Pokemon Paldea [400-401] (Patreon)

Chapter 400: Diary and the Forum

Meow Calendar, Day 115. Weather: Sunny.

It's been two days since the enemies invaded our homeland.

Thanks to my activity, none of the invaders dare cross the line.

Another day defending our home.

Yesterday I was busy licking my fur, so I forgot to record my life.

Why do the pooper-scooper and the other companions all treat me like a cat?
What do you mean "meow meow"?
I'm a dragon.

Luxray also said that cats licking each other's fur is extremely common.

But back in my tribe, those guys would only start fighting the moment they met—so is it lying to me?

The pooper-scooper lied to me too.

He said we've entered the rainy season lately, but there isn't even a hint of moisture in the air.

That hot object keeps hanging in the sky. The power of thunder is hard to control, and it's easy to miss.

I want to ask for rain.

It's not that I'm afraid. I just don't want to drown the trees that can bear so many delicious fruits because of my own ideas.

Last night I saw Luxray and the others going to fight that big crowned one riding a horse again.

Why do they persist in a battle they know they'll lose?

So puzzling, meow.

—Raging Bolt

Raging Bolt stared fixedly at the abstract symbols it had recorded with electricity—symbols only it could understand in that instant, and that it wouldn't recognize if left until the next day.

Its neck swayed leisurely, and its purple fur—like thunderclouds—sparked with electric light.

The next moment—

A fierce current scorched the exposed ground, instantly burning the symbols into a patch of blackened earth.

After finishing, Raging Bolt let out a slight sigh of relief.

Not long after entering the farm, it had begun training its control over electricity on this very patch of ground, hoping to reach Luxray's level.

It couldn't remember when it had started keeping a diary. After all, Raging Bolt only understood what its electro-burned patterns meant at the moment of recording.

Even if it kept them, it would forget as soon as it looked away.

Using its physical advantages and the height of the terrain, Raging Bolt gazed out over the entire farm.

This was the highest point on the farm. It was said that if you followed a winding road further ahead, you could see the wild mountains and forests beyond. Raging Bolt had never tried.

It knew its limits.

Its existence would affect many weak wild Pokémon like itself—creatures with intellect and wisdom.

To be suddenly transported through space-time to this place, to meet the pooper-scooper, to escape a painful life of eating raw flesh and constant fighting—

Raging Bolt felt grateful from the bottom of its heart.

But a happy life was like a dream bubble—easy to pop.

Not long ago, the pooper-scooper told it some good news.

In that giant crater sunk deep into the ground, the time machine that could send it back to where it once lived seemed to have made new progress.

Maybe before year's end, the time machine could be built. Once tests succeeded and performance stabilized, they could try sending it back to where it used to be.

Raging Bolt didn't want to go back.

Oranguru had once told it a story.

When a normal person stays among a group of mentally deranged madmen, the normal person is the one seen as the madman.

After staying among madmen for a long time, how could a normal person guarantee they wouldn't be assimilated—or that, without realizing it, they hadn't already gone insane?

It was an outsider that didn't belong to that time-space. Life here was good. Even the food and drink were far more delicious than anything it remembered from the past—beyond what it had expected.

Raging Bolt liked it here and didn't want to leave.

But how could it stay, when it was itself someone who only knew fighting and destruction?

That question troubled Raging Bolt for a long time. Fortunately, there was still time before that moment arrived.

It had plenty of time to think about the answer.

…

The Glass Greenhouse

Inside the gazebo built within the greenhouse, Lucas received Penny, who had come to visit.

"Black tea or flower tea—what do you want?"
Sitting in a rattan chair, Lucas smiled and asked the girl, who looked a little reserved.

Penny fell silent for a moment, then hesitated. "Can I drink milk? The hot kind."

In truth, having barely slept these past few days, she'd already downed a lot of coffee and tea to stay awake. Now that Flareon's condition had finally stabilized, she planned to report to Lucas and then return to the Pokémon Center in Los Platos Town to sleep properly.

At a time like this, compared to stimulating tea or coffee, she wanted a cup of hot milk to ease her body's discomfort.

"I thought you'd need something to wake you up." Lucas, who had been eager to show off his homemade tea leaves, looked regretful and said helplessly, "Then it'll be MooMoo Fresh Milk. Hot, right?"

Penny nodded.

Lucas snapped his fingers.

Oranguru, waiting outside the gazebo, nodded lightly and walked toward the automatic door leading out of the greenhouse.

Lucas also called out, "And make me a milk tea too—iced, thanks!"

Penny: …

So you're not doing it yourself?

Oranguru, however, was more than happy.

As an outstanding graduate of the Pokémon Butler Academy, exquisite tea-making was one of its core studies—let alone that it was part of its duties as a butler.

In the storage room above the ice cellar, Oranguru took out the MooMoo Fresh Milk that still had some left—freshly milked from the Miltank earlier today.

Just as it was about to use psychic power to retrieve tea leaves stored in a cool, dry place on the other side, it paused and looked toward another area.

Not long after—

Oranguru, using psychic power, steadily placed a cup of warm milk at just the right temperature and a cup of freshly squeezed pineapple-berry juice in front of Penny and Lucas.

"Thank you."
Penny gave Oranguru a small grateful smile, lifted the warm glass, felt the heat spread from her palm into her body, and closed her eyes to take a light sip.

In an instant, a warm current flowed through her body, giving her exhausted frame a little breathing room.

She could taste that the milk had been diluted with water.

Because she remembered clearly: undiluted MooMoo Fresh Milk had a richer texture.

Still, the flavor felt strangely familiar—as if she'd tasted it many times not long ago, somewhere.

After finishing the cup, Penny felt her body—sluggish and chilled from staying up late—finally warm up. Her smile became more genuine, and she thanked Oranguru again. "Thank you."

Diluted milk might look like cutting corners, but Penny understood.

Oranguru knew she wasn't in good condition. It worried that if she drank overly rich MooMoo milk, not only would it fail to help, it might even cause stomach pain or diarrhea—so it had diluted it on purpose, making the milk's effects less intense.

Oranguru accepted her gratitude graciously. Then it sensed a somewhat resentful gaze from the other side.

Lucas looked at the pineapple juice in his cup, then at the familiar surroundings.

He suspected Oranguru still held a grudge from when he'd praised some other Oranguru's pineapple juice as really good.

Yet Oranguru, receiving Lucas's resentful stare, said calmly, "If you keep drinking milk tea mixed from MooMoo Fresh Milk and black tea—even if you do farm work every day—the calories you burn still won't compare to what you're taking in."

"Then you'll gain weight."

Instant KO!

Lucas looked distressed and touched his abdomen. In this world he was only nineteen—he couldn't let his body go out of shape, let alone lose his abs.

He lifted the glass and took a sip of pineapple juice.

The next second—

His face nearly twisted from the sourness. He put the glass down and said gloomily, "You didn't add Combee honey, did you?"

Oranguru nodded slightly and stated the fact without mercy. "Only a little. The stock is already low."

"The Vespiquen over by the forest seems to have decided this place is her daughter Combee's territory. She's stopped sending other Combee to collect nectar here, let alone gifting honey."

After recovering, Lucas looked behind him at a familiar clearing behind the gazebo, where an apple tree grew.

On the tree hung a complete beehive.

With a sigh, Lucas continued, "A single Combee already spends ages just building a nest. Nectar collection and brewing require many Combee working together. Without supply from over there, production here is too low."

"Back and forth, and the stock's almost bottomed out."

Oranguru nodded in agreement.

Penny, listening carefully, blinked and asked in confusion, "If production isn't enough, can't you just bring back more Combee?"

Like her own situation—her first Sylveon had long since failed to satisfy her Eevee obsession.

After letting herself go, without realizing it, she was almost close to assembling a whole Eevee team.

Lucas looked at Penny's innocent proposal and shook his head. "That's impossible."

"Combee have sexes. Male Combee are usually loyal subordinates of the Vespiquen—worker bees that gather nectar and build hives."

"Female Combee are the future queen candidates. Only female Combee can evolve—like Salandit and Salazzle's evolution line."

"…But before a female Combee evolves into Vespiquen, without a Vespiquen's pheromone ability, she'll be driven away by the colony, rejected by the queen, bullied by her own kind—until she evolves and can command Combee."

"Before this Combee evolves into Vespiquen, I don't plan to introduce other Combee."

Having seen how pitiful Combee had once been, Lucas wouldn't allow the chance of Combee being bullied by its own kind.

Penny suddenly understood and exclaimed with flattery, "Teacher, you really know a lot about the habits of so many Pokémon."

"It's okay. Stay low-key."
Lucas's lips curled slightly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Oranguru.

"Then we'll have to buy a batch of Combee honey from outside first. Otherwise we can't even meet Alcremie's dessert needs."

Oranguru nodded lightly. "I'll take care of it."

With that, it left the gazebo and exited the greenhouse, leaving Lucas and Penny a private space to talk.

Neither of them noticed that, from the flowerbed outside the gazebo, a small figure quickly flew away.

…

"Big Sister Rin said that after taking the course of the secret seasoning—salty flavoring mixed with other herbs and ground into medicinal powder—Flareon's condition has improved a lot."

"Once its health is secured, we'll use spicy flavoring and herbs to make a powder that boosts metabolism, letting Flareon take in enough nutrients and begin training its control over its own Fire-type energy."

"Then we'll use bitter flavoring powder to carefully adjust immunity, and make sure the inflammation of its flame sac doesn't flare up again."

Penny reported everything she'd learned over the past few days to Lucas in detail.

Compared to the money she'd spent—money she could easily earn by taking a few programming gigs—her teacher had brought out such precious crops to help her. She had to give a full report.

Lucas, unaware of Penny's humblebrag economics, finished the last sip of the sour pineapple juice and set it down with a straight face.

"If it needs Fire-type training, come find me. Ceruledge, Arcanine, and Moltres can all help."

"Thank you, Teacher."
Penny nodded gratefully.

Sister Rin had said the same: for training Flareon's control over flames, Lucas was the best person to ask.

Ceruledge, Arcanine, Moltres—each was a master of fire… though Arcanine was a bit too straightforward. Better to ask Moltres and Ceruledge for help.

Just then, Lucas's phone in his pocket vibrated slightly. He was about to take it out, but his hand froze in midair.

He realized something.

Lucas frowned slightly and asked hesitantly, "Wait—this 'Sister Rin' you're talking about is…"

"Miss Joy from Los Platos Town's Pokémon Center."
Penny's expression was a bit strange as she answered.

"Yesterday when Nemona and the others came to visit Flareon, that classmate Shizuka also came. Sister Rin told me her name so it'd be easier to tell them apart later."

Lucas, who had been planning to ask when he had time:
Forget it. Saves me asking—otherwise it'd feel awkward.

He then took out his phone and saw a text message.

[Dear user: Cat Hero] Your bounty post on the Pokémon Forum has a new reply.

A link was attached below.

Lucas didn't click it—he knew you couldn't log into the forum on a phone.

Under Penny's puzzled look, Lucas happily pulled out the laptop set to the side. He'd bought it specifically to post on the forum.

Computer games and mobile games weren't nearly as fun as training Pokémon and commanding battles, so Lucas had never bought a computer—until he needed one.

He pressed the power button, opened the forum website, and logged into his account.

Seeing the red dot in the top-right corner, Lucas rubbed his hands together like a fly and felt a blind-box kind of anticipation.

It had been nearly a week since he posted—finally someone replied.

With Lucas's consent, Penny leaned over too, curious as she watched him open his own thread and read the title.

Cat Hero: Buying Paldean ancient gold coins for a high price; recruiting experienced ruin explorers; paying for intel and guides!

Buying Paldean ancient gold coins?

Penny didn't know why Lucas wanted them, so she didn't comment. Her gaze fell on the second requirement:

Experienced ruin explorer.

Isn't that my idiot dad?

Penny recalled how her idiot dad had spent years in the Crown Tundra on ruins that Lucas had cracked effortlessly and taken Calyrex and the others from. The "I'll provide intel and guides" line didn't feel like boasting at all.

A spark lit up in Penny's mind.

Maybe instead of letting her idiot dad wander the Crown Tundra blindly—with Sister Peonia helping—
it'd be better to trick him into coming to Paldea and working for Lucas!

Intel and guides—wasn't that a hundred times better than running around like a headless fly in the Crown Tundra?

…

Chapter 401: Alcremie's Heart Shatters

She had an idea, but no plan for how to carry it out yet.

Not long ago, when Sister Peonia contacted her, she mentioned that idiot dad seemed stimulated because Teacher Lucas had cleared the Ice Mountain Ruins so easily and even taken Calyrex and the others.

He'd been saying things like: Dad can open the ruins' door and solve the puzzles by himself too.

Then he started working day and night without rest.

Penny kept quiet. This needed a long-term plan.

Following Lucas's gaze, she began reading the replies under the thread.

Leader: Many years of ruin excavation experience. Frequently leads teams to excavate ruins. Track record verifiable!

Penny's eyes flashed with surprise.

The tone sounded arrogant, but in that single line you could see confidence.

Maybe this person really had skills.

Lucas thought about the same. He clicked into the "Leader's" avatar with expectation.

It was a real photo: a middle-aged man with a full beard, wearing typical explorer clothing, a yellow scarf around his neck, and a safety helmet with a light on his head.

Probably the Leader himself.

Lucas blinked, a bit surprised.

A real person online?

He looked at the Leader's posting history—mostly recruitment posts for excavation teams at various ruins. Inside those posts, the feedback looked pretty good, enough to suggest the Leader was likely a professional.

After a brief thought, Lucas opened a private message and typed:

[Cat Hero]: Got time to meet and talk—set a time and place?

He'd checked the posts: though the other party's main activity area was in Unova, the most recent posts were all related to Paldea. The Leader was probably already in Paldea.

Rather than slow forum DMs, it'd be faster to meet face-to-face, where words wouldn't easily distort.

Lucas waited a minute. No reply.

He wasn't surprised.

Normal. The Leader might be inside some ruin right now—and the time he'd replied to Lucas's thread was two days ago at dawn, so he wouldn't be camping the forum waiting for DMs.

Lucas shrugged, exited the forum, closed the browser, and shut the laptop. Then he asked Penny, "Want me to take you back to the Pokémon Center?"

Seeing how Penny looked half-asleep and spaced out, Lucas honestly worried she'd get drowsy mid-way and collapse on the road.

Penny nodded in embarrassment, cheeks slightly red, and said softly, "Sorry to trouble you, Teacher. Sister Rin also said she's waiting for you to pick up the other two prescriptions."

…

League Calendar 798, August 21.

Watching Combee flutter before him—its three faces full of determination—Lucas didn't know what had made it so resolute in asking for training, but he still nodded and agreed.

After Combee left happily, Lucas fell into thought.

If it wanted to train until it evolved… then how to train was something he had to think through.

For Pokémon breeding and training, Lucas always followed the principle of teaching according to aptitude. So other Pokémon's training methods couldn't just be copied.

Think about it: if Lucas used the same methods he used for Dragonite and Moltres on Combee, how could it endure?

Dragonite often got called to high altitudes to experience turbulent airflow and refine its control of air currents; sometimes it even charged straight into thunderstorm clouds to challenge its limits.

But for Combee, that kind of training would just be deliberate torment.

After all, on the farm only Combee and Shuckle were Bug-types. This was Lucas's first time designing a training plan for a Bug-type Pokémon from scratch. With everything unknown and needing trial and error, he had to be careful.

What?
Applin isn't a Bug?
It's a pure Dragon-type Pokémon!
Even more pure than Charizard and Aerodactyl.

After thinking, Lucas called Oranguru over and had it bring paper and pen. He began sketching and writing.

He remembered that Combee's base stats were truly average—supposedly even worse than Pikachu, which was said to be as common in Kanto as stray dogs by the roadside.

"The only highlight is the 70 base Speed—representing speed, agility, and move execution speed."

He circled the Speed entry in the six-stat table he'd written from memory.

"Besides Speed, its future role as a double-defense Pokémon is already showing."

He connected the 42 Defense and 42 Special Defense values, then looked at the total.

Not the lowest, but not good either.

Fortunately, this world didn't speak purely in base stats.

Besides—bond and friendship could take you so far you could yell about dreams and the future and even topple Arceus.

The key was still the Pokémon's own talent. As a Trainer, his job was to help them find what they were good at, then develop it.

"After evolution, Vespiquen's dual defenses break 100, both offenses are 80, and only Speed drops because its body gets bigger—down to 40. What it lacks should be agility, right?"

"Then Vespiquen's tactics are easy to build."

Muttering to himself, Lucas kept writing.

Item: Covert Cloak. Moves: Roost, Toxic, Hex—all good. Its signature Defend Order, Attack Order, and Heal Order were also useful.

But those were only possible once Combee evolved and learned many moves.

Right now, the main goal was how to train Combee.

Considering that Bug-type Pokémon, due to species limitations, were often far less robust than many others, training intensity needed careful control.

But when one door closed, a window opened.

Even if many Bug-types lacked toughness, their growth speed was the fastest.

Compared to Dragon-types with long growth cycles that could take years without heavy resources, Bug-types were popular among Trainers without wealthy families because they grew quickly and cost fewer resources.

That was why Bug Catchers were one of the largest groups in the world.

If Lucas hadn't met Luxio back then and had no money, he might've done what Bug Catchers do: go to a tree where Butterfree lay eggs, take one egg, hatch a Caterpie, and start from scratch.

Or rely on knowledge to enter Naranja Academy and receive a free starter, walking the protagonist route.

"The highest-return method for raising Bug-types—besides training—really is specialized nutrition intake."

Several options surfaced in Lucas's mind.

Energy cubes specialized for Bug and Flying-types; nutrient-rich milk, goat milk, and eggs—all were good options.

Though he hadn't given it energy cubes, Combee often drank a capful of milk or goat milk each day. That nutrition should have been slowly reshaping its body.

It might only need a trigger to unleash the foundation it had built up all at once.

After thinking, Lucas wrote a few words next to trigger:

Secret seasoning: Spicy Flavoring.

He'd wondered for a long time: since Spicy Flavoring could explosively increase metabolism with no side effects, could it be used in Pokémon training?

A Pokémon that would normally need ten days of training to digest energy and nutrients could, after taking a medicinal powder or solution made from Spicy Flavoring, digest it all in a single day.

Like turning on a growth cheat.

He'd just gotten all the prescriptions from Joy Rin yesterday. Maybe he could try combining a gentler medicine for tests—keep the dosage small, test on willing wild Pokémon first, then confirm safety and give it to Combee.

As Lucas brainstormed, Dachsbun and Arcanine ran into the house like a gust of wind, barking at Lucas and Oranguru waiting quietly by his side.

Without Lucas asking, Oranguru translated: "Young Master, it seems there are visitors at the farm gate with Luxray. They say they're the first Gym Leader you challenged."

First Gym Leader…

His thoughts interrupted, Lucas was blank for a moment—then the memory snapped into place.

The first Gym was Cortondo Gym, and the Gym Leader was Katy—also the owner of Patisserie.

He didn't know why Katy had come, but Lucas had Dachsbun and Arcanine hurry back and tell Luxray to bring Katy inside.

He also instructed Oranguru to bring out his pan-roasted black tea and flower tea, plus the chipped teapot he'd been saving, and to borrow the freshly baked caramel milk pudding from Alcremie. Then the hospitality lineup was complete.

…

A moment later—

Luxray strode in steadily, leading Katy into the house.

Katy was still wearing her pastry-chef uniform. It was clear she liked that outfit.

Seeing Lucas, Katy clasped her hands and apologized slowly, "Sorry—will this sudden visit bother you?"

Lucas smiled and shook his head, gesturing for her to sit. "Not at all. I was just thinking about a training plan at home."

"A training plan?"
After sitting down, Katy's eyes brightened.

"As expected of a Trainer who passed our trial and reached Champion level—even during rest you're thinking about how to train your Pokémon."

"Work at Patisserie has been too busy. I even feel like I've accidentally neglected those kids lately…"

"The kids," of course, meant the Pokémon she raised.

Recently, because an important supply chain for Patisserie had run into problems, she'd been busy nonstop. She'd even put her side job as Cortondo Gym Leader on pause for the moment.

At this point, Lucas could accept rainbow praise with a straight face… though given Katy's airy, natural-ditsy personality, she probably meant every word.

But that wasn't important.

More than learning why Katy had come, Lucas wanted to play his usual combo.

Using the exact same tone and smile he'd used hosting Penny days ago, Lucas asked, "Would you like black tea or flower tea?"

"As for dessert, I only have caramel milk pudding—will that do?"

"I'm interested in flower tea," Katy answered quickly, flattered. "Ah—dessert is fine."

She hadn't expected Lucas to host her so warmly before she'd even explained anything.

Maybe her ditziness kicked in again, because she just stared at Lucas blankly until the tea was brewed and the dessert placed on the table—then suddenly slapped her cheeks with both hands, realizing late:

"No, no—I came today to handle something important!"

Lucas was startled by her sudden reaction, but not surprised.

Still—
Whatever the business is, let me clear the tasting scene first!

Lucas smiled. "No rush after tasting. This dessert was made by my Alcremie itself. If it could get an evaluation from Patisserie's owner, that would be even better."

As he spoke, Lucas picked up Alcremie—hands clasped together, nervous and expectant—and placed it in front of Katy.

Katy blinked, smiling gently. "I can be strict about desserts. Please prepare yourself mentally."

"Cremee!"
Alcremie nodded seriously.

Its mentality was like steel—nothing could defeat it!

…

Ten minutes later—

"Cremee…"

Alcremie, devastated, squatted in the corner, its entire body fading into grayscale.

Alcremie, sunk.

Then, with a look of questioning its entire existence, Alcremie was led away by Oranguru for psychological counseling.

Under Lucas's astonished gaze, Katy's cheeks reddened as she awkwardly explained, "Um… I warned you in advance. In desserts, I really don't want to compromise."

"But just like I said earlier—if you have first-class ingredients and a heart that wants to make desserts that bring happiness… then a lack of technique can absolutely be polished through practice."

Lucas nodded in agreement. "Miss Katy's right. I know Alcremie truly has a heart that wants to make desserts that bring happiness to whoever tastes them."

Katy stared at Lucas dazedly for a moment, but thankfully didn't forget her real purpose. She stammered, "I heard from the Chairwoman that you sell and deliver MooMoo Fresh Milk, goat milk, and other dairy products externally. Is that true?"

"We do sell," Lucas said, surprised Katy had heard it from Geeta.

Then today she came to—

Katy stood up with a swish, clasped her hands, and bowed deeply. "Can Patisserie also subscribe to those products!?"

She then explained everything in full: Patisserie's original ingredient supplier channels had run into trouble, key materials were short, she'd been scrambling for new suppliers every day, and finally she'd heard from Geeta that Lucas's farm also sold these ingredients.

"I've even gone to taste the breakfast shop in Mesagoza. Their MooMoo Fresh Milk from your farm meets the store's standards completely—no, it far exceeds them!"

Since she'd chosen to visit, Katy had clearly done her homework. All that remained was Lucas's decision.

Hearing her explanation, Lucas didn't mind helping, but still said, "Right now, Corviknight delivery routes don't include areas outside Los Platos Town. There are Tinkaton in the wild. It's too dangerous."

"I don't mind having a long-term partner, but for the time being, I'm not ready to reliably deliver goods there safely."

Katy shook her head hard.

"It's fine. Lucas—you only need to have the Corviknight deliver the goods to a location in Los Platos Town that we decide together."

"After that, I'll arrange manpower and vehicles to transport the goods."

She already had a plan for his concern.

Since Katy had put it that way, Lucas had no reason to refuse. He asked, "How many liters do you want to order?"

Katy thought for a moment. "Um… everything you have left—can I?"

"If possible, we can contract all of your MooMoo Fresh Milk and goat milk."