A Pokémon Contest?
Wallace?
Lucas frowned. He had a hunch that something was off.
Why would the Pokémon Contest Association, which should be based in Hoenn—the birthplace of Pokémon Contests—suddenly come to Paldea to collaborate with Naranja Academy? And Wallace himself was showing up in person? What was going on here?
He'd never heard Geeta mention any of this.
Unable to figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it.
After all, when Clavell said "in the near future," it probably didn't mean the next couple of days. The Academy still needed time to prepare, notify everyone, and gather participants. That would all take a while.
From the message he received, Lucas felt that even if he wasn't among the first to know, he was at least in the early wave of people to be informed.
"I'll send Geeta a message about it later, once I'm done with everything."
Muttering to himself, he stretched lazily on his soft bed, petted the Luxray that slept with him, then got up to wash up and began preparing for the day.
Today, he needed to go out for a bit—not leaving Paldea, nor would he be away for several days. If all went smoothly, he'd be back by lunchtime the next day.
Still, there were things to get ready.
He'd already arranged with the little Charcadet to pick it up in a few days for a visit to the farm, so he wasn't worried about it coming over by itself and missing him.
Before heading out, Lucas glanced at the clock in his room.
7:00 a.m.
By now, the Miltanks and Gogoats should have finished milking, and Corviknight had probably started deliveries.
No need to check on that—he could just read Oranguru's daily report as usual.
There were only two things Lucas cared about. First, starting today, there was a new addition to the delivery team: a small, shiny Noctowl. That was Ash's Pokémon.
Apparently, the Noctowl was very smart, but because of its small size, it probably couldn't deliver many bottles at once. How it would perform today was still a mystery.
Hopefully, there would be a surprise.
The second thing he cared about was Ash's herd of Tauros.
Yesterday, Lucas had visited the pasture. The 30 Tauros were living quite the comfortable life—either running around wildly together or sampling fresh grass. Unlike the picky Miltanks, the Tauros would eat even the freshest grass tips.
Other than leaving some roots for the grass to survive, they weren't picky at all.
Maybe that was related to the environment at Professor Oak's backyard, where there were many Pokémon and, while there was enough food, it wasn't unlimited, so they had to compete a bit.
With the energetic Tauros leading the way, the Gogoats and Deerling ran even more vigorously, and the Miltanks rolled around faster.
It was foreseeable that the "Sap Sipper" Miltank, the first to enter the farm, might finally lose a little weight.
But—
"If I keep them all together, won't I end up with a bunch of Pokémon eggs if I'm not careful?"
Lucas looked up at the sky, voicing his concern.
After tidying up, Lucas returned home and knocked on a door.
Even though he was the homeowner and could open any door he wanted, he still chose to knock.
The reason was simple: he knew that his past self, deep in his memories, disliked it when people entered his personal space without knocking.
Only when he heard a "Come in," did he turn the doorknob.
Entering, his eyebrows shot up.
"Looks like things got pretty chaotic last night?"
His gaze fell on Ash, who was sporting two dark circles under his eyes. Lucas wasn't gloating, just teasing.
The room was a mess, with destroyed furniture and visible damage from impacts.
He'd believe it if someone told him there'd been a Pokémon battle here last night.
No wonder he'd heard noise downstairs before sleeping—good thing he could sleep through anything.
Ash, his clothes stained with something dark, lowered his head and said sheepishly, "Sorry, Brother Lucas, for messing up the room you fixed up so nicely."
"I'll pay for the damages…"
Lucas waved him off.
"The new house will be done soon anyway. This is nothing."
"Instead of worrying about compensation, why not think about when you'll finally pay Misty back for her bike?"
Ash: "!!!"
"Brother Lucas, how did you know about that?"
Ash looked guilty—someone actually knew about his huge debt to Misty!
"Don't worry about it."
Lucas didn't explain. Smiling, he glanced at Pikachu, who was sleeping soundly, and continued:
"Go give Pikachu a bath first. Afterward, we'll talk about Charcadet and today's plans."
With that, Lucas left the room.
Delia had brought plenty of spare clothes for Ash, and he knew where the bathroom was. They could handle it themselves.
His job now was to notify Oranguru to clean up the room later, repaint, and replace some furniture.
Ash moved quickly.
Just as Lucas finished making arrangements, Ash had already changed into clean clothes and came running with Pikachu on his shoulder—still with those panda-like dark circles under his eyes.
"Brother Lucas!"
Ash called out, then glanced outside and asked in a low voice,
"Where's Charcadet?"
"Don't worry, it's with Ceruledge. I don't think there's any other Pokémon that could relate to it more, since they're the same species."
Lucas patted Ash's shoulder and, with his other hand, discreetly petted Pikachu.
Then he asked, "Now, can you tell me what happened in your room last night?"
Ash nodded and summarized the situation.
To put it simply, just like in the anime, Ash stayed up all night with Charcadet until it woke up.
Unfortunately, Charcadet now clearly distrusted all humans, and chaos ensued until Ceruledge, who had been watching, intervened and took Charcadet away for the time being.
As a fellow species, Charcadet trusted Ceruledge a bit, so Lucas told Ash not to worry.
After the conversation—
"Brother Lucas, how can I become friends with Charcadet?" Ash asked ruefully.
Lucas thought for a moment.
At this point, Ash had only encountered one abandoned Pokémon—his current Charizard, back when it was still a Charmander.
That Charmander had been tricked into waiting in the rain for its previous trainer, nearly dying from the exposure, until Ash and friends rescued it and took it to the Pokémon Center.
After some drama, Charmander ditched its lousy old trainer and chose to travel with Ash.
It had been a simple resolution.
Charcadet, however, was tougher. It had been deeply hurt by humans and was likely even warier than Ceruledge once was.
If Ash wanted to win it over, he'd have to work hard.
Especially since the trainer who abandoned Charcadet had already been "dealt with" by Lucas, and who knew if Team Rocket would ever show up in Paldea.
After thinking it over, Lucas said, "This isn't something that can be fixed overnight."
"If you trust me, let Ceruledge talk to Charcadet first. As the same species and having had similar experiences, it'll be easier to accept advice."
"As for today… come with me."
"Bring your Pokémon who are good at underground battles—I have a training mission for you."
Lucas patted Ash's shoulder again, smiling encouragingly.
Ash had no idea what Lucas had planned for him. The mention of "battle" and "training mission" had him and Pikachu running out, rounding up their team.
…
A little later.
At the farm's open field—
"Hold on tight!"
Lucas called out to Ash, who (sort of) sat in front of him, then patted Dragonite, signaling it to take off.
"Bwooo~"
With a melodious roar, Dragonite whipped up a mighty wind and soared into the sky, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"Whoa—!"
"Pikapi—!"
"Ding ding ding—!"
Up in the air, with three voices chattering like tourists, Lucas felt his head ache.
It was understandable for Gimmighoul to be excited about its first high-speed flight with Dragonite.
But hadn't Ash and Pikachu already flown on Lugia? Why were they still so thrilled?
After a while, they finally calmed down.
Ash, face flushed, gazed at Dragonite beneath him, gently stroking its smooth, scaled, yet soft back.
"Dragonite's amazing. If only I could catch one."
Lucas looked at him and said casually, "If you have that goal, one day you will."
"Really? That's great!"
Ash was a pure, single-celled organism—if Lucas said so, it must be true. He believed he'd catch a Dragonite one day.
Ash looked back, wanting to ask Lucas more questions.
Then—
He noticed a faintly visible necklace at Lucas's collar, swaying in the breeze.
Looking closer, he realized it was a feather.
And it looked familiar!
"Brother Lucas, is that feather…?"
Pikachu sniffed from a distance and suddenly cried out as if it remembered something.
"Pikapi!?"
"Looks like Pikachu remembers."
Lucas smiled, patted Pikachu's head, then showed Ash the Silver Wing from his chest.
"You remember, right? What happened on Shamouti Island, and the legendary Pokémon Lugia—the so-called 'Guardian of the Sea.' This is its gift to me."
At the mention of Lugia, Ash's eyes widened in shock.
"That feather from Lugia? Amazing, Brother Lucas!"
Lucas basked in Ash's praise.
After all, who doesn't like compliments?
With Dragonite's speed and a not-so-distant destination, they landed in about an hour.
They arrived at a remote wilderness, surrounded by barren mountains and wild Pokémon. Only adventurous trainers would come here.
Lucas ignored Ash's "What are we doing here?" and led the way into the mountains, Gimmighoul on his head, Ash and Pikachu chattering behind him like sparrows.
Soon, Lucas saw their destination for today—
A pitch-black, deep cave.
"Brother Lucas, that is…"
Ash, pointing at the cave, was shocked—not just by the roaring campfire and food roasting outside.
Tents, tables, cups, camping chairs—all signs of life. Someone was camping here!
What kind of weirdo would stay here?
Sensing people approaching, a man in a dig team uniform emerged from a tent.
Lucas greeted him, "Boss, we're here!"
That's right.
The "weirdo" camping in the wilderness was none other than the "Boss"—a relic expert who had signed a contract with Lucas not long ago to excavate ancient Paldean coins!
"Oh, my dear client!"
Seeing Lucas, the Boss's eyes lit up, and he gave him a big, enthusiastic bear hug—a custom from his hometown.
After confirming Lucas had accepted his greeting, the Boss let go and looked at the now-nervous Ash and Pikachu, asking Lucas,
"So this kid is the trainer partner you mentioned?"
The Boss's look became complicated.
He couldn't believe Lucas would make a kid work—how ruthless!
Understanding the misunderstanding, Lucas waved his hand and explained, "Don't be fooled by his age. He's a trainer who's collected eight badges in both Kanto and Johto. He's more than enough to help you explore the ruins and handle the guardian Pokémon and traps inside."
"Whoa, really?"
The Boss scrutinized Ash more closely.
He looked only ten or so, and his Pikachu looked like a stray dog—no idea how strong it was. He'd just assume it was a mascot or pet.
Ash finally caught on and whispered to Lucas, "So the training mission is…"
Lucas smiled. "That's right. You'll be the team's combat force, accompanying the Boss into the ancient ruins. Inside, you'll face many Pokémon guardians and traps, which will sharpen your reflexes and improve your real-battle skills. Not bad, right?"
Not only would Ash get stronger, but he'd also do Lucas's work. How wonderful!
Lucas couldn't help but admire his own cleverness.
He really made the most of every resource!
…