Coming out of the Distortion Channel, Lucas greeted Mr. and Mrs. Fujino, who were cleaning the Gogoats, and then sat down in his exclusive armchair in the garden with a calm expression.
Mr. and Mrs. Fujino looked up. They were already accustomed to Lucas bringing back unfamiliar people from time to time, so after friendly greetings to the man Lucas brought back, they continued to busy themselves with their work.
N curiously followed Lucas to the garden. He looked at Lucas, who was sitting in the armchair, and asked suspiciously: "Coming here..." Lucas shushed him, signaling him to listen carefully to the sounds of the Pokémon around them.
Although N didn't understand, he still followed Lucas's instruction, closed his eyes, and felt the hearts of all the Pokémon around them.
Watching N with his eyes closed, Lucas let out a breath and rubbed his numb legs.
He had been holding two little girls on his lap for too long, which made his legs go numb, and he had been holding it in until he got back to the backyard to sit down.
Almost broke character.
Lucas was, after all, the director of "Gengar the Ditto," and although only one episode had aired, his acting skills had already reached the level of a best actor.
N closed his eyes. As soon as he started using his ability, he was hit by a sudden wave of happiness. He felt his whole being enveloped by an ocean of happiness.
He opened his eyes in disbelief, confusion revealed in his eyes.
He looked at the Gogoat being cleaned by Mrs. Fujino and carefully felt its heart.
Gogoat Leader: "Sigh, Boss Machoke isn't home, so boring. I'll have a brute force competition with the Miltanks later!"
Miltank Leader: "That human measured my weight just now. Damn it, I'm actually a hundred pounds heavier than last month! It's all Lucas's fault! Damn man! He opened a Breeding House but doesn't let me work, causing me to gain so much weight. No, I must lose weight! I heard that only a healthy body can produce healthier milk. I'll have a brute force competition with the Gogoats later!"
Machoke and Vex: "The king calls me to patrol the mountains~"
Lapras Brother: "So cozy~"
Lapras Sister: "So happy~"
Alcremie: "Who went into the kitchen and stole my cake again! I haven't finished making it yet!"
Female Meowstic: "I can testify, it was Pinsir!"
Alcremie: "Pinsir!!!"
Mime Jr.: "(Went to Sandgem Town to film the second part, not at the Breeding House.)"
Pinsir: "Hmph! Lucas and the others aren't here, now the Breeding House is my world. You guys, who wants to have a hearty battle with me!"
Rhyperior: "Did you steal my Alcremie's cake again? Come here, let me spar with you!"
Luxray Leader: "Yawn~"
Gliscor Leader: "Who do you think will win, Rhyperior or Pinsir?"
Golem: "Need you ask? Pinsir is going to headbutt Rhyperior?"
Heracross: "Good luck, brother."
Staraptor: "Hard to say. I feel like Pinsir has improved a lot recently to gain Machoke's favor."
Lopunny Leader: "Heh, favor? Rude males."
Munchlax: "So hungry----want to eat----"
Misdreavus: "So boring, Dusclops, let's go play."
Tyranitar, Larvitar, and Pupitar: "Fight, fight!"
Golduck and Azumarill Family: "Make way, you're blocking the road. I have to go make a delivery, otherwise I'll be late."
Zorua: "Ma, who are you rooting for?"
Zoroark: "Don't talk, time for a nap!"
Finally, N looked at the Pokémon with the most overflowing happiness in the entire Breeding House backyard.
It skillfully flew back and forth by various flowers. Today's good weather made its mood incredibly beautiful. Because the sun was sufficient, today's flowers were also blooming very well.
Vespiquen hummed a little song in its heart while collecting honey.
"The sun is shining in the sky~ The flowers are smiling at me~ Staraptor says, early early early, you're up so early again----"
N looked at Vespiquen's beautiful body, mesmerized.
Vespiquen noticed N's gaze. It turned its head and found a green-haired man with a hat staring at it without moving.
It frowned. Considering he might be a guest of the Breeding House, it didn't speak out to accuse him, just complained a few words in its heart.
"Another pervert! Just like Lucas! Damn pervert!"
N came back to his senses. He hurriedly apologized to Vespiquen, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm not a pervert, I'm very sor----sorry."
After hearing N's words, Vespiquen was petrified. It was as if it had been exposed; its inner thoughts had been spoken out loud.
Vespiquen: "Mommy! The Breeding House is haunted!!!"
Vespiquen shouted in its heart with an expression even more terrified than seeing a Gengar.
"No, no, no, I'm not a ghost, I can just hear what you're saying in your heart." N explained hurriedly.
Vespiquen: !!!
"Ahhhhhhh!!! It really is haunted!!!"
Vespiquen was panicked, unable to even maintain its elegant flying posture.
Seeing this, N could only turn back and cast a help-seeking look at Lucas.
Lucas pressed his legs, smiled and looked at Vespiquen, "Vespiquen, it's okay, he just has an ability different from ordinary people, but he's actually a good person."
Having received Lucas's reply, Vespiquen tilted its head curiously, staring at N.
"There's such a magical ability? Can hear my inner voice? So amazing!"
Vespiquen's mentality shifted very quickly. Seeing that it was Lucas's guest, it very generously handed over the top-quality sweet honey it had brewed to N.
Vespiquen had nothing to say when it came to taking care of Lucas's face; it was very loyal!
Seeing someone offer high-quality sweet honey right away, righteous!
When it comes to not making Lucas lose face, it still has to be me, Lady Vespiquen!
Alcremie brought over desserts and milk tea.
"imai~"
Please enjoy~
Lucas looked at the visibly rounder Alcremie, smiled and said thank you, then teased Alcremie: "Speaking of which, Alcremie, have you been eating too much cream lately?"
Alcremie: ?!!!
"How did he know!"
Lucas pointed at Vespiquen, "Look at Vespiquen's waist, and then look at yours."
Alcremie was stunned for a moment, looked at Vespiquen, and then looked down at itself.
"(Is it cute? Hahahaha)"
"imai----"
"Waaaa!!!"
Alcremie left the garden crying while holding the tray.
Lucas: !!!
Vespiquen glared at Lucas.
"Bi."
"You go coax it, I'm not going."
"How do I coax, I don't know how----"
Rhyperior, who was rubbing Pinsir on the ground, heard Alcremie's crying, angrily bumped its fists together, and walked towards the garden.
"Roar!"
"I want to see who dares to make Alcremie cry in front of me, watch me not punch----oh, it's Lucas, why are you back?"
"Meow?"
Female Meowstic ran out, looked at Lucas sitting in the garden, was stunned for a moment, and then asked suspiciously who made Alcremie cry?
Vespiquen, Rhyperior, and Gengar, who was eating cake on the side, all pointed at Lucas together.
"Meow."
"Then you go coax it."
Lucas looked left and right, then grabbed Gengar's big fat face and dug out the cake in its mouth, "Still eating, you made someone cry and you still have the nerve to cry? Hurry up and go coax her!"
"Ko—Gen gengar----"
"I----my cake----it wasn't me who made her cry, why do I have to go coax her----"
Gengar looked at the cake in Lucas's hand, its short arms and short legs kicking constantly, trying to break free from Lucas's restraint.
Dealing with Gengar was second nature to Lucas.
"Do you still want to continue eating cake and other desserts later? If you do, hurry up and go coax her."
Gengar originally wanted to refuse, but then it saw the phone Lucas left on the table. Its eyes rolled, it made a face at Lucas, and then, while Lucas wasn't paying attention, it swiped the phone and floated towards the kitchen.
Vespiquen watched Gengar's retreating back, thought about it, and didn't remind Lucas that Gengar had taken his phone.
"Bi."
"You're done for if Ninetales and Gothitelle find out you made Alcremie cry."
Lucas grinned, "Don't worry, they are currently in the Unova region and won't know."
N witnessed Lucas's interaction with these Pokémon at the Breeding House, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile unconsciously.
Lucas nodded secretly when he saw this.
N turned to Vespiquen at this moment and apologized sincerely: "Vespiquen, I'm very sorry, I'm actually really not a pervert, although I don't know why you would think Lucas is a----"
"Bi!"
"Shut up!"
Looking at Vespiquen's fierce appearance, N reacted, nodded with a smile, and made a gesture of sewing his mouth shut with his fingers.
Vespiquen looked at Lucas with a guilty conscience and found that Lucas was looking at it with a squinted smile.
Vespiquen drank the milk tea in the cup and ran away.
"Bi."
"I'm going back to brew honey."
Watching Vespiquen's retreating back, Lucas asked N curiously, "What kind of person does Vespiquen think I am in its heart?"
Hearing Lucas's question, the frequency of Vespiquen's wing flapping increased.
Looking at Lucas, who was ready to accept praise, N's mischievousness suddenly came up. For some reason, after he came to the Breeding House, his mood had improved a lot.
"Pervert."
"I knew it, I am----what? Pervert?!"
"Vespiquen!"
Vespiquen's figure paused, then accelerated to leave the backyard.
"Bi!"
"It's going to rain, and the sweet honey I hung out to dry hasn't been collected yet, I'll go back and collect it first."
Then it disappeared.
After Vespiquen left, Lucas looked at N, "How do you feel?"
N was just about to speak when he was shushed by Lucas again.
"Wait a minute, I'll take you to another place."
At this time, Gengar also floated over and nodded at Lucas.
"Ko—Gen gengar----"
"Done."
"As expected of you, Gengar."
Lucas showed his signature smile and thumbs up.
Gengar smiled guiltily.
"Hehe."
N felt Gengar's heart, "Lucas----"
Lucas had just stood up. Hearing N call his name, he looked at him suspiciously, "What's wrong?"
"No, nothing."
"Oh."
Lucas nodded, then got up and left.
N looked at Gengar, who had been shaking its head and waving at him just now, and was now giving him a thumbs up.
He smiled gently.
"Ninetales----"
Lucas called out subconsciously, but then remembered that he had left Ninetales in the Unova region, and Plane Sister was also left in the Unova region.
"Can't walk there----"
Lucas muttered, then looked at the Gogoat Leader and the other few Gogoats who had just finished cleaning their bodies, "Luckily I have you guys."
Lucas, N, Mrs. Fujino, and Gengar each rode a Gogoat as they set off toward Twinleaf Town.
Mrs. Fujino was heading over to purchase ingredients, while Gengar was just joining in the fun; it wanted to ride too.
Seeing that Gengar had legs that were too short, and the Breeding House's Gogoat was quite large, it could only awkwardly perch on the Gogoat's back.
Just kidding, it couldn't even wrap its legs around it.
(Pfft————)
Watching Lucas trying hard to hold back his laughter, Gengar immediately used Lick on him.
"Ma————mama————"
Unova region.
Gothitelle, who was cooking, turned her head and sneezed several times.
???
Who is talking about me? Could it be Lucas?
Twinleaf Town.
Lucas brought N to the Cottage, and the two stood at the entrance of the daycare, with Lucas gesturing for N to look inside.
Inside the daycare, a group of children were playing with several Pachirisu, Kricketot, and Bidoof.
Seeing the happy, blissful smiles on the children's faces, N fell into silence, not knowing what to think.
Lucas didn't give him a chance to continue brooding; he led N to an open space, leaped up, and sat on top of a wall.
Lucas patted the spot beside him, signaling for N to sit up there too.
N arrived on top of the wall with a more agile movement than Lucas and sat beside him.
Lucas gestured for N to look at the street.
N nodded, and he and Lucas sat quietly on the wall, watching the everyday life of Twinleaf Town.
On the road, Pokémon wearing small wooden plaques could be seen everywhere; there were Aipom and Ambipom helping to deliver letters; Luxio and Starly running errands specifically for the elderly; and Kricketune helping to direct traffic————
The way humans and Pokémon interacted was so harmonious————
"Do you remember the forest behind the Breeding House?"
Lucas asked.
N nodded gently.
"These Pokémon are all wild Pokémon from the forest."
Wild Pokémon, huh————
"Actually, they didn't have such a good relationship with the people of Twinleaf Town originally. Perhaps it was because I held a fighting tournament in Twinleaf Town a while ago. Since too many people came to Twinleaf Town and there weren't enough hands, I had them come over to help."
Lucas paused for a moment and continued: "Unexpectedly, this fostered a bond between them. Look."
Lucas pointed to a spot, and N looked over. An Aipom wearing a post office hat nimbly arrived in front of a house, pressed the doorbell, and then pushed the door open to walk inside.
In the garden, a grandmother sitting in a wheelchair was looking at the Aipom with a kind expression. The Aipom took a letter out of its bag and handed it to the grandmother. The grandmother took the letter, patted the Aipom's head, and then handed it a piece of candy. The Aipom took it, unwrapped the candy, popped it into its mouth, and gave the grandmother a thumbs-up with its tail.
It smiled and said goodbye to the grandmother, then headed to the next house to deliver mail. On the way, it would stop at traffic lights to wait for them. If it encountered a child alone, it would even take the child home first, and the parents would give it lots of delicious treats, filling its bag completely————
"Look, how harmonious, how wonderful, and how happy is the coexistence between Pokémon and humans————"
"I heard from Zekrom that it intends to work with you to realize your ideals. So, N, what are your ideals?"
"I————"
N hesitated for a moment, then said: "Liberate the Unova region————"
The voice was very soft, but Lucas heard it.
"Liberate the Unova region, huh———— That's a very grand dream————"
Lucas propped himself up on the wall with both hands, looked up at the sky, and dangled his legs back and forth.
N looked at Lucas; he knew that his own idea of liberating the Unova region was different from what Lucas was thinking.
"How do you want to liberate the Unova region? Is it by destroying Team Plasma, or by liberating all Pokémon and keeping them away from humans?"
N hesitated about whether he should answer.
"I guess you mean the latter."
Lucas grinned. He didn't give N a chance to speak but continued: "N, do you think the current world is dominated by humans, or by Pokémon?"
"If you really realized your ideals and liberated all the Pokémon in the Unova region, where would you take them?"
"Back to the forest?"
"Now, all the important places in every region are occupied by human cities. If you take them back into the wild————will they adapt to the wild survival environment?"
"Survival of the fittest————"
"You cannot deny that weak Pokémon can live better after receiving help from humans, just like in Twinleaf Town."
"You can feel their hearts; you should be able to clearly understand how they feel at this moment."
"I am certain that every Pokémon's heart is fulfilled and satisfied."
N knew that Lucas was right.
"I know you hate it when Pokémon get covered in wounds for the sake of Trainer battles, but do you know why Pokémon, despite knowing that battling will get them hurt, still press forward to battle and fight?"
"Because the bond between Trainer and Pokémon is mutual. The Trainer will move forward toward a certain goal, and upon reaching it, will be joyful and excited. And when the Pokémon sees the Trainer happy, it will also be happy, because this is the result they achieved together through hard work."
"The result is beautiful and satisfying, so when that satisfying result is obtained, all the hardships along the way will be washed away at that moment."
"You asked me just now how I view the relationship and coexistence between humans and Pokémon. Actually, I don't know either. All I know is that humans cannot be without Pokémon, and Pokémon cannot be without humans————"
"This is my view. Since you are thinking of liberating the Unova region and want all Pokémon to be happy, why don't you try, just like me, to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and Pokémon?"
"Just like————"
"The Twinleaf Town right in front of you."
"N, if you had lived in a small town like this when you were a child, how would you have felt?"
Lucas gently asked N.
N fell silent for a moment, recalling his childhood, where only injured Pokémon were by his side, along with the various ideas instilled in him by his foster father————
If————if I could have had so many gentle Pokémon by my side back then————
If I could have played happily with Pokémon just like the children at the daycare————
If————
"Pappa."
N came back to his senses and discovered a Pachirisu standing beside him, holding a berry in its hand and offering it to him.
(Cute, right?)
Don't be sad. Here's a berry for you to eat. You'll feel happy after eating the berry~
Looking at the Pachirisu's sincere smile, N's eyes unconsciously grew hot.
Lucas looked at the familiar Pachirisu and smiled silently.
You really are an angel————Pachirisu.
When we get back to the Breeding House, you can eat whatever you want, I promise.
Even if you call me a pervert, it's the same.
"N, admittedly, there will be some malicious people among humans, such as Ghetsis."
Upon hearing this name, N's pupils unconsciously contracted.
Lucas continued: "They hurt some Pokémon, causing those Pokémon to no longer trust humans."
"But, N, why don't we build a small home, let these Pokémon that hate humans live in this small home, and outside the small home, build a big home, so that Pokémon that trust humans can live in harmony with humans? I think————"
"A Unova region like this should count as liberated, right?"
Listening to Lucas's words, N watched the scenes in Twinleaf Town, glanced at the Pachirisu beside him, then looked at the berry in his hand. He lowered his head and took a bite of the berry, which was covered in dirt.
The plump juice mixed with dirt flooded into his mouth. He chewed it in large bites, then swallowed, and took a second bite. Water droplets kept falling onto the back of his hand.
The heavy rain came quickly, but it also left quickly.
No matter how hard it rains, the sun will eventually appear in the sky.
"Thank you————"
N, having swallowed the berry, core and all, said chokingly.
"Thank you————"
"It's nothing."
Lucas smiled knowingly, "Then I'll be looking forward to it?"
"After all, as your teacher, I've already placed the answers to the exam paper here for you. Surely you can't fail to understand even when copying, right?"
Hearing Lucas's teasing words, N looked up, gazing at the sky after the rain. It was so blue, so beautiful. His eyes were red, but his gaze was very firm.
"I won't, Teacher. I will do better than you. I will liberate the Unova region and liberate all the Pokémon in the Unova region!"
Listening to N's words, which were full of villainous tone, Lucas unconsciously said: "Give up, N, the outside world is full of Ash————"
"What?"
N asked confusedly.
Lucas came back to his senses and shook his head, "Nothing, I was saying————Ash must be very happy that you made this choice."
Thinking of that innocent little boy and Pikachu, N also couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah————if it were him, he would definitely be very happy, right?"
After N finished speaking, he looked at the Pachirisu beside him.
"Thank you, Pachirisu. The berry was delicious. I'm not sad at all now, because I've found what I should do."
Although the little Pachirisu didn't understand the meaning of what N said, it could tell that the man in front of it was truly happy, so it happily clapped its hands.
"Pappa~"
That's great~ Right? Eating berries when you're sad is the happiest thing~
"That's right~"
Lucas looked at Pachirisu and N with gentle eyes.
I hope you can leave the past behind and welcome a better future.
Hero of Black and White————N!
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Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌