Unown, this very mysterious Pokémon species—back before Lucas transmigrated, there were even rumors that Unown was the underlying code Arceus used to create the world.
Naturally, he was immensely curious about Unown.
Since the two Unown were willing to stay, Lucas gladly welcomed them.
It was already late at night. Lucas sent Ash, Pikachu, and Larvitar off to bed, reminding them they'd have to wake up early in the morning to accompany Nemona and the others to stake out the giant Pokémon in the fog near Alfornada.
Then, he turned to the two Unown circling around him.
Just as Lucas was thinking about how to settle them, the two suddenly seemed to discover something and cheered happily, charging straight toward the tightly shut main door!
No one knew how they did it—just as they touched the door, a flash of white light erupted, and as if they'd always been part of it, they transformed into glyphs and embedded themselves into the door.
One on the left, one on the right—they looked just like a pair of guardian deities.
Amazed, Lucas walked over and tried touching them—
The sensation was still the same cold surface of the original door, not a single bump.
Yet the two Unown let out ticklish-sounding cries.
To his surprise, he also found that no matter if he was inside or outside the house, the Unown's single eyes could follow his movements, achieving a two-way gaze.
How amazing!
Calyrex flew over just in time and explained: "Other than the large number of Unown living in spatial rifts, those that appear in this world usually have some sort of object of attachment—"
"Such as murals, ancient statues, or like those two wooden plaques before, or these two doors now."
"They like to quietly stay on these things, observing everything in the real world. Just let them be."
Almost as if to prove Calyrex's words, the two Unown's eyes curved in joy and they called out again.
"Chinoo chinoo~"
Since the Unown had expressed their wishes, Lucas didn't force them to live elsewhere. He patted each of their "bodies" and smiled:
"In a while, we'll be moving. When we do, you can be the guardian deities on the bigger doors of our new home."
"Chinoo~"
Though they didn't understand what "guardian deity" meant, the two Unown wiggled, responding with a cry.
Having settled everything, Lucas and Calyrex exchanged goodnights. Watching Calyrex carry Cosmog, whom he'd brought back from Arboliva Kindergarten, into its room, Lucas returned to his room, set his alarm, and drifted off to sleep.
…
5:00 AM.
As soon as the alarm rang, a big hand, as if preemptively prepared, slammed it off.
After all—
Inside, Mimikyu, Serperior, and the two Eevee were still sleeping soundly.
Yawning instinctively, Lucas forced his groggy brain to stay awake, stood up carefully as if sleepwalking, and went to wash up.
He'd only slept three or four hours last night—definitely insufficient.
Honestly, the fact he could get up at all was proof of his considerable willpower.
After a quick wash, even taking a shower and changing into activity-friendly clothes, Lucas headed to the guestroom on the second floor.
Without knocking, he went straight in.
After their time together, he knew waking Ash by knocking was basically hopeless.
Opening the door, as expected, he was greeted with Ash, Pikachu, and Larvitar all sprawled out, sleeping in various poses.
Lucas didn't try waking Ash directly, but instead woke Pikachu.
And how did he do it?
Naturally, with some ketchup he'd grabbed from the kitchen!
When Pikachu opened its sleepy eyes, it instinctively used its little pink tongue to lick whatever was tickling its nose—
The familiar sweet-and-sour flavor of ketchup exploded on its tongue, instantly waking Pikachu up!
"Chuu~"
Squinting blissfully, Pikachu wore an expression of pure enjoyment.
"Please wake up Ash for me. Later I'll make you an omelet rice covered in ketchup~"
Lucas, unable to resist, gave Pikachu a head rub and left the room.
The job of waking Ash was left to a now wide-eyed, electrically charged Pikachu.
Not long after Lucas left—
With a spirited "Pika—CHUU!", golden electricity filled the room. In the distance, Ash's screams could be heard.
…
5:30 AM.
Seated on Dragonite's back, Lucas looked at Ash, who was riding in front of him, and reminded, "We'll be heading to the seaside soon. Water-type Pokémon can relax there—did you bring them all?"
"Wartortle, Kingler, Croconaw, Snorlax, and Pikachu. All set!"
Ash counted off confidently on his fingers.
"..."
Lucas paused suspiciously for a second.
Then, he looked at Oranguru, who was holding Larvitar, and nodded.
Oranguru understood Lucas's meaning, nodded back, watched Dragonite take to the sky and disappear into the still-dark night, and returned inside.
Time to get ready for milk delivery.
Fortunately, the clever Noctowl was around lately, so some work could be delegated.
Whoosh, whoosh—
The strong wind howled past, but due to a strange energy, it didn't affect Lucas or Ash on Dragonite's back.
Pikachu's eyes sparkled as it looked around, clearly enjoying the moment.
Alfornada wasn't far from Los Platos. At Dragonite's speed, they'd arrive long before dawn.
That was also why Lucas had only slept a few hours before setting out.
The journey was short, but Ash couldn't contain his excitement and asked, "Brother Lucas, what are we going to see today?"
Clearly, he'd forgotten Lucas's late-night explanation.
Lucas briefly explained again.
But Ash's reaction was odd.
"Mist? A giant Pokémon dozens of meters tall?"
Ash's eyes widened as he finally started thinking, memories surfacing.
Come to think of it, he'd encountered several giant Pokémon before!
Like the unknown giant Pokémon searching for its companion in the mist at Professor Oak's lighthouse, the giant Tentacruel attacking Porta Vista, and the super-ancient Alakazam, Gengar, and Jigglypuff revived in the ruins near the outskirts of Pallet Town!
Any of those could match the giant Pokémon Lucas described.
Thinking of this, Ash recalled every detail, even boasting a little as he recounted his experiences for Lucas.
He'd thought Lucas would praise him for such extraordinary adventures, but instead, Lucas fell silent and thoughtful.
Ash was a little disappointed.
But Lucas had no time to worry about Ash's mood. His brow twitched—a habit when deep in thought.
Suddenly, Lucas was struck by inspiration.
Yes—
There really were many giant Pokémon in this world.
And a giant Pokémon associated with mist, immense size, and continuous cries—Lucas remembered just such a being.
It had appeared in the original anime, in the episode at Oak's lighthouse.
Professor Oak had used his own recordings to lure a mysterious creature that wandered the nearby seas.
The lonely Pokémon, searching for its companion, heard the "I want to see you, I want to see you" message in the cries, and, accompanied by thick mist, happily responded—only to be attacked by Team Rocket.
The Pokémon sent Team Rocket flying, and just the aftermath of its attack nearly destroyed the lighthouse.
In the end, it disappeared beyond the sea and never appeared in the anime again.
Lucas remembered its silhouette—no doubt about it—
A giant Dragonite!
If Nemona, Arven, and Eri had really seen a giant Dragonite, had it wandered all the way from Kanto to Paldea across the world?
That was quite the journey.
Lucas took a deep breath, anticipation growing.
One way or another, he was eager to investigate this giant Dragonite's origins and unravel the mystery.
Following the coordinates provided by the trio, Lucas directed Dragonite to land on a seaside beach dozens of kilometers from Alfornada.
As soon as they landed, Lucas's lips twitched at the sight of a lone tent on the sandy shore.
Those three—
To stake out a possible giant Dragonite, they'd dared to pitch a tent so close to the sea, not worried about the tide at all!?
"Ptooey, ptooey—"
"Pika Pika—"
Ash, absentmindedly, hadn't covered his face during Dragonite's landing and ended up with a face full of sand and a mouthful too.
He could only bend and spit out sand miserably.
Pikachu was in the same predicament.
Ash's commotion finally snapped the three who'd sat in front of the tent all night, blankly staring at the waves, back to life—
They turned to see Lucas and Dragonite, eyes lighting up as they rushed over like reunited family.
"Teacher Lucas!"
As they approached, Lucas's smile froze.
How to say this—
All three were visibly tanned.
Especially Nemona—her formerly fair skin now a healthy tan, looking much more like the sporty girl from the games, just without the freckles or green hair streak.
The trio surrounded Lucas, chattering excitedly about their travels. After a while, they finally noticed Ash and Pikachu peeking out from behind Dragonite.
The calmest of the three, Eri, asked curiously, "Teacher Lucas, who's this?"
Before Lucas could answer, Arven interjected mischievously, "Your secret love child?"
Nemona seemed to believe it, staring at Lucas in shock.
Teacher Lucas was only nineteen, and already had a son this big!?
The next second, Arven got a friendly iron fist to the head from Lucas, who then introduced, "This is Ash, and his partner Pikachu. They're from Kanto and are staying at my farm for special training."
Ash bounced out, cheerfully delivering his classic self-introduction.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu."
Thanks to Nemona's own social awkwardness and Eri's balancing presence—even Arven's edginess aside—the four quickly became friends.
Especially when Nemona learned Ash had collected sixteen badges from two regions and was about to compete in the Johto Silver Conference—she became truly excited.
She picked up her Poké Ball and challenged Ash: "Let's battle!"
Ash nodded firmly. "Battle!"
Both sent out their Pokémon and immediately began an intense beach battle.
So fast that even Lucas almost missed it.
"She's always like this. We're used to it," Eri and Arven said calmly to Lucas.
It wasn't hard to imagine what they'd been through traveling with Nemona.
Lucas had expected as much—after all, Ash and Nemona were both battle fanatics on a level few could match.
He even suspected that, left unchecked, the two could battle all day.
Just then—
Eri's stomach growled.
Lucas and Arven looked at her. Eri's cheeks flushed, and she stammered, "I-I-I—"
As the group's chef, Arven sighed and was about to make breakfast, but Lucas stopped him, smiling, "I haven't eaten yet either. Let's eat together."
…
Half an hour later—
Delicious smells wafted from the cookware as the two on the beach neared the end of their battle.
While Ash had two region's worth of badges, his actual ability was only just at the elite trainer level, if that.
In contrast, Nemona was battling gym leaders at full strength now. Their levels weren't really comparable, especially since Ash didn't have all his main team with him.
The only standout was Snorlax.
Though it didn't look impressive, it grappled with Nemona's Ursaring for quite a while before being defeated—clearly all that eating wasn't for nothing.
Lucas chatted with Eri and Arven about recent news from the academy.
Though Nemona and Eri often contacted Penny, the details they knew were limited—Lucas's additions made the stories come alive.
Once breakfast was set out on the folding table, even the two battling maniacs were drawn over by the aroma, temporarily pausing their duel.
Eri smiled gently, laying out the tableware. As everyone sat, she looked out at the sea and dawn sky and said, a little disappointed, "It seems the giant mysterious Pokémon isn't coming today."
Ash and Nemona, mid-bite, stopped to look at the sea together.
Could it be that they wouldn't see it today?
…