Pokemon Paldea [265-266] (Patreon)

Chapter 265: Another day of being deeply hurt by a rich lady

Just as the Pokédex describes, as strength rises, Pokémon can even alter terrain. Even without entering Mega Evolution, with just 80% of Swampert's power, 15% of Mudsdale's, and the 5% stamina Lucas expended when using a Z-Move—

Before night fell, thanks to the efforts of Lucas, Swampert, and Mudsdale, the tunnel connecting the entire ranch had been dug.

Halfway through reeling in shock, the foreman rallied the crew to prepare for laying the electrical lines. As they left, disbelief still lingered on their faces. The job they expected to take several days got done by two Pokémon?

Perhaps feeling bad about pocketing the saved labor, the foreman cheerfully calculated those few days of fees and gave Lucas a discount.

Not much—just tens of thousands—but very sincere.

That's how Lucas saw it.

Time slipped by with the ranch's construction and the frequent training sessions at Naranja Academy.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Maybe mindful of outside interference, to let the four students focus on special training and Lucas teach in peace, Geeta deliberately found them an independent training hall.

There, they could train and battle to their hearts' content without disturbance.

Over this period, beyond teaching the four students foundational battle knowledge and techniques, Lucas often, per Teacher Tyme's suggestion, had Penny team with Eri, and Arven team with Nemona, then ran inter-squad practice matches.

Penny was the type who barely speaks when unfamiliar, but talks normally once she warms up. As bonds deepened, the sense of distance she kept naturally wore away.

She and Eri truly hit it off; after half a month of gelling, Penny could now call her "Sister Eri" with a straight face, and when Arven called her "Little Penny," she'd glare him into retreat.

After half a month, Lucas had a very clear understanding of the pokemons and strength of the four students' Pokémon.

By time as a licensed Trainer, Nemona was the least experienced; yet with terrifying Trainer talent, her overall and ace strength was the greatest of the four.

Her ace, Pawmot, was like Lucas's Luxray—deeply trusted.

Her second Pokémon was Ursaring, third Sliggoo (Goomy evolved), fourth Tauros—already nearly a full team.

Second strongest overall was naturally Eri. Whether it was the bond between Eri and her ace Annihilape, no less than Nemona and Pawmot's, or the roster she'd built up as an upperclasswoman, she was the most reliable teammate.

Her second Pokémon, Toxicroak, and third, Breloom—both dual-typed with widened coverage—were strong hands.

Lucas wrestled over third place, wanting to give it to Arven—but looking at his two pokemons and the lone pillar Mabosstiff carrying the team, then at Penny's Sylveon whose strength was on par with Mabosstiff's and even had a type advantage, he could only, under Arven's slightly aggrieved look, place him fourth.

To Lucas's surprise, Penny had the most Pokémon of the four. As she put it, "If I'm not surrounded by my Eevees, I can't even sleep." That's right—she was raising six Eevee in total.

Worldwide, Eevee are both popular and rare. For a student with no income to keep six simply out of preference shows Penny's family is quite well-off.

However, of Penny's team, only three Eeveelutions counted as battle power: Sylveon, Flareon, and Glaceon. For the other three, though Penny had already settled their evolution routes per their wishes, evolution was still some ways off.

As for Arven, his main issue was that his Trainer talent lagged behind the three girls. Skwovet and Shellder had not yet formed enough battle power.

Nemona needs no mention. Eri's grit in training made her progress rapidly; Penny had been steeped in a great environment since childhood, so her fundamentals were rock-solid by osmosis.

Arven's interests leaned more toward culinary arts. As a Trainer who started midstream, reaching this level already showed great effort.

During this time, beyond closely supervising their doubles teamwork, Lucas also spent considerable effort to raise Arven's fundamentals.

Fortunately, Arven's Skwovet was a step from evolving. With food as incentive for hard training, it completed evolution into a Skwovet within a week of special training.

As for the Shellder Arven and Lucas caught together—it turned out quite strong for a wild Pokémon. Lucas mostly had Arven work on coordinating with it and building rapport.

After all, trust between Trainer and Pokémon determines whether a Pokémon hesitates upon receiving commands. Battles shift in an instant—if they don't react timely, tempo falls into the opponent's hands.

While focused on cultivating the four students, Lucas occasionally called in former students for group special training.

Being the first class he ever taught, he did have some bias of affection.

…

May 20th, in a quiet training hall at Naranja Academy.

"Finish it—Tauros, Close Combat!"

Wearing Naranja Academy's summer uniform, her ponytail swaying, the spirited girl's fighting intent flared. At her lively command, Nemona's Tauros—of the Aqua breed—was wreathed in rising Fighting-type aura and surged forward, unleashing a rapid flurry on Eri's Breloom, which somehow exuded a weary air.

The doubles match ended with a dull thud of collapse. As for the other two, their Pokémon had long since fainted and were crouched in a corner watching.

Eri first smiled gratefully at Comfey drifting over to heal Breloom, then looked at Nemona and sighed, "It's hard to imagine you weren't even a Trainer a few months ago, and now my battles with you are mostly losses."

Still buzzing, Nemona wiped the excited sheen of sweat from her brow. Faced with Eri's praise, she demurred, "Battling you teaches me so much, Sister Eri. I really enjoy it."

"Right, there's still a while before dinner. Pawmot and the others should be mostly recovered. How about another round—"

Clearly still itching to battle, Nemona found doubles a brand-new field whose charm rivaled singles, leaving her looking forward to training every day.

At her words, Eri's gaze flicked, almost imperceptibly, toward the exhausted, fully slumped Penny and Arven, and she smiled gently. "Nemona, we've been battling all afternoon. Better to rest a bit."

Although Nemona often gets so fired up she unconsciously overlooks her partners' feelings, she wasn't so tone-deaf as to miss Eri's hint.

Glancing at Penny and Arven, Nemona said guiltily, "Ah, sorry. I guess I got carried away."

Eri patted her shoulder with a chuckle. "I'm not criticizing you. You're just growing too fast. It takes a lot for everyone to keep up with your pace."

"Of course, that doesn't mean you have to slow down to match us."

Nemona nodded lightly, thoughtful. "Got it, Sister Eri."

Seeing Eri defuse things, Penny and Arven exchanged a look of having dodged a bullet. Thankfully, reliable Sister Eri handled it in a way that wouldn't hurt Nemona.

Penny tipped her head back with a long exhale. "Looks like there's no need to form a 'Victims of Nemona' club—yet."

Arven glanced around, puzzled. "Why isn't Teacher Lucas back yet?"

Penny raised a brow. "Should be soon. The Mesagoza Pokémon Center has a Poké Ball transfer system. Probably the Crown Tundra's signal is bad."

That said, Penny had a nagging feeling her dad had dropped the ball again. But with Sister Peonia keeping an eye on him, it should be fine… right?

She'd sworn to Arven to have her dad handle Shellder. If something happened, how would she explain?

Luckily, Lucas didn't leave Penny sweating for long. A minute before dinner time, the four, dazing in the hall corner, finally saw him arrive.

Arven hopped up first, asking anxiously, "Teacher Lucas, how's Shellder?"

Lucas, breathless from hurrying back, smiled. "Now you should call it Cloyster."

With that, he placed a Poké Ball in Arven's palm.

Arven's grin nearly reached his ears. He mashed the button. "Cloyster, come out!"

With an excited cry, Cloyster's body—now several times larger than Shellder's with a hardened double shell—appeared.

Cloyster was clearly hyped, happily sharing its joy with Arven.

Penny came over, looking odd. "Teacher Lucas, my father didn't do anything… earth-shatteringly stupid, did he?"

Watching Arven play with Cloyster, Lucas's smile froze into a complicated look. "Uh, Mr. Peony is very talkative. He kept me chatting for a long while, so I'm late."

The wrath barely contained on Penny's face dissipated. Good—old man didn't screw up, or she'd ignore his calls for a month.

Lucas absolutely couldn't mention Peony, under Peonia's exasperated stare, made him listen for an hour to Penny's childhood stories.

Say that, and their already precarious family dynamic might nosedive.

After sending off the excited Arven and the trio leaving with Nemona, Lucas locked up the now-dark hall and headed for the academy gate in the sunset.

Half a month really flew by. As soon as he bonded with Shellder and learned it had longed to evolve, he'd mapped out its evolution.

Shellder evolves, once it's grown enough, using a Water Stone.

Some Trainers, chasing quick power, force evolution with a Water Stone before Shellder matures, sacrificing future potential. Lucas strongly disapproved.

Thankfully, when Arven caught Shellder, it was already a mature individual. After bonding, it shouldn't disobey. The only issue was sourcing a Water Stone.

The two professors had some funds; buying one was no problem. But Nemona—already chummy with the others—and Penny overheard.

Nemona declared that her family had just bought an entire Water Stone vein near Zapapico City; Arven could pick as he pleased.

Penny mentioned her father and sister found small Water and Ice Stone veins outside a ruin in the Crown Tundra; if they didn't mind, Shellder could be sent there via transfer to evolve.

One rich lady; one former League Champion's daughter—Lucas actually envied Arven's good fortune.

On Lucas's advice, Arven chose to have Shellder evolve in the Crown Tundra.

Because… Lucas suspected the ruin Peony and Peonia discovered was likely related to the legendary Ice Titan, Regice.

Perhaps leaking sealed power from Regice formed those small Ice and Water Stone veins outside.

Water and Ice have always gone hand-in-hand; since it's Water Stone either way, Lucas felt the gamble was worth it.

As for how much Cloyster improved by evolving in the Crown Tundra—it was late today; better test tomorrow.

Judging by Peony's waggling brows when he called, Lucas expected an unexpected surprise.

…

Back at the ranch atop Dragonite, Lucas ran into the Machoke construction crew wrapping up.

The foreman greeted him warmly. "Boss Lucas, we paved all the main roads with stone today. We should finish by month's end. Same as before—please remind the Pokémon to stay away from the area for a few days!"

Lucas patted Dragonite's back, letting it wait in the sky and waved back at the foreman in the truck. "Understood. Safe drive!"

As the engine noise faded, Lucas looked at the rustic patterned gray stone road at the ranch gate and smiled.

The ranch's electrical wiring was done. Once the stone paving finished, they could install lamps to light the ranch—no more flashlight patrols at night.

Next, dig the ice cellar and set up power and storage systems—then they'd get through the coming summer smoothly.

Right—need to prepare some Ice-type Pokémon to maintain the summer ice cellar.

Time to keep an eye out for suitable partners.

Chapter 266: Matured Power, Alcremie Who Completed Its Training!

The blazing sun hung in a sky washed clear, brilliant light weaving a golden net across the lush grass.

A gentle breeze swept by with the fresh scent unique to grass. Serperior's three-meter body lay lazily coiled. Beside it were the newly born Applin and Tropius, now out of the newborn stage after half a month.

Applin's look hadn't changed much—mainly a different host apple with a different peel pattern.

Tropius had changed a lot: from about a meter tall, with ample nutrition it had grown to about 1.5 meters, closer to its species' average.

After half a month of childcare, Serperior fully resonated with the hardships Moltres once felt raising Growlithe.

Newborn Pokémon brim with insecurity and always need the parent they trust nearby to feel safe. Because of that, Serperior had to move back into its rarely used room to care for them alone.

Lucas was busy with students lately, and nights were vital for sleep. Serperior wouldn't let the two emotionally unregulated newborns disturb him.

Half a month in, Serperior had a good sense of Applin and Tropius's personalities.

Applin was timid. When the Corvisquire patrol flock passed overhead, it would shrink into its apple.

Even after Serperior called Three Scar over to show it meant no harm, Applin's innate fear of bird Pokémon remained.

That made Serperior doubt Lucas's claim that Applin was Grass/Dragon.

Why did the one literally called "Tropius" have "dragon" in its name but was Grass/Flying? Serperior was baffled.

Tropius was a bit like Growlithe: curious, bold, very lively. It had recently begun practicing flight. Serperior couldn't teach that, so it asked Dragonite to spare time daily for lessons.

They had just finished lunch—quietest time of day. Newborn Pokémon sleep long stretches; Serperior vaguely remembered it had such a phase too.

Footsteps sounded behind. Serperior, eyes closed as it basked and pondered, opened them. No need to guess—at this hour the road crew was on break; apart from Pokémon, only Lucas would be moving about.

Sensing Applin and Tropius sleeping, Lucas softened his steps. Seeing Serperior glance up, he whispered, "I'm taking Applin to the orchard to test its ability."

Serperior's gaze fell to the small bottle of Moomoo Milk mixed with Combee honey in Lucas's hand. It nodded slightly, signaling him to take Applin.

Half a month in, it had also mapped out the babies' preferences.

Applin loved sweets—Combee honey most of all—but living on honey alone wouldn't do. On Oranguru's suggestion, they mixed Combee honey into Moomoo Milk to make honey milk.

With honey milk—and since Lucas often came to care for them—timid Applin wouldn't be scared even away from Serperior.

Taking Applin from Serperior, Lucas cradled the palm-sized apple and headed for the berry orchard. Watching the little one sleeping sweetly in his hand, he rubbed the apple's skin with a finger, then pressed hard a few times, concluding—

Yup. Very hard.

With his current strength, an ordinary apple would've dented. But Applin's shell showed nothing of the sort.

He recalled that to protect its vulnerable body, Applin secreted fluids that hardened the apple skin—giving it a Defense stat eight times Blissey's.

Midway, Applin seemed to feel the mild jolting and woke. It panicked for an instant, then, sensing Lucas, quickly calmed and peeked out with its two eyes, curiously taking in the surroundings, as if wondering where he was taking it.

Applin's little eyes were too expressive; even with the apple hiding its face, Lucas could guess its thoughts.

He hefted Applin in his palm, grinning. "The flesh in your apple's about gone again, right? Let's pick you a new one, and try your Ability. Serperior taught you how to trigger it, yeah?"

"Chiu chiu~"

Applin's stem-like eyes curved—its unique nod.

Applin can have three Abilities: Ripen, Gluttony, and the Hidden Ability Bulletproof.

From Lucas's tests, there were no signs of Gluttony or Bulletproof, which likely meant it had Ripen—the one he wanted most.

For now, he hadn't heard of Ability Capsules or Patches that could change Abilities; essentially, Abilities were innate and immutable.

In the games, Ripen doubles the effect of Berries by maturing them.

Does that mean Applin can hasten berry ripening and even boost their effects or nutrients?

 Lucas thought it worth trying.

At the orchard, beyond the first batch of berry trees, newly planted ones bore unripe fruit—still green, with some time to maturity—perfect for testing.

Before that, Lucas took Applin to a small transplanted apple grove beside the orchard to pick a new home.

There weren't many apple trees—just a dozen or so. Considering the berry trees would hog nutrients, he'd spaced the apple grove away from the orchard.

The moment they arrived, Applin hopped from his hand, and somehow zipped up the trunk, maneuvering its apple-shell, meticulously picking out the perfect fruit.

Lucas plucked an apple, wiped it on his shirt, and took a bite. Crisp, with sweet juice bursting on his palate.

He'd chosen premium trees for transplant, each pricier than the berry trees.

But seeing Applin so happy up there made it all worth it.

After much comparing, Applin chose a large apple with ample flesh and juice, wiggled, and burrowed in—move complete.

Lucas, now holding a much heavier Applin, returned to the orchard and happened to run into Politoed on its routine watering.

"Poli~"

Politoed paused its rain-calling, tilting its head at Applin, curious.

Lucas pointed at a berry tree heavy with green fruit. "We're going to test Applin's Ability—like your Drizzle."

"Poli~"

Politoed looked enlightened, clapped its hands, and stepped aside like, after you.

"Then I'll oblige."

Lucas smiled, lugged over a harvest ladder, braced it against a Sitrus tree, and climbed up with Applin.

Applin knew the job. It found a still-acrid Sitrus, and, per Serperior's teaching on actively triggering its Ability under the right conditions, put its whole tiny soul into it!

"Chiu! Chiu! Chiu—"

Maybe Applin, eyes clenched, didn't notice—but from Lucas and Politoed's view, firefly-like motes shimmered off Applin, flowing into the Sitrus in ribbons of light.

Then something wondrous happened.

Before their eyes, the Sitrus rapidly changed—from green, straight into maturity, swelling into a plump berry with a faint fragrance!

 Lucas and Politoed both gaped slightly, faces astonished.

Applin really could ripen berries!

But how about the effect after Ripen?

Before that, Lucas spread his arms to catch Applin, which, weakened and unsteady on the branch, lost balance and began to fall.

He wasn't a Psychic, so he hugged Applin tight, mentally bracing to at least fracture something from the height.

A mass of little bubbles gathered—and a giant bubble formed to cushion him, bouncing him onto the grass. Aside from a sore tailbone, he was miraculously unhurt.

"Chiu…"

Lucas glanced at the feeble Applin in his arms. Thankfully it was okay—Serperior would be heartbroken otherwise.

He turned to Politoed, who looked worried, and smiled. "Thanks, Politoed."

"Poli~"

Seeing Lucas was fine, Politoed shook its head—as it should be—and then glanced at Applin with concern.

How is it?

"Applin's fine, just a bit drained."

Lucas pondered.

Applin was still too young. Ripening just one Sitrus exhausted it. So the plan to enhance the entire orchard would have to wait for Applin to grow.

He stood, entrusted Applin to Politoed, climbed back up, and picked the Ripen-boosted Sitrus. For comparison, he also picked a normal ripe Sitrus from another tree.

Sitrus contains a faint, gentle healing energy; both Pokémon and people feel clear stamina recovery after eating.

He split the normal Sitrus into three, giving the largest to Politoed, the medium to himself, and the smallest to Applin.

Not bias—Applin doesn't eat much; it couldn't finish a big piece.

As the Sitrus went down, beyond the pear-like taste and texture, a warm current rose from his belly, flowing through his body; even his sore tailbone felt much better.

He repeated the process with the Ripen Sitrus.

This time the warmth was much stronger, with fuller recovery and pain relief.

Even the flavor was better.

Like the gap between a good ordinary fruit and a hand-picked, meticulously cultivated, top-grade table fruit.

Lucas and the delighted Politoed exchanged a look—they'd struck gold!

Ripen really worked on berries. Lucas could practically see a new revenue stream unfurl before him!

With the Sitrus in their bellies, Applin's weakness eased. Seeing Lucas and Politoed staring like it was a treasure, it cocked its head inside the apple, puzzled.

"Chiu?"

Back at the cottage, Lucas was stopped at the kitchen door by Alcremie. Cradling the dopey-cute Applin, Lucas was just as blank-faced.

"You're saying you finished your training?"

"Alcremie~!"

Alcremie nodded, gently pushing Lucas's leg to seat him at the table. Just sit and watch the show.

Moments later, Alcremie beamed as it presented a beautifully decorated cake that looked delicious by sight alone.

A chocolate shell encased the cake—reminding Lucas of the one he shared with Korrina in Kalos. It seemed Alcremie had deliberately recreated that mouthfeel.

But as Alcremie sliced it open, Lucas's brows rose. "Now that is… a bold innovation."

Beneath the chocolate shell lay Alcremie's signature dairy cream with a milky snow-salt flavor.