The strange aroma radiated out from the fields at the heart of the farm, spreading farther and farther on the soft summer night breeze.
The first to react were the Pokémon on the farm itself.
Pasture Area.
The five Miltank, who had been sleeping in a pile, opened their eyes and looked toward the fields. Their noses twitched faintly.
They found it odd.
This smell wasn't as charming as the scent of fresh grass. Yet their bodies were sending instinctive signals, whispering a thirst they had never felt before.
Under the confused gazes of two Gogoat, the two Sawsbuck stood up, their expressions grave.
They had once lived as wild Pokémon. Even though they were used to the comfort and safety of the farm now—no hunters, no constant fear—those old survival instincts were still firmly embedded in their memory.
From that primal pull, that bone-deep craving welling up from within, the Sawsbuck knew at once that something big was coming.
They knew about the forced ripening of Herba Mystica over there.
And now, with this feeling reaching even the pasture so quickly, at this rate the scent would reach the wilds, and beyond, in no time.
"Go-ah."
They nudged the two still half-dazed Gogoat with their antlers, reminding them sharply.
They had to hurry and meet up with the Miltank resting on the other hill, enjoying the breeze and sleeping under the stars, then call over Mudsdale as well.
They could not let the wild Pokémon, drawn along the scent trail, break through the fence, invade the farm, and destroy their home!
At the same time, similar scenes were playing out all across the farm.
Lake Area – Thundering Lake.
Also close to the wilds, Politoed had stepped forward, calmly directing everyone to form defensive lines against the incoming wave of wild Pokémon.
The Corviknight flock was off duty. Lucas wasn't the type to force them to patrol overnight, so aerial defense against flying enemies would have to fall to Dragonite and the Dragonair.
Before they took off, Politoed had even asked Dragonite to swing by the aviary and call on Moltres to join the night patrol in the sky.
Luxray at home, the Nacli and Garganacl at the salt house, the Applin and Tropius in the orchard... aside from the ice cellar and Glaceon's little house—places the scent couldn't reach quickly—almost all of the farm's Pokémon were now on high alert.
By the Herba Mystica beds, Lucas stared at the three fully ripened plants, his expression tinged with regret.
This was his first time planting and force-ripening Herba Mystica. Due to lack of experience, he had totally overlooked how fast the scent would explode outward.
He should have had Dragonite come and use air currents to lock down the area, keeping the scent from leaking.
But there was no point regretting it now. Once the wild Pokémon were stirred up by the aroma, he had to be ready.
Thinking this, Lucas exchanged a glance with Calyrex and gave him a small nod.
"Mimikyu."
In the next second, dense shadow energy welled up from the ground. Mimikyu and Spectrier silently appeared.
Calyrex stepped forward and instructed them:
"The area around the warehouse and ice cellar is open ground. That's likely where the wild Pokémon's assault will be the fiercest."
Lucas continued smoothly:
"Call Regice and Glastrier. They're the best suited to hold that sector."
"Your job is to watch over them. Try to intimidate and drive the enemy away if possible. Don't let Glastrier get carried away, and make sure Regice is warned ahead of time to hold back."
"Kyuu!"
"Neigh—hrrr!"
Mimikyu and Spectrier nodded, then sank back into the shadows, racing toward the ice cellar.
With that done, Lucas turned to Penny, who still looked a bit lost.
Not wanting to burden her with this extra pressure, he took out a note he'd prepared in advance.
"In a moment, I'll have Luxray and Arcanine take you to the town's Pokémon Center. Just hand the Herba Mystica and this note to Nurse Joy. She'll know what to do."
On the note, Lucas had written down how to distinguish the three Herba Mystica, along with their detailed effects. Joy would use them properly.
Penny accepted the note and dazedly watched as Calyrex used telekinesis to uproot the Herba Mystica without injuring them, then split each of the three plants in half and place them into six prepared boxes.
Moments later—
Holding three of the boxes and the note, Penny climbed onto Arcanine's back—summoned by Oranguru after Calyrex notified it via Telepathy—and under Luxray's escort, sped off toward the Pokémon Center.
The reason Lucas had chosen Luxray as her escort was simple.
Luxray was the partner he trusted most.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Watching their figures gradually disappear into the night, Lucas took a deep breath and gazed at the farm, glittering with lights under the dark sky.
"From here on out, it's going to be a battle of endurance and willpower for both sides."
Aside from the main gate leading toward Los Platos, nearly every other direction was at risk—wild Pokémon might come from the sky, across the ground, or even from underground.
No wonder the Iron Treads and Great Tusk he'd handed over to the Paldea League had treated that cave as forbidden territory, even coming to blows over it and tacitly working together to drive away all wild Pokémon in the area.
The Herba Mystica's miraculous effects and the primal pull they exerted were enough to drive countless wild Pokémon mad with desire.
Back in the grassy patch a short way from the farm—
The owners of those two rabbit-like pairs of ears cautiously poked their heads out, their tiny black noses sniffing at the air. Their fluffy tails—cream-tipped and white-tipped—swayed faintly with their shifting emotions.
"Bui~"
Two soft, milky cries sounded, as if they were discussing something.
One voice was brimming with energy; the other was thin and weak.
The grass rustled. Then, two small heads with fluffy ruffs around their necks—matching the color of their tails—peeked out, their cute faces full of "sneaky vibes."
They were two Eevee.
One was the ordinary brown everyone pictured when thinking of Eevee. The other, slightly smaller, had silver-gray fur.
A shiny Pokémon.
It was only that its coloration had been different since birth. It didn't possess any special powers, yet its unusual appearance made it more likely to be ostracized by its own kind.
Some shiny Pokémon died young due to frailty; some survived and grew far stronger than their peers.
Because only the strong shinies tended to survive, many people mistakenly assumed that all shiny Pokémon were born powerful.
But these two Eevee sisters were the complete opposite of that common impression.
The normal Eevee gently licked the shiny Eevee's fur with her pink tongue, her cry tinged with worry.
"Eevee-vi?" (How about... you wait here for me?)
The shiny Eevee shook her head.
"Eevee." (No. I'm worried about you, Sis.)
Eevee looked troubled, trying to persuade her:
"Eevee!" (Your body's very weak. You shouldn't take risks!)
Then she added,
"Eevee." (Besides, the human who lives here once saved me. Maybe if I warn him, he'll share some of that stuff with us.)
The shiny Eevee shook her head again, eyes welling up.
"Eevee!" (But I don't want you getting hurt again to protect me!)
Looking at her sister, the shiny Eevee's eyes were full of pain.
With her transcendent beauty and charm that drew endless suitors, her sister should have been living an easy life, admired by all.
Instead, to take care of and protect her, Sis fought other wild Pokémon every day for food and water.
Now Eevee wanted to go into the farm, which looked incredibly dangerous in the shiny Eevee's eyes. She would rather stay weak forever than have her sister disappear again like that night.
As twins hatched from the same Egg, the shiny Eevee had something close to a heart-to-heart link with her sister. She knew how close Eevee had come to death that time.
Eevee fell silent.
She and her sister had been wandering near this farm for quite some time now.
They'd hatched from the same Egg, a miraculous phenomenon, but what should have been a blessing turned into a curse. The others in their group had shown outright hostility toward her oddly colored sister.
For as long as she could remember, Eevee had carefully protected her sister and endured everything in silence.
When she finally gained the ability to survive alone in the wild, she'd taken her sister and left the group without hesitation, starting a life on their own.
Living alone in the wild inevitably meant conflict with other Pokémon, and they weren't strong enough to claim a territory of their own.
Getting injured or collapsing from exhaustion was a common occurrence for Eevee as she fought to protect her sister.
One time, while out foraging for the sister hiding in a cave, Eevee had encountered a pack of Houndour and been surrounded.
After a desperate struggle, she managed to drive them off, but collapsed herself from total exhaustion.
She was then found by a passing resident of Los Platos, who took her to Nurse Joy's Pokémon Center, where her wounds were treated and her strength restored by a medicine made from the Sour Herba Mystica Lucas had brought.
Upon waking, Eevee had only enough time to thank Lucas and Nurse Joy before dashing off in a panic to find her sister, who had been waiting all night in vain.
They'd come here today to find the man who'd saved her before, to ask for his help in making her frail sister healthier.
But the sky over the farm was always patrolled by a huge black bird, and powerful giants often roamed the grounds. Eevee didn't dare bring her sister inside, so they'd simply circled the perimeter, waiting for a chance.
They had also seen Calyrex's performance—something that would absolutely earn full marks from every judge at a Contest.
When the strange scent spread and sent a shudder of instinctive hunger through their bodies, the clever little sisters had known immediately that something was wrong.
For wild Pokémon that would already fight over berries and water, there was no way they'd resist this aroma and their own craving. They would definitely launch themselves at this farm in a frenzy.
By rights, the two Eevee should be avoiding the commotion and hiding until it all blew over.
But to Eevee, this had become the perfect chance: warn the human man and then beg him to help treat her sister.
And so their "argument" had begun.
Left speechless for a moment, Eevee stared at her sister's mixture of determination and fear, and the deep-seated anxiety in those eyes. In the end, her heart softened.
"Eevee!" (Alright then. But you have to stay right behind me, and if anything dangerous happens you must hide!)
The shiny Eevee nodded happily, rubbing against her sister and letting out a soft, sweet cry.
"Eevee!" (It's a promise!)
A short while later.
The two little sisters carefully slipped over the fence and made their way toward where Lucas and Calyrex had been.
But by then, Lucas and Calyrex were already gone.
After sending Penny off, Lucas had asked Calyrex to teleport him back to the house.
As soon as he arrived, Oranguru brought good news.
The Pokémon living in the pasture and lake areas had all taken the initiative to form defensive lines, getting ready to withstand the oncoming waves of wild Pokémon.
Hearing this, Lucas's eyes lit up with genuine pride.
They'd all grown up so much.
He turned to Calyrex and asked, "Calyrex, can you use your Psychic power to scan the whole farm and see where our defenses are thin?"
"I want to set up a proper defense."
"No problem."
Calyrex nodded slightly and closed its eyes, sending its mind outward.
Neither of them mentioned the simple, brute-force option: that Calyrex alone was strong enough to flip the table on any wild Pokémon horde.
In a sense, this oncoming assault was a real-world test of the farm's everyday training—a chance for all the Pokémon to put their hard work into practice.
Why spoil that?
While Calyrex probed the farm's defenses, Lucas turned to discuss deployment with Oranguru.
"Young master," Oranguru said via Telepathy, "I think the farmland around the Herba Mystica needs the most focus. Ground-types can tunnel directly there from underground—it's nearly impossible to guard against."
Fanning itself lazily, Oranguru looked for all the world like a seasoned strategist. The image made Lucas think of an old acquaintance.
But Oranguru's concern hit the nail on the head.
The number of wild Pokémon assaulting from the front didn't matter much.
However many came, Lucas was confident that with the farm's Pokémon and his main team, he could hold the line.
It was the ones attacking from underground that were the real issue.
Even their tunneling would cause irreparable damage to many of the crops in the fields. On top of that, the farm only had two Ground types:
Swampert and Mudsdale.
Though they were Ground-types, neither specialized in underground combat. Swampert could barely manage Dig; he'd hardly practiced it at all.
And if Mudsdale really fought underground, one High Horsepower aimed wrong might bury the wild Pokémon and the entire field together.
So how to defend the farmland was a tricky question.
Maybe he should send Serperior and the other Grass-types that could control plants to guard that side?
Before Lucas could decide, Calyrex suddenly let out a thoughtful little sound.
"Hmm?"
Lucas and Oranguru both turned toward him in puzzlement.
"It seems," Calyrex said, "that two little ones have already slipped inside ahead of the rest."