Outside the nine generations of mainline Pokémon games, there are various spin-off series:
Mystery Dungeon, Pokkén, New Snap, and so on.
These gray, brick-like Peat Blocks—if Lucas wasn't mistaken—should be from the Pokémon Legends series, specifically Legends: Arceus, set in the Hisui region, the ancient Sinnoh. They're the essential evolution item used to evolve into a Pokémon called Ursaluna.
Ursaluna is a Ground + Normal-type Pokémon and the final stage of the Teddiursa–Ursaring line.
It boasts excellent offensive power and bulk, fitting all the elements a strong Pokémon needs.
However, just like how Hisui is the precursor of modern Sinnoh, Ursaluna—prominent in Hisui—has long since vanished from history.
Nowadays, no one even knows if Ursaluna still exists. The Teddiursa → Ursaring → Ursaluna evolution route has been corrected in modern knowledge to end at Ursaring.
Sure, Arcanine is also a Hisuian Pokémon, and Perrin has a Hisuian Growlithe too.
But that still doesn't explain why an evolution item like a Peat Block would show up here in Paldea's Asado Desert, half a world away from Sinnoh/Hisui.
"System, can you check if these are real Peat Blocks?"
Under Serperior's and Dragonite's gaze, Lucas crouched and picked up a gray Peat Block, examining it closely while asking in his mind.
[They're real. These eleven Peat Blocks are genuine evolution items, and we've ruled out the possibility they were dug up here.]
[Ursaluna is pretty strong—Guts + Flame Orb hits like a truck! Does our dear host want to catch a Teddiursa or Ursaring?]
"...Got it. We'll see."
Ending the exchange with the system, Lucas looked pensive.
If they weren't unearthed here, then are they connected to Great Tusk and Iron Treads—or something else?
Too few clues—no way to deduce it.
So Lucas decided not to dwell on why the Peat Blocks were in Paldea.
He set the Peat Block down and, flanked by Serperior and Dragonite, walked over to the ravaged pile of plants—and got a headache.
He'd prepared for the worst, but what lay before him still exceeded expectations.
The air, aside from the earthy scent of soil and the special traces left by Great Tusk and Iron Treads—redolent of the ancient and the futuristic—was dominated by a peculiar fragrance from some plant.
Among the unevenly gnawed plants, Lucas could only find three that had grown in a corner and escaped the two Paradox Pokémon's depredations.
The plants looked like ordinary twigs overall, but their leaves were a special yellow—not the yellow of withering, but like a slightly dim yellow crystal.
A strange aroma wafted around the leaves, as if it had some allure, urging creatures to eat it.
No wonder the Herba Mystica had become endangered and unknown to the wider world.
Fruits that give off a fresh scent when ripe do so to have their seeds carried far and wide by creatures.
But this stuff had no seeds at maturity, and smelled amazing. Didn't you see Dragonite eyeing the Herba Mystica with drooling longing, crystal beads at the corners of its mouth?
Even the self-controlled, poised, and noble Serperior kept glancing at the herbs.
Lucas identified the mature Herba Mystica by their leaves. Yellow leaves—this should be Sour Herba!
Unlike the pink Sweet, white Salty, green Bitter, and red Spicy, the yellow Sour Herba excels at relieving fatigue.
Probably because both Iron Treads and Great Tusk had appeared in the Asado Desert and fought constantly, the Sour Herba in this cave got trashed by the two who both needed to restore stamina and energy.
Lucas sighed. This was something he hadn't anticipated at all.
The fights between the two Paradox Pokémon had ruined the original patch of Sour Herba, leaving only three sprouts. Still, this should be better than when the game's protagonist and Arven arrive.
Back then, the herbs barely made three sandwiches for the protagonist, Arven, and Mabosstiff—maybe only a single plant remained.
Calamity hides blessing; blessing hides calamity.
While the big patch of Herba he wanted was gone, he'd gained eleven Peat Blocks.
Call it a wash.
Lucas took out three wooden boxes for the mature Sour Herba he harvested, then had Dragonite and Serperior collect the Peat Blocks and store them in his spatial backpack.
He also dug through the soil for a long while, but found only dead roots and rotting leaves—no seeds at all.
That made Lucas suspicious of Iron Treads and Great Tusk.
Could they have ruined even the Sour Herba seeds?
Though plants can be propagated asexually by grafting, based on the bags of seeds Professor Sada had given him, Lucas believed Herba Mystica definitely had seeds.
In the end, he could only refill the dug-up soil, hoping he'd missed the Sour Herba seeds and that new herbs would grow here in the future.
Raifort lay across the car window, so bored she'd started counting Donphan and Phanpy.
These Donphan were fairly docile and showed no intent to attack the off-road vehicle.
They seemed to have been driven out by those two big guys Lucas called Iron Treads and Great Tusk and had to live nearby.
Their normal habitat should be the pseudo-canyon zones formed by rocky hills. The surrounding rock walls could block smaller sandstorms and keep the Phanpy calves safe.
Just as Raifort got sick of counting Donphan and started wondering when Lucas would return, the Donphan and Phanpy ambling around the SUV gave warning calls as if a threat approached, then curled up and rolled away in a flash.
The next second, Dragonite descended, its wingbeats whipping up a gust that tossed sand into the air.
"...Cough, cough, cough!"
Caught off guard, Raifort almost choked on the suddenly airborne sand.
But that wasn't what held her attention.
She stared in surprise at Lucas. From departure to return, it had been just over half an hour.
Subtract the time for travel each way and handling the spoils—he'd only needed ten minutes to subdue those two hulking, quite powerful beasts?!
But when she recalled how her first impulse upon seeing Iron Treads and Great Tusk was to retreat and run, she suddenly grasped more deeply just how monstrous a Champion-tier Trainer's strength really was.
Recalling Dragonite, Lucas buckled into the passenger seat, glanced at the dazed Raifort, and reminded her, "Not going? If we head to the Watchtower now, we might make it before midnight."
"Ah—right!"
Snapping back, Raifort blinked, her gaze on Lucas now much more fervent.
Ignition, handbrake, gear, gas—smooth as silk!
Driving the SUV like a roaring desert beast, she headed for the Inclined Watchtower—a route she'd scouted so many times she could recite it backward.
Inside, she felt unprecedented relief—but even more excitement and zeal.
With Lucas here, whether it's one or ten Golurk, they're nothing to fear. As long as they find an official's notes proving the Treasures of Ruin aren't fairy tales but real history, she can delve further into the ancient past!
…
By 9 p.m., Lucas finally saw the outline of the peculiar Watchtower through the window.
Raifort stomped the brake. The wheels screeched a bit, and the SUV came to a steady stop. Engine off, lights out.
Raifort fished two high-powered, fully charged flashlights from the cluttered back seat and handed one to Lucas. "Please hold onto this. Backup."
"I still need to prep some tools for the tomb ra—cough, for the survey. You can stroll around the watchtower a bit."
Taking the flashlight, Lucas blinked. "You're not resting a night before going into the tomb?"
"You did drive all day."
"No need."
Raifort shook her head. Back when she was rob—er, researching tombs, going several days without sleep to study routes was normal. A day of driving wouldn't affect her trap-breaking and main chamber search.
Seeing her insist, Lucas didn't argue. He figured that if she dropped the ball later, he'd have the system guide them and ferry her straight to the end.
With the system's role down to navigation and reminders, Lucas actually preferred it that way.
Otherwise, if he ran around doing tasks because of it, would he be the system's puppet on strings—or a marionette?