January 9.
It had already been two days since Nemona and her friends returned to Paldea.
After the dinner that night, under Clavell's arrangements, the three of them went back to their own lodgings for a day of rest, washing away the fatigue accumulated from their journey.
Today, however, would be the first class since their return to Paldea.
Except, Lucas hadn't actually prepared any teaching content for today. There was something more important that needed to be done.
When Lucas led Comfey into the battle arena, the others had already started battling.
Of course, it wasn't a physical brawl, but rather some friendly Pokémon battles to see how much each had grown during the time apart.
At the moment, Nemona was commanding Pawmot, who was fiercely battling with a Fighting Dragon Pokémon boasting red scales and flamboyant, feathery tufts on its head.
Lucas wasn't surprised at all by this predictable development.
After all, before the two Professors returned to the Paldea Great Crater, Koraidon and Miraidon were almost always with Arven.
Fortunately, last month was the winter break and Naranja Academy didn't have many students around; otherwise, Lucas was sure this scene would've become a regular occurrence.
Arven said: "So you've beaten Mabosstiff and Cloyster, huh? You're a formidable opponent."
"Go! Koraidon and Miraidon!"
It was almost too much to keep a straight face.
Nemona never failed to live up to expectations. Sure enough, the first thing she did upon returning to class was challenge Koraidon and Miraidon, indulging her love for battle.
If Arven hadn't brought those two with her, Nemona's next target would probably have been Lucas himself.
After all, there really weren't many people left who could spar with her nowadays.
Standing at the entrance, Lucas looked at the intense battle unfolding, his expression not showing the slightest hint of surprise.
Although both Koraidon and Miraidon were legendary Pokémon, as two of the known cover legends with existing populations, the differences in their individual strengths were apparent.
For example, the original #1 Koraidon and Miraidon had the strength of a Champion's main battle team, but their temperaments held them back from reaching their full potential—they weren't as strong as the #2s.
Still, Koraidon was innately combative. Occasionally, when Arven brought them to visit (or scrounge food) at the farm, a bored Koraidon would spar with Raging Bolt and the others.
Raging Bolt would often complain to Lucas that Koraidon's fighting style was way too brutal, and he could barely handle it.
Watching Pawmot strike with electrified iron fists, exchanging passionate blows with Koraidon—every collision making the battle arena quiver slightly—Lucas felt a surreal sense of pride.
Nemona was really catching up to his own level from a year ago.
Whether to feel gratified or complicated emotions, Lucas wasn't sure. After the intense showdown, when everyone was panting for breath and taking a break, he finally carried in a box he'd just picked up from Director Clavell and led Comfey into the arena.
He called out, "Alright, line up for healing! Anyone who needs treatment gets in queue!"
Everyone quickly paused. Led by Nemona, the battle maniacs ran over without hesitation, gazing longingly at Comfey, their healer.
Lucas always taught them: only by maintaining a good condition can you get better results from your training.
It's good to push your limits, but you should do it in moderation.
Progress isn't just about breaking through your limits; you also need to heal, so you can keep advancing steadily.
Under Comfey's increasingly skilled healing, their Pokémon soon recovered most of their physical strength. After a short rest, they could get back to battling.
Nemona, eager to challenge Miraidon next, was stopped by Lucas.
"Nemona, come with me. The rest of you, continue your training."
With those words, the students' expressions grew excited.
Penny, Eri, and Shizuka gathered together, exclaiming, "It's finally almost time!"
Aliquis, starstruck, looked dreamily at the ceiling. "The Champion Exam, huh? One day, I want to challenge it too—"
Paul turned away, face awkward. "Don't jinx it again and let your opponent read you like a book, like at the Battle Tower."
Arven, hugging Koraidon, looking lost but excited because everyone else was, muttered, "It's hard to believe you haven't even had your starter for a year."
Such talent, to Arven, was just absurd.
Unfortunately, he didn't have it himself—otherwise, he could enter and exit the Great Crater freely without worrying about his own strength.
Now, he could only rely on his parents' leftover glory to command Koraidon and Miraidon for sparring with Nemona.
With everyone chiming in, even Nemona started getting swept up by their energy.
She really thought she could take the Champion Exam today, looking at Lucas with eyes shining and a face full of anticipation, as if ready to sprint to the Paldea League HQ at any moment.
Lucas facepalmed helplessly. "What are you all thinking? You can't start the Champion Exam without an appointment or interview—no way you can start right away."
"Even if some of the Elite Four are free, you still have to go through the official process."
He was walking by with his art student, Mela, when the usually-lazy Hassel almost tripped—he felt like he'd been roasted for no reason.
Wait, why am I catching a stray here?
Hassel wanted to protest, but thinking of Lucas's increasingly inscrutable ace Pokémon team and the almost-completed Fairy squad, he thought better of it.
He decided to let it go and pretend he hadn't heard anything.
"Teacher, what's going on over there?"
Mela, carrying her painting supplies, looked over curiously.
Especially when she saw two new friends, Penny and Eri, her eyes sparkled—her curiosity only deepened.
Was another academy coming to pay them a visit?
Maybe the famous Celadon University or something?
"Mela, it's nothing major. Do you remember that student named Nemona? I think she'll be challenging us soon," said Hassel, stroking his chin and looking interested.
In just a year, those four would soon face Lucas's students. Now, that was interesting.
"Challenging you teachers?" Mela was surprised, then her eyes widened. "Wait—that means—"
"That's right. The Champion Exam. It could've happened two or three months ago, but Lucas suggested Nemona spend some more time training. Now, just before the one-year deadline, we're finally preparing for it."
"Looking at President Geeta's anxious face, it'll probably happen any day now."
The thought of Geeta, who hardly showed up at the Academy for weeks, now spending whole days around, visiting every class—especially those Nemona enrolled in—under the guise of inspection, made Hassel want to laugh.
Still, Hassel couldn't pretend he wasn't excited about it.
After all, if he couldn't beat Lucas, maybe he could defeat Lucas's student?
Having all sorts of devious thoughts, Hassel was practically itching for the challenge.
Leaving Paul and the others to continue practicing in the battle arena, and keeping Comfey behind to help, Lucas took Nemona towards the Academy's main building.
On the way, he asked her about her plans after the challenge, whether she won or lost.
Nemona's answer was simple:
"I want to train more partners, just like Ash!"
"And I'll travel through the rest of Hoenn with Shizuka and Paul. When I challenged the Battle Frontier, they usually went out of their way to accommodate me, taking routes farther from official Gyms."
Lucas wasn't surprised by her answer.
After all, she'd bred countless teams in the game—she even redid her Academy studies to raise a new team from scratch.
Even Geeta, who was known to go easy on challengers, said Nemona was holding back in their matches.
(Though Geeta's word wasn't entirely reliable.)
She claimed her only flaw as League Chairwoman was never compromising in Pokémon battles.
But when it came to going easy, she didn't hold back.
In the lobby of the Academy, after scanning their teacher and student IDs, they took the elevator towards the Head Administrator's office. Pausing before the destination, Lucas stopped—Nemona almost bumped into him, looking up with confusion, only to find a box shoved into her hands.
"What's this?"
Nemona had been curious about the box Lucas carried, but she never imagined he would give it to her.
"Open it. Director Clavell asked me to pass it on to you, as a reward for being the Academy's best Trainer last year," explained Lucas.
Nemona blinked, but accepted the box with a serious look, carefully opening it.
Inside, a small, lustrous, black spherical crystal lay quietly on a red velvet pad.
It was a Tera Orb.
Seeing this crystal, Nemona instantly recognized its name.
"Remember what I told you before? How Pawmot couldn't use Twin Volt Tackle twice in a row and how its electric typing would temporarily vanish? With the Tera Orb, you can Terastalize your Pokémon. As long as Pawmot's Tera typing is Electric, you won't have to worry about running out of energy for Twin Volt Tackle."
"As long as the Tera energy lasts, you can use that move freely."
Lucas's explanation made Nemona realize what a dramatic power-up the Tera Orb would bring her and Pawmot.
To put it plainly, with the Tera Orb, Pawmot's fighting strength could double!
That meant her chances of success in the Champion Exam just shot up.
Nemona loved battling and craved victory. With the Paldea League starting to distribute Tera Orbs, in a few years almost every Trainer would have one—if not all, at least most would consider it essential to their teams.
She had no reason to refuse.
Once Nemona solemnly accepted the Tera Orb, Lucas took her up the elevator to the Head Administrator's office.
As they ascended, Lucas spoke slowly: "Let's make another promise."
"?"
Nemona looked up at him quizzically.
"Do you know what this is?" Lucas smiled, pulling a green diamond-shaped crystal from his pocket.
Nemona hesitated. "Isn't that a Grass-type Z-Crystal?"
She'd visited Lucas's farm many times and watched him and Comfey use Bloom Doom to help cultivate crops. She'd already become familiar with the Z-Move concept.
This green diamond should be the item holding that power, right?
"This isn't a Grass-type Z-Crystal." Lucas shook his head. "Strictly speaking, it's green but it's actually Ghost-type—the pattern on the crystal's different. Look closely."
He extended his hand, and Nemona leaned in to examine it.
She realized the black symbol on it looked familiar.
Lucas didn't keep her guessing: "This is Decidueye's exclusive Z-Crystal, called Decidium Z. Only Decidueye's Spirit Shackle can use it."
"Just like our previous promise, this Decidium Z is my personal reward for you. If you pass the Champion Exam and become a Champion-level Trainer, it's yours."
"Consider it a graduation gift from our not-so-serious little class."
Once Nemona became Champion-level, there wouldn't be much left Lucas could teach her.
At that point, she'd outgrown his experience and would have to walk her own path.
So, in every sense, she would be graduating as his student.
But maybe Nemona misunderstood something—her eyes started to redden, and she asked, almost pouting, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
Lucas: "???"
Where did that come from!?
Most regular Gyms would consider disciples who could stand on their own as graduated—Lucas waited until Nemona had real Champion Exam potential before drawing the line.
It was hardly kicking her out.
Patiently, Lucas explained to this not-quite-mature would-be-Champion that graduation didn't mean cutting ties as teacher and student.
It only meant he had nothing more to teach her and that it was her turn to forge her own journey.
Luckily, for all of Nemona's headstrong tendencies, she'd always listened to Lucas.
After a few words, she broke into a bright smile.
"So, does this mean I can stand as an equal to you, Teacher Lucas, and challenge you to Pokémon battles every day from now on?"
Upon hearing this, Lucas almost blacked out.
…