Croco croco~
Having just completed its evolution, Croconaw was a bit slow to react until it raised its claws and saw its new self. It immediately began jumping for joy.
Croco croco~ "I evolved! I evolved too!"
The other Pokémon swarmed forward to congratulate it. Sobble, as a fellow Water-type, couldn't wait to squeeze through. It circled Croconaw, reaching out to touch it occasionally with eyes full of envy. It wanted to become more handsome too. Compared to Totodile, the mighty and powerful Croconaw was indeed much more impressive.
Ange also joined the crowd, observing Croconaw with curiosity. Compared to the tiny Totodile, Croconaw was much larger and sturdier; Ange estimated it to be at least 1.5 meters tall.
He couldn't help but reach out to touch it, finding that its skin was much harder and rougher than it had been as a Totodile. The muscles on its arms, thighs, and tail were incredibly solid. It looked powerful and provided a strong sense of security.
After evolving, Croconaw had become much more composed. Ange poked and prodded it here and there, yet it didn't get angry at all. If it had been the old Totodile, it would have impatiently jumped up to bite Ange's hand by now.
Just as Ange was marveling at the changes, another burst of blue-white light suddenly flared up. The Pokémon let out cries of surprise. Ange turned his head and saw that the one enveloped in the light of evolution was... Sobble?
Of course! Sobble's level had been close to evolution when it first came to Ange, and after staying by his side for so long, it was high time it evolved. Within the light, the small Sobble grew taller rapidly. Its legs and arms became more slender, its tail grew stronger, and its height surpassed Munchlax in the blink of an eye.
When the light dissipated, a brand new Pokémon appeared before them. This was the evolved form of Sobble—Drizzile. Compared to Sobble, the bright light-blue skin had vanished, replaced by a somewhat duller dark-blue hide. Those watery, lovable large eyes were gone, replaced by a pair of half-lidded eyes that looked lethargic. One eye was even partially covered by its drooping crest.
This look... it had the vibe of a discouraged youth. However, in Ange's eyes, Drizzile was just as cute.
Under the Eye of Observation, Drizzile's data was as follows:
Drizzile
Type: Water
Ability: Sniper
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Moves: Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sucker Punch, Bind, Soak, Liquidation, Water Pledge, Whirlpool, Aqua Ring
Individual Values
HP: 20
Attack: 29
Defense: 20
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 24
Speed: 31
Driz~
Drizzile hadn't expected to evolve so suddenly. It looked at its hands, then its feet, and then excitedly ran out of the circle of Pokémon.
"Drizzile, where are you going?" Ange shouted.
Driz driz~ "I'm going to see if I've become more handsome!"
Drizzile's voice drifted back as it disappeared around the corner of the stairs.
"What did it say?" Ange asked Diancie.
Diancie covered its mouth and giggled, "It said it's going to see if it became handsome."
Ange was caught between laughter and tears, "Even after evolving, it's still the same as always."
However, just as Ange finished speaking, a piercing scream echoed from upstairs, making everyone flinch. Shortly after, Drizzile came downstairs dejectedly, holding a palm-sized mirror. It walked up to Ange, hugged him tightly, and buried its head in his stomach.
"What's wrong, Drizzile? You're not happy about evolving?" Ange asked while rubbing the back of its head.
Driz driz~ "This isn't me, it's so ugly!"
Drizzile lifted its head and complained while pointing at its reflection in the mirror.
Ange patted its head and said with a stern face, "Nonsense. How is it not handsome? I think you look just as handsome now!"
Driz~ "Really?"
Tears were still hanging from the corners of Drizzile's eyes.
"Of course. If you don't believe me, ask Munchlax," Ange said with absolute certainty.
Munchlax took the hint immediately. It gave Drizzile a thumbs up, Munch munch~ "Exactly! You're very handsome!"
Drizzile looked at Munchlax and realized it was actually a little bit taller than the other now. Before, it always had to look up at Munchlax. This realization gave it a small boost of confidence. Drizzile then looked at the other Pokémon.
"You haven't become ugly. Really, you're very handsome!" Diancie said gently.
Meow meow~ "Handsome!" Meowstic added.
Gal gal~ "Handsome, very handsome!" Gallade also said seriously.
Gallade's praise finally brought a trace of a smile to Drizzile's face. It had always thought Gallade was very cool. Since Gallade said it was handsome, it must be true! Thinking this, Drizzile broke into a smile through its tears. Seeing Drizzile regain its spirit, Ange breathed a sigh of relief.
The next morning, Ange woke up early as usual. He prepared the day's ingredients with Munchlax and Drizzile. After evolving, Drizzile found the work much easier. It no longer needed to support itself with a pillar of water to reach the stove; now it just needed to stand on a small stool like Munchlax. This made it very happy.
Just as Ange and the others were finished and ready to set out, Diancie came over and said, "Ange, a System mission has arrived!"
Finally! Ange's eyes lit up. The System hadn't issued a mission for a while, and he was starting to feel out of place. After all, no mission meant no rewards!
"Quick, let me see what it is," Ange said impatiently.
Diancie nodded, and a pop-up window appeared before Ange.
[Arrest Mission: Catch the thieves who destroyed the vegetable garden and punish them by making them replant the ruined thick leeks. Accept?]
He clicked Yes. Naturally, he had already planned to catch the little thieves. Once caught, they definitely needed to be punished. Who told them to pull up so many leeks for no reason! They didn't even eat them; they just threw them everywhere. Truly detestable!
After accepting the mission, Ange made a special trip to the vegetable patch before heading to the Azoth Royal Capital. At this time, the Dugtrio brothers were hiding in the shadows of the vegetable plants, warily observing their surroundings. In addition to them, the recently evolved Croconaw and Quilladin—Chesnaught's child—were also hiding in the dark. These were the helpers Ange had found for the Dugtrio brothers.
"I'm leaving the thief-catching to you. You must catch them!" Ange walked over and said to the four Pokémon.
Dug dug,Dug dug~
Croco croco~
Quill quill~
The four Pokémon guaranteed their success with confidence. After a few instructions, Ange went to work, while the four continued to hide motionless among the vegetable stalks.
As time passed, the sun soon rose to the center of the sky. The so-called vegetable thieves still hadn't appeared. Croconaw felt its eyes starting to go dry from staring, and it couldn't help but rub them.
Rustle, rustle...
Suddenly, Quilladin seemed to hear something. It made a quiet hand gesture. The four Pokémon gently pushed aside the leaves. Sure enough, something had appeared by the wall.
Far far,Far far~
Two duck-like Pokémon stealthily climbed over the wall and turned into two blurred shadows as they dashed into the garden, heading straight for the bed of thick leeks. As soon as they entered the garden, they each pulled up a leek and started swinging them around. After a few swings, they seemed dissatisfied, so they threw the leeks on the ground and pulled up two more to brandish forcefully.
Seeing this, the Dugtrio brothers were consumed by rage. These were the leeks they had worked so hard to grow, and now they were being wasted like this. The four Pokémon hiding in the dark glanced at each other. They moved quietly under the cover of the vegetables, eventually surrounding the leek patch from four directions.
Dug dug~ "Stop right there, thieves!"
Dug dug~ "Vegetable thieves, see how I handle you!"
Seeing the time was right, the four Pokémon suddenly jumped out, completely surrounding the two duck Pokémon. To their surprise, the two duck Pokémon were so startled that they gripped their leeks, flapped their wings, and took flight, clearing the wall in an instant.
Dammit! They can fly! Dugtrio and the others weren't about to let the thieves go. They retracted their heads and tunneled through the ground in pursuit. Croconaw and Quilladin were not to be outdone, nimbly vaulting over the wall to follow.
The two thieves were very fast and could flap their wings for short glides. Seeing them get further away, the two Dugtrio cried out in frustration. At that moment, two vine whips shot out, wrapping around one duck Pokémon's legs and dragging it down from mid-air. The other thief looked back in panic as its companion fell, only to be struck by a Water Gun that knocked it out of the sky as well.
The Dugtrio brothers, Croconaw, and Quilladin immediately surrounded them. Seeing no hope of escape, the two thieves glanced at each other, brandished their leeks, and took a combat stance.
Croconaw was the first to act. It leaped toward one of the thieves, opening its mouth to use Bite. However, that Pokémon was much more agile than Croconaw expected. It easily dodged the attack with a side-step and rapidly swung its leek. The tip of the leek flashed with white light as it delivered several slashes to Croconaw, actually knocking it back. The move it used was the Bug-type move Fury Cutter.
The other thief was equally bold. Its body flickered as it vanished from its spot and swung its leek at Quilladin, using the Fighting-type move Rock Smash. Quilladin wasn't about to sit and wait. It gave a loud cry as two vine whips extended, binding the opponent's leek to prevent the blow from landing.
The two Dugtrio were already furious. You're clearly the thieves, how do you have the nerve to fight back?
The two Dugtrio retracted their heads into their tunnels. When they reappeared, they were at the feet of the two duck Pokémon. The thieves were focused on Croconaw and Quilladin and failed to notice the danger below. Red, yellow, and blue lights flared from the three heads of each Dugtrio before shooting toward the duck Pokémon.
Far far,Far far~
Caught off guard, the two Pokémon were sent flying. The Dugtrio brothers were very lucky; their Tri Attack triggered additional effects. The older brother's attack caused a burn, while the younger brother's triggered freezing.
The burned Farfetch'd's face contorted in pain. The one with frozen feet was very decisive; it raised its leek and slashed at its own feet, shattering the ice instantly to regain its freedom. Of course, because it used too much force, its legs went numb.
The two duck Pokémon glanced at each other and then moved in unison toward the Dugtrio brothers, raising their leeks to use Leaf Blade on their heads. Dugtrio weren't that easy to hit. Their speed at escaping was top-tier; they retracted their heads and vanished into their holes.
Boom!Boom!
With two loud crashes, the Leaf Blade missed, and the duck Pokémon carved two deep trenches into the grass. At that moment, Croconaw and Quilladin took the chance to launch an attack. Croconaw enveloped itself in water, turning into a pillar of liquid as it slammed into one thief; Quilladin spat out a series of glowing green seeds at the other.
One thief was knocked down by Aqua Jet, while the other was flattened by Seed Bomb. They tried to get back up and continue fighting, but they suddenly found the grass beneath them had turned into a patch of sand. The sand was sinking, and the suction made it impossible for them to move their feet. It was the Dugtrio brothers using Sand Tomb.
The two duck Pokémon flapped their wings hard, trying to break free from the Sand Tomb, but it wasn't that easy! They only felt themselves sinking deeper. Seizing this golden opportunity, Croconaw and Quilladin attacked with Ice Fang and Seed Bomb. This time, the two duck Pokémon finally lost their ability to battle.
Looking at the unconscious thieves, the four Pokémon let out a collective sigh of relief. Fortunately, they caught them; these two were quite troublesome. Quilladin and Croconaw stepped forward, hoisted the unconscious duck Pokémon onto their shoulders, and walked toward Ange's home.
When Ange returned from the Azoth Royal Capital at noon, he saw the Dugtrio brothers, Croconaw, and Quilladin surrounding two tied-up Farfetch'd, staring them down.
"These two are the vegetable thieves?" Ange asked.
The four Pokémon nodded in unison. The Dugtrio brothers especially were indignantly describing the terror of the two Farfetch'd. Even though Ange didn't understand a single word.
He thought to himself: No wonder the System mission wanted the thieves to help plant leeks. He remembered when he first got the thick leeks, the System had explained that this type of leek would taste better if Farfetch'd helped grow them!
Ange circled the two Farfetch'd twice and realized they didn't look like ordinary Farfetch'd. Normal Farfetch'd had brown feathers, but these two had dark, blackish-brown feathers. Furthermore, their eyes were significantly sharper, giving off a cool vibe.
Wait, so these are Galarian Farfetch'd? With transportation between regions becoming more convenient and communication more frequent, it wasn't strange for a regional variant to appear in another area.
"Why did you destroy my vegetable patch?" Ange asked while using the Eye of Observation to look at their data.