Lu Chen's farm had begun to take shape.
Around the outermost edge stood a tall fence, built from hardwood cut from Viridian Forest.
The fence was about two meters high, with sharpened tips. Never mind people-even ordinary wild Pokémon would have to make quite an effort to get over it.
One layer farther in were the Fossil Pokémon living by the river.
Omastar lived with the Omanyte in underwater caves, while Kabutops and Kabuto guarded the shallows on either side of the riverbank.
Usually, they leisurely foraged in the water and basked in the sun, but whenever any unfamiliar presence approached the farm, they immediately burrowed into their caves.
At the same time, they struck the stones on the riverbed with their tentacles or scythes, producing a rapid series of tapping sounds.
These Fossil Pokémon had not only survived, but also become the second line of defense for Lu Chen's farm.
Farther in was Gabite, who stayed on the farm almost around the clock.
Ever since tasting the special Pokémon Food Lu Chen provided, this fellow had been positively fired up.
Every day, it got up before dawn and patrolled the farm a dozen times, eyes wide open, afraid of letting anything slip through.
But at that moment, Lu Chen himself was not on the farm.
Instead, he had gone to Delia's house.
The main reason was that, to thank Lu Chen this time, Delia had prepared
far too much food.
There were stewed, roasted, steamed, and fried dishes-over a dozen large plates alone, plus small, specially prepared individual meals for each Pokémon.
It was hardly practical for Delia to carry everything to the farm by herself.
So Lu Chen waved a hand and decided to visit Delia's house instead, and after hearing the news,
Professor Oak, who usually stayed at the laboratory eating instant noodles, went along with Lu Chen to get a meal at Delia's house.
It would make a nice change in his diet.
Delia's little courtyard had been tidied up until it was spotless.
A large round table stood in the center, covered with a floral tablecloth and packed with dishes.
The Pokémon gathered around it.
In front of Aerodactyl was a plate of specially prepared sour jerky, its firm meat covered in a faint sheen.
Lapras had a bowl of light, slightly sweet vegetable salad, drizzled with a thin layer of honey dressing.
It gracefully lowered its head and ate a little at a time, its movements utterly unhurried.
A small mountain of desserts stood before Gengar.
Cakes, puddings, and candies of all colors were stacked precariously high. Its two stubby hands worked in tandem, stuffing its mouth until its cheeks bulged.
Even while happily eating, it did not forget to make faces at Zorua beside it.
As for Zorua, although Lu Chen had said there was no need to prepare food for him,
Zorua still received a small serving of apple pie.
It ate in little bites, its red paws holding the edges of the plate, its table manners very quiet and proper.
"This sour one is for Aerodactyl... this sweet one is for Gengar... this mildly spicy one is for Gouging Fire..."
As she murmured, she placed each plate precisely in front of its intended Pokémon.
Lu Chen took a bite of the pork cutlet curry rice before him. The cutlet, crisp outside and juicy within, paired with the mildly spicy yet richly fragrant curry to create an excellent mouthful.
One bite left Lu Chen utterly amazed.
"This curry rice and pork cutlet are way too good!"
"Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp~"
While Lu Chen was still marveling at how delicious the curry rice was, Professor Oak had already stuffed his cheeks full.
Then, under Lu Chen's astonished gaze, Professor Oak raised his empty plate and started on a second helping!
Everyone dug in enthusiastically.
Watching the Pokémon, Lu Chen, and Professor Oak wolf down their food, Delia gave a warm smile and said,
"Slow down. There's enough for everyone."
"Professor Oak! You're a professor! How can you steal my pork cutlet?!"
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone sat in the living room watching television while their food settled.
Delia brewed a pot of hot tea and poured a cup each for Lu Chen and Professor Oak.
"Burp~ It's been so long since I last had Delia's cooking."
"I really have you to thank this time, Lu Chen."
Professor Oak looked at Lu Chen and spoke with a smile.
Lu Chen simply smiled beside him.
Just as Lu Chen, Professor Oak, and Delia were watching television together, the variety show suddenly switched to breaking news.
"This afternoon, a gigantic Dragonite appeared in waters approximately thirty nautical miles from Pallet Town!"
"And it isn't the only gigantic Pokémon-a gigantic Tentacruel has also appeared in the same waters!"
"The confrontation between these two gigantic Pokémon has attracted widespread attention!"
The footage switched to an aerial view from a helicopter.
On the azure sea, a Dragonite as enormous as a lighthouse floated slowly.
Its body was immense. Even its proportionally small wings spanned the size of two helicopters when spread.
Opposite it, an equally enormous Tentacruel rose from the deep sea.
Its densely packed tentacles were each dozens of meters long, churning and twisting in the seawater like some nightmare that had crawled out of the depths.
It looked just like the legendary evil god Cthulhu.
Countless media outlets and Trainers flocked to those waters.
Helicopters circled overhead, and the live footage spread like wildfire online.
"That's terrifying..." Holding her teacup as she watched the screen, Delia could not help exclaiming.
Professor Oak pushed up his glasses, then suddenly set down his teacup and stared at the footage as he said,
"I know that gigantic Dragonite!"
"It's Bill's research subject. Supposedly, it's lived for many years. Bill has been studying it for several years without managing to catch it."
"If Ash and the others hadn't gone over to help a little while ago, we probably still wouldn't know what that Dragonite really was."
Holding his teacup, Lu Chen watched the two gigantic Pokémon on the screen without any particular reaction.
In ancient times, the arms race to strengthen Pokémon's combat abilities had been far more terrifying than it was now.
What were gigantic Pokémon compared to that? Lu Chen had even seen fused Pokémon, as well as monsters forcibly induced to mutate,
and madmen who burned entire forests to ashes in pursuit of combat power.
As long as they could win, people in that era would do anything.
After all, in this era, losing a battle meant nothing more than losing your pocket money. In ancient times, there had been only one outcome to defeat.
Death!
So in Lu Chen's eyes, the gigantic Dragonite was nothing special.
On the television, the gigantic Dragonite slowly swam toward Tentacruel.
It opened its mouth and let out a long, ancient cry.
The sound carried a particular frequency and rhythm, low and slow, like some long-lost language.
Lu Chen's ears twitched slightly.
That was the language Ancient Pokémon used to communicate.
The gigantic Dragonite was trying to speak to the other Pokémon.
It was asking: Are you my companion?
Yet Tentacruel gave no response. Facing this ancient Dragonite that had lived for who knew how many years, Tentacruel also felt tremendous pressure!
Under that immense pressure, Tentacruel suddenly lashed its tentacles at Dragonite!
The battle erupted in an instant.
Towering waves rose from the sea, white surf spreading like walls and surging in every direction.
Fierce winds carried clouds of spray, rocking the helicopters violently and briefly blurring the camera footage.
The clash between the two gigantic Pokémon made the entire stretch of sea tremble.
The internet instantly exploded.
"Holy shit! Why did they suddenly start fighting?!"
"Who's going to win? Who's going to win?"
"Dragonite, right? Dragonite's a pseudo-legendary!"
"Hard to say. That Tentacruel is way too big, and it has too many tentacles!"
"Bet on Dragonite! Bet on Dragonite! I'm putting everything I own on Dragonite!"
Watching the two behemoths fighting on-screen, Delia could not help asking, "Mr. Lu Chen, who do you think will win?"
Lu Chen glanced at the footage, his tone calm. "Dragonite will definitely win."
"Why?"
"That Dragonite maintains this size normally. It's long since adapted, and every movement is instinctive."
"You can tell that Tentacruel was rushed into this state. Its foundation is unstable. They're simply not on the same level."
Sure enough.
The battle that followed went exactly as Lu Chen had said.
The hurricane stirred up by Dragonite's wings blew all of Tentacruel's tentacles aside. Hundreds of tentacles flailed wildly through the air, unable to get anywhere near it.
Then a Dragon Claw came down, purple light slicing through the air and tearing straight through Tentacruel's defenses.
Tentacruel let out a wail.
Dragonite turned again and swept out with Dragon Tail, its massive tail whistling through the air as it slammed into Tentacruel.
Boom-!
Tentacruel's enormous body burst apart on the sea!
After its body burst apart, Tentacruel visibly shrank at a tremendous speed, finally returning to the size of an ordinary Tentacruel,
sprawled on the water with its tentacles hanging limply, completely unable to battle.
Cheers erupted both at the scene and online.
"It won! Dragonite won!"
"A pseudo-legendary is a pseudo-legendary!"
But the gigantic Dragonite did not cheer.
It slowly folded its wings and floated on the sea.
Its enormous body rose and fell gently with the waves. In those eyes, larger than a lighthouse's lantern housing, there was not the slightest joy of victory.
Only sorrow.
It opened its mouth again and let out that ancient cry.
This time, the sound was longer and more sorrowful than before.
"Quick, quick, quick! Get closer!"
Seeing this, the reporters aboard the helicopters were like cats catching the scent of fish, hurriedly urging their helicopters closer.
They intended to continue following the gigantic Dragonite.
But having lived so many years without being discovered by humans, the gigantic Dragonite naturally had its own ways of surviving.
Dragonite glanced at the helicopters in the air, gave its wings a powerful beat, and immediately flew toward the distant open sea.
It was far faster than it looked.
Its enormous silhouette flashed over the water. With just a gentle beat of its wings, it vanished beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Only that sorrowful song remained, echoing in the sea breeze.
The living room fell quiet.
Professor Oak took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with the hem of his shirt, while Delia held her cup in both hands, watching the television, which had already switched back to the studio, her lips lightly pressed together.
There was no telling what she was thinking.
Lu Chen held his teacup, his fingers gently rubbing its surface.
None of the three spoke.
Because they could all feel it.
The deep, unrelenting loneliness in that song.
It was searching for companions.
It had searched for a very, very long time.
And still had not found them.
"That Dragonite must be so lonely," Delia said softly.
Professor Oak drained the tea remaining in his cup in one go.
"It seems this world is far more complicated than we imagined. Our understanding of Pokémon is still far too shallow."
Dinner ended in this subtle atmosphere.
Before they left, however, Delia handed Lu Chen a packed serving of spaghetti, then nodded to Professor Oak.
Lu Chen had not forgotten Gabite, who was still guarding the farm. This was the special meal Delia had prepared for Gabite in advance.
The pasta was cooked just right, with a rich sauce and a layer of grated cheese sprinkled over it, all packed in an insulated container.
After leaving Delia's house, Professor Oak and Lu Chen said goodbye and headed home separately.
By the time Lu Chen rode Aerodactyl back to the farm, it was late at night.
But the moment Lu Chen landed, a figure came charging from the distant fields.
It was Gabite.
Its nose twitched as it circled Lu Chen twice, unerringly locating the insulated container.
"Gab!"
Its two finlike forelimbs gripped the edge of the box, its tail wagged as though fitted with a spring, and its eyes shone with startling brightness.
Lu Chen chuckled and opened the insulated food container.
Gabite plunged headfirst into it and ate with delight.
Cheese smeared its nose, but it could not spare the time to wipe it off. Its mouth was stuffed full, and it even let out satisfied little grunts.
Lu Chen crouched beside it, watching it eat.
After finishing, Gabite licked its claws and headed off to patrol the farmland as usual.
It had to be said that with the combined benefits of Lu Chen's guidance and the specially made Pokémon Food, Gabite felt its progress was nothing short of astonishing.
Even it felt that all its previous training had been little more than playing around.
The nutritional composition and energy density of the specially made ultra-ancient food were far beyond those of the ordinary food Gabite had eaten in the wild.
Under Lu Chen's care, the speed at which it grew stronger had more than doubled.
While Gabite was enjoying its delicious food.
Lu Chen sat in the doorway of the mud house, watching the distant sunset clouds.
For some reason, the supergiant Dragonite he had seen during the day would not leave his mind.
"That guy's situation..."
Lu Chen murmured.
"Why is it a little like ours?"
All alone.
All searching for something.
All carrying a past that would not go away.
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Gouging Fire lowered its head without a word.
Aerodactyl's eyes looked somewhat forlorn, and it drew its wings in slightly.
Recalling what it had seen during the day and that supergiant Dragonite's sorrowful voice, Lapras swam to shore and slowly began singing Lapras's Song.
The song was lilting and ancient, like a tide drifting in from far, far away.
But this time, a faint sadness tinged the song as well.
The air fell quiet for a few seconds.
Then.
"Heh heh heh-"
Gengar emerged from Lu Chen's shadow, its wide mouth stretched into a carefree grin.
It pointed at Lu Chen with its stubby little hand, then at all the Pokémon present, before patting its own belly.
Its meaning was clear.
Being by Lu Chen's side was the best thing of all.
Lu Chen paused, then smiled.
"Yeah."
"We still have each other."
Hearing those words, the other Pokémon also shook off that faint sadness.
Aerodactyl shook its wings, Gouging Fire raised its head again, and Lapras's song gradually regained its usual lilt.
With their spirits restored, they each went off to do their own things.
The night deepened.
What Lu Chen did not know was that Lapras's song did not stop at Pallet Town.
The lilting melody drifted on the night breeze, all the way toward the distant sea.
It passed over Pallet Town's rooftops, skimmed the treetops of Viridian Forest, crossed the coastline, and drifted far, far away.
Out at sea, that lonely supergiant Dragonite was floating alone on the moonlit water.
Its eyes were closed, its enormous body rising and falling slowly with the waves.
Then.
Its eyes suddenly opened.
Because out on that vast sea, it had heard a sound.
Very faint.
But very clear.
It was a song.
The supergiant Dragonite slowly raised its head, its enormous eyes turning toward the direction the song came from.
That was land.
Who was singing there?
And Lapras's song felt incredibly familiar to the supergiant Dragonite.
The supergiant Dragonite wanted to go and see!