Pokemon Paldea [146-148] (Patreon)

Chapter 146: The Invitation and The Clue

Delibird slowly descended, eyes glowing as it stared at Pikachu and the boy.

First rule of the journey: When challenged, you must go all out to show respect!

“Even though I don’t know what kind of Pokémon you are… let’s battle!”

Ash thought the Delibird had accepted his challenge, and he shouted excitedly.

Pikachu’s electric sacs began to spark with electricity.

“Ash is at it again.” Misty, the orange-haired girl, sighed and elbowed the squinty-eyed boy beside her. “Brock, do you recognize that Pokémon?”

Brock hesitated for a moment before answering, “I think it’s called a Delibird. Its tail is hollow, so it can carry a lot of things.”

Misty exclaimed softly, “That’s a tail? I thought it was a pouch!”

Meanwhile, a similar conversation was happening not far away, where two people and a Meowth were secretly observing from a higher vantage point.

“Pikachu!”

Ash’s loud cry startled everyone mid-conversation. When they looked closely, they were dumbfounded.

Pikachu had been frozen into a block of ice by Delibird in the short time they were distracted.

“So strong…”

Brock and Misty’s eyes widened in shock.

From the perspective of these two—Brock, a Gym Leader from Pewter City, and Misty, one of the Cerulean Sisters—this Delibird was of an impressively high level and strength, far beyond what a semi-novice Trainer like Ash could handle.

After all, most of his eight badges were basically gifts from friends.

Farther away, Team Rocket’s trio were spying with binoculars and watching even more closely. After dodging several Thunderbolts from Pikachu, Delibird brought down a massive Blizzard, leaving Pikachu with nowhere to run, sealing the victory instantly!

After finishing, the bored Delibird turned to leave, ignoring Ash’s frustrated cries.

Meowth exclaimed, “What a strong Delibird… It defeated Pikachu so easily!”

Jessie and James put down their binoculars and started discussing excitedly.

“Why not let it work for Team Rocket?”

“Boss Giovanni would be thrilled!”

“It’s settled, let’s prepare a plan to catch Delibird…”

Before they could finish scheming, an orange shadow streaked across the sky from the distant sea, closing the distance in a blink. The powerful wind it brought instantly blew Team Rocket away and headed straight for the group gathered around the frozen Pikachu, knocking Ash and his friends to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Ash rubbed his sore head, staring at the unfamiliar Pokémon.

“Drago~.”

Dragonite took a letter from its black shoulder bag and handed it to Ash.

As Ash accepted the letter, a female holographic projection appeared, and her message left all three of them stunned. They even forgot about Pikachu being frozen, their attention fully captured by the projection.

Delibird, who had been about to leave, froze in mid-air, eyes locked on this very familiar Pokémon—especially when it saw the black bag on Dragonite’s back. Delibird’s pupils shrank as if recalling something.

[“This is an invitation from the world’s strongest Pokémon Trainer. Please accept it.”]

While Delibird was lost in thought, the projection ended. The trio were very interested in the “world’s strongest Pokémon Trainer” described by the woman. But before checking off the postcard, Ash asked, “Do you know any Fire-type moves? Can you help free Pikachu from the ice?”

Ash couldn’t be sure if Charizard would listen to him, so he could only ask this strong-looking Pokémon for help.

Dragonite blinked, then unleashed a powerful Flamethrower at the Pikachu ice block. In no time, Pikachu was freed, and the group happily checked the postcard.

At this moment, Delibird confirmed something: whether it was Dragonite’s appearance, which was identical to the Dragonite from Lucas’s family, or the black shoulder bag the Dragonair had mentioned, Delibird felt it had likely encountered the missing Dragonite leader.

After collecting the checked postcard, Dragonite immediately prepared to return to New Island. Unexpectedly, Delibird flew back to block its way: “Deli~!” (Wait!)

Dragonite tilted its head in confusion: “Drago~?” (What do you want?)

Ash and friends also found Delibird’s behavior strange. Considering how strong both Pokémon were, they decided to watch for now rather than get caught in any possible conflict.

“Deli deli~?” (Do you know these three Dragonair?)

Delibird carefully took a box from its tail and showed Dragonite a family photo.

It reasoned that if Dragonite was really the leader, it would only remember the Dragonair—after all, when it disappeared, the Dragonite from Lucas’s family was still just an egg.

Ash and his friends couldn’t hold back their curiosity and came closer. When Misty saw the family photo, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Just looking at the photo, you can feel the happiness radiating from it.”

Brock nodded, “A bountiful wheat field, people and Pokémon together… just looking at it brings peace of mind.”

Ash: “So many Pokémon I’ve never seen…”

Pikachu: “Pika Pika~.”

For some reason, Dragonite’s head started to hurt a little, but it was still bearable. With a calm expression, it shook its head: “Drago~” (I don’t know them.)

It searched all its memories, but still couldn’t recall the Dragonair.

Delibird put away the family photo, finding it hard to believe.

This Dragonite and Lucas’s Dragonite looked like they were made from the same mold, and both treasured their shoulder bags.

“Drago~.” (My Trainer is waiting at home. Goodbye.)

Just as Delibird was feeling confused, Dragonite shot up into the sky at lightning speed, disappearing over the horizon.

Delibird tried to chase after it, but it was no match for Dragonite’s true flying speed—it vanished in the blink of an eye.

Only Ash and his friends were left, bewildered in the wind.

Following the path Dragonite took, the unwilling Delibird continued to give chase. It had finally found a clue—no matter what, it had to get to the bottom of this, if only to repay Dragonite and the Dragonair.

It was certain: that Dragonite must be the missing leader.

However, Delibird had no idea where Dragonite had gone. Helpless, it could only return and follow the boy with Pikachu from a distance.

Since Dragonite gave them the invitation, maybe following them would lead to Dragonite’s location.

Delibird remembered the place name it had overheard.

New Island—what kind of place could that be?

Chapter 147: Flour, Cream, and Mushroom Soup

“Spring break, and my second month’s full salary, aren’t far off now.”

In the kitchen, Lucas slowly washed mushrooms, glanced at the sunny sky outside, and sighed in contentment.

Unknowingly, it had already been two full months since he started his farm.

During that time, not only had he gained many new partners, but the farm itself now brimmed with a fresh, vibrant energy.

The crops in the fields, nurtured by Comfey and Eldegoss in their composite grass patches, were growing strong—most had already had their first harvest. After setting aside enough reserves for the Pokémon on the farm, the surplus was all sold to Sean, the middleman, who sent his Primeape to help pick up everything by truck.

After all, Sean’s prices were fair and honest. Rather than hauling crops to the local market in Los Platos in multiple busy trips, it was much easier to just let him buy it all at once.

With one big sale, Lucas found his bank balance back to three hundred thousand Pokédollars.

With money on hand, it was time to plan the farm’s next phase. First up was introducing fish to Thunderlake—by partitioning part of the lake for fish farming, they’d no longer need to buy from the market or fish wild for delicious meals.

The ranch area only had a Mudsdale and two Sawsbuck. Lucas planned to find a way to bring in a Miltank, Gogoat, or Mareep—Pokémon suited to life on the ranch and that could provide useful byproducts. It would also give his lonely Sawsbuck and Mudsdale some company.

Thinking about the few Pokémon in the ranch, Lucas made up his mind.

After thoroughly washing a large basket of mushrooms, Lucas drained them and handed them to Ceruledge, who was wearing a Psyduck apron. “Please slice them in half for me. I’ll get the other ingredients ready.”

“Ceru~.”

Ceruledge nodded, first cooling the blade on its arm and extinguishing its flames to avoid turning the soup mushrooms into grilled mushrooms.

Then, with a flash of cold steel, Ceruledge’s swordsmanship—honed day after day—shone in the kitchen.

In no time, neat piles of sliced mushrooms were stacked high.

Watching Ceruledge work so diligently, Lucas smiled. Who would have thought that a Pokémon designed for battle like Ceruledge would have such a passion for cooking—and such skilled knife and grilling techniques?

Lucas turned to the cupboard and picked up a pretty little bowl decorated with blueberries. Inside, a Milcery was napping soundly.

Thinking back to when he first met Milcery at Ellie’s Ranch, it was also sleeping in a bowl, wasn’t it? Lucas grinned and poked the soft body, feeling a surprising springiness under his finger.

Combined with Milcery’s naturally sweet scent, it was just like a mochi—fragrant, soft, and chewy.

That’s probably why Milcery often lives with humans—too fragile and conspicuous in the wild.

“Milcery~~”

Milcery yawned, its drowsy eyes looking up at Lucas as if confused about why it was being woken up.

“I’m going to the storeroom to find some materials for lunch. I’ll need your cream—want to come with me?”

Faced with such a palm-sized Pokémon, Lucas couldn’t help but speak softly, afraid of startling it.

“Milce milce~?”

Hearing that its cream was needed for lunch, Milcery’s eyes sparkled, and it floated up.

After some time eating and resting well with Lucas, Milcery no longer got tired after floating for a while.

It could follow Lucas around all day now, never again bound to the ground!

In the storeroom, Lucas quickly found what he needed among the neatly stacked supplies. Before leaving, he noticed the King’s Rock and his hiking gear quietly sitting on the counter, and suddenly realized:

Oh no!

After returning, he’d been so tired he just dropped everything in the storeroom and went straight to bed, then completely forgot about the King’s Rock from Tront!

Now it made sense why Poliwhirl had been giving him such longing, silent looks lately—one of the other Pokémon who went to Glaseado Mountain must’ve told it about the King’s Rock.

No wonder it had been working so hard with Rain Dance lately—did it think Lucas needed a contribution before giving it the King’s Rock?

Touching his slightly guilty conscience, Lucas grabbed the King’s Rock, and headed back to the kitchen with Milcery.

By now, Ceruledge had finished all the prep work. Lucas set down the ingredients and rolled up his sleeves.

Ceruledge stepped aside and quietly waited behind Lucas.

Today, Lucas was making creamy mushroom soup for the Pokémon, cooking two pots.

One would use only non-poisonous wild mushrooms gathered by the Grass-types, for those who didn’t like meat.

The other would add shrimp and chicken breast, pre-marinated with pepper, salt, and cooking wine.

The method for creamy mushroom soup was simple: first, sauté Ceruledge’s sliced mushrooms and onions in olive oil from Oran Berries, then add shrimp and chicken and cook until just done.

After removing the cooked ingredients, Lucas added butter to the cleaned pot, then carefully opened a plain-looking bag.

Inside was flour ground by Mudsdale and sifted multiple times!

As soon as the bag was opened, a rich wheat aroma filled the air—thanks to Dachsbun’s hard work in the wheat fields, the flour was top quality.

Once the butter melted, he added the farm’s precious flour, stirring until it became a paste, then added water until smooth.

By now, the fusion of butter and wheat filled the kitchen with a mouth-watering aroma, and several hungry Pokémon were already peeking in.

Finally, he added milk and brought it to a boil, then the prepared ingredients, and finally Milcery’s fresh cream. After stirring and seasoning with black pepper, the creamy mushroom soup was done.

Taking in the delicious aroma, Lucas felt a surge of pride.

Because this pot of creamy mushroom soup represented the combined efforts of all the Pokémon on the farm—without any one of them, it wouldn’t be complete.

Chapter 148: Composure

“It’s still hot from the pot, everyone—eat slowly and don’t burn your tongue.”

Lucas handed out bowls of creamy mushroom soup according to each Pokémon’s appetite. For small Pokémon like Mimikyu, a small bowl was enough.

For larger Pokémon like Luxray, Swampert, Mudsdale, and Sawsbuck, they needed much bigger containers—like basins.

And then there was a special exception on the farm—the legendary Moltres.

Two months of farm work had made Lucas stronger and more muscular. He’d often admired his muscles in the bath.

Still, every time he prepared Moltres’s meal, it was a bit of a struggle—because Moltres’s portions were measured by the bucket.

He lugged a huge bucket of creamy mushroom soup to Moltres, who immediately plunged its head in and inhaled the steaming soup in a gust.

Maybe this was the composure of a Fire-type legend—if it could bathe in magma, what’s a little hot food?

At first, Moltres was reluctant to eat from a bucket—it felt like being called a glutton or even being fed like a pig. But smaller containers emptied too quickly, so in the end, it went with the local custom. So what if it ate from a bucket? Not like it was eating anyone else’s food!

Anyone who mocked it would be purified by its sacred fire.

Seeing Moltres eat so heartily, Lucas knew the dish was a hit. Before leaving, he reminded, “Moltres, remember what I told you—pick a suitable time to let me know. Growlithe has been born for a while, and training has gone well. With such a solid foundation, it’s ready to evolve.”

Moltres waved its wing without looking up, signaling understanding.

At the same time, a telepathic message, not needing vocal cords, rang out: [“Hmph, I’ve already planned that. When the time comes, just follow me to the volcano. Growlithe’s evolution matters to me even more than to you!”]

Even though Moltres had never evolved itself, it knew how important evolution was to a Pokémon.

But, in Moltres’s mind, evolving with just a Fire Stone wasn’t worthy of its dear child Growlithe.

If it was going to do it, it would do it big!

Moltres decided to personally help Growlithe absorb the energy of magma—far purer and more powerful than any Fire Stone, and perfect for Growlithe’s Fire and Rock typing!

After a hearty meal, the Pokémon went about their business. Those with nothing to do found a sunny spot to lounge and enjoy themselves.

Lucas found this very reassuring.

The battle-loving Pokémon would spar a short distance from the house, and lower-level ones would ask higher-level ones for move advice—a perfect example of the strong helping the weak.

Just like how Poliwhirl learned Rain Dance, and Growlithe learned Rock-type moves from Kukui’s Lycanroc—for Lucas, who had made it through the hardest times, raising Pokémon no longer required his constant attention. As long as he set the direction, the Pokémon would grow strong.

In fact, many league gyms operated this way. Thanks to this system, they could select Pokémon to fit the challenger’s strength and badge level—not too strong, not too weak.

Lucas picked up the backpack with the King’s Rock and called out to Poliwhirl, who was about to go train with Swampert and its three little brothers. “Poliwhirl, Poliwag, and Serperior—let’s go outside.”

“Poli~?”

Poliwhirl blinked. Seeing Lucas’s smiling eyes, it seemed to realize something, nodded excitedly, and apologized to Swampert before following Lucas.

The three Poliwags naturally followed their big brother, trusting Poliwhirl’s wisdom entirely.

On the other side, Serperior, upon hearing its name, immediately held its head high. Though it looked proud and reserved, inside the little snake was wriggling with excitement.

Serperior cast a triumphant glance at Mimikyu, who had no presence without Lucas around, the honest Dragonite, and the cunning Moltres.

Little did it know, its rivals weren’t even on the same track.

Before leaving, Lucas nodded reassuringly to Luxray, and Luxray nodded back in understanding.

For Lucas, as long as Luxray was guarding the house, he could rest easy.

For Luxray, aside from protecting Lucas, it would also guard the home Lucas cherished.

…

In the wild.

“Sererior~?” (Where are we going?)

Serperior raised its head, looking at Lucas with a puzzled expression.

Usually, if Lucas was going far, he’d take Dragonite, since it was so fast—even Serperior had to admit that.

But if Lucas was just wandering nearby, he’d bring Serperior.

So, today’s trip wouldn’t be far.

Lucas carried a red bucket in his right hand, a backpack and fishing gear on his shoulders—he looked like he was going fishing.

Lucas smiled and said, “The same little stream we fished at last time. I want to get revenge for last time!”

“And, it’s better for Poliwhirl to evolve near running water. Even though Thunderlake’s water is kept fresh, it’s still a standing lake. Flowing water has a positive psychological effect for Pokémon.”

He’d learned all this from the psychology books he borrowed from Nurse Joy.

Lucas flashed the King’s Rock from his bag under Poliwhirl’s sparkling gaze, then put it away again.

Hearing Lucas’s ambitions of fishing revenge, Serperior couldn’t help but scoff at his lack of self-awareness.

But Poliwhirl’s evolution was serious business. Serperior had seen how much Poliwhirl longed for it—it had even considered tossing Lucas into the storeroom with Vine Whip and spanking him until he remembered what he’d forgotten.

But since Lucas had remembered, Serperior reluctantly put away its eager vines.