Because their flights and destinations differed, Lucas and Perrin took separate planes—she to Sinnoh, he to Paldea.
Lucas wasn't dumb. After spending time with her, he could tell from her appearance and manner that she was probably a descendant of a group from ancient Hisui, which is old Sinnoh.
That's why she still had Pokémon considered extinct in Hisui and knew so much about Hisui's history.
Her distinctive hair color reminded Lucas of someone from the Diamond Clan.
He guessed Perrin was likely a descendant of Adaman's descendant.
Just like Cynthia is a descendant of Volo and Cyrus is a descendant of Cyllene, etc.
Perrin said, if Lucas ever wanted to visit Sinnoh, he should contact her—she'd show him around and share her clan's secrets.
Lucas agreed with a smile.
…
Back at the farm, Lucas quickly caught up on everything that had happened via Oranguru and Calyrex.
Besides the usual—Iron Valiant challenging Ceruledge then quietly leaving again to train alone—the biggest thing was that the last of the four Pokémon in special training, the Combee, had evolved into Vespiquen.
Now, Vespiquen was focused on building a new hive and recruiting suitable subordinates.
A proper Combee colony has a queen and a large number of hardworking male Combee.
To find enough helpers, besides raising her own children, Vespiquen could recruit homeless male Combee—the quickest way.
Lucas decided to take Vespiquen out to try her luck in the wild sometime.
If that didn't work, he could buy a batch of Combee eggs or even try to poach some from Vespiquen's mother's colony—those Combee would love the farm's environment.
Importantly, the farm didn't have rivals like Beedrill or Butterfree, nor greedy predators like Beautifly, nor honey thieves like Mothim or Teddiursa.
Wait—maybe it did after all.
When Lucas introduced the four new Pokémon he'd caught to everyone at the farm:
Gyarados and Feebas went to Politoed, the clever one, to help them adapt to Thunder Lake.
He trusted Politoed to help them settle in.
Ogerpon was nervous meeting everyone at first, but quickly warmed up, making new friends and playing all day—this made Lucas very happy.
As for Ursaluna—
Just as mentioned before, after arriving at the farm, it became a total slacker.
If it could sit, it wouldn't stand.
If it could lie down, it wouldn't sit.
It claimed to only go out for food or water on foggy, full-moon nights. Now Lucas understood how it could hide in the forest for so long without anyone finding its den.
It was just a total homebody.
But even a homebody could go wild sometimes.
Lucas remembered: on his second night back at the farm, though Vespiquen had no helpers, she managed to build a small hive and store some honey.
But one time, when Vespiquen came home fully loaded, she found Ursaluna squatting in front of her hive, sneakily scooping out honey and eating in big gulps.
It even licked its sticky paws, its gangster-like face full of bliss.
Like an addict tasting a fix after centuries.
Though it sounded exaggerated, it was true.
Ursaluna couldn't even remember the last time it tasted honey—decades? Centuries?
Just the sweet taste on its tongue made it cry.
It suddenly felt like it'd wasted its whole life.
Because Ursaluna was so obsessed, even when Vespiquen chased it in a rage, it kept licking its paws.
But Ursaluna's thick hide made Vespiquen's attacks useless, which made her even angrier.
At last, under Lucas's mediation, Ursaluna promised not to damage her hive anymore, and in return, humbly hoped to get regular honey supplies.
Lucas agreed, and Ursaluna sincerely apologized to Vespiquen, promising to help her if she ever needed backup.
…
September 24, Year 798 of the League Calendar.
After finishing his classes at Naranja Academy and a special lesson with Nurse Joy in Los Platos Town, Lucas finally got back to the farm.
But he barely had time to wash his face before Calyrex and Oranguru had him in the living room for a meeting.
The only solace was the two adorable Eevee sisters cuddled on his lap.
He'd worried that after Vulpix evolved into Ninetales, he'd have less fluffy cuddles, but though the Eevee sisters filled the gap, Ninetales had become a bit aloof.
Stroking Eevee's soft brown fur, Lucas looked at the map Oranguru handed him via psychic power.
After a glance, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You investigated this thoroughly?"
Oranguru nodded modestly, glancing at Calyrex. "It's thanks to Lord Calyrex's power that I could scan all the Pokémon populations in the farm's new area."
"Good work."
Lucas nodded and studied the map in detail.
With the expansion, the farm now had more land for crops, included a hill, and a stream running to the sea.
He remembered fishing there in the past—always empty-handed—but once saw a shiny Magikarp.
For now, he focused on the wild Pokémon marked on the map.
Even with different species, wild Pokémon never crowd together, so the pressure on Lucas would be much less.
Only a few large groups and some loners, maybe two or three hundred in all.
With a red pen, Lucas circled some areas.
"This group of Sunflora can be relocated to Artazon Town—it's perfect for them, and the locals are friendly."
"The Salandit and Salazzle on the back hill could be introduced to a reputable perfume company—they'd love to take them in."
"As for the Poochyena and Houndoom packs, that's even easier. Fire-types are part of daily life, and as canine Pokémon, they can be guard dogs or even join the police."
"Of course, the wild Pokémon get to choose for themselves—there's no need to rush."
He circled some more areas.
"As for these small groups, like the Diglett on the back hill, they can be hired to help Mudsdale with plowing."
"And Floette, once evolved to Florges, can tend the flower fields, Amoonguss can…"
With Calyrex and Oranguru offering suggestions, Lucas spent nearly an hour finalizing the plan.
Next would be visiting the wild Pokémon and making arrangements.
With that done, it was time to plan the farm's construction.
After all these days, the mansion's main structure was up, nearly ready for interior work.
Luckily, in this world, building materials rarely have pollution or side effects, and whatever little there is, Pokémon powers can handle.
Some families finish construction in the morning and move in that afternoon.
Lucas could already see himself living in his dream mansion soon!
But before that, Lucas calmly recounted what happened in Kitakami to Oranguru and especially Calyrex, explaining his thoughts.
"Besides expanding Thunder Lake, increasing farmland, and starting more farm and ranch projects—"
"I plan to open a large apple orchard and break into the market as soon as possible."
Lucas looked at Calyrex, eyes shining.
"To do this quickly, I'll need your help."
Calyrex didn't hesitate and nodded lightly.
Hearing about the xenophobia in Kitakami, even the normally calm Calyrex felt a spark of anger.
Calyrex knew Lucas's reason for starting the orchard was likely to counter Kitakami.
If it was just planting, even with Comfey and friends, it would take weeks for apples to grow, not to mention the time for Appletun to ripen them.
Lucas probably wanted to start immediately once the expansion was done.
And Calyrex was happy to help a friend.
The meeting ended.
After cake from Alcremie and some coin flip games with Gimmighoul, Lucas took Oranguru to Thunder Lake.
Besides checking on Gyarados and Feebas, he wanted to know if Perrin's story was true, or just a rumor.
At Thunder Lake, the sun sparkled on the water.
Perhaps thanks to the Wet Rock he'd brought back, the water quality kept improving.
Even the fish in the separate area were growing fast—maybe they'd get their first catch before winter.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Politoed leading its brothers in shadow boxing.
After Lucas explained his intentions, Politoed told him to wait and dove in, soon bringing Gyarados and Feebas from the lake bottom.
Lucas, with Oranguru translating, asked about their relationship—why did Feebas seem to lead Gyarados?
Maybe it was the great environment, but both Pokémon answered cheerfully: Perrin's story was basically true—except that, for now, Feebas and Gyarados were just good friends.
Even though Feebas was female and Gyarados male, that was all.
Their answer disappointed Lucas, who'd hoped for gossip. He let them stay at Thunder Lake and promised to expand it soon.
When Feebas and Gyarados left, Lucas went to see Dragonite, the clan leader, and others sunbathing with their family.
He checked on the leader's mental state and got a good report, so he considered arranging a trip to Alola soon for further healing.
…
Time passed quickly.
In a blink, it was September 26th.
Today, the farm welcomed three special guests—
Ash and Pikachu from Pallet Town, and his mother, Delia.
...
…
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