"Are you kidding me—there's an ability this busted?"
Eri and Penny both went pale from shock. If "good luck" means constant proc of added effects—can you even call this a fair Pokémon battle?
Watching their reactions, Lucas smiled. Sawsbuck's Zen Headbutt plus Serene Grace was nothing.
Togekiss's Air Slash plus Serene Grace—that's what breaks souls. Even a baby Togepi might roll into Spacial Rend, Precipice Blades, Sketch, or Judgment on luck alone…
Seeing their partners endlessly juggled by Headbutts, damage piling up while flinches kept them locked, the two girls hit a crossroads.
Give up?
Or fight to the last second?
Unexpectedly, the first to step up wasn't Eri, but Penny—the girl who could barely string full sentences to strangers.
Penny stepped forward. Even her long-indoors, pale skin flushed with color. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she shouted to Sylveon, being volleyed like a ball by Sawsbuck:
"Don't give up, Sylveon—!"
Just like when she formed Team Star in the game to tackle bullying, Penny might be bad at people, but she wasn't short on courage.
Eri was briefly stunned—Penny seemed to shine. The grappler's sixth sense in her said they'd get along great.
If Penny was bolder than her, Eri couldn't lag behind!
She planted her stance, drew breath, and boomed, "Annihilape, show your resolve—!"
Trust your partners. They will answer you.
Battered by Zen Headbutts, Annihilape and Sylveon seemed to hear their trainers' cries. They burst with unprecedented potential, forcing themselves free of the flinch lock on sheer will. Fairy aura and Fighting spirit surged.
"Fiiya!" "Saru!"
With Annihilape's hand knife and Sylveon's Fairy-laced sonic attack, the Sawsbucks' Headbutt chain was broken.
Lucas smiled lightly. Pokémon battles are fickle; even if you're stronger, bonds and resolve can spark power beyond reason.
Annihilape, who trained, ate, and slept alongside Eri; Sylveon, whose evolution hinges on affection—both fit that bill.
Seeing their rekindled fighting spirit, Lucas considered them qualified.
But the battle continued.
"Grassy Terrain!"
His excited command rang out again over the field.
…
"Aaahhh, we still lost—"
Eri plopped down, heedless of image, face full of frustration.
"I-I'm sorry… I couldn't keep up with your pace."
Penny wore regret. She'd been the obvious weak point, and her support was always a beat late.
"…"
The sudden silence from Eri made Penny glance up in a panic—Eri was staring at her, unblinking, so focused it rattled Penny.
No way… would Eri punch her for making them lose?
Eri looked strong (not an insult). One punch might knock out a shut-in like Penny…
Just as Penny tensed under that gaze, Eri opened her arms. Penny flinched shut-eyed—only to be hugged warmly.
"Eh?"
A tiny yelp slipped from Penny. Her nose twitched; her first thought was that Eri smelled faintly of nice laundry soap—she wanted to ask the brand.
Next, warm, callused hands—different from dainty fingers—landed on Penny's head and gently patted.
"It's not your fault, Penny-chan. You did great. The Sawsbuck's teamwork was just too tight—we couldn't find any openings—"
"Eri…"
Penny's eyes went dazed behind her round frames. She let Eri pat her head, dumbfounded.
Was… she being comforted?
Eri was too gentle, wasn't she?
"That's right. These Sawsbuck have lived together for ages and often help other farm Pokémon in battles. For a first-time doubles pair, you two did quite well."
Lucas's voice drifted closer. Penny and Eri looked over.
He swore he wasn't trying to kill the vibe—but Annihilape and Sylveon had finished treatment from Comfey and recovered their stamina.
The two Pokémon came over looking dejected and guilty—they'd still lost.
"It's not on you."
After soothing them for a while, Penny scooped up Sylveon, and Eri clasped Annihilape's hand, eyes blazing as they looked at the Sawsbuck by Lucas.
They'd turn defeat into fuel.
Catching their looks, Lucas smiled, stroking the female Sawsbuck's coat. "Congrats, you passed. Time is short, so next comes intensive special training—daily until we leave for Blueberry Academy. Are you in?"
"Yay!"
They glanced at each other and jumped with joy.
A beat later, after hearing the training plan, Penny froze.
Every day? For the next month?
She raised a timid hand. "Um… do we get weekends?"
Getting stronger is great, but breaks exist… right?
Lucas looked at Penny like it was obvious and smiled meaningfully. "What do you think?"
Eri stared as Penny's legs gave out; she sank to her knees, whispering—
"Oh no, I think I've boarded a pirate ship…"
After finishing Eri and Penny's interview with pleasant surprises, Lucas called Nemona and Arven, too, to brief them on the Blueberry trip and a month of doubles training.
Nemona, a battle maniac, had zero resistance—doubles was new territory, and her fighting spirit only grew.
As for Arven, no amount of wailing could free him from Lucas's Five Finger Mountain.
"Do you want to get back into the Great Crater of Paldea or not?" ignited his resolve. Lucas snorted—just a kid, falling right into an adult's wicked hands.
These four would be Lucas's core squad for Blueberry Academy.
Before leaving Naranja, Lucas found math teacher Tyme to ask her to occasionally supervise the four's doubles practice, offer advice, and spot weaknesses he might miss.
As the former Montenevera Gym Leader, Tyme specialized in Rock-types and had years of doubles experience. Lucas had theory, but Tyme could catch many practical, subtle issues more readily.
…
May 5th, at Lucas's farm.
As trucks stopped outside the fence, twenty-odd hard-hatted workers and Machops/Machokes disembarked. The Machoke Construction Crew had gone all-in for this big contract—every worker and Pokémon assembled.
Lucas and the Oranguru were waiting. After shaking the foreman's hand, Lucas smiled, "Please keep a close eye on this build, foreman."
"But of course—that's our job. Don't worry, Teacher Lucas. I'll personally oversee all four project items from start to finish!"
The foreman beamed at him like he was a walking gold mine.
This was a million-plus job that fell into his lap like manna from heaven!
The whole crew deployed, and they'd even pulled strings to bring in city electrical engineers to handle wiring and the power storage/generation setup.
Getting in good with the farm owner who casually keeps pseudo-legendaries was right—every month a major remodel landed on his desk!
Thanks to him, the boys were living better—he practically fed the whole crew single-handedly.
After small talk, Lucas gestured. "Please, come in."
The foreman nodded and had the boys rest outside while he followed Lucas in.
After reviewing the detailed plan and statement of work, Lucas pointed at the underground electrical routing map based on the farm layout. "This goes underground, so we need to dig tunnels, right?"
Unsure why he asked, the foreman still replied, "Uh—yes."
"How do you plan to dig?"
"Well, typically we use an excavator to break up the hard surface, then workers, Machokes, and some Dugtrio we caught for this do the fine work."
"What's the efficiency?"
"Given your farm's size… at least three to four days."
"…"
Under his nervous gaze, Lucas frowned, thinking.
Sensing it, the considerate Oranguru explained via telepathy:
"The young master worries that three or four days of construction noise will strain the Pokémon's mental health."
The foreman froze—voice in his head!?
He stared at Oranguru. His gut said the 'voice' belonged to it.
Good grief—several dragon pseudo-legends, a huge farm, and a talking "butler" Pokémon calling him "young master."
So Lucas must be some scion doing rural life experience!
"The noise is unavoidable. If we endure a few days, the later work will be much quieter…"
He tried to persuade him, fearing the big contract might slip.
Before Oranguru could answer, Lucas said, "Let's get all the tunnels dug today."
"Huh?"
The foreman was dumbstruck. Lucas hadn't been an unreasonable client before—why demand the impossible?
Seeing the confusion, Lucas added, "You mark the routes for the wiring across the farm. I'll handle opening the tunnels."
Cold sweat prickled the foreman's back. What was this likely scion thinking?
"Continental Crush!"
Brilliant light flared at Lucas's words. In the stunned faces of the crew, jaws agape enough for duck eggs, the light poured into the burly Mudsdale.
"Rehhhhh!!!"
Mudsdale roared, bringing its massive forehooves down. Ochre shockwaves lanced out like arrows, the earth groaning—cracking open.
"Th-this is—!!!"
The foreman's voice shook.
Before them lay a tunnel exactly to spec in width and height. Normally, even with an excavator and crew, carving out a hundred-plus-meter tunnel would take at least half an hour.
Lucas and Mudsdale did it in under a minute.
Before he recovered, more gasps sounded as a Swampert, with raw strength alone, split the ground—soil rolled like a turning earth-dragon—and in moments formed a tunnel no worse than the one from Mudsdale's Z-Move.
The foreman was shattered. Their Dugtrio could, at best, open a slit and till the soil to make it easier for workers and Machoke to dig.
Why do our Ground-types not look anything like yours!?
He bit back words—surely Lucas was at least Gym Leader-tier, given how strong his Pokémon were.
Oblivious to their inner drama, Lucas eyed the tunnels following the marked routes and patted Mudsdale. "Your control keeps getting sharper. Tapu Bulu would be proud."
Mudsdale whickered happily and nuzzled him.
While accepting the affection, Lucas gauged his stamina.
He hadn't used the Z-Move at full power, so the drain wasn't bad. The Z-Ring and crystal should recharge shortly.
At this rate, all tunnels would be done today!
Then they could lay the wiring!