Over at Lu Chen's farm, hundreds of Dugtrio were hard at work.
Working together, they kept using Rototiller.
Heads popped in and out of the ground, churning the soil and bringing nutrients from deep underground to the surface.
The once hard, dry, barren earth grew soft, rich, and fertile at a visible pace, giving off a pleasant earthy scent.
The Dugtrio worked especially hard.
It was not entirely out of fear.
Mostly, Lu Chen had simply given them too much.
To please Lu Chen, Steelix had brought out every treasure it had stashed away in its mine.
Piles of rare ores, high-quality Berries gathered from who knew where, and precious materials that would have made even Professor Oak's eyes light up covered the ground.
Lu Chen had originally intended to refuse everything. After all, none of it was much use to his partners.
To exaggerate a little, these things might not even have been as valuable as the rocky skin Aerodactyl shed.
Besides, Lu Chen was no demon. He could hardly beat someone up and then rob them of everything they owned.
But faced with Steelix's devout expression that said, "I won't sleep tonight unless you accept these," he finally waved a hand.
He kept only a small portion of the better-quality ores and materials.
With another grand wave, Lu Chen distributed everything else among the Dugtrio present.
At first, the Dugtrio froze.
Then they all went wild.
Hundreds of Dugtrio bobbed all three heads in excitement, letting out joyful cries.
Never in their lives had they seen such a generous Trainer.
Their resentment and fear at being forced to work vanished in an instant.
Amid this jubilant atmosphere, a pair of eyes watched Lu Chen intently from the edge of the woods, unnoticed by him.
It was a Gabite.
A pseudo-legendary Pokémon rarely seen in the Kanto Region.
It had been hiding in the shadows ever since Lu Chen barged into the mine.
Gabite had been a lone wanderer, traveling far and wide in its efforts to grow stronger.
It had come to the area near Viridian Forest to challenge the legendary master of the mine, the overlord Steelix.
It had lost miserably.
So miserably that it had not even had a chance to fight back.
Afterward, it had trained repeatedly in this forest, challenging Steelix again and again, only to lose every time.
It had made the overlord Steelix the hurdle it had to overcome, pondering day and night how to grow stronger.
Then it had witnessed that earth-shattering scene.
The overlord Steelix it considered its ultimate goal had been effortlessly defeated by an Aerodactyl under a human Trainer's command.
Seized by the neck, carried out of the mine, dragged into the sky, and casually dropped.
Left half-dead by the fall.
That scene had shaken Gabite more than all the defeats in its life combined.
It had once looked down on humans.
As far as it knew, most human Trainers were weak creatures who only stood behind their Pokémon and shouted, nothing without them.
But Lu Chen felt completely different.
There was something about that man unlike anyone it had ever seen.
If I could follow that human... could I become as strong as those Pokémon?
Once that thought appeared, it ran wild through Gabite's mind like an unbridled horse.
It could no longer suppress it.
And so, Gabite stepped resolutely out of the woods.
On the farm, the Dugtrio were overjoyed, holding their shares of food and resources.
At the sight of the suddenly appearing Gabite, everything fell silent for a second.
Then all the Dugtrio shrank back in unison.
They all knew this fellow. It was a notorious battle maniac in the area, going around looking for fights all day long, even daring to challenge the overlord Steelix.
"Who is it now?" Noticing the commotion, Lu Chen turned to look.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, sizing up this Gabite.
This was his first time seeing a modern Gabite.
Its build differed considerably from the super-ancient Gabite he remembered.
This one was smaller, its contours softer, with less primal wildness and a greater sense of agility.
"Interesting." Folding his arms, Lu Chen watched with interest as Gabite approached step by step.
Lapras turned sideways and slowly furrowed its brow.
Its gaze grew fierce.
The moment Gabite saw Lapras's eyes, its entire body stiffened.
Immense pressure bore down on it as though it were tangible, making it feel as if its heart were being squeezed.
It was the oppressive might of a higher order of life.
Even Gabite could not explain why a Lapras frightened it so badly.
But it did not retreat.
It pressed forward one step at a time against that suffocating pressure.
Lapras's gaze grew colder and colder.
Five steps, three steps, two...
Watching Gabite draw closer, Lapras could stand it no longer. What if it hurt Lu Chen if it kept approaching?
Lapras slowly opened its mouth, and a beam of intense cold gradually gathered.
A second before Lapras attacked, Lu Chen reached out to stop it.
"Wait."
Lapras glanced at Lu Chen and stepped half a pace back, though its eyes remained fixed on Gabite.
Lu Chen walked up to Gabite, looked down at the little fellow who was already panting just from reaching him, and smiled.
"What do you want with me?"
"Ga!"
Gabite spoke weakly but firmly.
Lu Chen had struggled through more than a decade in the super-ancient era. Though he had gained no special abilities, he could still understand Pokémon speech at a basic level.
"You want to follow me?"
"Ga!"
"You want to become stronger?"
Gabite nodded vigorously, its eyes utterly resolute.
Watching this stubborn little fellow, Lu Chen felt something stir within him.
Those eyes reminded him of that fellow from the super-ancient era who used Aura.
Just as stubborn, just as unwilling to admit defeat, just as willing to risk everything to grow stronger.
Lu Chen fell silent for a moment, then said:
"You've got the right attitude, little fellow. But I'm not planning to catch any Pokémon for now."
"Ga..."
Gabite's eyes dimmed for a moment, but quickly lit up again.
It remained rooted to the spot, staring straight at Lu Chen, its face plainly saying, "I'm not leaving."
Lu Chen looked at it, then turned toward the fertile but still unplanted land, and suddenly chuckled.
"But my orchard does need a farmer, if you don't mind."
"Ga!"
Gabite hurriedly nodded hard, showing that it did not mind in the slightest.
"All right." Lu Chen waved the Poké Ball in his hand.
"Then you're farmer number one at Lu Chen's farm."
He pressed the button, and the Poké Ball opened.
Gabite willingly approached and plunged headfirst inside.
Red light flashed.
"Click."
The capture succeeded.
Seeing this, the Dugtrio grew even happier, swaying all three heads in celebration.
Not only had they received rewards for coming to work, they had also seen this battle maniac who went around picking fights all day get taken away.
It truly was a double blessing.
Nearby, the overlord Steelix watched Gabite get caught with mixed feelings.
Had it known this was an option, should it have brought its own children along to try?
The moment that thought arose, Steelix remembered Lapras's gaze, which had nearly frozen its very soul.
It shuddered.
Forget it, forget it.
Those disappointing children of its would probably collapse before taking three steps.
Having thought it through, Steelix stopped dwelling on it.
Then Steelix cast a somewhat envious glance at the Gabite Lu Chen had caught.
Steelix bowed respectfully to Lu Chen, then led the Dugtrio back to their habitat in a great procession.
Lu Chen nodded to express his thanks.
Watching Steelix's enormous back disappear deep into the wooded mountains, Lu Chen suddenly remembered something and rubbed his chin.
"If I remember right, didn't someone in the Elite Four catch a giant Onix?"
"Who was it? That Fighting-type Elite Four member?"
"Ah, those memories are too old. I can't remember."
He shook his head and stopped dwelling on the question.
Looking at the Poké Ball in his hand, Lu Chen released Gabite.
"Since you're a farmer now, I'll leave the digging to you this time."
Without another word, Gabite immediately got to work.
Though its strength was unremarkable, a little below even Erika's Vileplume, Gabite was a Ground-type Pokémon, after all, and digging and turning soil came quite naturally to it.
It churned the earth back and forth with its fins, its movements quick and steady, further breaking up and leveling the soil the Dugtrio had tilled.
Sweat dripped from its body and mixed into the soil, but it paid no mind.
With Gabite clearing the way ahead, Lu Chen had a much easier time.
He followed behind, burying the Starf Berry seeds one by one.
Human and Pokémon worked together seamlessly, with astonishing efficiency. Work Lu Chen had expected to take a day and a half was finished in less than half a day.
Of course, the price was that Gabite was utterly exhausted.
Reclaiming farmland required extremely precise control of strength. Too much force would ruin the soil, while too little would fail to turn it.
It felt like dancing in shackles. It looked simple, but in reality, every muscle in its body was taut.
Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction at the neatly arranged farmland before him.
He took out the little elephant watering can Erika had given him.
Lapras came over and filled the can to the brim with water.
The water contained rich life energy and glowed faintly inside the can.
Lu Chen also placed the meteorite fragment from Jirachi's outer shell into the watering can.
Then he began watering.
He walked as he watered.
Gentle streams poured from the spout onto the freshly planted seeds.
The water seeped into the soil, and life energy spread.
The meteorite fragment trembled gently in the water, releasing a faint trace of Wish power.
Then a miracle happened.
Those Starf Berry seeds, believed impossible to cultivate artificially.
Under Lu Chen's watering, after sensing the Wish power contained in the shell, they immediately reacted.
At least half the seeds broke through the soil within minutes, sprouting tender green shoots.
Though the rest did not sprout immediately, it was only a matter of time. They would all emerge within a few days at most.
Lu Chen smiled in satisfaction at the thriving farmland before him.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Gengar emerged from his shadow, deftly pulled a lounge chair from its mouth, and set it securely behind Lu Chen.
Lu Chen plopped into it and leaned back comfortably.
The lingering light of sunset fell over him, gilding the freshly turned soil in warm gold.
A breeze swept past, and the new shoots swayed gently. Lapras lay dozing beside the field, Gabite sprawled beneath a tree, covered in dirt and panting, while Gengar darted in and out of the shadows, busy with who knew what.
Looking at everything before him, Lu Chen let out a contented sigh.
"It's only the beginning, but this is exactly the retirement I wanted."