Sandshrew.
Lei Wen checked the damage to the fields, and seeing that only a small area was damaged, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lei Wen walked through the crowd and approached the Sandshrew, who was tightly bound by Grass Knot.
Sandshrew looked terrified. It wanted to escape, but it was firmly wrapped by Grass Knot, unable to move and could only let out panicked cries: “Squeak!”
“Prince Lei Wen!” Seeing Lei Wen approach, all the knights made way.
Lei Wen nodded slightly at the crowd and then turned his gaze to the Sandshrew in front of him.
Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon, Ground type, usually lives in dark underground areas and rarely comes to the surface.
In that distant future, this kind of Pokémon will be carefully cultivated by many farmers, because the soil tilled by Sandshrew will be properly turned, and its feces will also make the soil more fertile, becoming the most suitable land for farming.
However, wild Sandshrew often bring considerable disaster to fields and farmers because they eat crops growing in the fields.
A Pokémon that is helpful to its territory, and as long as it is provided with enough food, the harm it causes to the fields can be avoided.
Lei Wen had the thought of taking it under his wing.
But his expression remained calm, even somewhat stern.
“Sandshrew, you destroyed our fields. The crops in these farmlands are our last remaining food!”
“That’s right, it’s too much!”
“Your Highness, don’t let this monster go!”
The knights and farmers nearby chimed in.
“Squeak squeak!!!”
Hearing this, Sandshrew was startled. It quickly and pitifully indicated that it didn’t do it on purpose, it hadn’t eaten much all winter and was just too hungry!
“We can’t just let you off the hook so easily,” Lei Wen said sternly. “You must do something to compensate for our losses.”
“Woo!” That’s right! Dratini chimed in from the side.
“Fortunately, we discovered it early! If we had been any later, the entire field would have been destroyed by you, and without food, everyone in our entire territory would have starved to death here!” a farmer said, full of lingering fear.
Hearing this, Sandshrew seemed a little weak.
“Squeak…”
It looked at the expressions of everyone around and a sense of guilt arose in its heart.
“Squeak…”
It didn’t mean to hurt anyone, it just wanted to find something to fill its stomach…
Seeing that the atmosphere was sufficiently built up, Lei Wen finally said, “We can forgive you if you’re willing.”
“Squeak?” Sandshrew quickly looked up.
“You must stay in this territory and work for me with your strength until you compensate for the damage you’ve caused us,” Lei Wen said.
“Your Highness?” Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
Sandshrew also seemed disbelieving.
But Lei Wen, as if he had foreseen this, said:
“If I’m not mistaken, you should be very good at loosening soil and tilling, right? Next, we need you to help us reclaim land and till the soil to compensate for our losses. What do you think?”
Sandshrew’s emotions were a bit low, but at this moment, what other choice did it have?
“Squeak…”
The next second, Lei Wen received a notification that Sandshrew had become a member of the territory.
【 Pokémon: Sandshrew】
【 Type: Ground】
【 Gender: Female】
【 Ability: Sand Veil】
【 Moves: Scratch, Sand Attack, Growl, Tri Attack, Tilling, Mud Slap】
【 Friendship: 0】
【 Pokédex Entry: In Kingdom Calendar year 146, a Sandshrew was born.】
【 In Kingdom Calendar year 148, Sandshrew evolved into Sandshrew during hibernation.】
【 In Kingdom Calendar year 149, Sandshrew decided to stay and help work in the territory to compensate for its losses, due to its inner guilt and to make up for the destruction it caused.】
Lei Wen: “…”
Why did he inexplicably feel that this Sandshrew was a bit pitiful and naive?
Ultimately, it couldn’t be entirely blamed on it. After all, having hibernated for a whole winter, Sandshrew must have been very hungry, which is why it came to the surface to find food, and then accidentally ate their crop seedlings.
Thinking of this, Lei Wen softened his tone and said, “Since you are willing to take responsibility for your mistake, we will temporarily forgive you!”
“Also,” Lei Wen looked at a knight and instructed, “Go get some Berries and some Tree Roots.”
Although the knight was puzzled, he turned and went to carry out the task.
Soon, he returned with some Pomelo Fruits and Tree Roots.
The Pomelo Fruits were picked from the wild, and the Tree Roots were waste material removed when cutting down trees earlier.
Lei Wen placed these Tree Roots and Berries in front of Sandshrew, saying, “Eat. You’ll have the strength to work after you’ve eaten your fill.”
“Squeak…” Sandshrew looked at the food in front of it in disbelief.
Lei Wen continued, “As compensation for your work, we will provide you with this kind of food every day.”
“Squeak…” Sandshrew was stunned for a moment, then a bright light flashed in its eyes: “Squeak!”
“Your Highness…”
Seeing this, several farmers felt uneasy, their faces full of worry.
After all, they were just monsters. What if they went back and secretly ate the crops in the fields?
Lei Wen calmed them with a look and patiently waited for Sandshrew to finish eating before speaking:
“Sandshrew, let me see your strength. Can you till the land?”
“Squeak!”
Having filled its belly, Sandshrew felt its whole body filled with strength.
The next second, an energy burst from its body, and the ground rippled like water, forming layer upon layer of waves.
The originally flat land became uneven under the influence of this power, and then Sandshrew began to move forward with all its might.
And everywhere it passed, the land was tilled over, the originally hard soil becoming soft and full of life.
Sandshrew moved quickly, and in just a few minutes, the wasteland in front of them was reclaimed into a field full of life!
The farmers present watched this scene in stunned silence.
Wh-what on earth was happening?!
Lei Wen smiled slightly.
Tilling is a Ground-type move that tills the land, making it easier for plants to grow and increasing the attack and special attack of Grass-type Pokémon.
With this move, they could farm faster and more conveniently. More importantly, the nutrients in the soil would allow the crops to grow faster and better.
