On Dragonite's back, Lucas frowned at Iron Bundle's lack of reaction—even with a massive hole scorched into the ground nearby by Moltres' warning shot.
Iron Bundle looked like a robot modeled after Delibird. The hollow, bulbous tail Delibird had was replaced by a spherical device connected via a transfer hose.
The device kept spewing frost, freezing swathes of trees and soil with ease.
From the look of it, Iron Bundle wasn't so much attacking wild Pokémon as simply remodeling the environment. To Iron Bundle, the Fletchinders and Corvisquire had just rushed in on their own and gotten themselves frozen.
He guessed it wanted to create a habitat suitable for itself. Many Paradox Pokémon were like that—their mere presence altered modern ecosystems and posed an unprecedented threat to Pokémon survival.
Three Scar and the others were frozen; if this continued, lives would be at risk. He couldn't let Iron Bundle run amok any longer. Subdue it first, then decide what to do.
Decision made, Lucas quickly ordered Moltres below, "Be careful not to hurt the wild Pokémon. Moltres—Heat Wave!"
Moltres shot Lucas a helpless look. He sure knew how to order a bird around. But it had been caught by him, after all. Fortunately, this Iron Bundle wasn't as strong as Raging Bolt; it had the leeway to fight without collateral damage.
"Skree!!"
Moltres let out a piercing cry. Wherever it passed, frost and snow melted—then evaporated into white steam.
With a beat of its fiery wings, the steam around it was driven by scorching winds. Precisely controlled, Heat Wave roared at Iron Bundle.
At the same time, Lucas patted Dragonite's back and, looking up at the snow clouds, said, "Sunny Day—rewrite the weather completely."
Along with the returning sunlight, dense embers exploded across Iron Bundle's body. Heat Wave clashed violently with the frigid stream from its sphere, and billowing steam shot skyward!
Iron Bundle had no intention of attacking living creatures, but it wouldn't just stand there and take hits. The ring of blue electronic eyes locked onto Moltres the instant it was attacked.
A torrent of precise data scrolled through Iron Bundle's eyes.
Assessment: hostile lifeform has Fire/Flying dual typing; highly powerful. Ice combat will be disadvantageous.
[Assessment—switch combat mode. Prioritize Water-type offense.]
Slits opened under its feet, high-pressure water jets lifting it into the air. It darted about at blistering speed, baiting Moltres into misjudging and preventing it from taking aim.
Catching the moment calculated in its model, Iron Bundle aimed the sphere at Moltres—
[Hydro Pump—fire!]
A raging torrent burst forth, forming a ferocious dragon of water that lunged for Moltres' vital spot.
Iron Bundle's electronic eyes watched the water-dragon calmly. As it raised the sphere, its body shifted, silently tracking Moltres' evasive flight.
[Assessment: current weather "Sunny Day" reduces Hydro Pump's power, but it will still inflict heavy damage.]
Lucas raised his hand slightly. A competent Trainer wouldn't let Moltres sit and take it. "Hurricane!"
Even under Sunny Day—where Hurricane was harder to control—he wasn't aiming to hit Iron Bundle, only to block the Hydro Pump.
Moltres beat its wings, conjuring a raging gale. The violent airflow became a wall of wind that Hydro Pump couldn't penetrate.
Seeing that, Iron Bundle's eyes flickered again.
[Warning: unit just reactivated. Excess energy expended to create proper environment. Energy reserves insufficient to break hostile's defense.]
[Change tactics—go all in. Freeze the hostile and the gale together!]
[Blizzard!]
The sphere spun at maximum speed. The transfer hose glowed icy blue as a howling blizzard erupted straight toward Moltres!
A roaring gale, a brutal frost—this was the same extremity of cold that had frozen the lake and forest.
"Again—full-power Heat Wave."
Moltres swept its golden-red wings. Sunshine seemed to gild it with a halo. Fire and storm danced wildly; under its control, a terrifying Heat Wave descended.
Extreme cold and blistering heat collided. Energy from both sides poured out like it was free. The clash birthed a vast bank of steam that blanketed the view.
Gradually, the blizzard from Iron Bundle's sphere weakened, then was completely overwhelmed by Moltres' legendary stamina. Scorching winds raked Iron Bundle's chassis red-hot.
Its movements grew sluggish, as if unable to withstand the heat. Finally, its head drooped, and it went limp.
[Warning: hostile lifeform's strength exceeds projections. Unit damaged. Reserves depleted. Mobility lost. Forcing shutdown.]
…
"Poke-poke…"
Lucas gingerly prodded the now-dark Iron Bundle—it seemed to have lost the ability to fight.
And during that final clash with Moltres, its energy had clearly been running low.
"Gaa-gwa!"
Now fully recovered, Three Scar glared at Iron Bundle and squawked a stream of obvious insults.
This time Lucas could oddly guess what Three Scar was saying—serves you right, that's what you get for wasting your energy freezing the lake and forest.
He soothed Three Scar with a gentle stroke of its feathers. He understood how it felt to walk the line at death's door. But the priority now was to seal Iron Bundle in a Poké Ball—before it rebooted and caused more trouble.
He took out an Ultra Ball and pressed it to Iron Bundle's head.
Might as well use a better ball to be safe.
Perhaps because Iron Bundle had shut down, the capture faced no resistance at all—not even a wiggle. A perfect catch.
How to put it… Perfectly catching a Paradox Pokémon felt weird.
He picked up the Ultra Ball, shrank and locked it, sighed, and looked around.
Led by the Fairy-type Comfey, the farm's Grass-types Dragonite had called over were rushing healing with Grassy Terrain for the Pokémon freed from the ice.
In the sky, Moltres made no attempt to conceal its divine might—like a small sun, it melted every frost and snow in the forest and on the lake.
The newly revived wild Pokémon gazed up at Moltres with pilgrim-like reverence. The Corvisquire who had once teased it now felt deep shame for their past mischief.
As for the Fletchinder flock that held the opposite half of the forest, also Fire/Flying-types, they nearly prostrated themselves at the sight of the legendary bird.
Lucas felt that once the healing was complete, he might actually witness a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.
He'd returned to the farm at 1:00 p.m., reached the Corvisquire' forest at 1:05, and flattened Iron Bundle at 1:15.
But cleaning up Iron Bundle's mess, plus all the injured Pokémon across the forest, took an all-nighter.
The sky gradually shed the night's depths; a faint pink crept over the eastern horizon.
The colors grew richer, as if a painter poured pigment over a canvas, dyeing the heavens a vibrant orange-red.
The sun rose, bathing Moltres—who had melted ice and snow all night and returned spring to the forest—in light like a golden cloak.
Led by Three Scar, the Corvisquire' flock, and by their chief, the Fletchinders' flock, took to the sky of their own accord. Circling beneath Moltres, they trilled sweet calls, as if voicing their devotion.
Moltres beat its golden-red wings, scattering dazzling embers with every stroke.
It understood—they were offering fealty.
Very well. From now on, this forest would be under Moltres' protection.
As if inspired by grace, Moltres raised its head and cried. The sound seemed to pierce distance and reach every corner of the forest.
And then—a miracle.
The Fletchinder chief and Three Scar, bathed in sunlight, burst into brilliant white light. Their bodies grew under the holy glow and rapidly transformed.
Lucas's eyes widened in shock. "They're… evolving?"
The Fletchinder chief became a full raptor, the red feather on its head flaring high. As a hawk, its legs were thick and powerful; when it flapped its strong wings, embers fell from the gaps in its feathers—like a miniature Moltres.
The famed Route 1 bird of Gen VI, Gale Wings—Talonflame.
Three Scar's change was even greater—a complete rebirth.
The deep-blue plumage vanished, replaced by pitch-black armor that seemed to swallow light. Its size surged from under a meter to over two—twice Talonflame's bulk.
Three Scar now resembled a knight in English plate, exuding a reassuring weight. Its typing had become the superb Flying/Steel.
Its name: Corviknight. Unrivaled in Galar's skies—but this was Paldea. Lucas already worried that before Three Scar could showcase its new majesty, it might get chased off by a certain hammer-wielding loli.
Under their flocks' excited eyes, the newly evolved Talonflame and Corviknight flapped their wings. Meeting Moltres' gaze, they bowed without hesitation.
From now on, this forest would tell the legend of a sacred bird who brought spring and melted the snow.
…
On May 24, Lucas signed off with the foreman on the farm's fully paved roads. Flagstone paths now crisscrossed the farm, making vehicle access easy and keeping Pokémon from getting covered in mud on rainy days—saving Lucas plenty of headaches.
After more than twenty days, the roads and wiring were done. Aside from having some workers install street lamps across the farm, Lucas began surveying locations to dig an ice cellar.
Typically, ice cellars go under a building, into a cave, or as a big dug pit.
Lucas's farm sat on a plain with no surrounding mountains, so the only option was to dig down.
After careful consideration, he chose to put the ice cellar beneath the warehouse, planning a structure like a basement plus a single-story room.
While he was at it, he'd expand the warehouse and connect it to the ice cellar so crops could be moved freely between them—no worries about summer heat accelerating spoilage.
Originally, Lucas planned to have Swampert help dig, but the foreman said an ice cellar required precise measurements and tight construction to prevent cold loss and rapid temperature rise—accidents he couldn't risk.
So Lucas followed the foreman's advice and left it all to the crew. He'd just pay the bill.
After finishing with the foreman, Lucas called Sada and relayed everything about Iron Bundle. Even she was perplexed by why it appeared in the forest. Based on what Three Scar's side described, they arrived at a tentative conclusion—
Iron Bundle might have appeared in Paldea long ago and, after some incident, was buried beneath the forest to slowly recharge. Once the Fletchinders dug it up and it finished recharging, it began remodeling the forest to suit itself.
Sada's slightly heavy voice came through the receiver. "In fact, traces of Paradox Pokémon still exist in a few places in Paldea. For example, there are sightings of Great Tusk in the Asado Desert."
"As for handling Iron Bundle, I personally suggest trying to communicate with it. See if it's a special case like Raging Bolt before deciding whether to return it to Area Zero."
Lucas nodded. He'd thought the same. If Iron Bundle was controllable, then a Pokémon strong enough to freeze a lake and forest was exactly the Ice-type he'd long sought.
But if it wasn't controllable, he wouldn't keep such a danger on the farm. At most, he'd have it use that frost-spewing sphere to cool the ice cellar.