Castelia City, at the entrance of the cutting-edge medical institute—Alder hurriedly ushered Lucas's group of five inside.
Having received the message, Alder had arranged everything. They met no one along the way and headed straight to the deepest room.
When the door opened, Lucas finally saw Volcarona in the pod—so weak it seemed it might drift away on the next breeze.
In sheer size, this Volcarona was much larger than the one that battled Lucas. You could imagine how those three pairs of orange-red wings would stir up a strangely beautiful blaze when it flew.
Arven struggled to find words for this special Volcarona. He meant no offense—just voicing his first impression. "There's a kind of…fragile beauty."
Nemona, Penny, and Eri fell silent, their expressions heavy with sadness.
Even after seeing it countless times, Alder's eyes still reddened and his nose stung whenever he looked at his sleeping Volcarona.
It was the first Pokémon with whom he shared a true bond after becoming a trainer. He thought those days of battle and laughter would last forever—but misfortune comes unannounced…
Now, all his hope rested on Lucas. He knew it wasn't dignified—but for Volcarona's sake, what was pride worth?
Alder looked to Lucas. When Lucas nodded, he didn't hesitate. He spoke to the ceiling-mounted intercom in the treatment room: "Open it."
Static crackled, then a hesitant voice echoed in the room. "Champion…are you sure?"
Alder knew what that meant. Stopping the pod's support would make Volcarona's candle-flame life even more precarious.
The stakes were immense—but what was there left to fear?
As Unova's Champion, Alder didn't lack resolve when it mattered. He believed Lucas would have a way.
His face set, he repeated in a firm voice, "Open it."
Silence for a moment—then the pod hummed. The life solution within was withdrawn.
With a click and a faint medicinal scent drifting through the room, the pod opened. Soaked and barely able to move, Volcarona opened its eyes.
Alder's gaze and voice softened. "Help has come. You must hold on."
Volcarona looked at him and let out a weak call, eyes full of affection.
Time was critical. Without the pod's support, each second shaved away at Volcarona's remaining life. There was no time for sentiment.
At Lucas's signal, Eri and Arven guided Alder back. Lucas stepped forward and took out a Poké Ball. "Victini, I'm counting on you."
"Vii!"
Victini hopped out and looked first at Volcarona, too weak now to even fly.
It could faintly sense Volcarona's energy bleeding away…
Lucas said, "Try using your infinite energy to replenish some of its lost origin."
Victini nodded lightly. Its innocent smile faded; it steeled its tiny face, serious and focused.
It approached, gently placing its small hands on Volcarona's head antennae—the organs that gather energy. Victini had sensed that this would be the most efficient conduit.
Under Alder's tense stare, Victini closed its eyes. Golden aura wrapped its body—and began to flow into Volcarona.
A miracle—happened.
Volcarona's antennae flushed crimson. Its dull orange-red wings regained a vibrant scarlet sheen. Volcarona, startled, sensed the gaping black void of loss within being filled by an outside power, turning gradually to shimmering gold.
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room, researchers tracking Volcarona's sensors were dumbstruck.
They watched the rising lines across the screens—their glasses nearly sliding off their noses.
What all their painstaking effort and assembled experts couldn't mend—the deficit in origin—was being repaired by this small, unknown Pokémon!?
After a while, sweat beaded on Victini's brow. It finally stopped the transfer, its small body wavering—only to be caught gently by Lucas, who'd been watching closely.
He stroked its head, thinking.
So, filling origin with infinite energy cost an enormous amount. Though Victini was said to have infinite energy, the amount it could safely output at once was limited.
That was why, in the movie, it looked so pained when the villain forcibly extracted its power.
Across the way, under Alder's hopeful gaze, Volcarona's three pairs of wings flashed red. The air warmed.
Just as those wings were about to become three pairs of blazing pinions and lift it skyward, Volcarona's expression shifted. The active Fire energy suddenly subsided, and it lay back down in the pod.
The sudden change startled everyone—Alder almost felt his heart stop.
The shaky voice from the monitors came through quickly. "Volcarona's origin deficit has been replenished, but its unhealed injuries remain. It tried to mobilize energy to fly—that's why…"
"However, with its origin replenished, Volcarona can now retain energy. Some treatments that can stabilize its condition without worsening the injuries can now be applied."
The voice finally took on a note of joy.
"Congratulations, Champion Alder. From now on, Volcarona has more time—enough to await the day when a curative technique is developed."
The pod slowly closed again under the remote controls. Fresh life solution flowed back in.
But unlike before, Volcarona could now remain conscious and interact with Alder.
Holding Victini, Lucas glanced at Alder, whose eyes glittered with tears yet whose smile was childlike—an odd sight. Lucas smiled back. Nemona and the others exchanged happy looks with him and Victini.
It seemed Volcarona could hold out until the Herba Mystica matured on the farm.
After chatting a bit more, Lucas's group took their leave to make their evening flight from Nimbasa back to Paldea.
Alder was reluctant but understood they'd already been away from Paldea for almost a week. They were eager to go home.
As much as he wanted to host them and show gratitude, Alder could read the room.
He promised that if Lucas ever needed help, he'd come without a second thought.
On their way out, the researchers nearly blocked them—too curious about Victini. It ended with Alder angrily driving the researchers off. The incident raised Lucas's opinion of him even more.
Though in the games he'd been reduced to Team Plasma's background prop, the man himself truly loved Pokémon and was kind to people—a good man.
Alder then sped them to Nimbasa. With time to spare before boarding, he accepted a challenge match from Nemona and gave her a coaching battle.
Nemona, unsurprisingly, lost—but Alder saw in her the fathomless potential of the new generation.
Without Lucas's group knowing, Alder resolved that—whether for Volcarona's treatment or nurturing Unova's youth—he would commit fully.
He would!
At last, under Nimbasa's brilliant lights, the engines roared. Watching the ground fall away outside the window, Lucas and the others were eager to return home.
…
June 9, Paldea Region, Los Platos.
Under a parasol, Lucas reclined on a lounge chair, a glass of iced fresh-squeezed berry juice in hand—utterly content.
Beside him, Victini did the same, wearing sunglasses bigger than its face—dug up from some corner of the farm—hugging its glass and savoring the chilled juice.
They'd been back in Paldea a day. After returning Nemona and the other four safely to the academy, Lucas, as expected, received a bonus from Geeta—enough to pay in full for a power-generation and storage module, with plenty left over.
At least enough to build another set.
On their first day back at the farm, Lucas introduced Victini, Vulpix, and the Sandslash couple to the rest.
Flush with funds, he threw a grand welcome party—committed fully to enjoying life.
He shook his glass. The ice was nearly melted in the summer heat. Lucas sprang up and called to Victini, "Come on, let's go find Vulpix for more ice."
Victini bounced up; its sunglasses slid off as expected. It didn't care—floated lazily onto Lucas's head, basking in the summer sun, perfectly content.
After just a day on the farm, Victini had already been lulled into its leisurely rhythm.
Lucas slid into his flip-flops and walked to the Vulpix hut beside the new warehouse. Opening the door, a refreshing chill washed over him.
Inside, everything was snow-white. Snow lay thick on the floor; a cloudbank clung to the ceiling, still dropping flakes.
No doubt, this was Vulpix's Snow Warning at work. The Sandslash couple had also contributed for their future living space.
They preferred the underground ice cellar below and didn't live on the upper floor. In a way, the upper level had become Vulpix's personal home.
At the moment, Vulpix was hosting friends there—Poliwrath and Poliwag, Miltank, Skiddo, Eldegoss, Arcanine, and Dachsbun were all playing.
Of course, Vulpix hadn't forgotten Alcremie and Comfey; as for Victini, it had been napping with Lucas, so Vulpix hadn't called it.
Lucas looked around and didn't see the Sandslash pair. Too lazy to go down into the frigid cellar, he called Vulpix over from its romp and set the two berry juices down.
"Powder Snow," he instructed.
Vulpix reluctantly paused its play, gathered a breath, and exhaled a far weaker Powder Snow than the one that had slaughtered the Shadow Triad. A thin, fragile crust formed on the glasses.
Lucas took a sip, finding the chill just right. He and Victini gave Vulpix a thumbs-up and swaggered out of the hut.
They still had a nap to get back to.
At five in the afternoon, after the iced drinks and a long nap, Lucas woke on the lounge with a dull, headachy haze. He squinted at the sky.
Perfect timing—Eldegoss and the others should be gathering to feed the Herba Mystica now.
Sharing a yawn with Victini, he stood. "About time."
At the tightly fenced plot of Herba Mystica, sure enough, Comfey had brought three Eldegoss and was in position.
The four huddled together, about to lay down a composite Grassy Terrain over the field—when Lucas hurriedly stopped them.
Amid puzzled looks, he smiled and raised his Z-Ring and a Grass Z-Crystal already equipped. "Let's try something different today."
As if it knew the plan all along, Victini flitted around and tapped each of them. As golden aura flowed into their bodies, their expressions changed at once.
This surging power…
Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain Z unfurled again over the fields. Under the four Pokémon's astonished stares, countless green motes surged into the crops. The efficiency and speed were on another level entirely!
Even from outside the fence, Lucas could feel the vibrant life force pulsing from the Herba Mystica. If they kept this up daily, the spices might mature with terrifying speed—beyond anyone's expectations!
Even with most of his stamina drained, he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Victini's infinite energy was too useful!
Victini, still with energy to spare, floated behind Lucas and—just as with the Eldegoss—began channeling power into him.
"Vii~ Vii!" (Again! Again!)
In an instant, Lucas felt not only fully recovered but overflowing with stamina. He felt like he could punch out a Paldean Tauros…
Urged on by Victini, he raised his arm to show the now-dim Grass Z and sighed. "This thing needs to collect light to recover. Until it shines again, we can't use a Z-Move—"
Before he could finish, Victini's cheerful little hand landed on the dull crystal. Golden aura rose once more—and Lucas stared as the Grass Z began to brighten.
Wait—you can charge this too!?
Sure, Z-Moves burn natural energy—but the power that drives the Z-Crystal is the light of the Radiant One, Ultra Necrozma!