Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 80 Squirtle: This Ranch Has Deep Water

After hanging up Su Yu's call, the monstrous strength next to Mei La looked over.

Seeing this, Mela laughed:

"Alright, after we finish carrying this load of bricks, let's go find the foreman to settle our wages."

"Boss Su Yu has some work coming up, let's go and do some work for him."

"Cough~!"

Upon hearing this, the monstrous strength nodded, deciding to go wherever Mela was.

That afternoon, Meila arrived at Su Yu's ranch.

Looking at the drawing by Squirtle, Mela nodded. Although the cartoon icons used on it were a bit hard to understand, the overall design was very professional, and there was nothing wrong with the drawing.

"So you need me to help you dig these first batch of five large aquaculture ponds?" Mela asked, putting down the design drawings.

Upon hearing this, Su Yu nodded and asked:

"Approximately how much will it cost?"

"Seventy thousand Alliance Coins. This is just for our work; if we need any materials later, you'll have to pay for them yourself, boss," Mela replied.

Seventy thousand Alliance Coins... that's not a problem.

After all, the fishpond that needs to be dug is quite large, and Su Yu plans to raise a considerable number of fish, so it has to be quite big. Therefore, the labor cost is quite reasonable.

"Alright, let's get started. It's not just about you digging by yourselves; I'll have my Pokémon come over and help you later." With that, Su Yu searched the house for his mount, the little sheep.

However, it seemed that his mounts, the little sheep, had gone out to play. Su Yu searched around but couldn't find them. Instead, Squirtle was hopping around on its short legs and waving at Su Yu.

"Jenny, Jenny~!"

"What, do you also want to help dig the fish pond?" Su Yu asked, puzzled.

Is this Squirtle really that hardworking? After arriving at the ranch, it first did the work in the fields, then went to the house to clean, and now it's thinking of helping to dig the fish pond...

Do you really need to work this hard? You're doing this for free, and even as a rancher, I'm starting to get tired of watching you...

As expected, Squirtle nodded upon hearing Su Yu's question.

Su Yu: ...

"Alright then, you can go with Mela and the others. Just follow their instructions."

I'll make something nice for Squirtle tonight, as a way of making it up to it. Hmm... let's have hot pot with butter.

Su Yu thought to himself.

Just then, the little sheep and their mounts returned. Seeing this, Su Yu went up to the little sheep and explained the situation to them, then let them go with Squirtle.

"I'll bring you the grass cakes I've made later. Don't worry about the blue energy," Su Yu said.

"Meow~!" Upon hearing this, the little sheep responded, and then they followed Squirtle towards the lake.

Moon Lake is the name of that lake.

……

……

On the way to Moon Lake, Squirtle hadn't gone far when it was caught up by its mounts, the sheep.

The arrival of the little sheep mounts also puzzled Squirtle.

It's perfectly normal for someone to want to help dig the fish pond. Since they designed the pond and know water-based moves, they can be a great help in the process.

But why did the rancher bring these little lambs over?

Squirtle recognizes the riding sheep Pokémon. This Pokémon isn't particularly powerful, and many ranches raise them mainly for milking and riding.

When it comes to digging, the little sheep mount isn't very good at it. It would be more appropriate to let the evolved form of the little sheep mount—the goat mount—dig.

Could it be... that there's some special reason?

Once Squirtle arrived at its destination, Mela was already directing several of her macho arms to scatter white lime powder on the ground, drawing the approximate outline of the fishpond.

Seeing this, Squirtle waved at Mela and said:

"Jenny, Jenny~" We're here to help you. Is there any work we can do?

Upon hearing this, Mela looked puzzled and said to Squirtle:

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I'm sorry... I'm not like my boss, I don't understand the language of elves."

Ah... that seems to be true. I got so used to talking to the rancher that I forgot that very few people can learn Pokémon language.

Squirtle scratched its head, then pointed to itself and gestured as if it were digging with a shovel.

"You guys are here to help dig something up?"

Mela asked uncertainly.

"Jenny, Jenny~!" Yes!

Squirtle clapped its hands and nodded.

"Okay, then you guys go dig over there, just follow the white line, and don't dig outside," Mela instructed, pointing out a general direction to the Squirtle and the others.

Mela had already directed the Mighty and the others to draw the white line over there; once they got there, they could just start digging.

Upon hearing this, Squirtle led his mount, Little Goat, and the others over.

Upon arriving at their destination, the little lambs curiously hopped around on the mud. This area was closer to the lake, and the soil was much softer than where the lambs had dug holes to put snow before.

This soil is so soft, it should be easier to dig it up than before.

Immediately, the mounted sheep used [Grassland], summoning a bunch of ferocious plants that dug into the ground at lightning speed, like drills.

After arriving at the destination with its little lamb, Squirtle didn't actually turn around to look behind it. Although there was a lot of commotion behind it, it assumed it was probably Mela's doing.

At this moment, it also touched the soil.

The soil is so soft that it's not too difficult to dig using the "Dig" move.

"Jenny, Jenny~" I'm going to use my digging technique to dig through this dirt. I might not be able to keep an eye on you guys for a while, so be careful up there...

With that, Squirtle turned around. It felt that it had more experience than its riding sheep, so it should set a good example, hence its words of advice.

But this turn revealed a scene it would never forget.

A large number of ferocious plants grew in the grassy area where the little sheep were riding, constantly digging into the surrounding ground.

The little sheep, standing among these ferocious plants, continuously provides them with grass-based energy, appearing completely harmless.

But Squirtle could sense that the reason these ferocious plants were able to grow was entirely due to the grassy terrain created by his mount, the sheep.

"Jenny, Jenny..." Is this little sheep mount really that powerful?

Are these the same lambs I usually see, the ones that ranchers raise to be used for milking...?

Squirtle felt that his worldview had been greatly impacted.

Meanwhile, the little sheep that were riding Squirtle also noticed Squirtle's gaze.

After several days of training during the previous snow removal, the riding lambs' endurance on the grassy areas has reached one minute. So they can continue to hold on at this moment.

Seeing Squirtle looking over, the little goats on their mounts asked in confusion:

"What?" Why are you just watching us dig but not digging yourself? Are you trying to slack off?

"Jenny, Jenny!" No way!

As it spoke, Squirtle turned its head away; it had simply been stunned. After all, who would have imagined that a few seemingly ordinary little goats could unleash such a powerful attack…

This is terrifying! It looks even stronger than the powerful Pokémon that Squirtle has seen at the mayor's house in town. Is there really such a Pokémon hiding in this ranch?

"Jenny, Jenny..." It seems this ranch is quite dangerous. It seems necessary to reassess the level of danger of this ranch.

That's what Squirtle thought.

It had a feeling that if these few riding lambs were already so unusual, then this ranch... probably harbored something even more terrifying.

Should I consider running away if necessary?

Just as Squirtle was pondering, the little goats, seeing him lost in thought, urged him on again.

Hearing this, Squirtle's thoughts were pulled back to reality. It then remembered that it still had work to do, digging a breeding pond.

Now that the little sheep were urging him on, Squirtle immediately used his digging move and started digging furiously into the ground.

Although I certainly can't dig as fast as you guys, I can't slack off, right?

Let's set a small goal first and spend an afternoon digging for it.

(End of this chapter)