Pokemon Paldea [392-393] (Patreon)

Chapter 392: A Cure for Fire Sac Inflammation — Gathering Tera Energy!

Penny was a trainer who specialized in Eevee. Each of her Eevee had a different personality and chose a different evolution path.

Among them, this Flareon not only loved to battle, but the power and temperature of its Fire-type moves had left a deep impression on Lucas.

One could say that, aside from the Sylveon that had accompanied Penny the longest, this Flareon was the strongest and most belligerent member of Penny's Eevee squad.

Its scorching flames were so fierce that even Arven's Cloyster and Nemona's Pawmot had to avoid clashing head-on.

The signs had appeared early, but no one expected such a dire outcome.

Penny felt as if the sky had collapsed. Dazed, she turned to Nurse Joy for help, hoping for an optimistic answer.

But Nurse Joy averted her gaze and calmly explained to Penny, "In this situation, the best solution is to surgically remove the sac."

"Fire sac inflammation is one of the autoimmune diseases. With current technology, it's nearly impossible to alleviate the symptoms; however, removing the lesion at least prevents easy relapse."

"It's a bit of a pity that it wouldn't be able to battle afterward, but for Flareon's sake, my recommendation is surgery."

Signaling with her eyes for Chansey to wheel Flareon into the ER to begin emergency care, Nurse Joy stepped forward and patted Penny on the shoulder. "It's your Pokémon. The decision is yours to make."

Then Nurse Joy turned to Lucas. "I need to use a bit of solution to stabilize Flareon's condition. Could you help me prepare it?"

"Of course."

Lucas nodded lightly and immediately called the farm, asking Oranguru to hurry and send a medicinal solution made from the Herba Mystica: Sour Flavor.

His student's Pokémon was ill; he naturally wouldn't stand by. There were three portions of the sour Herba-based solution left at the farm, and using one to stabilize Flareon would be ideal.

"Leave it to me next. I'll stabilize Flareon's condition."

Leaving these words behind, Nurse Joy hurried into the emergency room.

As the red light above the ER switched on, Penny fell silent for a moment. She forced herself to pull out her portable computer and began leveraging her skills to search for successful treatment cases of fire sac inflammation elsewhere.

Shortly after.

By the time Lucas had rushed the solution over via Dragonite and sent it into the ER, Penny—who had found nothing—approached Lucas with her Eevee surround already out of their Poké Balls and hovering protectively around her.

By nature, Penny was a homebody who disliked relying on others and preferred to solve everything on her own.

But when she couldn't think of a viable solution, she would turn to those she trusted.

In truth, Penny didn't mind removing the fire sac if it would preserve Flareon's life and reduce its pain.

Her persistent worry, her drive to find a way to save Flareon without removing the fire sac, stemmed from one thing: she didn't want her battle-loving Flareon to suffer because it could no longer fight!

She didn't want to lose Flareon, but she also couldn't bear to see it in pain.

Penny looked to Lucas, her eyes pleading. "Teacher, what about the King of Bountiful Harvests—could it heal Flareon?"

"…"

Lucas was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

He had thought of Calyrex first and had already explained the essence of the disease to it in detail.

Dragonite brought back the solution—and Calyrex's answer.

"No. Calyrex excels at healing minds. As for moves like Life Dew or Heal Pulse, those in essence treat injuries and restore stamina; diseases originating within the Pokémon's own body cannot be cured that way."

"Calyrex can instantly restore dozens or even hundreds of severely injured Pokémon from battle to perfect condition, but when it comes to disease, it's very difficult."

Penny's expression visibly fell. Sylveon, beside her, glanced worriedly at the red-lit ER door, then wrapped its ribbon-like feelers around Penny's wrist, hoping to ease her sorrow.

At that moment, Lucas's tone shifted.

"But as luck would have it, I happen to have a way to treat this illness."

Penny's head snapped up. She looked at Lucas with hope in her eyes, her voice trembling slightly.

"Really?"

"Really."

Lucas smiled and pointed at the ER.

"Remember the solution I just sent in? It's made by mixing plants and herbs called Herba Mystica, fermented within Shuckle's shell. Its fatigue recovery effect is remarkable."

"While it can't directly improve Flareon's injuries, it can give Flareon some breathing room."

Penny listened intently. At this point, a spark flashed in her mind and she pressed urgently, "Is the treatment related to that solution—or rather, to Herba Mystica?"

"Exactly."

Lucas snapped his fingers and briefly explained the existence and effects of the five flavors of Herba Mystica.

He emphasized the effect of the Bitter Herba.

"If my information is correct, the Bitter Herba can greatly boost the user's immune system, allowing Flareon, under enhanced immunity, to try training its flame control."

"With a two-pronged approach like this, Flareon might recover without removing the fire sac."

Penny's eyes lit up. The joy of a drowning person being saved, of surviving a calamity, filled her chest.

The Eevee around her also let out delighted cries.

"Don't celebrate too soon."

Lucas quickly cautioned.

He reasoned that since fire sac inflammation is a Fire-type-specific autoimmune disease for some Pokémon, using a tonic-like Bitter Herba to enhance immunity, then training Flareon's flame control—and, if possible, promoting a secondary development of the fire sac through other means—might indeed offer a chance at full recovery.

Of course, he was at best a novice, not even a half-baked medic. Whether the treatment plan was feasible would have to wait until Nurse Joy finished the emergency care for proper discussion.

Not to mention, the Herba Mystica at his farm was still a good distance from maturity.

"The Herba Mystica isn't mature yet. If we want to save Flareon, we need to find a way to mature the Herba first."

Lucas laid the hurdle plainly before Penny.

To treat Flareon, they needed a mature Bitter Herba.

Penny hesitated. "Not even the King of Bountiful Harvests can hasten the Herba's growth?"

In legends and in Penny's impression from the Crown Tundra, Calyrex could mature crops from seeds to full growth in seconds.

Was the Herba Mystica too special for Calyrex to ripen?

Lucas nodded, then shook his head. "It can be hastened, but we're missing a key ingredient—massive amounts of Tera energy."

According to Calyrex, it could infuse large amounts of life force to hasten the Herba's growth, but the herbs' effects would likely fall short of their peak.

To treat Flareon's fire sac inflammation, they should strive to ripen perfect Bitter Herba.

But aside from the Tera crystals that appeared randomly across Paldea, methods to gather Tera energy were scarce.

Generally speaking, one could buy Tera Shards and extract the small amount of Tera energy within them.

The Paldea League used the same method to recharge Tera Orbs.

Previously, Lucas and Calyrex did the math.

To ripen a single Herba using the energy inside Tera Shards, they'd need at least five hundred shards.

The common-type Tera Shards Lucas had purchased before were about 3,000 League credits each. Five hundred shards would be 1.5 million credits.

To hasten all the Herba at the farm using shards would cost an astronomical sum.

There was Area Zero, seemingly the source of Tera phenomena—perhaps the Third Legendary that Lucas hadn't had time to learn about was hidden somewhere in Area Zero. If he could meet it, Tera energy might no longer be a concern.

Lucas explained the situation to Penny and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll contact the chairman to help me quickly source enough shards. Ripening one Bitter Herba to stabilize Flareon's condition won't be a problem."

Hearing this, Penny shook her head firmly. "I couldn't, in good conscience, let you use such precious herbs and solutions, not to mention spend money to buy shards."

"Flareon is my Pokémon. It's my responsibility and duty to save it. Please leave the purchasing and funding to me."

With hope before her, Penny's gaze hardened with resolve.

If the price climbed higher, she would consider asking her foolish dad and uncle for help—or temporarily hacking the LP system Paldea was building, at some risk.

Fortunately, over the past few years she'd occasionally taken company contracts—building firewalls, writing or cracking programs—and had some savings. Buying a few thousand shards shouldn't be a big problem.

As for channels, she could ask Uncle Rose to leverage Macro Cosmos's connections to find sellers. If Macro Cosmos had no channel, she could ask Nemona—her family's company was formidable in Paldea as well.

With that, Penny bowed deeply to Lucas, then dashed off with her army of Eevee to contact her uncle.

Watching the stubborn girl's retreating figure, Lucas shook his head helplessly, but didn't stop her.

True—if he didn't let Penny do her part to save Flareon at a time like this, she would only feel more anxious.

…

About two hours later, the ER light finally turned green.

A tired Nurse Joy and Chansey emerged from the ER, removed their masks, and smiled gently at Lucas and Penny. "Flareon's condition is stable for now. I handled its fire sac during the emergency. It should hold for a while."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy!"

Penny bowed respectfully to Nurse Joy.

"And you too, Chansey!"

"This is my duty," Joy waved, then asked, "Have you made your decision about removing the fire sac?"

Lucas and Penny exchanged a glance, then explained their newly formed plan and awaited the professional's verdict.

After listening, Nurse Joy propped her chin thoughtfully, weighing feasibility.

Before meeting Lucas and personally experiencing the Sour Herba's efficacy, she might not have believed in such extraordinary plants.

But now, she felt she could trust his proposal.

She spoke after a while.

"If the Bitter Herba truly does what Mr. Lucas says—greatly enhancing immunity—then I think this plan is viable. We just need to mind some details and make the protocol more rigorous."

"Leave that part to me. As for preparing the Bitter Herba, I'll trust you two, all right?"

"There won't be time to brew a solution. Once we obtain the Herba, I'll combine it with other herbs and grind it directly into a medicinal paste!"

"No problem. Leave it to me. Please look after Flareon during this period."

Penny replied quickly, then, after a brief farewell to Lucas and Nurse Joy, ran out of the Pokémon Center.

Rose had introduced an acquaintance; now she needed to purchase as many Tera Shards as possible and deliver them to Lucas so treatment could begin soon.

After Penny left, Lucas followed Nurse Joy to the ER observation window and glanced at Flareon.

Flareon was now covered in various leads and lines he couldn't decipher. The ECG was running steadily.

Remembering he still had classes that afternoon, Lucas sighed and called his students one by one to inform them that Penny's Flareon was ill and class would be postponed.

This afternoon would be very busy.

Before Penny returned, Lucas temporarily left the Pokémon Center and went back to the farm.

He needed to discuss with Calyrex how to let plants take in Tera energy without crystallizing.

When Lucas arrived home, Calyrex and Oranguru were fiddling with the black sphere Mewtwo had made, using telekinesis to hold up a spread of photos and leafing through them together with Luxray and the others.

Luxray stood first to greet Lucas; Dragonite, who had come in with Lucas, curiously floated over to take a closer look.

"Bwooo!" (These are photos Delibird sent back!)

After a bit of cat-petting to relax, Lucas went over to the hovering photos to take a careful look.

On the way back to the farm, Dragonite had briefly landed in Goldenrod City to drop off Delibird so it could continue its Johto region travels.

The photos Delibird sent back were of it sampling various foods at Goldenrod's Department Store and of the city's famous Radio Tower.

…

Chapter 393: Terapagos and Area Zero

"There's even a photo with the famous broadcaster, Dj Mary."

Lucas plucked a photo from the center and studied it.

It showed Delibird and a pink-haired woman with round glasses standing beneath the Radio Tower.

Lucas had wondered how Delibird managed to snag a photo with Dj Mary, a celebrity-level broadcaster in Goldenrod.

But the answer was in the next photo.

The second image still featured the Radio Tower, Delibird, and Dj Mary—but this time with an elderly man in a white lab coat, hair gone silver, yet bright-eyed and full of vigor.

Professor Oak of Pallet Town.

Lucas recalled that Kanto and Johto often aired Pokémon lectures co-hosted by Professor Oak and Dj Mary, intended to help more people learn about Pokémon traits and encourage new trainers.
Looks like Delibird used Professor Oak's connection. Spending time around Mewtwo had made even Delibird sharper.

The sudden heaviness in his mood eased. He put the photos away, a faint smile on his lips, and sat down.

Oranguru stood to brew Lucas some tea. To keep its skills sharp, it preferred using its hands over psychic power for tea.

Alcremie emerged from the kitchen carrying a beautifully crafted triangular cake, eager for Lucas to try its latest creation.

Accepting the plate from Alcremie, Lucas cut a small piece, tasted it carefully, and his eyes brightened. He gave the happy Alcremie a thumbs up.

"Delicious!"

Just those words of praise gave Alcremie immense satisfaction—the joy of having its carefully prepared dessert recognized.

Humming a little tune, Alcremie hopped off the table and happily ran back to the kitchen to portion the rest for the other Pokémon on the farm.

"Meo-ow~"

Luxray called, stretched, and sauntered toward the kitchen with graceful feline steps.

It planned to help out—on such a hot day, Alcremie would be exhausted carrying cake around alone.

Lucas waved to Luxray and watched it depart with a plate on its head. Calyrex then set down its teacup and asked, "How is your student's Pokémon doing?"

"With the Sour Herba solution and Nurse Joy's efforts, it's stabilized for now. We can't tell how long before relapse, so we need to act fast."

Lucas summarized the key points for Calyrex.

"Right now we're mainly waiting for Penny to bring back Tera Shards, so we can ripen the Bitter Herba."

Calyrex nodded. "That's the only option for the moment."

Oranguru handed Lucas the steaming teacup, set down the chipped pot, and reminisced about its past as a wild Pokémon living in the jungle.

"Perhaps it's a gift from the Creator—illness among Pokémon is rare. Even when we do get sick, it's usually simple colds or fevers. With the right herbs, we recover in a few days."

"In the jungle, I often treated visiting Pokémon, but this 'fire sac inflammation' you mentioned—I've never heard of it before."

As it spoke, Oranguru refilled Calyrex's cup.

"Much obliged." Calyrex nodded, lifted the cup, and mused, "In my era ruling Galar, humans had many kinds of diseases. Wild Pokémon on the Crown Tundra, however, rarely fell ill. Surviving those harsh wilds, they were robust."

"Excessive Fire-type talent combined with underdeveloped fire saces… an autoimmune disease born of two factors. I don't quite grasp the exact medical terms, but as Lucas said, to resolve it we likely must enhance immunity, promote secondary development of the fire sac, and raise control over Fire-type energy."

Lucas said, "To efficiently boost Flareon's immunity, we must grow healthy, fully mature Herba. As for sharing nutrients and life force, with you here, Calyrex, I'm at ease."

"The main issue is correctly using Tera energy. If we recklessly concentrate Tera energy near the plant, we might cause localized crystallization."

Calyrex set down its empty cup and exchanged a look with Oranguru. "On that point, Oranguru and I have discussed a preliminary plan. But I need to experience it firsthand to be sure."

Lucas blinked. "Experience it firsthand?"

"Tera transformation. Only by experiencing it myself can I understand this energy that exists solely in Paldea."

"So, throw the Tera Orb at me, my friend."

Calyrex showed a small smile, a hint of anticipation in its eyes.

Hearing that Calyrex would attempt Terastallization, many Pokémon on the farm came to watch.

In all their minds, the strongest on the farm now was surely Calyrex—mounted on Spectrier and Glastrier.

Even Luxray or Mega Swampert would be overwhelmed in a fight against Calyrex.

Serperior slid over to Ceruledge, who was lounging with Politoed and the others.

On the farm, Ceruledge had Terastallized the most and often battled at high intensity afterward. Its insights were valuable.

Vulpix sat on Glastrier's back—heat be damned, it wouldn't miss the show.

Spectrier disliked the clear sky and watched from the shade with Mimikyu. Arboliva temporarily entrusted the ever-growing chick to Corviknight Three Scar, and came with Cosmog and Victini to the scene.

Tropius arrived with Applin and the Shuckle siblings. Combee flew out of the glasshouse. The Eldegoss family perched in flowerpots on the balcony to watch from above.

Arcanine and Dachsbun were nowhere to be seen—probably out romping in the wild.

Lucas held the fully charged Tera Orb he'd readied upon returning to Paldea the day before. Seeing Calyrex poised and nodding at him, he didn't hesitate and precisely tossed the activated Tera Orb over Calyrex's head.

The Tera Orb traced a graceful arc, hovering above Calyrex. Brilliant starlight fell like a cascade as Calyrex closed its eyes to sense this power called Tera.

But when the Tera Orb had shed all its stored energy onto Calyrex, Terastallization still did not occur.

Instead, the depleted orb bonked the bud atop Calyrex's head and then clattered to the floor.

The onlookers erupted in surprised cries.

Luxray, who had experienced Terastallization, moved from lounging to standing. It didn't think Calyrex was at fault—sparring nightly with Calyrex, it knew full well how strong Calyrex was.

The problem lay with the Tera Orb.

Calyrex seemed unsurprised. It used telekinesis to return the spent orb to Lucas's hand, then stared down at the Tera energy it had bound in place with psychic power—like a river of stars encircling it—eyes glinting with comprehension.

Calyrex's telepathy spread.

"To put it bluntly, the energy inside the Tera Orb is insufficient to support my Terastallization."

Upon hearing this, Lucas wasn't as shocked as he might have been.

In Sword and Shield, during Dynamaxing, only Calyrex lacked the dark red aura—its aura matched the blue of its psychic power.

For a legendary Pokémon in its prime like Calyrex, perhaps it required a vast amount of Tera energy to Terastallize.

Unlike a one-time-to-obtain, lifetime-use Mega Stone or Key Stone, a Tera Orb's capacity is limited. Even with Victini recharging it, there seemed to be a cap.

To enable Calyrex to Terastallize, they would need multiple fully charged orbs thrown in succession, or they would have to go to Area Zero, where ambient Tera energy was so dense you could use the orb repeatedly without recharging.

As for an orb with infinite energy that required no charging—Lucas didn't know if such an item existed. He'd crossed over after finishing the base game's first two runs; he wasn't sure if the DLC had added anything.

Calyrex didn't mind failing to Terastallize. Its goal was to understand Tera energy, and the brief exposure sufficed.

Calyrex said to Lucas, "We can begin preparations for the test. I have an idea of how to apply Tera energy."

…

Moments later, in the farming plots.

In neat square fields, evenly spaced plants swayed gently in the breeze.

Lucas pointed to a few plants whose leaves had yellow-veined patterns. "These are Bitter Herba."

Luxray curiously stepped forward to sniff, then sneezed.

It couldn't discern any special or distinctive scent—just the same earthy smell. It had no idea how Lucas identified them.

Calyrex and Oranguru exchanged a look. Calyrex stepped forward to verify their hypothesis.

The Tera energy that had failed to make it Terastallize was still bound by Calyrex's telekinesis. After carefully distinguishing and partitioning it, Calyrex cautiously infused a preselected Bitter Herba and the soil around its roots with Tera energy.

While Calyrex worked, Oranguru succinctly explained its joint conclusion with Calyrex.

"Perhaps these special plants' root systems can absorb—and require—Tera energy. That's why only Paldea has the five Herba Mystica, why they have such wondrous effects, and why they're so rare."

Listening to Oranguru, Lucas was impressed.

As expected of a former regional monarch and a top graduate of the Pokémon Butlers' Academy—the logic was airtight.

The only pity was that, for now, it was still a hypothesis.

Lucas waited until Calyrex finished the delicate micro-control—infusing the soil for the first time while avoiding crystallization that might affect neighboring Herba. Then he asked, "Can we confirm it?"

"Confirmed. It's faint, but I can sense the Herba's roots absorbing the Tera energy I injected. Next, if we infuse nutrients to hasten growth while mixing Tera energy into the soil to promote root uptake, we should obtain Herba in peak condition."

Calyrex gave a reserved nod, clearly pleased.

Compared to subduing invaders, quelling riots among wild Pokémon, or handling natural disasters as a king, this small success yielded a uniquely satisfying sense of achievement.

A smile appeared on Lucas's face as well.

With reliable test results, they only needed to wait for Penny to deliver the shards.

Thinking of this, Lucas called Luxray—time to head back to the Pokémon Center.

Arven had messaged that he had arrived and had things to convey on behalf of Professor Sada and Professor Turo.

Seeing this, Calyrex volunteered. "I'll come with you. While I can't cure disease, I can stabilize Flareon's vital signs and improve its condition."

Lucas nodded. "Even better."

…

Los Platos, Pokémon Center.

Penny hadn't reported back yet, but Arven was already there, waiting.

Hearing that Penny's Flareon was in trouble and that large amounts of Tera energy were needed to treat this rare disease, Arven called his father and mother without hesitation.

Fortunately, luck was on Arven's side. Not only was Area Zero's signal stable today, Professor Sada and Professor Turo happened to be inside the research lab.

Hearing the situation, Sada and Turo exchanged a look and immediately thought of the "Treasure" in Area Zero!

From their research, the Treasure deep within Area Zero was very likely the source of the Tera phenomenon. While they wanted to help Lucas, their research was at a critical juncture; the Treasure could not leave the Great Crater.

If Lucas needed massive Tera energy, buying low-yield shards at high cost was inefficient—he should come to Area Zero.

The Treasure's true form was a turtle-like Pokémon that looked like a gemstone, slumbering quietly within a hard crystal formed by highly concentrated Tera energy.

Taking pieces of that crystal would yield far more Tera energy than any shard.

If Lucas hadn't cared for Arven and even saved the couple before, they would never have allowed a wild card into the near-finished Area Zero lab and the crater itself.

Sada and Turo had even given this code-named "Treasure" a name:

Terapagos.

The Tera energy it possessed was steeped in mystery and unbelievable power.