Lucas's voice cracked like thunder out of a clear sky right beside Victini's ear.
Its body went rigid; it even forgot to maintain invisibility for a moment and accidentally revealed half of its right hand.
Truly—accidentally showed a hand.
Nurse Joy paused slightly, a trace of doubt flickering in her eyes.
What was that—was it a Pokémon?
Seeing that familiar creamy arm and those orange three-toed fingers, Lucas sighed. He'd already had a hunch on the road when he noticed Comfey interacting with someone.
A Pokémon this mischievous that can also turn invisible—could the clue be any clearer than pointing straight at Victini?
So Lucas had known from the start that Victini had snuck along, and he hadn't minded much. He just didn't expect the little guy really thought it was undetected—staring at the berry juice and drooling, yet stubbornly refusing to show itself.
Maybe once it was found out, Victini just gave up pretending. It popped right into view, crystalline liquid at the corner of its mouth, and eagerly took the two cups of berry juice Lucas handed over.
"Vii~"
One cup of sweet-and-tart berry juice down, and Victini clasped its cheeks with delight like a little mouse that had stolen some cheese.
"Look how greedy you are," Lucas scolded with a smile. Then he turned to the surprised Nurse Joy, who was staring at Victini, and asked, "Nurse Joy, do you think having Shuckle make the medicine is feasible?"
Pulling her gaze away from Victini, Nurse Joy lowered her head, pondered briefly, and replied.
"It should be feasible. I've heard that in the far-off Johto region, many pharmacies use Shuckle's ability for compounding."
"If I recall correctly, the principle is—"
Nurse Joy pulled a book from the side, flipped to the relevant page from memory, studied it for a moment, and spoke with certainty.
"Shuckle can secrete a mysterious bodily fluid. It can, to a certain extent, stimulate the efficacy of berries and herbs while fermenting them into the purest juice and medicinal extract."
"However, the only drawback is like the berry juice we just drank. Because it lacks filtration and other refinement steps, the juice and extract can be a bit viscous, making the mouthfeel somewhat sticky."
"If you gather several herbs whose properties don't conflict with that sour leaf in your hand and stuff them together into Shuckle's shell, it should be able to produce the medicine."
Her answer was very detailed—practically laying out a path in front of Lucas.
Taking out pen and paper, Joy wrote down a few mild herbs that practically don't conflict with others and should blend well with the secret seasoning: the Sour Seasoning. She handed the list to Lucas with a slight smile.
"Consider it helping you run an experiment. But when the other herbs you mentioned with different effects mature, I'd prefer you try your own pairings."
Not even at beginner level, Lucas didn't refuse. He accepted the paper and nodded solemnly. "Understood."
"But judging from the two bottles of berry juice we had, the results may vary a lot."
Nurse Joy could win with force, but her brain wasn't just for show, either.
Based on the bottle colors and her Pokémon knowledge, she could guess the different colors likely came from different individual Shuckle.
At her concerned reminder, Lucas offered the answer he'd already prepared.
"I've considered ways to handle that, too."
After buying some vegetables at the market, it was nearly five in the afternoon by the time Lucas returned to the farm.
Victini was happy to help carry the basket—probably thanks to having two cups of berry juice in a row.
Back at the farm, Lucas received the newly delivered tack from Oranguru.
It was custom-made for Mudsdale's build. The overall color was brown—matching Mudsdale's coat—with black and orange accents to make it look less plain.
For riding Pokémon, many trainers and ordinary families have a habit of ordering a set of tack. It makes riding more comfortable and prevents things like the inner thighs getting rubbed raw as if you were riding a horse bareback.
Tack also secures you well, preventing accidental falls from a running or flying ride Pokémon that could cause tragic accidents.
Lucas and Mudsdale would be entering the Pokémon Marathon in Los Platos Town—so professional riding gear was necessary.
Lucas and Oranguru brought the tack to the ranch area, arriving just in time to see five Miltank curled into balls, roaring past along a high slope. Whether speed or force, they seemed to be approaching the limit.
The move Rollout—a physical Rock-type move. In the games, each consecutive hit doubles the move's power: from the second Rollout onward, it's 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x.
If Defense Curl is used beforehand, the power theoretically doubles again.
In reality, while cumulative power still exists, the real determinant is the compounding speed and momentum during the roll.
All this was info from Whitney, the Miltank rolling expert.
If the four adolescent Miltank on the farm were enjoying the thrill of wind-at-your-back speed, then the Miltank Lucas got from Hanzawa was in a race against life and death.
Focus on the two Pokémon trailing behind the rolling Miltank—one crackling with electricity, one wreathed in flames—following unhurriedly like supervisors.
They were Luxray and Arcanine, invited by the four Miltank to keep them exercising and prevent obesity.
But to the Miltank brought back from Hanzawa Ranch, their supervision felt less friendly.
Hanzawa's philosophy was to keep Miltank comfortable and happy—whatever they liked.
Whitney's philosophy was the opposite extreme: exercise and holistic health.
As a result, after arriving at the ranch, the Miltank with the rare Sap Sipper Ability, armed with a bottomless stomach, spent at least fourteen hours a day eating grass, leaving only eight for sleep.
Letting it eat freely, its growth outpaced even the Moltres at the time, becoming the farm's new reigning chow champ.
No matter how strong its digestion, that level of binging still showed on its body.
If the other Miltank were high-speed rolling spheres—
The Sap Sipper Miltank was pure meat-bullet impact. It rolled with "dong dong" bounces and had impressive spring to it.
Compared to the four companions, its Rollout was a bit half-hearted.
Often, after rolling a while, it would act like it tripped on a stone, flop onto the grass spread-eagled, panting and playing dead like a salted fish.
Yet this one had the best stamina of the five. It was pure laziness.
To help it lose weight, Arcanine and Luxray would give it a nip of flame on the rump or a harmless tingle of electricity to perk it up—just enough to drive it to finish the daily laps.
If Arcanine and Luxray were busy, they'd ask Sawsbuck and Skiddo to come by and occasionally butt it with their horns mid-run to boost its momentum.
Even its own kind worried it would literally become spherical at this rate, so they had to take slightly aggressive measures.
Thankfully, effort pays off. While not yet average-sized, it no longer looked as shockingly obese as at the start.
Singed by fire and jolted by electrotherapy, the Miltank let out a performative wail and grudgingly resumed rolling.
Lucas and Oranguru fell silent for a moment, then chose to detour to find Mudsdale.
Let's pretend we didn't see that.
Later, they'd prepare tasty, nutritious, but slimming food for Miltank and use the massage techniques from Whitney's "Miltank Massage Notes" to give it a proper rubdown.
After all, this was an initiative the Pokémon organized themselves. Whether he supported or opposed, it felt awkward to get involved.
Best to act like he didn't see.
The detour cost some time, but before sunset, Lucas and Oranguru reached the mud paddock where Mudsdale stayed and fitted the tack snugly.
Oranguru had taken the measurements, and though Lucas trusted its reliability, he was still a little uneasy before fitting.
Fortunately, both the measurements and the maker's craftsmanship were excellent. The price was a bit high, but the materials felt top-notch to the touch.
The tack not only fit Mudsdale perfectly, it didn't hinder its movement at all.
The moment it went on, Mudsdale seemed to awaken a memory deep in its blood, gesturing for Lucas to mount.
Thanks to often riding Dragonite, Lucas swung up in one smooth motion, looking like a true professional equestrian.
The golden dusk fell upon Mudsdale and Lucas, coating them in a halo.
Under Oranguru's gaze, the trainer and Pokémon began training with the goal of winning the upcoming Pokémon Marathon.