Two days had passed since Lucas received those three letters.
After finishing the classes with Paul and Shizuka at Naranja Academy, Lucas returned to Los Platos Town and went to the Pokémon Center to learn medical knowledge from Nurse Joy Rin.
At the same time, he brought along Ceruledge and Moltres, intending to use his free time to help Penny's Flareon learn how to better control the restless fire-type energy and flames within its body.
By the time he finished everything, it was already around three in the afternoon.
Feeling a bit tired, Lucas, after bidding farewell to Penny and Nurse Joy Rin, didn't return directly to the farm. Instead, he went to a café in town and ordered two cups of coffee.
One was a regular black coffee, while the other was filled with sugar cubes and milk—hardly resembling coffee at all.
Perhaps calling it a full-sugar latte would be more accurate.
Lucas just never really liked the taste of coffee. He did fine with plain water, tea, or milk, but only drank coffee when there was no other choice.
He stirred his cup, letting the sugar and milk blend smoothly into the latte. He took a small sip; it was a bit bitter, but it still had that unique aroma of coffee.
He didn't have to wait long before he saw the person he was waiting for walk into the café.
Just like his forum avatar, he was a middle-aged man with a thick beard, dressed in dusty clothes that looked as if he had just crawled out of some ruins excavation.
The eye-catching yellow scarf around his neck was nowhere to be seen.
No wonder—after all, the temperature outside was close to 40°C. Even Grusha wouldn't cover up in such heat.
The man's gaze wandered around the shop and finally settled in Lucas's direction. Just as he was about to step in, he looked down at his dusty clothes, hesitated, stepped back outside, and did his best to dust them off. At least this way, he wouldn't dirty up the spotless café and make the staff clean again.
When the man finally sat down across from him, Lucas formed his first impression: though he looked rough on the outside, he was actually quite meticulous.
As expected from a professional ruins excavator.
Lucas stood up and reached out his hand. "Hello, Captain. I'm Catman, real name Lucas. May I ask your name?"
The Captain, a bit surprised, scratched his head and replied helplessly, "My name is just Captain. Honestly, when I first saw your forum name, I thought you were a little girl."
"Didn't expect you to be such a young and handsome guy."
"Please, have a seat."
No one would be unhappy being complimented. Lucas smiled and gestured for the Captain to sit, then organized his words.
This Captain was the professional ruins excavator he'd commissioned on the forum a while back—the one who disappeared for half a month after Lucas sent him a private message.
On the night Lucas received the three letters, he habitually logged into the forum and found that Captain had finally come online and replied to his message.
After a brief chat, they set a time and place to discuss the details face-to-face.
Lucas took out a stack of bound contracts, placed them on the table, and slid them to Captain.
"If you find anything inappropriate, we can discuss and modify it."
The contract was drafted by Oranguru, who had plenty of experience with such things from his time at the Butler Academy.
Through their private chats, Lucas already had a good idea of Captain's abilities. Captain's long absence was because he had found the underground residence of a noble from the ancient Paldea Empire. For some reason, the place was a maze, and Captain spent a lot of time getting out.
Luckily, he always brought at least a month's worth of food and a water-type Pokémon, so he never ran out of supplies.
He solved all the puzzles on his own and escaped the labyrinth.
Captain had also listed many famous ruins he and his team had conquered. Without much hesitation, Lucas decided to formally invite him.
And so, here they were, signing the contract.
Captain carefully looked through the paperwork. In the quiet café, the sound of flipping pages was rhythmic.
The more he read, the more shocked he was.
This new boss was offering extremely generous terms, and Captain couldn't understand why.
Most of the treasures found during excavation would belong to Captain as spoils of war. However, Paldea Ancient Gold Coins must be left behind, and all treasures must first be shown to Lucas—if he wanted any, he'd buy them at a fair price.
Additionally, before each excavation, Captain would receive a complete guide to the site.
Never mind how outrageous it was to have a full guide before entering a ruin.
Even more puzzling: with such guides, Lucas could just explore himself, yet he was willing to pay Captain and let him keep most of the spoils.
Was Lucas just burning money for fun?
Captain looked up and met Lucas's calm gaze. He was about to speak, but felt his throat go dry. He glanced at the cup of black coffee, grabbed it, and gulped it down in one go.
Lucas was stunned. Did he not find it bitter?
Seeing Captain finish the coffee in one shot, Lucas kindly asked, "Would you like another cup? I'll ask the staff to bring one—my treat."
"Huh, really?" Captain looked surprised.
Lucas nodded. "Of course. Think of it as proof of my financial strength—not that a cup of coffee proves much."
"You really are a generous boss."
Captain was already very satisfied with the contract, and his last bit of hesitation was gone.
But there was still something he had to ask.
"About the guides you mentioned… It's not that I don't believe you, but it seems a bit unrealistic."
Lucas took a sip of his latte, then tapped the table. "Wouldn't actual verification convince you more?"
"Just pick a ruin where you know you can get out safely—bring my guide and see for yourself."
"Like the contract says, you find the sites that might have Paldea Ancient Gold Coins, and I'll provide the detailed guide. That's something that can't be faked."
Lucas was very straightforward, and Captain was convinced.
"You're right."
After a moment's thought, Captain signed his name.
He handed one copy back to Lucas, kept his own, and took a small box out of his space backpack, placing it before Lucas.
"I found twenty Paldea Ancient Gold Coins in that maze ruin."
Lucas opened the box, confirmed the coins, and smiled. "I'll transfer the money to your account later."
"When you find the next target, contact me."
Afterward, Lucas called the staff over to pay for the coffee and nodded to Captain before leaving the café.
On the way back to the farm, he spoke seriously in his mind:
"Now it's up to you, Gimmighoul, whether you can successfully evolve… It depends on your accuracy."
As for why Lucas would spend money hiring someone and sharing the loot even though he had the guides—the reason was simple.
He just didn't want to spend days in dark, damp underground ruins.
…
The next morning, Lucas received a call from Geeta.
She got straight to the point: "Alder, the Champion of the Unova League, is coming to Paldea, registered as visiting your farm. You do know about this, right?"
Lucas nodded innocently. "I know."
On the other end, Geeta was silent for a while, seemingly brainstorming.
After a moment, she spoke again. "If it's convenient, can you tell me why he's coming to see you?"
A champion travelling to another distant league was a big deal for Paldea's diplomatic image, and as the Paldea League Chairwoman, Geeta needed to know the details.
"It's just a friendly visit between friends," Lucas replied calmly.
Geeta: "…Do you think I'd believe that?"
"Alright, actually, besides visiting me as a friend, Alder wants to cure his Volcarona at my farm."
Lucas didn't think this was a secret. Geeta should have heard about Alder's Volcarona's condition, so he just said it.
This time, Geeta was silent for even longer.
After a while, she finally spoke, as if digesting the information. "I'll have Larry handle the airport pickup. You don't need to worry. We need to show the proper attitude, after all."
"And, putting aside how you can cure a Volcarona that's already been given a terminal diagnosis by the medical community, I just want to say—you do realize you're creating a very powerful opponent for yourself, right?"
Lucas: "?"
What did that mean?
Geeta continued.
"Recently, the Chairman of the Galar League, and President Rose of Macro Cosmos, contacted me and proposed a project."
"The project is called—the Pokémon World Championship."
"In Chairman Rose's vision, the Pokémon World Championship will elevate the trainer profession to its pinnacle."
"As the name suggests, he aims to make this a world-class authority event—a grand festival of honor for all leagues."
"Apparently, he's already reached a preliminary cooperation with the Kanto and Johto League's Chairman Goodshow, and from my perspective, the chances of success are very high."
"I'm still considering whether to accept the invitation. But regardless, I'm already thinking about who Paldea League could send if the championship is held."
"The Elite Four and Gym Leaders aside, as Chairwoman, it's not meaningful for me to participate. So, I imagine you'll need to battle other league Elites and Champions, and Alder will definitely lead Unova's team."
"His ace Volcarona—simply put, when it was in peak condition, even the evil Team Plasma didn't dare act up in Unova."
"That's why I say—you've created a very powerful opponent for yourself."
Geeta believed that a fully revived Alder was anything but the weakest Champion. In fact, with his Volcarona "revived," Alder wouldn't need to step down any time soon.
Listening to this, Lucas paused, then said, "I don't plan to compete in this event."
If he had to endlessly battle just to maintain his rank, what was the point of retiring?
His true goal wasn't to be the strongest Champion, but to challenge the black Rayquaza.
"I know, everything I just said was just my own optimal solution," Geeta replied, sounding unsurprised. "But your student, Nemona, with her personality, will definitely be excited to participate in such a world-class event."
"That girl has shown potential to pass the Champion test, and might be the next Champion-level trainer. By then, she might represent Paldea. What I said just now applies to her as well."
"Of course, I don't mean you shouldn't help Alder and Volcarona. This is just a friend venting about something troublesome."
Geeta's tone relaxed—it was just friends chatting.
After a few more words, seeing that Lucas's attitude wasn't changing, Geeta asked one last question.
"If, and I mean if, Paldea and Galar want to host a friendly match, and you're invited to face the so-called undefeated Champion Leon in the opening exhibition, would you be interested?"
Lucas paused while putting on his shoes and asked sincerely, "…Can I have Calyrex take my place?"
…