Pokemon Paldea [374-375] (Patreon)

Chapter 374 – Gimmighoul Will Always Remember This Day

Perhaps because he had finally pinpointed the root of the problem, Lucas’s expression was especially serious and stern.

Gimmighoul shrank its neck a little, feeling wronged, as if it couldn’t understand why Lucas’s tone had suddenly become so strict.

It had only been acting according to the instincts of its kind—working very hard to collect coins and moving step by step toward that hazy, perhaps-unreachable goal.

Behind Lucas, Raifort and Ryme exchanged a glance and unconsciously showed thoughtful expressions.

So that’s how it is?

Judging from the outcome, Gimmighoul had indeed stolen quite a few valuable items from the teachers and students of Naranja Academy. It had even swiped the important gold ring belonging to the beautiful nurse Miriam from the infirmary. That was an unchangeable fact.

But if Gimmighoul didn’t even understand that directly taking other people’s belongings counted as stealing, then the situation became subtle.

At the very least, they couldn’t expect a wild Pokémon to share the same morals and values as humans. Casually picking up items humans had left lying around, apparently not wanting them anymore was almost completely ordinary behavior for many wild Pokémon.

Out in the wild, there were even Pokémon that specialized in ambushing passing Trainers, snatching their backpacks, rummaging through their supplies, and taking what they wanted.

Taking that into account, what Lucas was doing now was teaching Gimmighoul what could be done and what couldn’t.

Precisely because it was hard to define whether punishment was needed, and if so, how far it should go, the importance of education was highlighted here.

Seeing Gimmighoul’s aggrieved and frightened little face, Lucas’s expression softened somewhat. He took Gimmighoul from Comfey’s vine whip and said gently:

“Return all these things to their original owners, and then give them a sincere apology. Can you do that?”

This time Gimmighoul didn’t try to run away. It let out a somewhat muffled “ding-ding” cry, clearly still struggling to understand what, exactly, it had done wrong.

Seeing it so depressed, Lucas could only feel helpless.

In truth, the world didn’t have any unified standard for handling theft cases like this committed by wild Pokémon.

Some particularly excessive cases, where the Pokémon showed no signs of changing, might be sent to special League-run rehabilitation and behavioral correction facilities—but those were rare.

In Lucas’s eyes, Gimmighoul still had plenty of room to improve. Things didn’t need to escalate to that point.

With that thought, Lucas crouched down slightly, set Gimmighoul on the ground, and said:

“Go find your coins. As for the other items, I’ll have Ms. Ryme get in touch with their owners.”

Gimmighoul looked left and right, glanced fearfully at Ryme and the Houndstone beside her, and at the shadow at Raifort’s feet. Under Lucas’s encouragement, it walked toward the pile of loot and started rummaging for its own coins.

Ryme could only shrug helplessly; she had no objections to Lucas’s request.

After all, this made it easier for her to report back to Haceri.

Raifort’s gaze moved back and forth between Lucas and Gimmighoul, who was busily searching for its own coin. She said with conviction:

“You got designs on its body, huh?”

Lucas: “Don’t put it so crudely.”

“Then you do have designs on its body. Otherwise, there’d be no need to play the good guy and come up with a way to downplay its crimes and smooth everything over.”

Raifort was very sure of her reasoning.

Lucas gave her a helpless look and dismissed her with, “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

Just then, Gimmighoul found its most important coin. Hugging it to its chest, it let out an excited, chiming cry.

Perhaps because more and more students were gathering nearby, once Gimmighoul had its coin, it grew timid and scampered to Lucas’s feet, desperately trying to crawl into his shoe to hide.

There was no way Lucas would let it crawl into his shoe. He carefully picked it up and tucked it into the unexpectedly well-sized pocket of his dress shirt.

Gimmighoul was immediately surrounded by a sense of safety and snuggled even closer to Lucas’s chest.

If it were an ordinary person doing what Lucas was doing, there was no way Gimmighoul would have let down its guard so quickly.

Maybe it was because of their meeting at the Watchtower in Asado Desert. The favorable impression planted back then had grown into trust, enough that this timid little thing was willing to take the first step and accept Lucas’s help.

—

After lunch.

While teachers and students were all on their lunch break, a long line had formed outside Lucas’s office.

These were people who had reported lost items to the Academy. After Ryme submitted her report, Clavell had arranged for them to come here to claim their belongings.

The reason the pickup location was Lucas’s office was mainly because many of the items were personal possessions, some of them quite private.

When the door closed with a soft sound, the two people who entered were Dendra, whom Lucas had just seen that morning, and Miriam, the owner of the gold ring.

Lucas took a small box from the categorized stack that Ryme had already arranged and handed it to Miriam, whose face lit up with surprise at the return of her lost treasure.

“Check and see if it’s the right thing.”

Miriam nodded lightly, lips pressed together, and carefully opened the box Lucas had given her.

When she saw the exquisitely crafted gold ring lying quietly inside, tears slid down the corners of her eyes. She clenched the precious item in both hands and burst into tears of joy in Dendra’s arms.

After a while, once Miriam’s emotions had stabilized, she gave Lucas a faint, gentle smile. Her sweet voice was filled with gratitude.

“Thank you for helping me get my ring back, Teacher Lucas.”

Dendra, meanwhile, unobtrusively wiped away Miriam’s tears with a tissue and looked at Lucas like he was some kind of deity.

She had told Lucas the basic details only two hours ago, and in less than two hours he had caught the real culprit and recovered all the stolen items.

So this was a Champion-level Trainer?

That was way too cool!

“It’s nothing. As long as the items end up back where they belong, that’s all that matters.”

Lucas smiled at Miriam, then flicked Gimmighoul—who had already received quite a number of visitors and was so tired it was about to fall asleep—on the head and said:

“Time to get up and apologize.”

Gimmighoul jolted, hurriedly scrambling to stand, hugged its beloved coin, and bowed deeply to Miriam, chiming out an apology.

“Ding ding!” (Gomen nasai desu!)

No one looking at this little guy, with its almost artisan spirit, would imagine that when it evolved, it would turn into a coin-flinging capitalist Pokémon.

Miriam’s cheeks flushed slightly at the sight of this cute little figure bowing and apologizing so earnestly. She waved her hands.

“I accept your apology.”

Dendra grinned broadly and teased, “Just don’t do it again in the future.”

Just like the previous owners who had come in, after receiving Gimmighoul’s sincere apology, they chose to forgive it and give it another chance to mend its ways.

Once they left, the next owner entered the office.

It wasn’t until two in the afternoon that the line outside the office finally disappeared, and only one slightly larger box remained on Lucas’s desk.

Unlike the other boxes, which contained simple gold trinkets or similar-looking items, this one held genuine, old Paldean coins—exactly what Gimmighoul needed.

And their owner was Raifort.

All the formalities were done. Lucas looked at Raifort, who sat smiling in front of him, box in hand, apology from Gimmighoul already received, yet clearly with no intention of leaving. His eyes showed a trace of helplessness.

“You still need something?”

Raifort deliberately retorted, “Can’t I stay if I don’t need anything?”

“I’m heading back. If there’s nothing else, you should go.”

Lucas stood, clearly trying to usher her out.

Raifort dropped the playful attitude at once. Her smile reined in, she pushed the box forward, the coins inside clinking together with her movement.

“Name your price.”

Lucas’s gaze first fell on the box, then on Gimmighoul, who, after this lesson, was now choosing to keep its eyes squeezed shut, refusing to be tempted by outside lures.

After a moment’s thought, he took out his phone. “Hold on, I’ll check the market price.”

Raifort: “…”

Watching Lucas seriously tapping on his phone, Raifort’s brain nearly crashed.

Seriously? You’re really looking it up on the spot?

Aren’t you afraid I’ll jack up the price the second you expose yourself as a newbie?

Lucas paid no attention to Raifort’s speechless expression. He typed a message carefully and sent it to Oranguru at the farm.

He really couldn’t be bothered to struggle with something as tedious as checking market prices himself. Instead of fussing around forever and still not deciding, it was better to leave it to a professional.

Once the message was sent, Oranguru replied quickly.

Lucas glanced at the number it gave and raised an eyebrow. He said directly:

“Fifty thousand League coins per piece.”

Raifort, who had been debating how high she could go without overdoing it: “…”

How did he nail my exact psychological price point that fast?

She suddenly felt that she understood Lucas less and less. Closing her eyes as if thinking hard, she ran some numbers internally.

There were twenty-five ancient Paldean coins in the box, spoils from the last tomb she looted before. She’d never gotten around to laundering them.

At fifty thousand League coins apiece, twenty-five coins came to 1.25 million. Even as antiques, that was a steep price.

However, the reason old Paldean coins fetched such a high price was their extreme rarity.

They only existed as funerary items in certain ancient ruins and tombs, like the one she and Lucas had just visited. Getting them out cleanly was extremely difficult.

How had Lucas nailed the value in such a short time?

Or was he just putting on an act?

Raifort swallowed down the counteroffer that had risen to her lips. After looking Lucas and Gimmighoul over once more, she smiled and said breezily:

“Deal. Big spender!”

Lucas paused, his expression turning a little odd.

“I thought you’d try to haggle.”

“Close enough is fine. It’s not like I’m some greedy person—plus, the client this time is you, a familiar face.” Raifort waved her hand carelessly, then picked up the pen on Lucas’s desk and wrote down a string of numbers, passing it to him. “Transfer the money to this account.”

“Alright.”

Lucas accepted the slip and nodded lightly. Even though he had just blown a huge amount of money in one go, he didn’t even frown.

On her way out, Raifort pointed at Gimmighoul, who had used up so much courage and energy that it had fallen asleep hugging its coin.

“You really plan to follow the legends, collect ancient Paldean coins, and try to evolve it?”

Raifort couldn’t understand it. At present, the research community still had no solid answer on how Gimmighoul evolved. Maybe its coin-collecting was just a quirk that had nothing to do with evolution at all.

Yet Lucas had spent so much to buy the coins, and because some of the treasures in Gimmighoul’s hoard were reported missing property, he’d had to compensate the registered owners at equal or higher value.

Was all of that really worth it?

To Raifort, who always calculated from the perspective of profit, it made no sense.

“That’s the plan for now.”

Lucas didn’t deny it. Having finally met a Gimmighoul that quite suited him, he truly did want to raise it into a Gholdengo.

As for the money spent on ancient coins… the farm’s current income streams could support him, so long as he didn’t go too crazy. And according to the Pokédex, Gholdengo was literally a Pokémon that throws money around.

Besides, this little guy really did have a connection with him.

They’d first met at the Watchtower in Asado Desert, and yet he’d encountered it again here at Naranja Academy. Lucas felt that since fate had brought them together, he had to cherish the chance.

After Raifort left, Lucas had Oranguru, in its role as butler, help him transfer the payment to her account. Then he poked the little figure that was sleeping soundly.

The drowsy bubble popped, and Gimmighoul showed a tiny flash of temper—really just a tiny bit.

It puffed out its cheeks and opened its eyes angrily to see who had disturbed its dream, only to discover the twenty-five gleaming old Paldean coins piled up in front of it.

In an instant, Gimmighoul’s eyes lit up. It instinctively wanted to rush forward and haul the coins away, to hide them all somewhere it considered absolutely safe.

But just then, the memories from earlier came flooding back.

Gimmighoul’s movement froze halfway through. It silently suppressed its itching little hands and turned its head away, refusing to look at the glittering gold.

Gimmighoul: (〃＞＿＜;〃) Must…resist…!

“What are you doing? They’re all yours now.”

Lucas’s voice suddenly sounded overhead.

“Ding?”

Gimmighoul blinked, looking up at him in confusion.

Lucas pushed the twenty-five ancient Paldean coins closer and smiled.

“Want to come with me? From now on, no more wandering around and taking other people’s things.”

“From now on, we’ll collect coins together. When we’ve gathered 999 of them, you’ll be able to evolve.”

Gimmighoul stared blankly up at him. It wasn’t clear whether it was the indoor lighting that was too bright or its emotions that were too intense—

But it felt a dampness at the corners of its eyes. An unprecedented emotion surged through its heart, making its chiming cry tremble.

“Ding-Ding!”

It gently set down the coin that had accompanied it through so many hardships, then scampered across the desk on its short little legs and wrapped its arms around Lucas’s hand.

Feeling the warmth in his palm, Gimmighoul rubbed its face against it again and again, little bubbles of joy floating constantly from its head.

Gimmighoul thought that it would probably remember this day forever.

This was the day it met a soft-hearted Trainer who brought a new home to a little wanderer that had no place to belong. The day someone corrected its mistakes and promised to help it collect 999 ancient Paldean coins so it could become the Gholdengo every Gimmighoul dreamed of being.

It truly was very lucky.

Chapter 375 – Gogoat and Reclaiming New Fields!

Four o’clock in the afternoon.

Lucas returned to the farm on time and introduced Gimmighoul, the new member, to Calyrex and Oranguru, who were having tea in the house.

After listening to Gimmighoul’s story, Calyrex set down its teacup and praised:

“The fact that you can recognize and correct your mistakes is already very good.”

In Calyrex’s view, everyone made mistakes—even it, a former king who could faintly glimpse the future and was now a farmer.

Gimmighoul’s mistake was nothing unforgivable.

“Ding~”

Standing on the table, hearing Calyrex’s telepathy, Gimmighoul hid behind Lucas’s hand, nervous. Even though Calyrex’s aura was gentle, its keen senses could feel the terrifying power contained within that small body.

Aside from Lucas, Gimmighoul still wasn’t very good at dealing with other people or Pokémon.

Lucas threw Calyrex a helpless look. Calyrex didn’t mind, only shook its head and asked Oranguru in curiosity:

“Lucas asked you to make a new treasure chest for Gimmighoul to live in. You can do carpentry?”

Oranguru nodded modestly. “I studied a little during my spare time at butler academy.”

Calyrex looked at Oranguru in pleasant surprise, its voice full of appreciation.

“If I’d had such an allaround butler as you back then, life would have been much more interesting.”

Hearing the exchange between the two Pokémon, Lucas smiled, took a sip of his iced milk tea, and let the smooth, cold liquid slide down his throat, washing away the summer heat.

“Perfect.”

He sighed contentedly, then used his thumb to rub Gimmighoul’s little head.

“You don’t like daylight, right? Until Oranguru finishes making your new treasure chest, you can stay in the box Raifort used to store the old coins.”

Gimmighoul nodded frantically like a pecking chick. Even if Calyrex meant no harm, just being near it made Gimmighoul feel like its heart was going to leap out of its chest.

If possible, it wanted to hide in its house right now.

Unfortunately, its original treasure chest was long gone.

Seeing how downcast it was, Lucas didn’t know how to comfort it. All he could do was wait until Oranguru finished the new chest.

After all, the Gimmighoul species’ habit was to put the ancient Paldean coins they collected back into their treasure chests—but according to Gimmighoul, its chest had been lost in Asado Desert and was probably destroyed by now.

A short while later.

Lucas placed the box on the middle shelf of a cabinet. Above it were the new plates and cups he’d bought after Alcremie started systematically studying dessert-making. The patterns and styles were all different, chosen completely according to Alcremie’s mood and the type of dessert it was serving that day.

Before leaving, Lucas reminded Gimmighoul:

“Don’t knock over those plates and cups. If you make Alcremie mad, I might not be able to hold her back. You don’t want to eat a Dazzling Gleam from her, do you?”

As he spoke, Lucas couldn’t help remembering the miserable scene from not long ago, when Arcanine had knocked over a brand new set of dishes he’d just brought home.

The floor had been covered in sharp shards, which hadn’t been enough to get through Arcanine’s thick skin—but Alcremie’s furious Dazzling Gleam had nearly blinded the poor dog. Its fur, tough enough to withstand time in magma, had been singed into tangles.

After that, once it had cried its heart out in Moltres’s arms, Arcanine started going the long way around whenever it saw Alcremie.

Taking Lucas’s words very seriously, Gimmighoul poked its head out of the box, nodded nervously, then shrank back in and lay down properly on its bed of twentysix old Paldean coins—its millioncoin mattress—and drifted off to sleep, determined to stay still.

Once Gimmighoul was settled, Lucas headed for the farming area with Calyrex, who had been waiting for some time.

Oranguru, meanwhile, went out to look for suitable materials for the new treasure chest.

The bright sunlight outside woke up Cosmog, perched among the flowers on Calyrex’s great crown. As they passed the chicken coop on the edge of the fields, they saw not only a flock of growing chicks in the pen outside, but also Arboliva’s ever-larger form, standing quietly in the sun and casting a protective shade over them.

In the shadow cast by Arboliva’s body, alongside the chicks, Victini was also there.

Now freed, it could appear anywhere on the farm at any time, so Lucas wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Cosmog, on the other hand, called out happily and floated off Calyrex’s head into the pen, looking for its little friend to play with.

Unfortunately, Victini, sound asleep, didn’t wake no matter how Cosmog called.

Instead, the motionless Arboliva moved its branch-like arms and gently stroked Cosmog’s head with its leaves, letting out a kindly cry.

“Arboli?” (Child, do you want to sleep a bit too?)

It had to be said, there seemed to be real magic in Arboliva’s motherly tone. Cosmog had just woken up, but suddenly it felt drowsy again.

Yawning, Cosmog floated down beside the sleeping Victini. Before long, it too was sleeping like a baby.

The sight made both Lucas and Calyrex feel amused and a little helpless.

Lucas lifted the camera hanging around his neck and took a picture of them.

With a click, Arboliva—shielding its two children from the blazing sun—was captured in that serene moment.

Incidentally, although this camera model was the same as his previous one, the original had been sent via an ultralongdistance transmission to the traveling Delibird in Johto.

Delibird seemed to be near Goldenrod City now, and word from Kanto said that the saplings of the Gold–Silver Berries were almost ready. Once he collected them at Indigo Plateau, he planned to swing by Goldenrod to surprise Delibird.

After taking the photo, Lucas gave Arboliva a trusting look and said quietly:

“I’ll leave them with you.”

Arboliva nodded gently, not making a sound, so as not to wake the two cute little ones.

Last time Lucas had watched Arboliva train the Rookidee and Corviknight flock, its blisteringly fast Seed Bombs had even impressed Calyrex.

So Calyrex trusted Arboliva completely and believed it could take good care of Cosmog, who spent at least twenty-three of every twenty-four hours asleep.

On the way to the fields, thinking of Arboliva led Lucas to think of the Corviknight flock patrolling the skies above the farm. Calyrex asked curiously:

“The Tinkatink, indispensable for reforging the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield—will they really attack Corviknight?”

Lucas thought for a moment before answering.

“To be precise, they’ll attack any Pokémon with a steel body. Pokemon like Kingambit, Copperajah, Magnezone, Bronzong, Revavroom, Orthworm—they’re all targets.”

“It’s just that the story of them using their hammers to knock stones into the sky and shoot down Corviknight is so famous that Corviknight became the poster child.”

“Of course, if you let the Tinkaton choose, they’d probably still prioritize Corviknight.”

Calyrex nodded in understanding and added:

“In my time, Corviknight feathers were a very important resource. Craftsmen even mixed refined Corviknight feathers into the metal when forging swords and shields.”

“Needed for repairs as well?” Lucas asked, thinking.

“A small amount.” Calyrex nodded. “But what’s more important is having a skilled artisan. Only one is enough, as long as their talent is good.”

“Repairing is not as demanding as building from scratch. It doesn’t require many craftsmen working together—only an excellent artisan, patient and persistent.”

“I see.”

Lucas took Calyrex’s words to heart and made a mental note to keep an eye out for a particularly gifted Tinkatink later, so he could lure them to the farm and train a true master smith.

When Lucas and Calyrex reached the limited plots of cultivated land, the Pokémon were already waiting.

The grass-type squad able to team up for a composite Grassy Terrain—three Eldegoss, Comfey, plus two young Skiddo who were there to observe and learn—had gathered. Serperior, who couldn’t manage Grassy Terrain even with Tapu Bulu’s expert tutoring, was also there.

The only two ground-types, Mudsdale—who was getting more and more like its master with every use of High Horsepower and was on track to create pitch-black super-soil one day—and Swampert, its helper, were on site as well.

When they saw Lucas and Calyrex, the Pokémon all called out in welcome.

Lucas greeted them with a smile, while Calyrex’s gaze fell on Serperior’s intense stare.

It knew that as a fellow grass-type, Serperior was feeling pressured by the difference in their strength.

Thinking of something, Calyrex smiled and sent Serperior a mental message, inviting it to join its sparring session with Luxray.

Possessing overwhelming power, Calyrex didn’t mind becoming a sparring partner for his friends’ Pokémon. On the contrary, it wished for nothing more than to help them grow stronger.

Serperior gave Calyrex a grateful look and slithered over to Lucas’s side, tail tip swaying.

Once everyone was gathered, Lucas looked first to Mudsdale and Swampert, then pointed at the patches of wasteland he’d already marked out.

“You two go ahead and open up the fields first!”

Mudsdale and Swampert nodded in unison. Swampert used Stomping Tantrum to crush the rocks mixed in the soil, and then Mudsdale, its hooves glowing earthyellow, used High Horsepower–like plowing to till the ground and enrich the soil.

With the combined efforts of the two Pokémon, two new plots of farmland were quickly prepared.

With Pokémon around, farming really did become much easier.

Dusty and dirt-streaked, Mudsdale and Swampert backed off. Under Lucas’s orders, Comfey led the three Eldegoss and the two Skiddo, who were working hard at using Grassy Terrain, to apply their composite Grassy Terrain to nourish the fields and enhance the nutrients in the soil, so they could grow high-quality crops.

“I can feel a very dense life force. So this is the technique taught by that land guardian, Tapu Bulu? Quite impressive!”

Watching from the side, Calyrex spoke approvingly of the composite Grassy Terrain’s effect and craftsmanship.

The fact that it did not simply display its power and bless the fields directly showed that, even with the King of Bountiful Harvests present, Lucas did not intend for Comfey and the Eldegoss to be made obsolete.

The place where Calyrex’s power was needed was not here.

But as it observed the grass-types carefully, Calyrex suddenly noticed something and fixed its gaze on the two Skiddo striving in the lush green field to merge their own Grassy Terrain into the composite one.

If it wasn’t mistaken—

Originally not intending to intervene, Calyrex sent a mental wave to Lucas, who was staring at them intently.

“If I am not mistaken, they’re only one step away from evolution. Do you need my help?”

Lucas froze for a moment and looked over.

“Baa-aa!”

The two Skiddo were shaking their leaflike manes with all their might, hoping to channel their internal grass energy more effectively.

They spent their days peacefully eating grass, but at dawn, when they provided their milk, they wanted to do more for the farm and home that sheltered them.

They wanted to master the essentials of composite Grassy Terrain so they could help relieve the burden on the Sawsbuck brothers and sisters who maintained the pastures.

Seeing them work so hard, what reason did Lucas have to refuse Calyrex?

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Calyrex nodded and floated toward the center of the two nourished plots.

Serperior’s tail tip swayed; its eyes never left Calyrex for a second.

Whether it was Calyrex’s way of using grass energy or anything else, Serperior wanted to learn it all.

Hovering over the middle of the fields, Calyrex closed its eyes and began to circulate the power of bountiful harvest. A vast yet gentle wave spread out from it.

It was a ripple of pure, life-filled grass-type energy. Even someone at Serperior’s level felt its own already-vigorous life force grow stronger.

Comfey and the others suddenly felt a light breeze brush their cheeks, and the grass-type power in their bodies seemed to be sublimated, growing more active and full of life.

They could sense someone was blessing them.

Even as a fairy-type, Comfey, who was deeply connected to plants, clearly felt its life force steadily and firmly rising.

This power could only be…

At the edge of the field, the two Skiddo felt it even more strongly.

Most of that power surged into their bodies, like a key unlocking the energy they had accumulated over the past few months, triggering a leap in their very life-level.

Hum—

With a faint buzz, the two Skiddo froze, and a bright, milky-white glow wrapped around them. Evolution had begun!

Under the shroud of evolution light, their bodies grew bigger and taller. The horns on their heads lengthened, curling into long, curved goat horns.

In an instant, it was like they’d grown up. Their once-innocent eyes turned more determined, and the patch of grass on their backs grew lusher and richer in color, with more layers.

A moment later, the light of evolution faded.

Two transformed Gogoat appeared before Lucas and the other Pokémon. Whether it was due to Calyrex’s influence or not, each was nearly two meters tall, significantly larger than their kin, and the surging life force radiating from them made it hard to believe they were freshly evolved.

Even Milo of Galar’s Turffield Gym, and the famed Gogoat King of his ranch, would only be about at this level!