"There's even a photo with the famous broadcaster, Dj Mary."
Lucas plucked a photo from the center and studied it.
It showed Delibird and a pink-haired woman with round glasses standing beneath the Radio Tower.
Lucas had wondered how Delibird managed to snag a photo with Dj Mary, a celebrity-level broadcaster in Goldenrod.
But the answer was in the next photo.
The second image still featured the Radio Tower, Delibird, and Dj Mary—but this time with an elderly man in a white lab coat, hair gone silver, yet bright-eyed and full of vigor.
Professor Oak of Pallet Town.
Lucas recalled that Kanto and Johto often aired Pokémon lectures co-hosted by Professor Oak and Dj Mary, intended to help more people learn about Pokémon traits and encourage new trainers.
Looks like Delibird used Professor Oak's connection. Spending time around Mewtwo had made even Delibird sharper.
The sudden heaviness in his mood eased. He put the photos away, a faint smile on his lips, and sat down.
Oranguru stood to brew Lucas some tea. To keep its skills sharp, it preferred using its hands over psychic power for tea.
Alcremie emerged from the kitchen carrying a beautifully crafted triangular cake, eager for Lucas to try its latest creation.
Accepting the plate from Alcremie, Lucas cut a small piece, tasted it carefully, and his eyes brightened. He gave the happy Alcremie a thumbs up.
"Delicious!"
Just those words of praise gave Alcremie immense satisfaction—the joy of having its carefully prepared dessert recognized.
Humming a little tune, Alcremie hopped off the table and happily ran back to the kitchen to portion the rest for the other Pokémon on the farm.
"Meo-ow~"
Luxray called, stretched, and sauntered toward the kitchen with graceful feline steps.
It planned to help out—on such a hot day, Alcremie would be exhausted carrying cake around alone.
Lucas waved to Luxray and watched it depart with a plate on its head. Calyrex then set down its teacup and asked, "How is your student's Pokémon doing?"
"With the Sour Herba solution and Nurse Joy's efforts, it's stabilized for now. We can't tell how long before relapse, so we need to act fast."
Lucas summarized the key points for Calyrex.
"Right now we're mainly waiting for Penny to bring back Tera Shards, so we can ripen the Bitter Herba."
Calyrex nodded. "That's the only option for the moment."
Oranguru handed Lucas the steaming teacup, set down the chipped pot, and reminisced about its past as a wild Pokémon living in the jungle.
"Perhaps it's a gift from the Creator—illness among Pokémon is rare. Even when we do get sick, it's usually simple colds or fevers. With the right herbs, we recover in a few days."
"In the jungle, I often treated visiting Pokémon, but this 'fire sac inflammation' you mentioned—I've never heard of it before."
As it spoke, Oranguru refilled Calyrex's cup.
"Much obliged." Calyrex nodded, lifted the cup, and mused, "In my era ruling Galar, humans had many kinds of diseases. Wild Pokémon on the Crown Tundra, however, rarely fell ill. Surviving those harsh wilds, they were robust."
"Excessive Fire-type talent combined with underdeveloped fire saces… an autoimmune disease born of two factors. I don't quite grasp the exact medical terms, but as Lucas said, to resolve it we likely must enhance immunity, promote secondary development of the fire sac, and raise control over Fire-type energy."
Lucas said, "To efficiently boost Flareon's immunity, we must grow healthy, fully mature Herba. As for sharing nutrients and life force, with you here, Calyrex, I'm at ease."
"The main issue is correctly using Tera energy. If we recklessly concentrate Tera energy near the plant, we might cause localized crystallization."
Calyrex set down its empty cup and exchanged a look with Oranguru. "On that point, Oranguru and I have discussed a preliminary plan. But I need to experience it firsthand to be sure."
Lucas blinked. "Experience it firsthand?"
"Tera transformation. Only by experiencing it myself can I understand this energy that exists solely in Paldea."
"So, throw the Tera Orb at me, my friend."
Calyrex showed a small smile, a hint of anticipation in its eyes.
Hearing that Calyrex would attempt Terastallization, many Pokémon on the farm came to watch.
In all their minds, the strongest on the farm now was surely Calyrex—mounted on Spectrier and Glastrier.
Even Luxray or Mega Swampert would be overwhelmed in a fight against Calyrex.
Serperior slid over to Ceruledge, who was lounging with Politoed and the others.
On the farm, Ceruledge had Terastallized the most and often battled at high intensity afterward. Its insights were valuable.
Vulpix sat on Glastrier's back—heat be damned, it wouldn't miss the show.
Spectrier disliked the clear sky and watched from the shade with Mimikyu. Arboliva temporarily entrusted the ever-growing chick to Corviknight Three Scar, and came with Cosmog and Victini to the scene.
Tropius arrived with Applin and the Shuckle siblings. Combee flew out of the glasshouse. The Eldegoss family perched in flowerpots on the balcony to watch from above.
Arcanine and Dachsbun were nowhere to be seen—probably out romping in the wild.
Lucas held the fully charged Tera Orb he'd readied upon returning to Paldea the day before. Seeing Calyrex poised and nodding at him, he didn't hesitate and precisely tossed the activated Tera Orb over Calyrex's head.
The Tera Orb traced a graceful arc, hovering above Calyrex. Brilliant starlight fell like a cascade as Calyrex closed its eyes to sense this power called Tera.
But when the Tera Orb had shed all its stored energy onto Calyrex, Terastallization still did not occur.
Instead, the depleted orb bonked the bud atop Calyrex's head and then clattered to the floor.
The onlookers erupted in surprised cries.
Luxray, who had experienced Terastallization, moved from lounging to standing. It didn't think Calyrex was at fault—sparring nightly with Calyrex, it knew full well how strong Calyrex was.
The problem lay with the Tera Orb.
Calyrex seemed unsurprised. It used telekinesis to return the spent orb to Lucas's hand, then stared down at the Tera energy it had bound in place with psychic power—like a river of stars encircling it—eyes glinting with comprehension.
Calyrex's telepathy spread.
"To put it bluntly, the energy inside the Tera Orb is insufficient to support my Terastallization."
Upon hearing this, Lucas wasn't as shocked as he might have been.
In Sword and Shield, during Dynamaxing, only Calyrex lacked the dark red aura—its aura matched the blue of its psychic power.
For a legendary Pokémon in its prime like Calyrex, perhaps it required a vast amount of Tera energy to Terastallize.
Unlike a one-time-to-obtain, lifetime-use Mega Stone or Key Stone, a Tera Orb's capacity is limited. Even with Victini recharging it, there seemed to be a cap.
To enable Calyrex to Terastallize, they would need multiple fully charged orbs thrown in succession, or they would have to go to Area Zero, where ambient Tera energy was so dense you could use the orb repeatedly without recharging.
As for an orb with infinite energy that required no charging—Lucas didn't know if such an item existed. He'd crossed over after finishing the base game's first two runs; he wasn't sure if the DLC had added anything.
Calyrex didn't mind failing to Terastallize. Its goal was to understand Tera energy, and the brief exposure sufficed.
Calyrex said to Lucas, "We can begin preparations for the test. I have an idea of how to apply Tera energy."
…
Moments later, in the farming plots.
In neat square fields, evenly spaced plants swayed gently in the breeze.
Lucas pointed to a few plants whose leaves had yellow-veined patterns. "These are Bitter Herba."
Luxray curiously stepped forward to sniff, then sneezed.
It couldn't discern any special or distinctive scent—just the same earthy smell. It had no idea how Lucas identified them.
Calyrex and Oranguru exchanged a look. Calyrex stepped forward to verify their hypothesis.
The Tera energy that had failed to make it Terastallize was still bound by Calyrex's telekinesis. After carefully distinguishing and partitioning it, Calyrex cautiously infused a preselected Bitter Herba and the soil around its roots with Tera energy.
While Calyrex worked, Oranguru succinctly explained its joint conclusion with Calyrex.
"Perhaps these special plants' root systems can absorb—and require—Tera energy. That's why only Paldea has the five Herba Mystica, why they have such wondrous effects, and why they're so rare."
Listening to Oranguru, Lucas was impressed.
As expected of a former regional monarch and a top graduate of the Pokémon Butlers' Academy—the logic was airtight.
The only pity was that, for now, it was still a hypothesis.
Lucas waited until Calyrex finished the delicate micro-control—infusing the soil for the first time while avoiding crystallization that might affect neighboring Herba. Then he asked, "Can we confirm it?"
"Confirmed. It's faint, but I can sense the Herba's roots absorbing the Tera energy I injected. Next, if we infuse nutrients to hasten growth while mixing Tera energy into the soil to promote root uptake, we should obtain Herba in peak condition."
Calyrex gave a reserved nod, clearly pleased.
Compared to subduing invaders, quelling riots among wild Pokémon, or handling natural disasters as a king, this small success yielded a uniquely satisfying sense of achievement.
A smile appeared on Lucas's face as well.
With reliable test results, they only needed to wait for Penny to deliver the shards.
Thinking of this, Lucas called Luxray—time to head back to the Pokémon Center.
Arven had messaged that he had arrived and had things to convey on behalf of Professor Sada and Professor Turo.
Seeing this, Calyrex volunteered. "I'll come with you. While I can't cure disease, I can stabilize Flareon's vital signs and improve its condition."
Lucas nodded. "Even better."
…
Los Platos, Pokémon Center.
Penny hadn't reported back yet, but Arven was already there, waiting.
Hearing that Penny's Flareon was in trouble and that large amounts of Tera energy were needed to treat this rare disease, Arven called his father and mother without hesitation.
Fortunately, luck was on Arven's side. Not only was Area Zero's signal stable today, Professor Sada and Professor Turo happened to be inside the research lab.
Hearing the situation, Sada and Turo exchanged a look and immediately thought of the "Treasure" in Area Zero!
From their research, the Treasure deep within Area Zero was very likely the source of the Tera phenomenon. While they wanted to help Lucas, their research was at a critical juncture; the Treasure could not leave the Great Crater.
If Lucas needed massive Tera energy, buying low-yield shards at high cost was inefficient—he should come to Area Zero.
The Treasure's true form was a turtle-like Pokémon that looked like a gemstone, slumbering quietly within a hard crystal formed by highly concentrated Tera energy.
Taking pieces of that crystal would yield far more Tera energy than any shard.
If Lucas hadn't cared for Arven and even saved the couple before, they would never have allowed a wild card into the near-finished Area Zero lab and the crater itself.
Sada and Turo had even given this code-named "Treasure" a name:
Terapagos.
The Tera energy it possessed was steeped in mystery and unbelievable power.
...
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