Chapter 245: Dugtrio Leader

Dragonite hadn't sensed anything unusual either. Julian thought for a moment and then took out the Dowsing Machine from his system storage space.

The strange behavior of the Diglett and Dugtrio could very likely be because a Ground-type treasure was about to appear in this orchard.

To protect this treasure, they had been driving away all humans and Pokémon who entered the orchard.

The Dowsing Machine could scan for treasures within a 50-kilometer radius, far larger than the size of this orchard.

Looking at the Dowsing Machine, Julian saw that there wasn't a single red dot on the display, leaving him with a confused expression.

"If it's not a treasure… then what could it be?"

He murmured quietly. The outcome was unexpected. Previously, he had even thought that the treasure being guarded by so many Diglett and Dugtrio must be incredibly valuable.

His plan was simple: steal the treasure from them. That way, the problem of the orchard would be solved as well—a classic trickster move.

But now, it seemed he had overthought the situation. Fate wasn't giving him the chance to play the thief.

The root of the Diglett and Dugtrio's strange behavior wasn't a treasure but something else entirely.

"Dragonite, let's head down and take a closer look."

There wasn't anything unusual visible from the sky.

As Dragonite descended, Julian hopped off and landed on the ground.

Not long after, the ground in front of him began to bulge and quickly moved toward him—it was the Diglett, coming to escort him out of the orchard.

"Dragonite."

Julian spoke calmly.

Dragonite threw a punch at the ground. The force traveled through the earth, instantly flattening the bulging ground and revealing a Diglett that had been knocked out.

But in the next second, the ground around Julian rose up one after another as countless Diglett emerged, accompanied by many Dugtrio as well.

A rough estimate put their numbers at three or four hundred.

All the Diglett and Dugtrio surged toward Julian, causing the earth beneath them to churn and roll.

"Stop, Diglett. I mean no harm."

Even though he had knocked out one of their companions, Julian didn't sense any hostility from them, so he didn't want to continue hurting them.

He began radiating a wave of Aura filled with good intentions.

Under the influence of Julian's Aura, all the Diglett and Dugtrio gradually stopped moving.

Julian's eyes lit up slightly—his Aura was working.

The Diglett and Dugtrio stopped, but they didn't leave. More and more of them appeared, until the entire area within a one-kilometer radius was packed with countless Diglett and Dugtrio.

Their oval heads poked out from the ground in every direction.

To be fair, the Diglett and Dugtrio were kind of cute, but there were just too many of them. The sheer density was enough to make anyone with trypophobia pass out.

"Metagross"

The number of Diglett and Dugtrio had now surpassed ten thousand. Although they showed no intention of attacking, Julian still immediately sent out Metagross.

If they really decided to attack, he couldn't rely on Dragonite alone to keep himself safe.

Both Metagross and Dragonite watched the Diglett and Dugtrio cautiously.

If not for Julian holding them back, Metagross was ready to use Earthquake to wipe them all out.

Dragonite also suggested that its Draco Meteor could achieve the same result.

These two Pokémon were absolute battle maniacs, always eager to solve problems with their fists without considering the environment.

The area was full of Berry Trees. If they used moves like Earthquake or Draco Meteor, the Diglett might indeed be taken down, but the Berry Trees wouldn't survive either.

It took anywhere from 12 to over 30 years for a Berry Tree to grow from a seedling to bearing fruit, and the survival rate for seedlings was incredibly low.

"Is your leader here? I have something to discuss with them," Julian said.

The moment he finished speaking, the Diglett and Dugtrio in front of him suddenly moved to either side, creating a path about half a meter wide.

Then, a slightly larger Dugtrio emerged and began moving toward him.

Pokémon: Dugtrio (Ground)

Level: 75

Potential: Cyan

Ability: Arena Trap

Held Item: None

Gender: Male

Moves: Sand Tomb, Tri Attack, Scratch, Sand Attack, Growl, Mud-Slap, Sucker Punch, Bulldoze, Slash, Dig, Sandstorm, Earth Power, Earthquake, Fissure

TMs: None

Egg Moves: Rock Tomb, High Horsepower, Stealth Rock, Substitute

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A level 75 Dugtrio mid-Elite level, and it was wild.

It was impressive that Robert's family had resisted the temptation of a wild Elite-level Dugtrio.

Actually, they hadn't resisted. They had indeed sent their own Elite trainer to capture it, but this Dugtrio had too many underlings.

If they really fought, the orchard would have been completely destroyed.

After a failed capture attempt that resulted in significant damage to the Berry Trees, Robert's family decided to give up.

That's why this Dugtrio had remained here ever since.

The Dugtrio leader didn't come too close to Julian. Although this human gave off a friendly vibe, the two Pokémon beside him…

Damn, their expressions clearly said they were ready to fight.

Both Dragonite and Metagross gave off a sense of danger. In particular, Metagross looked extremely threatening. Even as a mid-Elite Pokémon, the Dugtrio felt like it wouldn't last three turns against Metagross.

At this moment, Metagross was at the peak of pseudo-Elite. Its body contained the Heart of Arceus.

Recently, during the Haitian City Defense Battle, Julian had completed a task.

As a reward, the system gave him Steel-type and Dragon-type Origin Orbs, one for Metagross and one for Dragonite.

To advance from the peak of pseudo-Elite to Elite-level, it generally took one to two years for a Pokémon to break through, as it required accumulating enough energy.

Even with abundant resources, this energy accumulation process still took one to two years, and it would take longer if resources were insufficient.

In reality, Metagross could break through to the Elite level right now, but it would only reach early Elite.

However, if Julian gave Metagross more time to gather additional energy, it could potentially reach mid-Elite or even higher upon breaking through.

So, Julian wasn't in a hurry. With Metagross' current battle strength, once it Mega Evolves, it could easily rival a peak Elite-level Pokémon.

Besides, Julian already had Alakazam, who was also at the peak of Elite-level.

However, as Metagross continued to grow stronger, Julian found he needed Alakazam's help less and less.

"Dugtrio, Ken from the orchard invited me here. I wanted to ask why you're not allowing humans into the orchard."

Julian specifically mentioned Ken rather than Robert because the Dugtrio leader had a good relationship with Ken.

Dugtrio: 'My mate is about to give birth'

The Dugtrio leader's words came through telepathy.

The higher a Pokémon's level, the more advanced its thoughts and ability to communicate became. Julian had tried asking the other Dugtrio before, but they couldn't answer his question clearly.

"So that's the reason."

Julian hadn't expected the answer to be so simple. The Dugtrio leader's mate was about to give birth, which was why it didn't allow humans or Pokémon to enter the orchard.