The next day.
South Area One, in front of the Lighthouse Laboratory, belongs to the famous husband-and-wife Pokémon Professors.
Dressed casually, Lucas knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Soon, a voice responded from inside.
"Coming!"
It sounded like a young boy, maybe about ten years old, running over.
Soon, the door opened to reveal a boy with soft, sandy-brown hair, about ten years old.
Lucas raised his eyebrows, instantly recalling info about this boy.
Batman—Paldea style (x)
One of the main characters in Scarlet/Violet: Arven!
"Welcome home... Dad?"
The beaming boy froze when he saw Lucas. A flush crept up his neck and reddened his ears.
He'd gotten so excited he mistook the visitor for his dad!
"Mmm..."
Arven made embarrassed snuffling noises.
Lucas couldn't believe he'd been mistaken for someone's father, his calm expression turning odd.
Before either could recover from the awkwardness, footsteps sounded from inside.
In a few seconds, a small figure dashed straight at Lucas, growling.
It was a Mabosstiff, clearly hostile, seeing Lucas as a threat to Arven.
In a split second, Arven didn't have time to stop Mabosstiff, who was already within reach of Lucas.
Arven could only close his eyes in guilt.
But Lucas had been attacked before—he'd camped outdoors to save money for his Pokémon, and sneak attacks were nothing new.
This time, though, he didn't even try to dodge. He simply said,
"Don't hurt it, Mimikyu."
A creepy laugh sounded near Lucas' feet as a huge, ghostly Shadow Claw rose from the ground, grabbing the overprotective Mabosstiff mid-air.
Mabosstiff froze. When had that ragged Mimikyu appeared?
Mabosstiff was confused but knew it had to protect its young master, so it struggled and roared with all its might.
But no matter how it fought, the Shadow Claw didn't budge—almost as if the Dark-type Mabosstiff was the one being countered by a Ghost-type.
Mabosstiff's roars made Arven open his eyes.
He quickly realized Lucas was a trainer and that Mabosstiff was no match for Mimikyu.
Arven pleaded,
"Uncle, please don't hurt Mabosstiff, it—"
"What's all this noise? What are you doing!"
A powerful woman stepped out of the lab, noticing the commotion.
She stopped mid-sentence, seeing Mabosstiff caught mid-air and Arven looking worried. As a mother, her anger exploded—she whipped out a Poké Ball and glared at Lucas.
No matter who he was, Sada (Professor Sada) would never allow anyone to bully her son or Mabosstiff.
And she remembered some recent, unpleasant rumors.
With things escalating, Lucas felt the misunderstanding would only get worse if he didn't clear it up.
He wasn't scared of the formidable Professor Sada, even if her Poké Ball might contain a legendary.
"I mean no harm—this is all a misunderstanding."
With that, he had Mimikyu let go of Mabosstiff.
He turned to the striking Sada, who wore a lab coat over a wild, animal-hide outfit, and met her sharp gaze.
Sada gently touched the fang necklace at her throat, her wariness softening a little.
Protecting Arven and Mabosstiff behind her, she said,
"Please explain, Trainer, why you're attacking my son and Pokémon outside my lab."
Lucas didn't feel offended—this was just what a mother should do. Besides, knowing her family's fate in the future, he couldn't bring himself to blame her.
He organized his thoughts and replied,
"I was sent here by Chairwoman Geeta."
After Lucas explained, Sada believed him about seventy percent but still turned to Arven,
"Arven, is that true?"
At last, Arven got his mom's attention and nodded vigorously, explaining how it was all just a misunderstanding.
"You little brat, you scared me to death," Sada sighed in relief, ruffling Arven's hair.
Arven pouted, sitting in a corner hugging Mabosstiff.
Sada turned to Lucas, apologetic,
"Sorry, we overreacted. Please let me apologize to you."
She made to bow, but Lucas quickly stopped her.
"No need."
Since he stopped her, Sada didn't insist—she was always efficient and straightforward.
Brushing past the topic, Sada smiled,
"Chairwoman Geeta already told us. Leave the Tera Orb to us!"
"But my husband had to go out for business, so it'll take about two weeks instead of seven or eight days to make it. Is that alright?"
Lucas shook his head, saying he didn't mind waiting. Since he was here, he wanted to check out the lab where the two legendary professors—who never actually appeared in-game—worked.
"Can I have a look around your lab?"
He was curious about the workplace of the two scientists who would one day invent a time machine and study ancient/future Pokémon.
Sada hesitated, then readily agreed,
"Please, come with me."