Bad news.
The moment he heard those words, Lucas keenly sensed an ominous premonition rise within him.
And as he met Geeta's eyes—still seemingly smiling—this uneasy premonition reached its peak.
This woman wants to exploit me!
As a former wage slave, Lucas's instincts were screaming in alarm.
But the reality was: Lucas had already entered this dragon's den. Wanting to leave now? That would be tough.
A smiling Geeta spoke slowly.
"According to the Zero Zone Institute's report, Professor Sada and Professor Turo have made tremendous progress in their research and are about to test their experimental machine."
"However, they're worried that, like last time, something like the Raging Bolt incident—legendary Pokémon causing havoc—could happen again. That's why they're requesting help from the League."
"Their request was: 'We need a Trainer strong enough to suppress Pokémon transmitted to the present via the time machine.' That's exactly what the couple said."
"Given the strength of those Paradox Pokémon, only the Elite Four or the Champion are suitable for this task."
Geeta's words paused, and she looked directly at Lucas—no attempt at hiding her intent.
"The current Elite Four members are all overwhelmed with work, and I'm not only busy with Paldea League business—I'm also searching for a new Elite Four member to replace the retiring old gentleman."
"As a result, the only one available to take this mission is—"
"Stop! Enough!" Lucas interrupted Geeta's drawn-out reasoning, feeling a headache coming on.
Yet he understood the logic.
Apparently, the two Professors had successfully developed, or at least prototyped, a time machine—just as Arven had told him before, that his parents had made significant progress. Now it all connected.
However, the Professors worried that Paradox Pokémon sent to the present by the machine might run amok, and they likely hadn't yet developed a way to reliably capture them. So, the only option was to find a powerful Trainer to physically suppress these Paradox Pokémon.
And it was clear—Geeta was only a sentence short of outright saying: "You go do it, Lucas."
No wonder she called it bad news! So why is she smiling so happily?
"No—" Lucas was just about to refuse, saying he wasn't up to the task and that it would be better to give it to the reliable Larry.
But, as if expecting his thoughts, Geeta shot a look at Clavell nearby.
Clavell, eyes cast down, silently produced a silver tray from somewhere and set it on the table, lifting a red cloth.
Three Poké Balls—purple and white, the famous Master Balls—sat in a neat row.
Lucas fell silent.
Clavell explained, "These are the highest-performance Poké Balls bought by the President from Silph Co. in Kanto—Master Balls. Only a very limited number have ever been produced. They say even legendary Pokémon can be captured with them."
Lucas: "..."
Geeta pressed the advantage. "One for Professor Sada, one for Professor Turo, and the last—I'll decide its use—as a reward for this mission. How about it?"
Geeta knew that "a chance to catch a legendary Pokémon" wasn't enough to sway Lucas.
After all, he'd already caught legendary Pokémon before; he had little practical need for a Master Ball. Of course, he simply wasn't that interested in using one for catching.
But Geeta just kept smiling at him in silence.
Moments later, Lucas sighed. "Fine, I'll take the mission."
The smile on Geeta's face widened.
Lucas nodded slightly, then added, as if remembering something, "It's almost winter. There's a lot of work left at the farm. The most I can spare is three or four days, just enough to serve as a bodyguard."
Geeta naturally had no objection.
Getting Lucas to take the mission was all she wanted; the rest was just details.
Their verbal agreement reached, Lucas accepted the tray from Clavell, letting his gaze rest on the Master Ball with its unique, gleaming sheen.
Even if Lucas didn't need a Master Ball, it didn't hurt to have one for his collection.
Standard Poké Balls were easy enough to collect, and with the farm's rising income, even the rare ones could be bought. But Master Balls—those were a collector's dream, a treasure hard to find. Reality might not match the games' 100% catch rate, but the desire among Trainers for one was still strong.
The GS Ball aside, Lucas was also growing Apricorn trees for crafting Apricorn Balls.
And then there was Perrin—perhaps she even knew the old methods to make the antique Hisui balls from ancient Sinnoh.
Putting all the balls on display would be magnificent.
Besides, Arven had been hinting at going to the Paldea Great Crater. Might as well take him along—kill two birds with one stone, and perhaps let him visit his parents, whom he hadn't seen in a year.
…
By evening...
Lucas invited the homecoming trio—Nemona and her friends—plus Penny and her group, to a hearty meal in the new farmhouse.
It doubled as a welcome-home dinner for the three travelers, even if it was a little late.
Over the meal, the travelers shared stories of their adventures. Even under the light, Nemona's eyes still sparkled as she said she'd never have experienced so many interesting things or learned so much beyond what the Academy could teach if she hadn't set out.
At one point, Alcremie was making dessert and borrowed the last Pokémon Nemona had caught—which turned out to be a Ribombee discovered by her family.
Ribombee, a Bug/Fairy type first found in the Alola region, was like Vespiquen and Combee in that it had its own specialty—gathering nectar and pollen to make unique pollen puffs.
The best Ribombee could make delicious pollen puffs that were also relaxing and healed fatigue—healing moves, essentially.
You could even customize them into weapons for throwing at enemies, causing dizziness or paralysis.
Alcremie obviously wanted to use these pollen puffs in her desserts. Lucas was eager to taste the results.
If they turned out well, perhaps he could bring home some Cutiefly or Ribombee from Alola next time—along with honey-collecting Pokémon like Butterfree or Beedrill.
He wanted to taste more than just Combee honey—there were all types of honey made by Bug Pokémon, each with a different flavor.
By the time everyone was stuffed and Penny, who always claimed she had an extra stomach for desserts, had passed out, Lucas called Arven outside.
Arven, wrapped in a warm blanket by Oranguru, shivered when he stepped into the cold night air and looked questioningly at Lucas.
Why did Lucas want to speak with him especially?
After a side glance at Arven, Lucas spoke: "In a few days, I'm going to the Paldea Great Crater—down to the Zero Lab."
Arven's shivering stopped, and he looked up with a burst of visible excitement in his eyes.
"What about me?" Arven asked, almost breathless. He really wanted to go along—video calls couldn't replace the feelings of seeing someone face to face.
"I recall, except for the Peat Block, the promise was that you'd need all eight Gym Badges."
"When you have eight badges and can protect yourself, as long as you ask, I'll find time to take you down there. That was our promise." Lucas's cold voice drifted in the wind.
Arven's excited light dimmed.
He... was still missing two badges.
It wasn't even a strength issue—he'd just been lazy before. Even if he could clear the Alfornada and Glaseado Gyms, his travel route had skipped those cities, so he was two badges short.
Now, Arven felt deep regret.
At that moment, two small figures slipped out the open door—casting long shadows in the light.
Both Lucas and the crestfallen Arven noticed and turned to look.
It was a Tandemaus pair.
Each was carrying a steaming cup of milk—clearly delivering them.
They divided the task: one mouse gave Lucas a cup, the other handed one to Arven. This was probably Oranguru's idea—to prevent them from catching cold.
"Chii Chii"
Tandemaus, trained by Oranguru to be model housekeepers, completed their task, waved goodbye, and slipped back inside to the warm house.
It was far too cold for them; they silently wondered why the "young master and guest" would stay outside instead of enjoying the heat.
Arven watched the pair go back indoors, feeling a natural sense of kinship with them.
"Phew, phew." Clutching his cup with heat-proof wrap, Arven gently blew on the rim so he wouldn't burn his tongue.
The mood was silent.
Lucas asked suddenly, "Do you know Tandemaus's evolved form?" Arven paused and blinked. He remembered—couldn't say he didn't know.
"It's Maushold. There's a three-member family and a four-member family."
He answered without hesitation.
It was a fascinating Pokémon species: almost always moving in pairs, the two Tandemaus forever inseparable. Upon evolving, the family grows—one or two additional mice join, creating a larger family unit, supporting each other and always together.
Arven couldn't help but envy Maushold.
"Right, Maushold—they live as a family, which people find heartwarming."
"Being separated from family is a lonely and painful thing. That brings me to a question I'll only ask once."
Lucas nodded, then shifted the topic:
"Arven, do you feel you have the ability to protect yourself now, and are ready to enter the Paldea Great Crater?"
Arven's pupils contracted. He hesitated for a few seconds. "I don't know, but I want to try. I want to see them in person."
"That's honest." Lucas smiled lightly and sipped his now warm milk. "Better be ready—think about what you want to say to them these next few nights. Don't cry when you finally meet your parents."
"I won't cry!"
Maybe it was from the wind, but Arven's face suddenly turned red, his ears burning with embarrassment and anger. He wanted to retort, but Lucas had already ducked inside.
All he could do was stand there, clutching his cup, dawdling in the cold before finally finishing the milk. Feeling the warmth spread within, he murmured, "So warm."
Behind the door, Lucas only smiled.
Eleven or twelve-year-olds putting on a gloomy face all day—now that was much better.
After the talk with Arven, Lucas found Nemona for a chat—not about anything serious, just advice on how she could break her own limits further.
With her current ability to best the Paldea Gym Leaders at full power, Nemona was close to reaching the Elite Four level.
To have grown so much since February, from a total rookie to this in eight months, Nemona's talent was outrageous.
However, Lucas didn't think she was quite ready to challenge the Elite Four. She needed to mature more.
No Academy student could really battle Nemona at full power. And the Gym Leaders were too busy to serve as sparring partners.
Nemona reminded Lucas of Ash: the more real battles, the faster she improved.
To take the next step, she needed worthy opponents.
Lucas gave Nemona two options:
Go to Galar, where the Gym Leaders are famously tough. Unlike other leagues, Galar's Gym Leaders often battle at full strength based on the challenger, and after all eight Gyms there's a league tournament—with even stronger opponents.
Or try the "Battle Frontier" in Kanto or Hoenn. It wasn't well-known, but under Scott, a group of outstanding Trainers had become Frontier Brains. For example, the Pyramid King Brandon—Paul's brother Reggie lost to him there.
The Battle Frontier would certainly give Nemona valuable experience.
As for option three—sparring with Lucas—he didn't even mention it. Was he kidding? If he agreed, Nemona would drag him into battles all day, every day. No way he'd survive that!
Nemona, without hesitation, rejected the first option.
Not that she didn't want to go to Galar—but the local League Chairman, Rose, was just too persistent in trying to recruit her.
She didn't want to deal with outside distractions.
So the answer was clear: "Teacher, I want to challenge the Battle Frontier to hone myself!"
"Great. For the details, talk to Paul—his brother once challenged the Battle Frontier. He'll have advice that'll help you avoid detours."
Lucas patted Nemona on the shoulder, and the matter was settled.
…
October 24th.
The temperature dropped even more. The piercingly cold wind blew like a horn, heralding the coming of winter.
The farm's newly expanded land had all been fenced in.
The new orchard's trees had grown much taller, and with the growth boost from the layered grassy fields, the first blooms would soon open. Lucas was already considering the matter of Applin infestations.
With the improved internet, he had even asked the Leader to help collect Paldea Gold Coins—and had also found several farms and ranches online with reliable Applin suppliers to inspect before heading to the Great Crater.
But plans never keep up with change.
That morning, Lucas and his Pokémon loaded the harvest onto Sean's big truck.
He joked, "Looks like you've made a lot of money, Sean—upgraded to a big truck, huh?"
Sean blushed, scratching his head. "Hehe, it's all thanks to you farmers and ranchers trusting me."
An Annihilape patted Sean's back, making him pause before he remembered his news.
"Winter's almost here—most crops will stop growing soon. After working all year, I plan to take a break and travel the world with my wife and kids, using my savings."
"For example, Hoenn's hot springs. To soak outdoors in winter—nothing warmer."
"So I'll ask some friends to handle the pickup jobs soon. Please take care of them, Lucas."
Lucas smiled and nodded. "Of course."
Sean returned his baseball cap (snatched back from Annihilape) and grinned.
"Your farm's produce sells out everywhere—makes some city's little punks real lucky."
"But I promised the wife and kid to visit one of the 'Ten Scenic Sights of Paldea': the Fury Falls. Also, we'll check out a big bamboo grove nearby."
"Rumor is, a part of that grove is overrun with wild Applin, busy stockpiling food for winter."
"They're cute and don't eat much—my daughter's wanted to raise one for ages. Maybe we'll catch one this time."
…