Chapter 7: Extermination

  The first frame was nearly done. Matty had decided that the best way to build his new home was to frame it out, and assemble the rest later. The frame was rather heavy, and because of this, Matty wasn’t quite sure how he would be able to lift all of them, but he didn’t have to worry about that for now.

  After he had finished training Aura to not attack his new lotad, he was able to let it out and get a good look at it. It seemed to have healed its leaf from where it had been attacked, and was watching him carefully. Looking through his guide for its entry, Matty read:

  “Lotad lives in clean, shallow water. The leaf on its head is a good gauge of its health, because if it is unhealthy, the leaf will wilt. It sometimes acts as a ferry for small Pokémon who cannot swim”

  Looking at the other attributes, Matty decided that it must be a girl. “I think I will call you Pancake. What do you think?” the small creature gave him a blank look and continued walking around.

  Checking over his compound, Matty looked satisfied at all his hard work coming together. His plants hadn't grown much in a day, but they did seem to be more robust and green. The fence seemed to be protecting the fragile sprouts well, and Pancake had started watering them and helping them to grow. Aura had grown still bigger, and had almost doubled in size compared to when he had found her. The edges of the woods were covered in a thin, almost invisible layer of webs, all leading up to one between two trees. There was a small pile of wrapped “things” under it, with some more struggling to escape wrapped in the web.

  After taking a good long look at his land, Matty decided it was time to get ready. He had agreed to meet Sarah on the edge of the Forest to search for a nest of pests for a job quest. He had decided that he was going to take Pancake and Grub, because he wanted the latter to feel included, and the former needed more combat experience. Returning them to their balls, he carefully walked over to Aura’s web. “Are you going to be ok guarding the place?” he asked.

  Looking up at Leader, Aura listened to his chirps and squaks. Recognizing the command for “protect” she jumped up and began circling him. Listening to his next commands, she tried to understand. Watching carefully, she decided that he meant to protect the home. Saluting him with two legs, she began to patrol the compound.

  Deciding that the large spider would be fine, Matty left her to guard and met up with Sarah. To his surprise, there was another person there. “Hello Matthew, my name is Samuel, but you may call me Sam.” Taken aback by the use of his full name, Matty just looked stunned. Samuel adjusted his hat and said: “Sarah tells me you are a competent trainer, so you may assist us.” Elbowing Sam in the ribs, Sarah apologised to Matty. “Sorry, he doesn’t like nicknames or shortening, but we are working on it. I’m glad you were able to come. What Pokemon did you bring?” still looking at Sam incredulously, Matty released Grub and Pancake. “Grub is still getting ready to evolve, and this new gal is called Pancake.” Looking over his team, Sam said “this is acceptable, but how are you going to carry both?” “What?” “Listen matthe-” Sarah elbowed him. “Listen,” (Sam glanced at Sarah) “Matty, Metapod can’t move much, and you should already know that Lotad is quite slow on land. Unless you have a backpack for it, I recommend keeping it in its ball.” opening his satchel, Matty produced a ball of braided spinarak thread. Sighing, they both walked over and helped him knot it into a basic backpack. While they were busy making it, Matty asked: “What even constitutes a bounty job?”

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  Sam explained: the main difference is that a regular job can be anything, such as deliveries, building, and even crafting something for someone, but bounties are a bit different. The biggest difference is who is posting it and the promised reward. The city posts bounties on certain jobs if they are becoming a problem, or directly benefit the city. The pay is a bit different too. Instead of a large set reward, they pay a reward for each task completed. We are here today to either capture or defeat a nest of harmful Pokémon in the woods.

  After finishing the backpack and setting Grub in it, Matty put it on and had Grub on his back and carried Pancake. Following the other two, he made his way into the forest. It was dark, and they had only gone a short way, before Matty asked Sam what Pokémon he had. Releasing a spinarak, Matty recognised the one that Sarah had caught earlier that week. “So what did you trade it for, Sarah?” he asked. “You know I have an Oddish, so to balance my team I traded it for a Geodude.” Sam then released another Pokémon, but Matty had not seen it before. It was a small bug. “This is my Joltik, I traded for it as well. I like its “Shocking” personality. It's quite rare in this area though.”

  Continuing to chatter away, they followed Sarah's compass and map further and further into the woods. The tall trees and tight scrub soon gave way to an unfamiliar biome. The tall trunks soon gave way to stumps and woodchips. The once dense and healthy forest gave way to what looked like the beginning of a wasteland, it only spanned about half an acre so far. It was clear it was still growing though, because the piles of woodchips and foliage were much fresher towards the edge. The middle was very strange, the dirt for some reason gave way into fine sand. Matty thought the sand looked extremely out of place in the forested biome, as even the river was mud on the bottom and a very different color. The strangest thing about it, however, was the almost circular pits

  Noticing Matty looking at the destruction, Sam said: “The Pokémon are fine in their natural environment, but here they are a danger to themselves and the rest of the forest. They have been clearing the trees and digging dust pits for a while, but it has blossomed into a real problem now that it is almost the rainy season. The sand pits these Pokemon have dug don't have the best drainage, and will fill easily and drown them, and become a hazard to others.

  Matty looked through his bag and dug out the guide. Turning to the chapter on hazards, he soon found something that looked similar but was not native to this region.

  “Trapinch digs bowl-shaped pits in arid deserts, patiently waiting for prey to stumble in. Once something falls in, there is no escape.”

  Matty walked over to the nearest pit. Ignoring his companion's complaints, he sets Pancake next to it and throws a rock in. Popping its head out, large tan jaws bite the rock in half! Slowly crawling up out of the pit, the creature set Pancake in its sights. The thing had a head larger than its body, and tiny beady eyes. Looking angry, it spat a glob of sand directly at her! Blocking the attack with her leaf, Pancake spat some seeds at the Trapinch. Sprouting, the seeds embedded themselves into it, and sent a ball of energy back to Pancake. The Trapinch leaped towards her and delivered a huge bite towards its face. Ducking the attack, pancake let it connect with her leaf, before charging a water attack and spraying it with it. Before it fainted, it called out to the rest of its pack. Matty watched as Sam caught it in a special ball and readied his Pokémon for the fight.

  The fight took a while, Oddish and Pancake taking the lead, while the Spinarak tripped up the Trapinch. They eventually won, but their Pokémon were badly damaged in the process. They returned to the office, and claimed the reward. The usually deserted office was more crowded today, and the people were surrounding a new post on the job board. Looking over, Matty saw a tall woman pushing through the crowd. Walking over to Martha, he saw her frown and walk out of the office.

  Walking over to Martha, Matty asked her who had just walked out.

  “That's the top trainer in this area, Tabitha Tarien. She was asking if the new bounty job could be for just her. A rampaging aggron is threatening the countryside and has destroyed a couple of farms.” Finishing his conversation, he notices an advertisement selling a building squad. The daily rate is cheap enough, so Matty decides to hire them.