October 5th.
Recently, temperatures have been plummeting dramatically—gone is the summer heat, and the entire Los Platos Town is enveloped in a refreshing climate.
To call it "crisp autumn air" would be just right.
The farms and ranches nearby have already begun to bustle with activity. Autumn has arrived, and it's harvest season.
Unlike Lucas's farm, with its extraordinary rapid-growth techniques, most others spend the entire year looking forward to this golden harvest.
After this grand harvest, winter will come.
Temperatures keep dropping until thick snowflakes fall from the sky and the world is draped in white, only then will things settle down a bit.
By then, except for a few cold-resistant crops, most farming activities will go into "dormant mode."
Lucas had browsed many historical records of Paldea in the Naranja Academy's library and found that, long ago, the region's climate was chaotic for unknown reasons.
In early spring, it would already be unbearably hot, lasting all the way to late autumn—then suddenly, temperatures would plummet and the entire region would be covered in snow and ice.
Fortunately, in recent years, perhaps thanks to Paldeans' growing respect for nature and environmental improvements, the climate has gradually normalized.
Maybe in a few years, the seasonal cycles—spring growth, summer flourish, autumn harvest, winter storage—will no longer be theoretical, but reality.
Chatting with Calyrex, Lucas brought up this topic, and Calyrex agreed.
"Do you remember when I told you about that war in a region near Galar?"
"I've only recently begun to recall the details."
"People over there seem to have created some terrifying weapon, powered by draining Pokémon life energy."
"When the weapon was activated, the devastation was unimaginable. But even more far-reaching effects spread to the surrounding areas—the climate disruption may have been one such manifestation."
"As long as humanity refrains from using such forbidden weapons again, the day you envision will come soon enough."
Calyrex smiled, speaking in the tone of a casual friend.
Lucas set down his now-empty cup, at a loss for words.
Currently, the world seems to follow the anime's timeline, but characters from the games exist as well. This means that a certain lion-headed individual in Kalos might already be scheming for the ultimate weapon, possibly even pursuing Zygarde.
Not to mention all the other villains stirring up trouble in other regions.
One can only say: humanity never learns from its mistakes. With so many people, there will always be some with dangerous ambitions.
Splash—
The sound of flowing liquid interrupted Lucas's thoughts. He looked up to find Oranguru thoughtfully refilling his cup with hot water.
Staring at Oranguru's face through the steam, Lucas suddenly remembered it had mentioned living in Kalos for quite some time. He wondered if it had heard any related stories.
Last time he visited Kalos, the climate seemed pleasant; even at the epicenter of the ultimate weapon's blast, perhaps 3,000 years had been enough for the climate to recover?
After pouring the hot water, Oranguru smiled and said, "I still have an electronic version of the related fairy tale on my tablet. Would Young Master and Lord Calyrex like to read it?"
Before Lucas could reply, Ogerpon immediately stood up, waving its little paw and making excited noises, clearly eager to see it.
…
Afternoon, near Thunder Lake.
Ash was busy with his hands, but his face was full of misery. "Brother Lucas, how long do we have to keep doing this?"
Even with boundless energy, he quickly tired of such repetitive, mechanical work.
It was draining both physically and mentally.
"Come on, flip it over."
Lucas glanced at Ash but ignored his complaint, instead patting the wet-haired Tauros before him to remind it to roll over.
Clearly, Ash had never suffered through a twelve-hour assembly line shift—he didn't have the endurance of Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth.
"Moo~"
Normally fiery and energetic, this Tauros obediently rolled over, even though Lucas treated it like a fried egg in a pan.
The reason is simple—bathing feels great.
"Okay, Bubble Beam."
Seeing Tauros cooperate, Lucas didn't immediately use his two stiff brushes but instead gave a command to the back.
Upon hearing this, the Politoed clapped its hands and, along with three Poliwrath juniors, unleashed a greatly weakened Bubble Beam—just enough for powerful cleaning.
In a blink, Tauros's body, dusty from all its wild running, was covered in bubbles.
Lucas skillfully started brushing.
For him, this was just another daily routine.
Even though most Pokémon on the farm could clean themselves, there were always a few messy ones he had to catch and bathe personally.
Like Arcanine rolling in the mud, or getting covered in cream and olive oil while ambushing Alcremie and Arboliva.
After just a few brushes, Tauros let out a satisfied bellow, turning to look at Lucas with clear approval.
Kids these days really have the touch—so much better than that old man Oak!
As he washed Tauros, Lucas glanced at Ash, who looked completely drained, and said teasingly, "You haven't even finished half your 30 Tauros, and you're tired already?"
"Professor Oak takes care of the whole backyard's Pokémon, you know."
"That's why I can't be a professor..."
Ash muttered quietly.
"Less talking, more doing. I've washed ten Tauros already, and you haven't even finished your third."
"Okay~"
Ash replied weakly, then looked at the Tauros in front of him and asked softly,
"Are you the Tauros that fought in the Winner's Cup?"
"Moo~"
Tauros happily nuzzled him, delighted to be recognized.
Ash accepted its affection with complicated feelings, suddenly realizing he couldn't tell all his Tauros apart.
He'd caught thirty in the Safari Zone and sent them all to Oak's lab, only recalling them for battles—most of the time, Oak did the raising.
Now he finally understood just how difficult and complicated it was to bathe thirty Tauros.
Even so, every time they saw him, the Tauros were always excited and happy, greeting him in their own way.
Ash suddenly remembered Lucas's earlier point—that bathing a Pokémon is itself a form of interaction, a way to nurture bonds.
Over time, the Pokémon will respond to the trainer's intentions.
"Make sure to rotate your team—don't always use the same ones. That way, each journey will strengthen your whole team and bring you closer to your dreams."
Lucas's advice echoed in his mind, and Ash thought seriously about adopting this approach for his next journey, now that the Silver Conference was over.
"Wartortle, Kingler, use Bubble Beam. Totodile, wait to use Water Gun to rinse Tauros's body."
Ash issued commands to his three Water-types, then, with an eager Pikachu, started cleaning Tauros more carefully than before.
This time, he put his heart into it, no longer whining.
Pikachu looked at him curiously, eyes sparkling with surprise.
Ash using his brain? Now, that's rare!
Midway through, Ash suddenly said, "Pikachu, after the Silver Conference, let's go get Pidgeot back."
Pikachu paused, then nodded happily.
"Pika pika!"
Nearby, having finished fifteen Tauros, Lucas smiled, leaving the rest for Ash, and moved on to another big, dirty guy.
With Swampert holding down the would-be-escapee Ursaluna, Lucas unexpectedly produced a big bag of sand.
"What are you thinking? First, a sand bath. You can get used to water baths later."
…
Afternoon.
The items Tulip mentioned arrived at the farm—a lot of stuff, enough to fill a medium-sized box truck.
Most of it was equipment for training Feebas's coordination, including a full set of water performance gear—like the kind used in aquatic circuses.
There were also sample references, and some nice fabrics for making accessories and decorating plushies.
According to the thick stack of manuals Tulip provided, if Feebas wants to stand out in the Contest, it can't rely on looks—it needs to excel elsewhere.
Things like bodily coordination, move and energy control, and flashiness all matter.
Most important: either Lucas or Feebas needs to be able to design a performance that's refreshing and innovative.
Move combinations, special effects, and highlighting the Pokémon's strengths are all tricky.
Lucas personally knew little about Contests, but he'd seen enough in the anime to have plenty of ideas.
There was still a week before the Naranja Academy x Pokémon Contest.
How much they could accomplish depended on their effort.
Lucas first thoroughly checked Feebas's moves:
"Bounce"
"Tackle"
"Thrash"
"Water Pulse"
"Mist"
"Mirror Coat"
Its Ability, just like his old Poliwag, was "Swift Swim"—speed doubles in rain.
Not a great match with Ninetales's "Snow Warning."
He'd need to consider teaching new moves and having Serperior instruct Feebas in energy control.
For the Contest, Lucas planned to use Ninetales and Feebas as a pair.
Frankly, with this combo, Ninetales would inevitably become the star, and Feebas would be overshadowed.
That was Lucas's dilemma.
Luckily, there was still a week left, and with intense special training, he'd have time to design a performance that fit his goals.
…
Ash had been staying at the farm for a while.
By now, even without Lucas's prompting, he could proactively interact with his Pokémon, experiencing farm life and deepening their bonds.
Probably out of jealousy, seeing Ash always hanging around Charcadet, Bayleef finally couldn't hold back and challenged Charcadet to a one-on-one duel.
The result was obvious: Bayleef, with more experience and having evolved, won—even with a type disadvantage, Charcadet couldn't pose much threat.
Bayleef was thrilled, but Ash was miserable.
Just when he was making progress—at least Charcadet no longer ran away at the sight of him—Bayleef's antics ruined everything, and their relationship dropped to rock bottom. Now, wherever Ash was, Charcadet stayed far away.
Ash couldn't use the excuse of helping Charcadet train for revenge to get close either—after all, both Pokémon were dear to him.
Ash's usual catch-and-befriend routine wasn't working with Charcadet, and things were at a stalemate.
Lucas, annoyed by Ash's constant sighing, took the opportunity to hand him and Charcadet over to the Captain, along with Dragonite and Ceruledge, just for some peace and quiet.
As for how much Ash could bond with Charcadet during the underground exploration, that was up to him.
With Ceruledge and Dragonite there, Lucas wasn't worried—he focused on Feebas's training.
Using the "water circus" equipment, and since he neither abused nor whipped Feebas, and Feebas was ambitious, they made great progress in a short time.
…
Three days passed, and soon it was October 8th.
Only four days remained until the Pokémon Contest.
Lucas, thinking Ash and Charcadet should be done exploring, was stunned by sudden news.
On the morning of October 8th, Dragonite landed urgently at the farm, wings stirring up a gale.
Ash, carrying his Primeape, hurried over with Charcadet (looking guilty) and called out anxiously:
"Brother Lucas, please save Primeape!"
Lucas, in the middle of breakfast, quickly set down his toast and took the unresponsive Primeape. Using his basic medical knowledge, he checked—and was shocked.
Primeape had—
No breath!?
…