The end result was a table completely covered with finished dishes. Arven felt like his nostrils were stuffed with the scent of hay, and he was worried that he might feel nauseous whenever he was on grass in the future.
Lucas looked with some difficulty at the dazzling array of hay-based foods on the table. There was so much, it would be hard to transport, even if Oranguru used psychic power—it'd still be a struggle. Maybe it'd be best to call over Mudsdale and Sawsbuck to do a taste test?
Lucas poked his head out of the first-floor window to look at the distant chicken coop. Besides Dolliv, who was playing with the now bigger chicks, the huge Arcanine was lying there, acting as a guard.
Seeing this, Lucas, who didn't want to move anymore, had an idea. He tried to entice Arven in a tempting tone, "You haven't had enough of that speed and thrill just now, right? You can ride Arcanine again, and help me call Mudsdale and Sawsbuck over here too."
Arven, who was dry heaving by another window, immediately perked up. His eyes followed Lucas's gaze to Arcanine, then he patted his chest, "Yes, sir!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the boy's endless energy burst forth again. He jogged over, woke the soundly sleeping Arcanine, and rode the big dog off toward the pasture.
Watching this, Lucas and Oranguru, who had just finished cleaning the second and third floors, both sighed.
"Youth is great, isn't it?"
Oranguru, Mudsdale and the Sawsbuck all expressed high praise for the hay-based food, and a strong desire to occasionally have it to improve their meals.
Lucas used this chance to finalize the future menu for the Pokémon in the pasture. Besides the reward of grass cake, grass patties, grass dumplings, and grass dorayaki were all easy to make. Making a big batch each week would be enough to supply the next week.
Lucas originally wanted to go to a carpentry shop in Los Platos Town to make some feeding troughs for the pasture, since Mudsdale and the others usually just gnawed on grass and didn't have their own bowls.
But Oranguru calmly stopped him, saying it had carpentry Skill. Lucas just needed to pick up new members, and the feeding troughs would be prepared by Oranguru.
Arven was stunned. In his small head, processes like "talking Oranguru," "Pokémon butler," and "carpentry Oranguru" were running at the same time—almost crashing his brain.
Isn't this Pokémon a little too versatile?
Afterward, Arven, still dazed, was sent by Lucas to the farm entrance. When Lucas put him on Dragonite's back, Arven immediately sobered up at Lucas's words, his body freezing.
"By the way, remember to bring all your Pokémon to class tomorrow. To check if you slacked off this holiday, there'll be a pop quiz."
"Don't worry, it won't be too hard. Comfey will be there too, so you'll all be bouncing out of class afterward."
Arven's lips trembled. "What about during class?"
Lucas just smiled without replying. Arven, hair standing on end, only remembered being pitifully sent home by Dragonite. Surrounded by Mabosstiff and Skwovet, he even had a nightmare that night.
…
April 2nd, clear and cloudless—a perfect day for youthful vigor and hard work.
Oranguru had already ironed Lucas's teacher's suit early in the morning. It was a mystery how it managed to make the shirt, jacket, and pants perfectly wrinkle-free without an iron.
Before boarding Dragonite, Oranguru handed Lucas a box wrapped in blue mesh fabric.
"Is this…"
As he received it, Lucas's face showed disbelief.
"Guru~." (This is a bento.)
Oranguru waved, sunlight softly shining on it, giving it a somewhat sacred look.
Lucas sighed at the thought of eating a bento made by a Pokémon. He gave a few more reminders to Oranguru.
In short: if anything can't be solved, ask Luxray. With Luxray around, no troublemaker would dare show up.
With Oranguru seeing him off, Lucas and Dragonite quickly disappeared into the sky.
Returning to familiar Mesagoza City, Lucas easily made his way to the Ellie Ranch. Besides Old Man Ellie, he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.
In the main hall, a lively girl seemed to have just arrived as well. Her eyes sparkled as if confirming some rumor.
"I heard from classmates at school—they said all the Tauros at your ranch are strong and have great fighting spirit. Please let me choose one to be my partner on my journey as a trainer!"
Nemona seemed full of enthusiasm, no matter what she was doing—maybe it was this earnest attitude and her innate talent that let her rocket to Champion level so quickly.
"Sure, sure, just don't get so excited, little miss. Sit down and let's talk."
Ellie was almost overwhelmed by Nemona's energy. In her, he saw a shadow of his two grandsons—especially the one who went to Blueberry Academy. When he first became a trainer, he was just as passionate.
Why did things change later though?
The old man, a bit sentimental, wanted to say more, but at that moment, Lucas, who had been standing outside, decided to come in and calmly greeted the two surprised faces.
"What a coincidence, Nemona. And Mr. Ellie, I'm here to pick out more Pokémon for my farm."
Sitting in the extra chair Ellie added, Lucas squinted under Nemona's hopeful gaze, nodding knowingly. "I see, you want me to help you pick a suitable Tauros, right?"
Nemona nodded vigorously. "Thank you, teacher!"
Lucas nodded, then asked, "So, what type of Tauros do you want? In Paldea, there are three kinds: the Fighting type Combat Breed, the Fighting/Fire Blaze Breed, and the Fighting/Water Aqua Breed."
Nemona answered without hesitation, "As long as we get along, any of them is fine!"
"That's just like you."
Lucas smiled, then looked to Ellie, who hadn't spoken.
"Mr. Ellie, besides Nemona's Tauros, I also want to pick a few Pokémon for my farm today."
"I need three types, can you provide them?"
Ellie nodded slightly. "Go ahead."
Lucas listed his predetermined choices: "Nacli, Skiddo, and Miltank."