After accepting the letter, Lucas chatted idly with Kofu for a while. Once the snacks were gone, Kofu wiped his mouth with a napkin and praised, "This honey cake tastes excellent, almost as good as Katy's."
Lucas responded modestly, "You flatter me, Mr. Kofu."
"I only speak the truth." Kofu shook his head and said seriously, "While your technique may not surpass Katy's, your overwhelming advantage lies in your choice of ingredients."
"I could tell from the first bite that the raw materials for this cake were top-notch. I'd wager even the honey is a rare variety from the Combee, right?"
Lucas's eyes widened—he hadn't expected Kofu to notice even that.
Kofu smiled proudly. "As a chef, it's essential to have some ability to discern flavors. By the way, is that Pokémon peeking at us from your cupboard a Milcery?"
Lucas was taken aback and looked over. Sure enough, Milcery was quietly watching them. Lucas hadn't forced Milcery to come out and interact with the unfamiliar Kofu, so he nodded, "Yes, I bought it from another farm."
Kofu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If I recall, Milcery evolves into Alcremie, right?"
"That's right."
"Then I think you should visit Cortondo Town. At Katy's dessert shop, you might be able to get the item Milcery needs to evolve into Alcremie."
…
After seeing Kofu off, Lucas looked at the letter from Siebold in his hand, deep in thought.
He could more or less guess what Siebold wanted without even opening the letter, but he currently had no plans to visit Kalos. He'd have to wait until some things were settled first.
What really caught his attention was Kofu's mention of possibly obtaining Milcery's evolution item at Katy's dessert shop.
Alcremie, with its 63 different forms, requires a special item called a "Sweet" for Milcery's evolution.
There are seven types: Strawberry Sweet, Love Sweet, Berry Sweet, Clover Sweet, Flower Sweet, Star Sweet, and Ribbon Sweet. Let Milcery hold a Sweet and spin in place, and it will evolve.
Lucas beckoned with his finger, and Milcery floated over from the cupboard. Its soft, fluffy body landed on his palm, filling Lucas with a sense of healing.
Milcery was just unbearably cute.
He poked Milcery's squishy body. Hearing Milcery's confused little hum, Lucas reined in his mischief and seriously asked, "Milcery, do you want to evolve?"
"Milcery~?"
Milcery tilted its head, trying to recall what "evolution" meant. Memories surfaced of other Pokémon on the farm evolving and changing completely.
Milcery nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking at rice: "Milcery~!" (I want to evolve!)
"I see. Got it."
Lucas stroked Milcery, a smile tugging at his lips.
Looks like he'd have to make time for a trip to Cortondo Town.
…
The next day, by Thunder Lake.
Watching two Pokémon battling fiercely by the lakeshore, Lucas asked the shiny Dragonair beside him, "How long have they been at it?"
"Drago~"
The shiny Dragonair exchanged looks with its two close friends, then used the tip of its tail to draw the number "2" on the ground.
"Twenty minutes or two hours, huh…"
Lucas stroked his chin thoughtfully. Honestly, Politoed's diligence was beyond his expectations.
He hadn't expected that, just the day after evolving, Politoed would eagerly challenge Swampert as a sparring partner.
At that moment, Politoed was clearly using Belly Drum, massively boosting its attack.
Thanks to this, Politoed could deliver blows with the ferocity of a Fighting-type, despite not being built for close combat.
Politoed didn't know many physical moves—just Bounce and the relatively weak Double Slap.
Even so, it kept hammering Swampert's defending arms. But the gap in power and strength was too great; Swampert's arms were as steady as a mountain, unmoving.
Seeing this, Lucas couldn't help but suck in a breath.
This isn't right!
Shouldn't you be acting like a tactician, controlling the rain and using ranged moves to keep your opponent on the defensive?
Why so hung up on melee?
Politoed clearly loved to fight, and Lucas hadn't tried to rein in its style. He might even send Politoed out in future battles, so he'd already thought about its fighting style.
Among all the Pokémon on the farm, aside from Luxray who could combo Rain Dance with Thunder, Swampert was undoubtedly Politoed's best teammate.
Currently, Swampert's Ability was just Torrent, but after Mega Evolution, it would get a huge boost in strength and its Ability would become Swift Swim.
In Lucas's mind, a Mega Swampert in the rain would be every opponent's nightmare.
Even Grass-types that counter Swampert would get a rude awakening from an Ice Punch.
He still had no clue about where to find a Key Stone or Swampertite, but dreams were worth having—best to plan ahead!
At this thought, Lucas stepped in to interrupt the sparring. Seeing their puzzled looks, Lucas grinned mischievously, "How about you two try battling as a team?"
Lucas & Swampert & Politoed: (^ω^)
The Dragonairs: 0.o
Moltres: (▼へ▼メ)
Under Moltres's fiery glare, Lucas announced with a smile, "Next up: Moltres vs. Politoed and Swampert—let's give them a round of applause!"
Clap clap clap—
The Poliwhirls cheered loudly for Politoed.
Moltres looked at Lucas in disbelief, its telepathy ringing out: ["Are you insane, or am I? It's bad enough facing just Swampert, and now you're giving it backup?"]
Lucas stopped clapping and said seriously, "Do you really want to return to the volcano looking like this? Proper battling will help burn off excess fat and get you back in shape."
Moltres frowned, trying to look down at its talons, but its view was blocked by a lump of fat. It fell completely silent.
After two months of Lucas's good food and care, its once sleek, majestic figure had turned… well, chunky. Even flying felt a bit strenuous. Moltres wanted to argue back, but thought about facing those two idiots back at the volcano and being laughed at—where would its pride go?
After a brief silence, the fatty Moltres finally made up its mind.
It was time to lose weight!