November 24th, Monday.
Lucas stood before the first compartment of the new exhibition cabinet he'd recently had installed in his house, cradling 25 ancient Paldea coins he'd acquired from the troupe leader. Inside sat a carefully crafted, full-scale wooden and lacquered treasure chest—an exact replica of the ones from the games and anime.
Rather than opening the chest straightaway, Lucas first knocked gently, as one would knock on a door.
Before long, there was movement from within the chest.
An invisible hand opened the lid from inside, revealing a brilliant heap of shimmering coins—and the figure of a Gimmighoul.
This could be considered a talent unique to the Gimmighoul species: using a mysterious, ghostly "unexplainable" power—akin to spiritual energy—to open treasure chests that they could never open by strength alone.
But this ability appeared limited to treasure chests only.
Ding!~
Gimmighoul poked out its head, its two antennae wobbling slightly like treasure-finding rods, and waved in greeting to Lucas.
"Hey there, look what I've brought you."
Smiling, Lucas spread his hands, letting the 25 Paldea ancient coins glint and sparkle under the lights, dazzling Gimmighoul's eyes.
Ding!
Yet it didn't care for the coins' value. Instead, it let out a joyful chiming cry, and like a little money-grubber, pounced onto Lucas's palm—then began imitating swimming in the little pile of coins.
There was an indescribable sensation of reveling in a world of gold and luxury.
Should he say—just as expected from a future capitalist?
Lucas twitched a bit at the corners of his mouth, then placed both Gimmighoul and the ancient coins together back into the chest.
Gimmighoul let itself be buried under the pile. Combined with these 25, there were now 325 Paldea ancient coins, and it instantly began to soak in a "coin bath."
Judging from the look, it'd likely be busy enjoying itself for quite some time—so Lucas didn't disturb it.
He gently closed the lid. From inside, the crisp chimes of laughter—like bells—occasionally rang out. Lucas turned and left.
Was this what was meant by "laughter like windchimes"?
Retrieving his warm clothes and scarf from the entryway coat rack, Lucas decided to don his knitted gloves as well. Unlike the scarf, the gloves were a gift from his Serperior—plain in color, but ones Lucas was quite fond of.
He swapped his indoor slippers for thick, warm snow boots—carefully placing the slippers inside the "Arcanine Wind-resistant Safe"—and then strode out of his new house.
Outside, the place was bustling. Another heavy snow had fallen overnight, so now, despite a few days of sunny weather that had melted some snow, the ground was once again covered in fresh, deep powder.
Pokemon were all over the place, playing and romping to stay active after lunch.
Politoed was leading the little Poliwags and three white Eldegoss in building snowdogs—though on closer inspection, all they were doing was using Dachsbun as a mold, trying to create perfect replicas.
At that moment—
A red, round "ball" traced a lovely arc through air, landing with a soft "plop" in the fresh snow right in front of Lucas.
Meeting the tiny, green pea-sized eyes of Shuckle, Lucas looked up at the few Pokémon racing over.
There was a pair of Eevee sisters in warm, cozy dresses, along with Ogerpon, Tinkatuff, Sandshrew, Snover, Larvesta, and Arcanine.
Nearby, a blue-shelled Shuckle sister stood apart, not joining in.
It seemed clear—the others were using Shuckle's little brother as a ball for kicking.
But it wasn't bullying; Shuckle's brother was the one who volunteered, saying he actually loved the feeling of soaring through the air like that.
It was great exercise for maintaining control of its body—preventing it from becoming dizzy or unable to hear commands if it got knocked away in battle.
It was a bit like "wind tunnel training."
At any rate, all of them were clearly having fun.
"Bui Bui!"
Big sister Eevee bounced to Lucas's feet, leaving a string of plum-blossom paw prints in the snow—inviting him to join their game.
Lucas thought about it, but gently declined.
Honestly, he was mainly worried that if someone saw him kicking Shuckle's brother back and forth, they might mistake it for Pokémon abuse.
It's not as if he was scared—the Shuckle's shell was hard as a rock, and he didn't have a Pokémon's body. His toes would probably ache all day if he kicked it!
"Maybe I'll go see what Delibird is up to and give Mewtwo a little trouble as well."
Rubbing his gloved hands together, Lucas scooped up a pile of snow from the ground, then fished out a black Poké Ball from his pocket. With practiced motions, he opened it, turning it into a flat surface capable of transmitting items, and placed the snow atop it.
A moment later—
The black Poké Ball hummed, shimmered, and in a flash, the snow instantly vanished.
He was doing such a silly thing mainly to tell Delibird that winter had fully arrived in Paldea—and to suggest that maybe, with Hoenn still in its balmy volcanic and desert climate, perhaps Delibird could rest a bit and go play in Sinnoh, since winter wouldn't end for another two months. It'd be colder there, and just a short journey north of Paldean Poco Path would bring you to the South Paldea Sea.
Thanks to the Poké Ball locator, Lucas could tell Delibird was currently on some small island near the Hoenn mainland. But exactly where? He'd have to go check in person.
A moment later, Delibird's reply arrived.
The black Poké Ball in Lucas's hand trembled, turning into flat form.
A container—with some unknown liquid inside—silently appeared on the ball.
Looking closer, Lucas realized it was half a coconut shell from the local palm trees, apparently used as a water vessel (the white coconut flesh was missing).
As for what was inside…
Lucas moved closer to sniff: aside from the brisk cold air, there was a distinct musty, salty smell.
A flash of realization—seawater!
Delibird had used half a coconut to scoop up some seawater, as if to say it still hadn't had enough adventure in the tropics.
Lucas shook his head with a wry smile, just about to pour it out.
After all, Los Platos wasn't far off, and just down Poco Path you'd reach the South Paldea Sea—nothing special about some seawater.
But unexpectedly—
Perhaps parched from playing, yet unwilling to lick snow or miss more playtime going indoors for a drink, Arcanine's clever eyes sparkled—a genius idea forming instantly.
It set its sights on Lucas.
Recognizing the coconut shell, fondly remembering the sweet coconut juice inside, Arcanine acted on impulse—
Not even considering it might NOT be coconut juice.
Just as Lucas set the shell down, ready to pour it out, Arcanine darted forward with a flash using its "Extreme Speed" move, snatching up the coconut shell in a blur.
Honestly, every cat or dog at home acts like this—their own bowl means nothing, but nothing is as tasty as water from the owner's cup.
Pure little rebels.
As soon as Arcanine plunged its big muzzle into the coconut shell, without even sniffing—it gulped down a mouthful.
And then—
"Bwaah!"
The unique salty bitterness of sea water made Arcanine leap several feet high. Lucas, witnessing the entire scene, fell completely silent.
He glanced over at the Moltres, majestically at odds with the snowy surroundings, his gaze reflecting a thousand unspoken feelings.
Moltres: "..."
It opted calmly to turn away. Out of sight, out of mind.
None of my business.
…
That night, after dinner…
Garganacl was happily hugging several bags of soil, shipped from Mt. Silver in Kanto and painstakingly collected by Lance at Lucas's request, ready to return to its salt house for a treat.
A pair of Tandemaus skillfully fluttered a feather duster, expertly cleaning.
At the kitchen sink, Politoed and the Poliwags were using their Bubble Beam attack to tackle the greasy dishes.
Having finished preparing dinner, Lucas collapsed like a salted fish on the living room sofa, receiving a most delightful "trampling" massage from the Eevee sisters.
He had to admit, it was both relaxing and wonderfully comfortable.
Until, a shadow loomed overhead. Peeking one eye open, Lucas looked up in confusion at Oranguru.
"What's up?"
"For you~"
Unusually, Oranguru didn't use telepathy, but instead, handed Lucas what appeared to be a ticket.
Lucas patted his back, signaling the Eevee sisters to pause, then took the ticket—surprised.
"A… plane ticket?"
Sure enough—it was a direct flight ticket from Levincia, Paldea, to Akala Island, Alola, bought under Lucas's name.
He glanced at Oranguru, quickly realizing its intention.
This was one of life's little amusements; Oranguru wanted him to guess the reason for the trip.
After a moment's thought, Lucas's eyes brightened. "A Pokémon chef, right!?"
"Yuta." (correct)
Oranguru broke into a rare smile.
He'd reached out through the Butler Academy's network to contact several Pokémon chefs, and they were waiting for Lucas in Alola for "interviews."
Having gone through the Butler Academy experience, Lucas wasn't surprised, nor did he mind—if anything, it showed the chefs were serious.
He'd already had in mind something similar himself.
In fact, he figured his trip to Alola could double as a proper vacation.
Honestly, Lucas was a bit bored with the snowy scenery. A few days basking in the tropical paradise of Alola seemed perfect for a change.
Even if he'd originally planned to try the equally tropical and coastal Hoenn region, Alola was more convenient for now—a world-famous tourist destination after all.
With that, Lucas sprang up, grabbing the Eevee sisters with gusto—one in each hand.
"Let's go on vacation to sunny Alola!!"
No sooner said than done: he whipped out his battered but trusty old phone, rapidly typed a message, and hit send.
…
Meanwhile...
In the Paldea League HQ near Mesagoza, inside the Chairwoman's and Geeta's office—
The drone of a cellphone interrupted a conversation. Geeta glanced at the phone; seeing it was a text and not a call, she picked it up, checking the message while addressing the person in front of her.
"That'll be all for today. After you get back, just email those notes about 'Endure Training Techniques' to the address I gave you."
"Okay, Chairwoman."
Larry replied listlessly and shuffled out the door like a lost soul.
As she finished skimming the message, Geeta called out, "Wait a moment."
Larry paused mid-step, fighting the urge to bolt.
But, for the sake of feeding his massive household of Pokémon—especially his always-hungry Snorlax—he opted to listen.
"Do you have any free time in the next few days? Cover Lucas's classes for him."
Geeta paused, eyeing Larry's dark circles, then, at the thought of the message, relented.
"Never mind, just finish your notes for me. Let Hassel cover the classes instead—he's got too much time on his hands anyway, always tinkering with student car mods."
"...Understood."
Only when he'd left the office did Larry realize, eyes wide—
What a lucky day! Chairwoman let me go so easily?
Back inside, Geeta called out again.
"Once you're done with those notes, there isn't much urgent work in the League these days. Go and take a little vacation to a nearby tourist spot—I'll have mark it as paid leave."
"If I were you, I'd recommend Hoenn or Alola—tropical climates, unlike our wintry Paldea."
After Larry had gone, Geeta gazed at Lucas's message, smiled, and muttered to herself,
"Wanting a break for yourself is one thing, but even helping Larry get leave too...? Still, my mood's been great lately. After back-to-back wins against Blueberry Academy, with Paldea's reputation rising and new Pokémon forms being discovered..."
"Can't blame me for being a bit generous. Besides, Larry actually deserves a break."
She typed out her reply, stamped it with a "Happy vacation" signoff, and sent messages to both Clavell and Hassel about the new arrangements.
Then she stretched out, flopping over her desk. "Guess I can't go to the tropics myself... Oh well, maybe I'll anonymously sign up as a guest judge for some fun contest."
…