"Lord Leon is awesome!"
"The way you threw that ball was so cool!"
"As expected of Lord Leon, even your commands sound powerful!"
After Leon shouted those words, the players all started clapping and showering him with praise.
They were putting so much effort into praising Leon for two reasons: to increase their favorability with him, and because they genuinely thought his Pokémon capture process was impressive.
This was especially true for the newcomers who had only been playing for a few days. They knew Leon was strong but had never seen him in a Pokémon battle before.
Now that they witnessed Leon easily defeating and capturing a Pokémon, they gained a clear understanding of his strength.
"Alright, no need for all the compliments. As long as you focus on training your Pokémon properly, you'll definitely surpass me someday. The future belongs to you, the visitors from the divine realm!"
Leon first served them a big bowl of motivational words before continuing,
"Due to the special circumstances tonight, everyone's Pokémon have been severely injured. I've decided to suspend the patrol work for now. Let's all return to the territory to rest and resume patrolling later tonight."
"Of course, the rewards will still be distributed as usual, with no reductions!"
Although the players' Pokémon had received treatment, their condition was still poor. Even if they continued patrolling, they'd likely lose to any Rattata they encountered. It was better to return to the territory and recuperate.
Besides, they had already driven away most of the Rattata. The remaining few wouldn't be able to eat many seeds in such a short time.
The players naturally agreed enthusiastically. Getting to slack off while still receiving rewards? Where else could they find such a good deal?
So Leon led the players back to the territory.
As they left, a dark green figure quietly followed them.
Upon returning, Leon immediately sent the Rotom Drone to summon Walter to his study.
Once there, he released Gastly.
"Gaaas~"
Gastly weakly collapsed onto the floor the moment it appeared.
Ursaring's two attacks had dealt massive damage, leaving it too weak to even float in the air.
Seeing this, Leon had Bounsweet use Grassy Terrain and took out a bottle of Hyper Potion to treat its injuries.
"Gaaas, gaaas~"
Under the dual treatment, Gastly gradually recovered. It floated in the air, staring at Leon with curious eyes.
"Gastly, from now on, we're companions. Let's get along well!"
"Gaaas!"
Gastly nodded in agreement. Pokémon admired strength, and Leon's power had earned its respect.
Even though Leon had sent out two Pokémon to battle it, Aron had only blocked its escape route.
In reality, only Ursaring had fought it one-on-one, so it still counted as a fair victory.
Besides, even if it got another chance to battle Ursaring alone, it still wouldn't win. Those two swipes had nearly traumatized it.
"Gaaas gaaas?"
"Are you asking about that Misdreavus? It ran away while we weren't paying attention. But don't worry, it's probably still around the territory. It'll come looking for you eventually."
Leon could tell Gastly was worried about its little friend, so he comforted it.
"Knock knock~"
A knocking sound came from outside the study.
"Return to your Poké Ball and rest for now."
Leon recalled Gastly and said, "Come in."
Walter entered, bowed, and asked,
"Young Master Leon, what are your orders?"
"Have you received any reports of Pokémon sightings in the territory recently?"
"None at all."
Walter thought for a moment, confirming he hadn't received any sighting reports.
"That's strange. With so many Rattata around, not a single person has seen them? They must be hiding very well. There must be a Raticate leading and organizing them!"
Hearing this, Walter looked shocked.
"You mean there are Rattata in our territory?"
Leon nodded.
"Yes, and quite a few of them. They hide in town during the day and go out to steal seeds at night."
"They're clever. They don't steal from the citizens' homes, which is why no one has noticed them."
"But why would they ignore the food in people's homes and go out of their way to steal seeds from the fields?"
Walter was still puzzled.
"It's simple. They're not sure if the Yungoos have really left. Once the lingering scent of Yungoos in town completely fades, they'll definitely start targeting the food in people's homes!"
Leon shared his theory.
Walter agreed.
"So what should we do? Search every house for them?"
"That'd be too troublesome, and we might not even find them. There's only one solution left."
"Find the Yungoos that left our territory and bring them back!"
Leon declared firmly.
"Bringing the Yungoos back will not only eliminate the Rattata in town but also protect the seeds. We won't need to patrol day and night anymore."
Forming a patrol team had always been a last resort. It was inefficient and prone to unexpected incidents.
The main issue was the lack of players. They were too few in number and too weak to handle the hordes of Rattata. They could only patrol near the town, leaving Leon to patrol the outer fields alone.
Doing this for a day or two was manageable, but keeping it up long-term would be exhausting even for someone as tough as Leon.
It'd be better to just bring the Yungoos back and solve the rat problem once and for all.
"That's indeed the best solution. Earlier today, I asked around, and some citizens saw the Yungoos heading southeast after leaving the territory. You could search along that direction."
"Good. I'll set out first thing tomorrow. During the day, take the squires on extra patrols around the territory to prevent Rattata from harming the citizens."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"No, it's getting late. Go rest."
After Walter left, Leon opened his system panel.
He planned to use the five lottery draws he'd earned from completing the main quest earlier.
He was heading out tomorrow to recruit more Pokémon. Based on past experiences, this trip probably wouldn't go smoothly either. Who knew what troubles he'd encounter along the way?
So he wanted to try his luck with the lottery first, hoping to get some useful items.
"My luck was decent last time. Let's try one draw first to see how it goes today."
"Draw!"
[Congratulations! You've obtained Poké Ball ×3]
"Ugh, guess my luck isn't great today."
Poké Balls were the last thing Leon wanted from the lottery. Thanks to the players, he had enough Poké Dollars to buy as many Poké Balls as he wanted from the system shop.
What he really wanted were prizes he hadn't gotten before.
"Guess I'll have to rely on Lord Arceus. May He bless me with good draws for the next four tries. Go!"
[Congratulations! You've obtained Antidote ×5, Smoke Ball ×5, TM17 Protect, Peat Block]
"Whoa! I got a Peat Block?!"
(End of Chapter)