Click.
Lucas quietly closed the hospital room door and walked into the hallway.
He sighed. No new leads after all.
He checked the time. He'd wanted to visit two other poisoned families, but it was getting late, and the chicks he'd ordered were probably arriving at his farm.
He'd have to put it off for now and focus on catching the poisoner tonight.
…
Back at the farm, he ran into a slow-moving truck.
"Honk honk honk~"
A man with a lollipop in his mouth stuck his head out and yelled, "Hey, you the farm owner Lucas? Your order's here!"
The man looked rough, and with the lollipop between his teeth, he looked like a gangster smoking a cigarette.
Lucas's mouth twitched. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were making some shady deal.
He nodded. "That's me."
Because of the lollipop, the man mumbled, "You also ordered a lot of feed, right? It's heavy. Want me to drive it straight to your chicken house or storage?"
"No need," Lucas declined. "My Pokémon can handle the moving. Just unload it at the gate."
The man was happy to do less work and quickly unloaded the feed and cages of chicks.
With payment already made, Lucas just signed for the delivery, and the truck rolled off.
Alerted by Luxray, the Poliwhirls and Dolliv came running.
They crowded around the cage, fascinated by the fluffy chicks, like kids with a new favorite toy.
But to them, the chicks weren't playthings — they were their new charges, and that sense of responsibility was exciting.
Lucas smiled and reminded them, "Twelve pullets and two cockerels. They're fragile, so be careful not to hurt them."
Dolliv and the Poliwhirls nodded seriously.
Seeing their focus, Lucas crouched down to teach them more about chicken care, planning to demonstrate the daily routine and feeding tips.
Meanwhile, Swampert, called over by Luxray, silently began moving the huge piles of feed. Swampert could carry a dozen sacks of rice at once, so chicken feed was no problem.
And so, as Lucas and the Pokémon worked, the sun set.
…
Night.
Not just the farm, but the world itself seemed to fall silent. Even the nocturnal Pokémon made as little noise as possible — it was utterly still.
A shadowy figure crept in. Even in the grass, it made no sound, thanks to its nimble body. Even after evolving to near human height, it moved with ease.
The occasional rustle in the grass sounded just like the wind — Grafaiai's pride was its stealth.
Grafaiai stared at the building's windows. Over the past few days, while watching from the trees, it noticed the lights always turned on and off at the same time. It couldn't understand.
It had already poisoned the berries — why hadn't anything happened to the people here?
Maybe they hadn't eaten them yet?
Grafaiai hesitated.
This farm's Pokémon were strong. During the day, Grafaiai didn't dare come close, only sneaking around at night. Last time, it got lucky when Luxray happened to be away.
Really, it shouldn't have come back, but Grafaiai was unwilling. At the very least, it wanted to find out if the berries had been eaten, then it could move on to its next target.
Its revenge was far from over.
Everything related to the one who abandoned it — it would take revenge on all of it.
Grafaiai waited until deep into the night, until Luxray yawned and went inside — clearly settling in to sleep.
Now, Grafaiai made up its mind. The first time had gone well; surely the second would, too.
After waiting a while longer, Grafaiai made its move.
What it didn't realize was that the breathing of the Pokémon resting in the farm was a little too steady — they were only pretending to sleep.
Grafaiai made its silent way to the warehouse and found two dog-like Pokémon, one large and one small, sleeping at the door. It didn't know the big one — maybe it had evolved?
Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Eyeing the closed window, Grafaiai prepared to climb up, moving even more cautiously because of Arcanine and Dachsbun.
Suddenly, a sneeze echoed in the night.
Grafaiai froze and found itself face-to-face with the Pokémon that looked like a loaf of bread.
Instantly, Grafaiai realized what was happening and bolted.
Arcanine, who had been faking sleep, stood up and shot Dachsbun a withering look for sneezing from a cold.
Well, no matter — Arcanine had the culprit's scent now.
Arcanine watched the black Pokémon run off, fire energy building inside. Its red fur glowed like fire.
In a flash, Arcanine tensed its muscles, eyes sharp, and unleashed a move it had learned after evolving:
Extreme Speed.
Arcanine, a blazing fireball, shot forward, leaving a trail of flames and instantly overtaking Grafaiai.
Sensing the heat rushing up behind it, Grafaiai glanced back in shock.
Arcanine looked at it with a teasing grin, as if to say, "Even if I let you have a head start, I'll still catch you."
Again, again, again!
In despair, Grafaiai gathered up poisonous energy for a last-ditch fight.
But Arcanine's paw was far faster.
Everything went black — Grafaiai was knocked out.