After the event.
Lucas still declined the organizers' invitation to display his work. He took the medal, the Icy Rock, and, with Calyrex's psychic power twisting space, moved the massive Rayquaza ice sculpture into the underground ice cellar on his farm.
The abrupt feeling of spatial dislocation startled the Abomasnow couple and Snover. Snover, in particular, felt his stomach churn.
Back in the ice cellar, Lucas, with Calyrex's help, placed the ice sculpture in a corner. Though it took up a lot of space and required Regice and Ninetales to regularly gather and cool the air to preserve its integrity, once the farm's expansion was complete and winter arrived, the massive sculpture could be moved outside as a playground for the farm's Pokémon.
He just wondered—if Rayquaza saw it from the sky, would it get angry and come crashing down on them?
…
The next day.
On the soft sofa in the living room, Lucas scratched Sister Eevee's chin and took several design blueprints from Oranguru.
After a careful read, Lucas's brows raised in surprise. "Isn't this a little too luxurious and eye-catching?"
Oranguru's telepathy sounded in his mind.
"To realize all the features you mentioned before, we need something of this size."
"Based on the farm's current available funds, even building such a residence wouldn't break the bank. The money from the milk business and farm specialties far exceeds your expectations."
"Besides, we're almost guaranteed never to have a cash flow crisis."
Oranguru's voice was full of confidence.
Even in the worst-case scenario, it had a little stash saved from its years of work as the farm's butler—enough to handle any urgent needs.
Plus, with Calyrex around, there was no need to worry. With just a few seeds, the farm could be filled overnight with top-quality, mature crops.
From the start, there was never anything to worry about.
Lucas thought Oranguru made sense. If push came to shove, he could pick up tasks outside to make ends meet. He nodded, "I'll leave the rest to you. Once the people from Los Platos Town come by to finalize the land boundaries, we'll get started."
Oranguru nodded and left the living room. It still had to do its daily routine: check on the three special berry tree saplings Lucas had brought back from the Indigo Plateau.
Of all the crops on the farm, aside from the secret seasoning herbs, those saplings were the most precious—especially the Enigma berry tree, which was crucial to Oranguru's goal of redeeming its past embarrassment.
Once it matured, Oranguru planned to use its own money to buy a ticket, personally take Lucas to Melemele Island in Alola, find its kin in the forest, have Lucas judge, and see whose Enigma berry juice tasted better.
After Oranguru left, Sister Eevee hopped onto Lucas's lap, peering at the blueprints in his hands with a puzzled cry.
"Mui?"
Hearing Eevee's soft mew, Lucas couldn't help rubbing her little head again. As if understanding her question, he replied, "Isn't the house a bit small now? With this, soon we'll have a new home—bright, cozy, and convenient."
"Ee... Eevee!?"
Eevee's eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation.
She remembered how, in the past, she and her little sister dug a burrow to hide from wild Pokémon, only for it to flood on rainy days, always damp and sometimes wrecked by stray Diglett.
When she first moved into the farm's warm, well-insulated house, she thought she was dreaming.
And now, Lucas was telling her they'd have an even bigger, comfier house!?
Eevee felt her decision to "give herself away" to Lucas that night was absolutely right!
Plus, with a new, bigger house, Alcremie wouldn't have to squeeze into the tiny kitchen to make desserts. There'd be space for all sorts of machines for delicious sweets!
Comfey, the doctor, wouldn't have to treat patients in such a cramped clinic—Arcanine and others couldn't even fit in anymore.
After playing with the somewhat scheming, attention-seeking Eevee, Lucas gently patted her head. "Your little sister should be waking up soon—go keep her company. I need to check on Luxray and Dragonite's special training."
Eevee, belly up, using her cuteness to win affection, froze in shock.
Oh no, she'd been so focused on being cute she almost forgot her sister!
She licked Lucas's fingertip in farewell, flipped nimbly, and dashed away.
Seeing Eevee vanish from view, Lucas smiled helplessly and continued studying the blueprints.
Besides adding many new rooms, the first floor was designed to better suit important Pokémon like Alcremie and Comfey who needed their own spaces.
There was a bright, spacious clinic—except, perhaps, for Thunderous, whose neck was too long. But for Calyrex's steeds, Arcanine, and even future large Pokémon like Garganacl, the space would be plenty.
The kitchen was large enough for all the Pokémon's culinary needs.
But what really caught Lucas's eye was the new heating, cooling, and air circulation system. Not only could it run on electricity, but it could also be switched to manual mode: Ice, Fire, or Flying Pokémon could provide heating or cooling as needed.
For example, in summer, just have Ninetales, Regice, or Glastrier blow cold air into special ducts, cooling the house. In winter, Moltres could warm the place.
Even Dragonite could control airflow to quickly refresh the air. Comfey could send Aromatherapy scents into the rooms at night to improve sleep quality.
After setting down the blueprints, Lucas went outside.
Combee, Applin, and Tropius were training under the hot sun. Ninetales sat nearby, releasing small snowflakes, cooling the air for them.
After their initial surprise, the three Pokémon had gotten used to their companion's elegant evolution into Ninetales, enjoying the benefits she brought.
After evolving, Ninetales learned many new moves, enriching her skillset—Defensive Aurora Veil, versatile Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry for Water-types, and, with her new Fairy typing, Dazzling Gleam.
Lucas had already given her the Icy Rock from the ice sculpture contest as a reward, so she could practice both her new moves and her control over her abilities, aiming to always hold the upper hand in weather battles.
After all, weather battles in reality weren't as simple as in games—it's not just about who uses their move last, but mastery over weather and energy reserves.
You can't have a Pelipper flying in for a quick Drizzle and easily overriding Groudon's sun every time, especially if Groudon hasn't Primal Reverted.
After checking on their training, Lucas walked toward Thunder Lake.
Thunder rumbled, violent winds whipped up, nearly ripping out the weeds growing there. Rain poured down, in stark contrast to the sun and snow behind him—or the plain sunshine further away.
Such a convergence of special weather would be impossible without Pokémon.
Lucas opened his umbrella, letting rain patter above him, and watched the "intense" battle ahead.
Dragonite's Hurricane and Luxray's Thunder were top-tier attacks among their peers, but even their combined force only made Calyrex's psychic barrier ripple like waves.
As a legendary Pokémon who had survived millennia, and regained its peak power with its steeds, Calyrex's psychic reserves were formidable.
Just like in the XY anime special, when Alain and Steven's Mega Charizard and Mega Metagross tried to stop Primal Groudon and Kyogre: their attacks, against those ancient legends' endless HP bars, were little more than tickles.
Calyrex, not in Unity form, might fall short of those two, but not by much. Luxray and Dragonite had already done well to reach this level.
At that moment, footsteps sounded behind Lucas.
He turned and saw Swampert carrying several thick trees.
"Is it time?" Lucas called out.
"Swampert," Swampert nodded.
"Thanks. Go ahead!"
Lucas waved him off and returned to watching Luxray and Dragonite's attempts to break Calyrex's barrier.
The trees Swampert carried were cold-resistant species Lucas had ordered that morning, to be planted temporarily in the ice cellar to create a suitable habitat for the Abomasnow family and Snover.
No sunlight, no soil—how to plant trees in an ice cellar? Just leave it to the all-powerful Calyrex!
About ten minutes after Swampert left, Luxray and Dragonite made one last attempt.
Dragonite soared high, wings beating, using the secrets of wind learned from Lugia to create violent wind blades. Luxray roared, summoning lightning from the clouds, striking the wind blades to boost their destructive force.
Wind, rain, and thunder—the synergy between Flying and Electric moves was even better than Lucas expected.
He watched as their combo attack crashed down on Calyrex's psychic shield.
After the roar of attacks faded, Dragonite landed, panting alongside Luxray, watching the center of the smoke.
A psychic storm instantly swept away the smoke—no visible damage. It seemed the result was a bit different from what they hoped.
Calyrex lowered its hands, smiling.
"If I hadn't increased my psychic output just now, your attack would have shattered the barrier. Well done."
Hearing Calyrex's praise, Luxray and Dragonite exchanged glances. Despite their smiles, their eyes showed dissatisfaction.
It still wasn't enough—not enough for revenge against that black Rayquaza.
And this was just a combo move. What they really wanted was greater personal strength. They knew how impossible it was for ordinary Pokémon to challenge a legendary sky dragon, but that wasn't a reason to stop trying.
Lucas stepped forward, splashing in a puddle and drawing their attention.
They'd been so focused on breaking Calyrex's barrier they hadn't noticed him.
The two, still wet, gathered around—but to avoid getting Lucas's clothes muddy, they simply stood by his side, unlike Arcanine who would have just bowled into him.
Calyrex commented, "Luxray and Dragonite have clearly improved."
"Yeah," Lucas nodded. As a trainer, he knew better than anyone the growth of his Pokémon—Luxray's Thunder was stronger, Dragonite's wind control more precise.
He put down his umbrella and said to them, "If you want it, go for it. I'll support you all the way."
Luxray and Dragonite exchanged a glance, and, perhaps moved by emotion, couldn't help pouncing on Lucas in excitement.
The price: all three ended up coated in mud and had to go to Thunder Lake, where Politoed helped clean them with Bubble Beam.
After telling Calyrex that Swampert was moving the trees into the ice cellar, Lucas took Luxray and Dragonite to the farm's entrance.
The truck delivering the trees was still there, with half the cargo left.
Lucas was about to check the mailbox for letters when he noticed a familiar man and Pokémon in the cab.
He went over and greeted them, "Mr. Sean, how come you're making deliveries today?"
Usually Sean handled crop purchases, so it was rare to see him making deliveries.
"Whoa!" Sean, who'd been sharing a shiny red apple with Primeape, jumped in fright, clutching the door as if he'd seen a ghost.
Primeape, savoring the apple, rolled his eyes at Sean. He'd noticed Lucas ages ago, just hadn't bothered to warn his unalert partner.
After a moment, Sean collected himself, grumbling about getting old and how young folk walked like Ghost-types—silent as shadows.
Lucas just smiled apologetically.
Sean answered the earlier question, "I was helping a friend with deliveries today. That Pokémon who greeted me—claimed to be your butler—handled it all."
"Business is really booming for you, huh? Even got a Pokémon butler. Your Miltank milk is famous in town—people can't get enough."
Sean wasn't jealous, just genuinely envious.
It was hard to imagine the rundown farm from earlier in the year had become so successful. Even the crops he bought from here sold for higher prices than those from other farms.
The biggest reason? Lucas was willing to invest, and his connections and skills far exceeded any ordinary farmer.
Who else retires as a Champion-level trainer, then starts a farm?
Now, most in town knew Lucas's real identity. Even the jealous ones didn't dare make trouble—they feared that if they tried any dirty tricks, they'd wake up at night to find Lucas sitting by their bed.
Wouldn't that be game over?
"Just lucky," Lucas replied modestly, noticing the half-eaten apple in Sean's hand. "Is that apple newly bought? It doesn't look like a Paldea variety."
Sean wiggled his fingers, looking smug. "Good eye! This is a rare one, air-shipped from Kitakami. Someone gifted it to me—just one apple."
"They say Kitakami's apples are big, round, juicy, and full of flavor. Now that I've tasted it, I can say the rumors are true."
...