"Shff, shff, shff—"
The Sandslash dug hard out in front, with Vance and Zoroark following behind.
"Take a rest."
Vance spoke up and let the Sandslash rest a while. From the look of it, it was tired, and he stopped pressing it.
"Huff, huff—"
The Sandslash panted heavily and leaned against a rock to rest. It really was worn out — it had been going for so long.
At least this human was reasonable enough to let it rest. If it had been made to keep at it, it would never have stood the strain.
Vance smiled faintly and found a place to sit down.
Letting it rest was also for the sake of better digging to come. If he wore it out all at once, then the labourer would be no use to him, and it would have to be Zoroark after all.
So there was no draining the pond to get at the fish. Do a thing with sustainability in mind and you get more out of it, and greater results besides.
Vance's line of thought was beyond the Sandslash, which lolled against the stone.
It had better rest, because if there was no rest later it would be in a sorry state.
Besides, if it rested well it would have the strength, should anything change, to slip away quickly and escape from here.
"Sandslash......"
"!! Here, here, here."
It was in the middle of that thought when it heard Vance calling it, and it jumped.
Could it be that this human had seen through its excellent plan?
The Sandslash started, and turned its head to look at Vance.
And met, coming straight at its face, a sweet-smelling, springy, cube-shaped thing, with the scent of Berries about it, as of Berries already eaten.
At that smell its belly rumbled, and its body's own mind urged it to get the thing in front of it down its throat.
Its body was telling it that there was matter and nourishment in it that its body needed.
And yet, cautious as it always was, it did not eat at once, but held the thing in both paws and looked at Vance, to see what he was going to do.
"Not bad, Sandslash, you're cautious enough. But you're worrying over nothing. That's called an energy cube. The nourishment is drawn out of Berries, and it's blended with other things through a good many processes. There's a high concentration of energy in it and plenty of nourishment for your body to absorb, and for Pokémon that eat it there's a marked effect on every measure — growth in strength, an increase in potential and so on."
Seeing how careful and cautious it was, Vance's interest was caught, and he gave it a whole explanation.
Only, when the Sandslash had heard him out, its face went blank.
*Hold on...... what is this two-legged beast talking about. Energy cube what...... nourishment... growth in strength, whatever that is, what in the world is any of it.*
*I don't understand a word.*
But it was not going to let that show, and could only nod slightly to indicate that it understood.
That way this human would not be shamed into a rage and do something about it. What if he cut it down?
*No fuss. Steady. My miserable life comes first!!*
The Sandslash nodded away with the energy cube held in both paws, still not eating, resisting the temptation with its iron will.
"All right. Put simply, the thing isn't poisonous."
Vance being who he was, how could he fail to see the Sandslash's difficulty? He did not press it, and added the one sentence.
"Ssh—"
That the Sandslash understood. Not poisonous — meaning it would not die of eating it.
Honestly, he could simply have said that in the first place. All that fancy flourishing — did he not know that it, Sandslash, was a wild Pokémon?
What was the good of all those high and fine-sounding words? It could not understand them.
Understanding was one thing; the Sandslash still did not eat, careful and cautious as ever.
"Eat it. With as little strength as you have, killing you would be a matter of lifting a hand — and I can't be bothered with that. Hurry up and eat, there's work once you've finished."
Vance urged it on. This Sandslash was altogether too careful. All that explaining of his had gone for nothing.
"Ssh-ssh—"
Now the Sandslash began to eat, without a moment's hesitation.
Put like that, poisonous or not seemed rather beside the point.
The energy cube melted the moment it went in, turning into a warm current that ran straight down into its belly, so that it felt warm all over and full inside.
All the weariness of its labours was made good.
Its strength had grown, too.
Its body felt easy.
"Ssh-ssh—"
"Here. Another one for you. Hurry up and eat it."
Seeing it finish, Vance threw over another.
The Sandslash took it, stuffed it quickly into its mouth and swallowed it down.
"Haha."
Seeing it wolf the thing down, Vance laughed too. It was probably its first taste, and for a creature that had always lived in the wild the flavour must have struck it like a blow to the tongue.
He took out a can of water as well and tossed it over, and it landed at the Sandslash's feet.
Without any explaining from Vance, the Sandslash's claws flashed, it scraped the can open and bent down to take up the water.
It happened to be thirsty as well. Water was very scarce here, and all of it guarded by Pokémon; every drink it took had to be taken on the sly, or else it had to go a long way round to somewhere further off to drink.
A moment later the Sandslash had eaten and drunk its fill, and had more strength for the work.
Shff, shff, shff—
Its digging was a good deal faster, and Zoroark did not even need to stand over it behind — it worked willingly enough.
As it dug, the Sandslash even thought that, if all it had to do was open the way for him, it was a good bargain.
It had eaten a delicious meal; it ought to give a little of its strength in return.
A while later the Sandslash stopped, turned, and told Vance that they had come to a place.
Here, it felt danger.
"Mm. Let me have a look."
Vance broke through a thin layer of sand and soil. Inside was a broad open space, with a heap of bones in it.
"Ssh-ssh—"
The Sandslash's fur stood on end. It felt danger.
The next moment an Onix appeared and let out a great roar in Vance's direction.
The sound waves drove dust and smoke towards them and blotted out their view.
"A level 41 Onix."
The Pokémon inside was an Onix — only not the Onix he was looking for.
Strength of level 41, its body tempered halfway, and not yet evolved.
For an ordinary Onix to evolve, a Metal Coat is needed.
An Onix with a Trainer is given one by that Trainer.
A wild Onix has to manage for itself. Living in the earth as it does, it works its long, solid body forward, digging as it goes and absorbing hard matter of every kind so that its body grows more solid still; besides tempering itself in the ground, it is also taking in the breath of metal.
When it reaches a certain threshold, it meets the requirement for evolution and evolves.
Which is to say that wild Onix do evolve; only the conditions for it are far harsher than for an Onix with a Trainer, and a great deal more trouble.
A level 41 Onix, to the Sandslash, was an extremely threatening and very dangerous thing.
In Vance's eyes it was nothing much.
Level 41. There was no need to bring out Gyarados and the others; leave it to Zoroark and it could be handled.
As for himself, that went without saying.
"Rooar—"
With someone invading its territory, the Onix was naturally not going to be polite. It gave a violent roar, and the deafening sound filled the space, shaking it until it grew unstable and sand and soil came drifting down.
"Zoroark, this one's yours."
A level 33 Zoroark against a level 41 Onix, and on the other side's home ground, looked like a stretch — but then, it was not impossible.
For Zoroark, it should be said, was no ordinary Pokémon.
Hearing Vance's order, Zoroark did not hesitate, and was the first to strike.
A level 41 Onix, eight levels above it, did not frighten it, and neither did the fact that the ground was ground the other knew well.
Never mind winning; even if it could not win, it was not frightened in the least, because behind it stood its Trainer and a number of powerful companions. They were where its confidence came from, and it could meet a fight and answer it at its ease.
That is the trust between companions, and the reliance on them.
And it was what Zoroark had come to understand over all these days together since joining the team.