Leon checked the two tasks on his panel again.
The side quest was simple. With the help of Pokémon, most of the farmland in the territory had been sown. The remaining small portion could be finished within the next two days. Completing this quest was only a matter of time.
The main quest was more troublesome. Currently, only two players had managed to catch Pokémon. These past few days, veteran players and newcomers had been either busy making bricks to build toilets or working hard on the land, leaving no time to interact with Pokémon.
The only Pokémon they could contact were the Diglett and Marill helping with plowing and watering the fields. But technically, they all belonged to Leon.
After these days of understanding, the players realized Leon's importance in this game. They wouldn't dare to catch his Pokémon even if given ten extra guts.
This led to the current situation where only two out of twenty players had caught Pokémon. They had somehow turned a Pokémon battle game into a management and construction simulator.
Although the territory had indeed been developed well by them, the Pokémon couldn't be neglected. Leon was counting on the players to replace knights in protecting the territory.
Thinking of this, Leon decided to set aside some time to organize a "matchmaking event" between players and Pokémon. In truth, the players all loved these clever and adorable Pokémon but simply lacked opportunities to interact with them.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon in the courtyard, having received Leon's help, no longer feared or hated humans. Instead, they held great goodwill toward them. Once they got to interact, several pairs would surely form.
"My approach feels a bit like a pimp... No, no, no, more like a matchmaker!" He, a dignified baron, was actually doing the work of a matchmaker.
But when he thought of the players' astonishing growth potential, Leon's gaze became exceptionally firm. For the sake of the territory's future, he would be this "matchmaker" no matter what!
Just as Leon was pondering how to get players to catch Pokémon, Bell, who had already caught a Pokémon, ran into trouble.
"Damn it! Where did this filthy rat come from, daring to dig up and eat the seeds right in front of me!"
Just moments ago, Bell had finished her work and was about to take a break when she suddenly spotted a purple figure digging in the field.
When she got closer, she realized it was a Pokémon resembling a mouse, digging up seeds to eat. This infuriated Bell. She had worked herself to exhaustion to sow all these seeds, and the moment she finished, this thing came to steal them.
Most girls might be afraid of mice and avoid them, but Bell was someone who kept snakes and spiders as pets in real life.
A mere mouse was just food for her pets. She picked up a hoe, intending to chase the Rattata away. But she seemed to have forgotten that Rattata wasn't a weak real-world mouse—it was a Pokémon. Though Rattata wasn't strong, it wasn't something an untrained human could handle.
Seeing Bell, the Rattata immediately dropped the seeds, lowered its front body slightly, bared its sharp front teeth, and assumed a battle stance.
Only then did Bell realize she might not be able to defeat this Pokémon.
"Uh... What if I said I brought the hoe to help you dig up seeds? Would you believe me?"
"..."
The Rattata obviously didn't believe her. It dashed toward Bell at high speed.
"I'm done for. Looks like I'll be the second player to die. My debt's about to increase again!"
Bell knew very well she couldn't react in time to such speed. She could only brace for the Rattata's attack. Just as she prepared to endure it, the Poké Ball around her neck released a beam of white light.
The figure within the light stood in front of Bell, blocking the attack for her.
"Spinarak?"
Bell stared blankly at the Spinarak before her, not expecting it to save her life.
"That's right! I can use Spinarak to fight this filthy rat!"
Honestly, she had been so busy farming these past few days that she had almost forgotten she owned a Pokémon.
If Spinarak hadn't seen Bell in danger and voluntarily emerged from the Poké Ball, she might have truly died under the Rattata's teeth.
"Let me think... What moves does Spinarak have again? Lord Leon mentioned them before."
Bell frowned, trying to recall Leon's words, but the Rattata wasn't going to wait. It dashed again, leaving a trail of white light as it charged forcefully at Spinarak.
"Bam!"
Spinarak was sent tumbling twice before lying on the ground, panting heavily. After taking two consecutive hits, its condition had worsened.
"I remember now! Spinarak, use Poison Sting on that rat!"
Bell finally recalled Spinarak's moves and began directing it to attack.
"Ito!"
Spinarak spat several purple needles from its mouth, but the agile Rattata dodged them.
"No good. This Pokémon is too fast. Poison Sting can't hit it."
Bell grew anxious but couldn't think of a solution. Spinarak, lacking further instructions, attacked on its own, shooting several strands of silk at the Rattata. But the silk was even slower than Poison Sting, making it impossible to hit the nimble Rattata.
"That must be String Shot. Lord Leon said this move can restrict the opponent's movement... I've got an idea!"
A lightbulb went off in Bell's head.
"Spinarak, stop attacking for now. When that rat charges at you again, use String Shot to bind it!"
She whispered to Spinarak.
"Ito!"
Spinarak nodded to show it understood.
Seeing Spinarak stop attacking, the Rattata pounced again.
"Closer... A little closer..."
Bell silently estimated the distance between the two Pokémon. When it was just right, she seized the moment to command.
"Now! Spinarak, use String Shot to tie it up!"
Spinarak shot silk at the Rattata again. This time, the distance was so close the Rattata had no room to dodge. It was firmly entangled by the silk.
"Hmph! You like running around, don't you? Let's see you try now! Spinarak, use Poison Sting on it!"
Several poison needles shot from Spinarak's mouth, accurately hitting the silk-bound Rattata.
"Plaa... daa..."
The Rattata let out a pained cry, its cheeks turning slightly purple.
"It's poisoned? Guess my luck's pretty good."
Bell remembered that Poison Sting could not only deal damage but also had a chance to poison the target.
"Finish it off with Poison Sting!"
She felt no sympathy for a Pokémon that stole seeds. With another hit from Poison Sting, the Rattata collapsed motionless.
"Did... did we win?"
Bell looked at the fallen Rattata and asked Spinarak. Spinarak crawled over to the Rattata, confirmed it was unable to battle, and nodded at Bell.
"Yay! Spinarak, you're amazing!!"
Bell cheered, hugging Spinarak and jumping for joy. This was her first Pokémon battle, and the thrilling excitement left her exhilarated.
"The two of us together are invincible! One rat is nothing. Even if a few more came, I'd— Oh my god?!"
Bell's jaw dropped as she looked ahead. Over a dozen Rattata were digging up seeds in the field, and their numbers were still growing.
"Then I'd better go get backup! Lord Leon, help!!"
(End of Chapter)