October 13th.
Today, the new home was officially handed over.
The new home was built a bit further south from Thunder Lake, near where Serperior once sent Moltres flying with a whip of its tail.
To the north, it's close to the orchard and the glass greenhouse, so the slow-moving Shuckle siblings can come play anytime. When the sun is shining, they can also go enjoy the good life in the greenhouse.
To the west is the hill where Raging Bolt lives, as well as the area behind the hill. With future development, there will be plenty more there.
It's not far from the power generation and storage facilities, making it easy to keep an eye on electricity issues. More importantly, it's also closer to the warehouse and farmland.
Simply put, the new home is established at the heart of the farm. From the slate roads, you can access every section—very convenient.
The first thing Lucas did was take Luxray and the others to tour the new home.
It's still a three-story duplex, but the area is several times larger than the old house, with more rooms, greater spaciousness, and improved facilities.
There's Comfey' treatment room, Alcremie's kitchen, resting rooms for the Pokémon, a living room with soft carpets for play, a balcony where the Eldegoss can bask and photosynthesize, Oranguru's exclusive bar, and even a rooftop aviary for future bird Pokémon.
Almost all the Pokémon's needs are covered.
There's also a wall with no decorations yet, where Lucas plans to plant some climbing vines for both aesthetics and fresh air.
Walking through the wide front door, the first thing you see is a spacious area.
There's none of that dizzying formaldehyde smell—Pokémon World's renovations already use non-toxic, eco-friendly materials.
Even so, Lucas had everyone open the windows while exploring the new home.
Shorter Pokémon like Ogerpon could work with others to reach the windows, perhaps by forming a human (or Pokémon) ladder.
Soon, the little ones poured into the new home.
Victini led the charge, flying straight for the stairs and reaching the top first.
Alcremie, knowing it was slow, bribed Dachsbun with cream to ride in.
Gimmighoul was left behind—agile, yes, but just too small to run fast, so it came in last.
Lucas let Gimmighoul explore on its own to find a spot it liked, then moved its chest in afterward.
He also caught Arcanine, who'd just come in from the wild with muddy paws, and made it wash up before entering.
Once the first group of Pokémon had disappeared into the house, Lucas leisurely toured the new home with Luxray and the others.
Mimikyu still wore its Sylveon cosplay costume, and mysteriously, while wearing this, its almost-zero sense of presence was neutralized, making it fully noticeable.
Now, it didn't require Lucas to be nearby for people to notice it.
Lucas, Calyrex, and Oranguru had analyzed this for a while and tentatively concluded it was due to Mimikyu's own "state of mind," "happiness," and "sense of fulfillment."
Apparently, the "happy aura" Mimikyu emitted neutralized its ability, creating this strange phenomenon.
It's worth noting that putting on its original disguise made the effect return—no one understood why.
Mimikyu's mood hadn't really changed, after all.
Luxray, Serperior, Ceruledge, Swampert, Mimikyu, and Dragonite—these were the partners who'd helped Lucas win the championship, complete his first accumulation, and were his most important companions.
In the end, many of the farm's Pokémon could be friends, coworkers, or something else.
But Luxray and the others were Lucas's most trusted partners.
Even if they could already handle things independently, that didn't stop Lucas from taking them to see the fruits of their shared labor.
After a good while—
The tour ended and rooms were roughly assigned. Lucas got to work.
First up: cleaning the new home.
Although the foreman's team had already done a thorough cleaning, it wasn't a matter of trust.
Lucas simply felt it was more meaningful for him and the Pokémon to clean the whole place themselves.
Even with many helpers, Lucas was busy for most of the day.
By the end, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and a touch to his forehead brought away a handful of it.
Rubbing his sore back, he had to admit: a bigger house was much harder to maintain—even a smart robot vacuum would have to work full-time to keep it spotless.
And as for places the robot couldn't reach, maybe Oranguru needed some assistants?
Thinking this through, Lucas called the Pokémon scattered throughout the new house.
Even if it was just psychological, and even if the foreman said they could move in right away, Lucas had everyone leave the house to keep it aired out for a few days before moving in together.
Besides, there were still plenty of things to buy with Oranguru.
After a short rest, Lucas had Comfey and the others use moves like "Sweet Scent" and "Aromatic Mist" outside the new home to quickly mask any lingering "new house smell."
Even Ursaluna, who almost forgot it could use Sweet Scent, was dragged over to help.
Lucas only regretted that Ash had left too early—otherwise, having his Meganium walk around inside would've left the place smelling fresh and pleasant.
Most of the furniture could be bought in Los Platos Town.
It's a decent-sized town, after all, and has everything you'd need.
Because the quantity was large, Lucas and Oranguru went straight to the furniture factory recommended by the foreman, buying wholesale and skipping the middleman.
For tables, chairs, beds, they chose options with minimal processing and natural materials.
Sofas were chosen for the most comfortable sitting experience.
They also bought all sorts of miscellaneous furniture to fill the new home.
With enough funds, Lucas was willing to spend where it mattered—no need to penny-pinch and make himself suffer.
In this period, the farm's Miltank and Gogoat milk sales were incredibly profitable.
Even the farm's high-quality crops couldn't match their earning power.
When paying, the factory boss looked at Lucas like he was the god of wealth, offering the best discount and muttering about buying the foreman a drink that night.
They arranged for delivery, and Lucas and Oranguru returned to the farm late that night, washed up, and slept soundly in the old house.
As for home appliances, they'd wait for some professionals to visit in a few days.
Clemont's family would be visiting soon.
…
October 14th.
With the temperature dropping again, Lucas sped up the farm's expansion to finish before the snow.
The little Tinkatink who'd joined the farm recently hadn't started learning smithing from Calyrex yet, but was busy with another task from Lucas—
Communicating with the Pokémon living on the hill, letting them know about the coming expansion.
If any wild Pokémon were willing, they could join the farm and work for food—no problem.
After several days of effort, Tinkatink returned to the farm, brimming with pride.
Trailing behind were several small figures—
Three Digletts, most of their bodies buried underground, with red noses.
Normally, they'd be considered a single Pokémon, but like Exeggcute, Diglett in Paldea could appear as multiple individuals, as could Tandemaus.
"Kanu!"
With Oranguru translating, Tinkatink explained:
Because of the rivaling Houndoom and Salazzle groups at the foot of the hill, few wild Pokémon lived there besides flying bird Pokémon or those that could live without coming down, like Foongus, Diglett, or Tandemaus.
Most of the bird Pokémon chose to move away rather than live with unknown humans, no matter how much Tinkatink hyped up Lucas.
Foongus also chose to leave, still wary of humans.
In the end, the wild Pokémon willing to join the farm for food were these three Diglett and a Tandemaus.
Diglett was exactly what Lucas wanted. With the farm expanding, there'd be more land to till, and he couldn't have Mudsdale working to death every day. The Diglett would be a perfect help.
Many farms nearby carefully raised Diglett—their digging loosened the soil and their waste fertilized it, making ideal farmland.
They were perfect assistants for Mudsdale.
Staring at the eager Diglett, obviously convinced by Tinkatink, Lucas didn't hesitate—he immediately accepted them into the farm.
Next, he looked at the slightly nervous Tandemaus.
Books classify Tandemaus as a composite life form of two mouse-like rodents who live and work together.
Each is bipedal, white, with round heads, big ears, stubby limbs, and big paws, looking like plush toys.
Their black bean-like eyes looked at Lucas, hopeful yet timid, twitching their noses and whiskers as they checked the area.
Interestingly, the two have slightly different fur patterns:
The left one has light-gray fur on its legs—like pants.
The right one has light-gray fur on its upper body—like a shirt.
Their long, curly tails are intertwined, signifying they're always together, sharing any food they find equally, eating side by side.
Their teamwork lets them cut nest materials with their incisors and carry them away.
They're not just individuals—they're a family. Lucas always found this symbiosis fascinating.
Watching the nervous Tandemaus for a while, Lucas cheerfully agreed to let them join.
The reason was simple:
This kind of Pokémon, skilled at teamwork, seemed perfect for cleaning and helping Oranguru with chores. Besides, after evolving, they could learn the move "Tidy Up".
Born for housekeeping!
That alone was enough reason for Lucas to accept them.
It's simple, but practical.
With its recommendations joining the farm, Tinkatink clenched its little fists in a "great!" pose.
As long as it keeps proving its value, it could climb high and become Lucas's indispensable Pokémon—wasn't that the Tinkatink's dream of being the "boss of the mountain"?
Thinking this, Tinkatink signaled the Diglett and Tandemaus.
Work hard, got it?
The four Pokémon nodded carefully, then gazed around the farm with admiration, no longer so nervous.
Lucas left Tandemaus to Oranguru and Diglett to Mudsdale, then returned home to discuss the last two "hard nuts" on the hill with Tinkatink—
The Houndoom and Salazzle groups.
Forcefully driving them away would be easiest, but that's against Paldea law—not an option.
Fortunately, Serperior had already planted the seeds of change in the Houndoom group. Lately, it often brought Milotic over, so there had probably been results.
Besides introducing some Houndoom to Officer Jenny and the League as police dogs, the rest could work as shepherds.
But with nearly a hundred Houndour and Houndoom, the ranch couldn't support them all.
Lucas planned to keep a few reliable ones and find new arrangements for the rest—either with the League, the police, or in the wild if they preferred.
The same went for Salazzle—Calyrex had seen plenty of caves near Zapapico Town, perfect for them.
…