Chapter 122: Azalea Town? More Like Chow-Town
The small number of Slowpoke was for a completely different reason than the breeding difficulties of pseudo-legendaries. It was because they were dopey and slow. And with their absurd racial trait of "needing 5 seconds to even feel pain after being hit," Slowpoke in the Era of Primal Beasts were a creature that could be bullied by just about anyone. Forget other Pokémon; even humans who encountered one would not hesitate to have a feast.
Combined with their lazy nature, they rarely took the initiative to reproduce without artificial intervention, so their numbers dwindled. You could only find Slowpoke clans on isolated, peaceful islands or in places protected by a Slowking.
But in the Era of Leagues, things changed when humans began to actively intervene in their breeding and growth. From the past to the future, a Slowpoke's tail has always been a very expensive cooking ingredient. In the future, Team Rocket would even come to Azalea Town's Slowpoke Well just to collect their tails and sell them in other big cities.
Even setting aside criminals, people still collected their tails. In the past, most would actively hunt them. But in the League Era, there were special Slowpoke farms that would just wait for their tails to fall off naturally. In the Alola region especially, a dried Slowpoke tail boiled in salt water was a common household delicacy.
This might sound cruel to those who don't understand, but in reality, a Slowpoke feels absolutely no pain when its tail falls off. Most of them won't even notice their tail is gone until a new one grows back.
All in all, the Slowpoke species is a bizarre one. You could talk for days about just them, not to mention their different regional forms and multiple evolutionary paths.
Will glanced at the group of leisurely Slowpoke but had no intention of interacting with them. It is said that only a Psyduck can effectively communicate with a Slowpoke. He walked past them.
"Slooow~"
Some of the Slowpoke clearly saw him but ignored him as if he wasn't there.
"Ah, sorry." Will accidentally stepped on one of their tails. But the Slowpoke had no reaction. Will waited for a moment, and seeing no movement, he continued walking.
"Sloow~"
Only after Will was seven or eight steps away did the Slowpoke whose tail he had stepped on slowly begin to get up. It took half a step forward... and then lay back down.
"Meow~" Sprigatito looked at the Slowpoke and tried to call out to it, but it was completely ignored.
Just then, a woman's voice from the side caught their attention. "My?! Where did such a big fella come from?"
They both turned. The speaker was an ordinary, middle-aged auntie carrying an iron bucket. She looked kind, probably in her forties, and had a rather wealthy appearance. She was clearly living a good life and didn't skip any meals.
Will stopped walking. He had been planning to go to the Pokémon Center (Hospital) in this town first, to have Nurse Joy check Sprigatito's physical condition and see if she had any congenital diseases. After confirming she was fine, his next step was to find a way to get two Poké Balls to solve the looming crisis of being randomly captured by other humans.
"You've got a bag and a box on you. You don't look like a wild Pokémon. Are you looking for your family? Or helping your family deliver something?" The auntie was very friendly. She wasn't afraid of such a large Pokémon at all and just walked right up.
"Meow~" Sprigatito, seeing the auntie approach so recklessly, hissed and bared her fangs.
"Oh? And there's a little booger in there? I didn't even see you!" the auntie said, only now noticing the little head peeking out of Will's backpack.
Will felt this woman wasn't in any hurry. He decided to ignore her and walk into the town.
"Hey, hey~ wait a minute. Look at those skinny arms and legs. You look like you've missed eight meals in two days! And you're carrying a child, how hard that must be. Wait for me to get some water, and then I'll take you two home for a meal."
"Skinny arms and legs?"
Will was completely baffled by her words. He quickly opened his personal status screen and glanced at it. 1.55 meters, 48 kilograms. His height and weight had both increased since he evolved two days ago. Never mind among Grovyle, even among humans, this wasn't considered "skinny," was it?
"That scared me. I thought I had shrunk," Will shook his head. He could only attribute this to the fact that this auntie had never seen another Grovyle. A Grovyle's limbs were naturally slender. But with his physique, in the Era of Leagues, he was practically a giant among his kind.
The auntie drew her water with practiced speed. In less than a minute, her bucket was full. "Come with me," she said, calling to him as she passed.
Will thought about it and decided to follow. He would probably be in Azalea Town for a day or two. If he could stay in a human's house during that time, it would certainly be more comfortable.
The Slowpoke Well was at the very edge of town, but it wasn't far from the houses. The entire town was tiny, even smaller than Jubilance Town had been a thousand years ago. You could probably walk from the east end to the west end in less than half an hour.
The roads in the forest town were very narrow. At a glance, most of it was just grassland.
As newcomers, Will and Sprigatito did attract a lot of attention, but it was nothing like the reaction on the destroyer. It was probably because the villagers of Azalea Town didn't get out much. They were already used to seeing unfamiliar Pokémon. They probably didn't even know that Grovyle and Sprigatito were extremely rare in the Johto region.
For the teachers on the destroyer, it was the opposite. They knew too much about Pokémon and had seen plenty from other regions. Seeing a Pokémon they didn't know was a rare situation, which was why they had been so excited.
"Now I see why she said I have skinny arms and legs," Will muttered, looking at the other Pokémon in the town.
This wasn't Azalea Town. This was Chow-Town. How on earth do you raise a Rock-type Sudowoodo to be completely oval-shaped?!
Rock-type Pokémon are different from others. It's very difficult for them to gain bulk just by eating. They get bigger by increasing their strength or through natural aging. If Brock were here to see this, his head would explode.
"Meow-meow," Sprigatito chirped from his bag.
"Shh! Don't say it out loud!" Will hissed. How could you just call someone fat to their face?
Will lowered his head and silently followed the auntie. No matter how hard he tried, he did not remember the Azalea Town from the anime looking like this. And he had no memory of ever doing anything that could have affected this part of history. The Dragonite Capital and Azalea Town were so far apart.
Well, it's not my problem, Will decided, sighing in relief.
The auntie's home was a log cabin. Although it was only one story, it wasn't small and had a rustic, refined feel. This kind of primitive architecture was a unique sight in the Pokémon world; staying in a forest cabin was a rare experience.
"This is my home. Come on in," the auntie said, pulling open the door.
"Ee-vee!" Hearing the door open, a Pokémon inside immediately made a sound to welcome its trainer home.
"An Eevee," Will knew what it was without even looking.
The sound of soft footsteps approached, and a fat Eevee waddled over.
"So cute," Will's eyes lit up. He crouched down and rubbed the Eevee's chubby little face. Other Pokémon might not be cute when they're fat, but this Eevee definitely was. Its fur looked extra fluffy and thick.
"Eev~" The Eevee wasn't shy at all and let Will rub its face.
"And she's a little girl," Will noted. The Eevee's voice was very soft. Her voice was even more delicate than a newborn's, a complete contrast to her appearance.
"Meow?" Sprigatito heard Will's words and struggled in the backpack to turn around and peek her head out. When she saw Will about to pick up the Eevee to cuddle, her fur immediately stood on end.
"MEOW!!"
Sprigatito shot out of the backpack, jumped onto Will's head, and then launched herself at the Eevee.
"Sprigatito?!" Will was shocked. He put the Eevee down and intercepted the kitten in mid-air.
With her current strength, she couldn't have done any real damage; she probably would have just bounced off the Eevee. But the behavior was extremely rude. In the Era of Primal Beasts, he wouldn't have suppressed this aggression, as it helped her survive. But this was the Era of Leagues. Pulling a stunt like this would definitely get you taken away by Officer Jenny. Discipline had to start young.
"Eevee?" The Eevee tilted its head, confused. It didn't know what it had done to make the other Pokémon so angry.
"What are you doing?" Will put Sprigatito on the ground, pointing a finger at her little nose.
But Sprigatito wasn't scared at all. She opened her little mouth and bit his finger, looking furious.
"Oh?! So you're going to rebel now, are you? Go stand in the corner!"
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