She had an idea, but no plan for how to carry it out yet.
Not long ago, when Sister Peonia contacted her, she mentioned that idiot dad seemed stimulated because Teacher Lucas had cleared the Ice Mountain Ruins so easily and even taken Calyrex and the others.
He'd been saying things like: Dad can open the ruins' door and solve the puzzles by himself too.
Then he started working day and night without rest.
Penny kept quiet. This needed a long-term plan.
Following Lucas's gaze, she began reading the replies under the thread.
Leader: Many years of ruin excavation experience. Frequently leads teams to excavate ruins. Track record verifiable!
Penny's eyes flashed with surprise.
The tone sounded arrogant, but in that single line you could see confidence.
Maybe this person really had skills.
Lucas thought about the same. He clicked into the "Leader's" avatar with expectation.
It was a real photo: a middle-aged man with a full beard, wearing typical explorer clothing, a yellow scarf around his neck, and a safety helmet with a light on his head.
Probably the Leader himself.
Lucas blinked, a bit surprised.
A real person online?
He looked at the Leader's posting history—mostly recruitment posts for excavation teams at various ruins. Inside those posts, the feedback looked pretty good, enough to suggest the Leader was likely a professional.
After a brief thought, Lucas opened a private message and typed:
[Cat Hero]: Got time to meet and talk—set a time and place?
He'd checked the posts: though the other party's main activity area was in Unova, the most recent posts were all related to Paldea. The Leader was probably already in Paldea.
Rather than slow forum DMs, it'd be faster to meet face-to-face, where words wouldn't easily distort.
Lucas waited a minute. No reply.
He wasn't surprised.
Normal. The Leader might be inside some ruin right now—and the time he'd replied to Lucas's thread was two days ago at dawn, so he wouldn't be camping the forum waiting for DMs.
Lucas shrugged, exited the forum, closed the browser, and shut the laptop. Then he asked Penny, "Want me to take you back to the Pokémon Center?"
Seeing how Penny looked half-asleep and spaced out, Lucas honestly worried she'd get drowsy mid-way and collapse on the road.
Penny nodded in embarrassment, cheeks slightly red, and said softly, "Sorry to trouble you, Teacher. Sister Rin also said she's waiting for you to pick up the other two prescriptions."
…
League Calendar 798, August 21.
Watching Combee flutter before him—its three faces full of determination—Lucas didn't know what had made it so resolute in asking for training, but he still nodded and agreed.
After Combee left happily, Lucas fell into thought.
If it wanted to train until it evolved… then how to train was something he had to think through.
For Pokémon breeding and training, Lucas always followed the principle of teaching according to aptitude. So other Pokémon's training methods couldn't just be copied.
Think about it: if Lucas used the same methods he used for Dragonite and Moltres on Combee, how could it endure?
Dragonite often got called to high altitudes to experience turbulent airflow and refine its control of air currents; sometimes it even charged straight into thunderstorm clouds to challenge its limits.
But for Combee, that kind of training would just be deliberate torment.
After all, on the farm only Combee and Shuckle were Bug-types. This was Lucas's first time designing a training plan for a Bug-type Pokémon from scratch. With everything unknown and needing trial and error, he had to be careful.
What?
Applin isn't a Bug?
It's a pure Dragon-type Pokémon!
Even more pure than Charizard and Aerodactyl.
After thinking, Lucas called Oranguru over and had it bring paper and pen. He began sketching and writing.
He remembered that Combee's base stats were truly average—supposedly even worse than Pikachu, which was said to be as common in Kanto as stray dogs by the roadside.
"The only highlight is the 70 base Speed—representing speed, agility, and move execution speed."
He circled the Speed entry in the six-stat table he'd written from memory.
"Besides Speed, its future role as a double-defense Pokémon is already showing."
He connected the 42 Defense and 42 Special Defense values, then looked at the total.
Not the lowest, but not good either.
Fortunately, this world didn't speak purely in base stats.
Besides—bond and friendship could take you so far you could yell about dreams and the future and even topple Arceus.
The key was still the Pokémon's own talent. As a Trainer, his job was to help them find what they were good at, then develop it.
"After evolution, Vespiquen's dual defenses break 100, both offenses are 80, and only Speed drops because its body gets bigger—down to 40. What it lacks should be agility, right?"
"Then Vespiquen's tactics are easy to build."
Muttering to himself, Lucas kept writing.
Item: Covert Cloak. Moves: Roost, Toxic, Hex—all good. Its signature Defend Order, Attack Order, and Heal Order were also useful.
But those were only possible once Combee evolved and learned many moves.
Right now, the main goal was how to train Combee.
Considering that Bug-type Pokémon, due to species limitations, were often far less robust than many others, training intensity needed careful control.
But when one door closed, a window opened.
Even if many Bug-types lacked toughness, their growth speed was the fastest.
Compared to Dragon-types with long growth cycles that could take years without heavy resources, Bug-types were popular among Trainers without wealthy families because they grew quickly and cost fewer resources.
That was why Bug Catchers were one of the largest groups in the world.
If Lucas hadn't met Luxio back then and had no money, he might've done what Bug Catchers do: go to a tree where Butterfree lay eggs, take one egg, hatch a Caterpie, and start from scratch.
Or rely on knowledge to enter Naranja Academy and receive a free starter, walking the protagonist route.
"The highest-return method for raising Bug-types—besides training—really is specialized nutrition intake."
Several options surfaced in Lucas's mind.
Energy cubes specialized for Bug and Flying-types; nutrient-rich milk, goat milk, and eggs—all were good options.
Though he hadn't given it energy cubes, Combee often drank a capful of milk or goat milk each day. That nutrition should have been slowly reshaping its body.
It might only need a trigger to unleash the foundation it had built up all at once.
After thinking, Lucas wrote a few words next to trigger:
Secret seasoning: Spicy Flavoring.
He'd wondered for a long time: since Spicy Flavoring could explosively increase metabolism with no side effects, could it be used in Pokémon training?
A Pokémon that would normally need ten days of training to digest energy and nutrients could, after taking a medicinal powder or solution made from Spicy Flavoring, digest it all in a single day.
Like turning on a growth cheat.
He'd just gotten all the prescriptions from Joy Rin yesterday. Maybe he could try combining a gentler medicine for tests—keep the dosage small, test on willing wild Pokémon first, then confirm safety and give it to Combee.
As Lucas brainstormed, Dachsbun and Arcanine ran into the house like a gust of wind, barking at Lucas and Oranguru waiting quietly by his side.
Without Lucas asking, Oranguru translated: "Young Master, it seems there are visitors at the farm gate with Luxray. They say they're the first Gym Leader you challenged."
First Gym Leader…
His thoughts interrupted, Lucas was blank for a moment—then the memory snapped into place.
The first Gym was Cortondo Gym, and the Gym Leader was Katy—also the owner of Patisserie.
He didn't know why Katy had come, but Lucas had Dachsbun and Arcanine hurry back and tell Luxray to bring Katy inside.
He also instructed Oranguru to bring out his pan-roasted black tea and flower tea, plus the chipped teapot he'd been saving, and to borrow the freshly baked caramel milk pudding from Alcremie. Then the hospitality lineup was complete.
…
A moment later—
Luxray strode in steadily, leading Katy into the house.
Katy was still wearing her pastry-chef uniform. It was clear she liked that outfit.
Seeing Lucas, Katy clasped her hands and apologized slowly, "Sorry—will this sudden visit bother you?"
Lucas smiled and shook his head, gesturing for her to sit. "Not at all. I was just thinking about a training plan at home."
"A training plan?"
After sitting down, Katy's eyes brightened.
"As expected of a Trainer who passed our trial and reached Champion level—even during rest you're thinking about how to train your Pokémon."
"Work at Patisserie has been too busy. I even feel like I've accidentally neglected those kids lately…"
"The kids," of course, meant the Pokémon she raised.
Recently, because an important supply chain for Patisserie had run into problems, she'd been busy nonstop. She'd even put her side job as Cortondo Gym Leader on pause for the moment.
At this point, Lucas could accept rainbow praise with a straight face… though given Katy's airy, natural-ditsy personality, she probably meant every word.
But that wasn't important.
More than learning why Katy had come, Lucas wanted to play his usual combo.
Using the exact same tone and smile he'd used hosting Penny days ago, Lucas asked, "Would you like black tea or flower tea?"
"As for dessert, I only have caramel milk pudding—will that do?"
"I'm interested in flower tea," Katy answered quickly, flattered. "Ah—dessert is fine."
She hadn't expected Lucas to host her so warmly before she'd even explained anything.
Maybe her ditziness kicked in again, because she just stared at Lucas blankly until the tea was brewed and the dessert placed on the table—then suddenly slapped her cheeks with both hands, realizing late:
"No, no—I came today to handle something important!"
Lucas was startled by her sudden reaction, but not surprised.
Still—
Whatever the business is, let me clear the tasting scene first!
Lucas smiled. "No rush after tasting. This dessert was made by my Alcremie itself. If it could get an evaluation from Patisserie's owner, that would be even better."
As he spoke, Lucas picked up Alcremie—hands clasped together, nervous and expectant—and placed it in front of Katy.
Katy blinked, smiling gently. "I can be strict about desserts. Please prepare yourself mentally."
"Cremee!"
Alcremie nodded seriously.
Its mentality was like steel—nothing could defeat it!
…
Ten minutes later—
"Cremee…"
Alcremie, devastated, squatted in the corner, its entire body fading into grayscale.
Alcremie, sunk.
Then, with a look of questioning its entire existence, Alcremie was led away by Oranguru for psychological counseling.
Under Lucas's astonished gaze, Katy's cheeks reddened as she awkwardly explained, "Um… I warned you in advance. In desserts, I really don't want to compromise."
"But just like I said earlier—if you have first-class ingredients and a heart that wants to make desserts that bring happiness… then a lack of technique can absolutely be polished through practice."
Lucas nodded in agreement. "Miss Katy's right. I know Alcremie truly has a heart that wants to make desserts that bring happiness to whoever tastes them."
Katy stared at Lucas dazedly for a moment, but thankfully didn't forget her real purpose. She stammered, "I heard from the Chairwoman that you sell and deliver MooMoo Fresh Milk, goat milk, and other dairy products externally. Is that true?"
"We do sell," Lucas said, surprised Katy had heard it from Geeta.
Then today she came to—
Katy stood up with a swish, clasped her hands, and bowed deeply. "Can Patisserie also subscribe to those products!?"
She then explained everything in full: Patisserie's original ingredient supplier channels had run into trouble, key materials were short, she'd been scrambling for new suppliers every day, and finally she'd heard from Geeta that Lucas's farm also sold these ingredients.
"I've even gone to taste the breakfast shop in Mesagoza. Their MooMoo Fresh Milk from your farm meets the store's standards completely—no, it far exceeds them!"
Since she'd chosen to visit, Katy had clearly done her homework. All that remained was Lucas's decision.
Hearing her explanation, Lucas didn't mind helping, but still said, "Right now, Corviknight delivery routes don't include areas outside Los Platos Town. There are Tinkaton in the wild. It's too dangerous."
"I don't mind having a long-term partner, but for the time being, I'm not ready to reliably deliver goods there safely."
Katy shook her head hard.
"It's fine. Lucas—you only need to have the Corviknight deliver the goods to a location in Los Platos Town that we decide together."
"After that, I'll arrange manpower and vehicles to transport the goods."
She already had a plan for his concern.
Since Katy had put it that way, Lucas had no reason to refuse. He asked, "How many liters do you want to order?"
Katy thought for a moment. "Um… everything you have left—can I?"
"If possible, we can contract all of your MooMoo Fresh Milk and goat milk."
..
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