After officially receiving their Pokédexes for successfully capturing their first Pokémon, Gadeon's group left the Safari Zone and returned to the Village Chief's house.
Along the way, each of them interacted with their Pokémon, eager to explore their abilities more freely now that the Safari Zone's rules of magic and mana suppression no longer applied.
They had experimented briefly with the Bloodthorn's Pokémon back at the palace, but it hadn't been in-depth.
"Mankey, use Counter on me again," Gadeon said as he threw a light punch at his Mankey.
The monkey's aura flared orange as it retaliated with a swift strike.
Gadeon's fist connected lightly with Mankey's face. In response, Mankey's punch landed squarely on Gadeon's face—Gadeon had leaned forward slightly to make sure the smaller Pokémon's arm could reach.
The damage from Gadeon's punch was reflected back at twice the force, landing on his face with a sharp impact. Neither of them flinched—Gadeon had held back considerably.
He straightened up, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"What is it, Gad?" Ingrid asked curiously, gently brushing the fur of the Vulpix cradled in his arms.
Gadeon furrowed his brow, choosing his words carefully before speaking. "Wood-type Pokémo—"
"It's Grass-type, not Leaf-type," Lavinia corrected.
She was currently channeling her magic to conjure a condensed ball of Ice Element, allowing her Alolan Vulpix to study and absorb it—an exercise in refining its control over Ice energy.
"Wood-type, Leaf-type, Grass-type—it's all the same!" Gadeon pouted at his wife before continuing more precisely. "Grass-type Pokémon carry energy similar to our Wood Element. It's not exactly the same, but we might be able to use Wood Element to mimic some of their moves. You could say Grass-type energy is interchangeable with Wood Element, at least to a certain extent—the roots are similar."
At that, Lavinia paused her Alolan Vulpix's training, understanding what Gadeon was getting at. Ingrid and Lorelia seemed to realize it too. Their gazes shifted toward Mankey, now with renewed interest.
---
Nodding eagerly, Gadeon exclaimed, "However, when it comes to Mankey's Fighting-type energy, there's no equivalent Element in our system. We have Non-Elemental spells conjured from pure mana, but those are more akin to Normal-type moves—nowhere near the essence of Fighting-type."
He paused for a breath, then continued, "Among all the Pokémon types, only Fairy is hard to categorize... but I believe it aligns most closely with the Light or Holy Element. So it can still be explained. But Fighting-type? There's nothing like it! If we could—"
"If we could learn to harness Fighting-type energy, then even Knights and Mages with low potential might discover a new path to breakthrough," Lavinia finished for him.
"Exactly!" Gadeon snapped his fingers, beaming as he lifted Mankey into the air like a prized treasure.
"Knights may be built for close combat more than Mages, but both paths still rely heavily on mana. If we can unlock the secrets of Fighting-type energy, we could forge an elite class of soldiers—masters of melee who fight independently of mana!"
He wasn't sure whether Fighting-type energy required mana or not—but in his view, it was better to be optimistic. Even if it did rely on mana, it would still offer his people a new path to power. There was nothing to lose in trying to learn it.
He grinned, eyes gleaming with ambition, and continued, "And the currently stagnant Krosia Kingdom would rise to an entirely new level of military might!"
Ingrid's eyes lit up at that. As the Knight Commander, he was already a formidable fighter—but the prospect of surpassing his limits through an entirely new path of power ignited a fresh hunger within him.
Lavinia shook her head with a small smile at her muscle-brained husband and said calmly, "Why are you so fixated on Fighting-type? The very existence of Pokémon is a strategic advantage all on its own."
She stroked her Alolan Vulpix's fur as she continued, "Fast learners, rapid growth, and high intelligence. As long as they're willing to go to battle, they'll be invaluable to our forces."
"Rosaria's Bloodthorn already demonstrated that clearly during training, didn't they?" she added softly, her smile deepening as she thought of her daughter, and her Pokémon. "And who says Pokémon are only good for fighting?"
"That's true." Gadeon smiled, his expression turning thoughtful. With Pokémon by their side, the Kingdom's productivity—and perhaps its entire future—could soar to new heights.
---
They had access to various forms of magic, yes—but after witnessing the diversity of Pokémon moves firsthand, they realized something: if they studied those moves closely, they might uncover new, creative ways to apply magic, potentially increasing productivity across the kingdom.
Most Knights and Mages focused solely on developing stronger magics and spells to improve their personal power and advance through the ranks. It was rare to find anyone dedicated to researching utility magic. That's why Pokémon could prove to be an invaluable resource.
Gadeon returned to training with Mankey, occasionally letting it use Counter on him as he tried to sense and replicate the flow of Fighting-type energy in his own fists. So far, not even a flicker of that energy had manifested. He had no idea how realistic his goal was—but it was still too early to give up trying.
Ingrid, meanwhile, wasn't in a rush to train his Vulpix. To him, it was more important to build a bond first. He hadn't captured it through his own efforts—Her Majesty Lavinia had helped—so he felt a bit undeserving of its loyalty. His daughter, Wentia, had told him that emotion and trust could strengthen a Pokémon.
He didn't quite believe it—but he was willing to try.
Truth be told, even Arthur didn't fully understand how emotional bonds affected a Pokémon's strength. After all, these weren't the "real" Pokémon from the Pokémon World. Aside from Friendship evolutions and a few specific moves, there wasn't much solid evidence linking emotional bonds to power growth. So how much could it really help? He didn't know.
"Gastly. Please show me your intangibility again," Lorelia said in her usual lazy tone, her expression half-lidded as always.
"Gast!" Gastly chirped and happily phased out, its body turning intangible.
Lorelia watched for a while, a thoughtful frown on her otherwise sleepy face. At first, she'd assumed a Ghost-type's intangibility would be similar to the wraiths she'd studied—but clearly, it operated on a completely different principle.
If wraiths possesed true intangibility, then Gastly's was merely a clever mimicry—a shadow of the genuine phenomenon.
---
In fact, after observing closely, Lorelia realized she could easily replicate Gastly's intangible state with her own magic. But there wasn't much point—after all, combat in this world was dominated by magic. No one seriously relied on pure physical attacks anymore.
Her thoughts drifted—until she recalled the discussion about Fighting-type energy earlier. Wait… this intangibility could be the perfect counter to Fighting-type, couldn't it?
But since no Bloodthorn had ever captured a Ghost-type Pokémon before, there was no information. They didn't know whether Fighting-type moves could even interact with a Ghost-type's intangible state.
She made a mental note to ask His Majesty for a Pokémon battle later—one designed to test exactly that.
Then she shelved the thought for now and let a rare spark of excitement enter her voice. "Gastly, do you want to get stronger first, or do you want to become cuter?"
"Gast?" Gastly tilted itself, a question mark practically popping over its head.
"I recommend the path of cuteness!" Lorelia declared, eyes suddenly gleaming with rare enthusiasm. "Not just because it's adorable—but because cuteness has real strategic value for a Pokémon like you, Gastly!"
She leaned in, her tone turning conspiratorial.
"Think about it—when you're cute, people and Pokémon let their guard down. They think you're harmless, and that gives you the perfect opening for surprise attacks! Imagine floating into battle with your big round eyes and that silly little grin. Everyone thinks, 'Aww, how precious!'—and then bam! Hypnosis. Poof! Confuse Ray! You become the master of misdirection. Trainers won't even know what hit them!
"Plus, in this world, being cute makes others want to help you, protect you, even give you gifts. Combine that with your ghostly tricks, and you'll be unstoppable—in battle and popularity!"
She straightened up with a satisfied smile. "So, what do you say, Gastly? Let's put a little sparkle in that spook!"
"Gast??" (I feel like I understood every word… and yet somehow none of it??)
Gastly had been hit by a barrage of pure yapping—it's super effective!
---
However… being cute did seem like a good thing, didn't it?
Besides, if it could make someone like it—love it, even—and then hit them with a sudden jumpscare…
Wouldn't that be hilarious?
Realizing this, Gastly's eyes sparkled with delight—and mischief!
Following this human was definitely the best decision it had ever made!
"Gast!" Convinced, Gastly gave a firm nod, officially choosing the path of cuteness.
"Great!" Lorelia beamed, clearly delighted with Gastly's choice.
Whether this path would someday ruin its future—or turn it into an Alpha Pokémon—well, only time would tell.
I wonder what Gastly's evolution looks like, Lorelia mused, tilting her head thoughtfully. It's already adorable… but maybe it can get even cuter...
With that, she began flipping through the TMs available for Gastly, determined to shape its growth with one thing in mind—maximum cuteness.
As they walked, the group passed through a wide, open field—an area filled with battle arenas that Arthur had constructed in advance. The village square would never have been able to host so many Pokémon battles at once.
All around them, Rastor's villagers were engaged in friendly duels, their Pokémon battling with eager enthusiasm. The lively scene sparked excitement in the group—they were tempted to join in but chose to wait until after returning to the palace.
When they finally arrived back at the Village Chief's house, they briefly showed their new Pokémon to Joey before departing Rastor Village.
They'd been away long enough. It was time to return to the palace—especially for Rosaria, who was likely in a fury by now.
Once they were far enough from the village, Queen Lavinia activated the teleportation circle they had prepared in advance, and in a flash of magic, they vanished—reappearing moments later inside the palace's teleportation hall, satisfied smiles on their faces.
All in all, they were quite pleased with the Pokémon they had bonded with.
---
"Father..."
As the teleportation light faded, a pair of angry eyes met them—Rosaria, a young girl with long, wavy, red petal-like hair, standing right by the teleportation circle.
"Rosaria?!" Gadeon blinked in surprise, then glanced sharply at his wife. You activated the teleportation circle—surely you noticed our daughter lurking at the destination?
Lavinia just smiled innocently.
Damn it! Betrayed by my own wife! Gadeon cursed silently but plastered a grin on his face as he greeted their daughter, "My lovely daughter, your handsome father is back!"
Rosaria shot him a fierce glare and pointed at him, commanding her Charmeleon, "Smokescreen!"
She knew her Charmeleon wasn't strong enough to hurt her father, but Smokescreen could at least make him cough!
Gadeon tried to wave the smoke away—only to realize it was magically concentrated around him, trapped and prevented from dispersing.
"Lavinia! Cough, cough!" he cursed as he glared at his wife, who calmly used her magic to trap the Smokescreen around him.
"Father, do you have any idea how much I wanted to watch the Safari Zone opening? Not only did you forbid me from going, but you also sneaked out to capture your own Pokémon!" Rosaria scolded, then sighed, well aware of her father's personality.
Seeing there was no escaping this, Gadeon shielded his airways with magic and sighed deeply. With a dignified air, he declared, "Know this: Your father sought only to shield you from witnessing my covert passage into the Safari Zone alongside the commoners. Such a revelation would have brought great dishonor upon the noble name of the Krosia family!"
"Did you really think I'd blurt out in front of Arthur that you're my Father after seeing you?" she shot back, narrowing her eyes.
"You wouldn't?"
"Of course I would! It'd be funny!" Rosaria grinned, sticking out her tongue before darting away.
Gadeon stood there stunned for a beat before bursting out, "Come back here, you cheeky little! I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
After a brief chase, they finally reached the King's study, where Rosaria, Wentia, and Reden curiously inspected the four new Pokémon—especially the Alolan Vulpix.
---
"Mother, you're really lucky. This one must be pretty rare," Rosaria remarked, eyes wide with fascination. She hadn't heard of this variant from Arthur before. At first, she'd thought it was just a Shiny, but now she understood it had a different typing than a regular Vulpix.
Reden was the most enthusiastic of the group, eagerly talking about wanting to research both the Alolan Vulpix and the regular Vulpix to study their differences. Both Lavinia and Ingrid took no offense—this was just typical Reden behavior. However, the two Pokémon seemed a little wary of Reden, and they also kept their distance from Reden's own Pokémon, whose personalities were rather... unusual.
After chatting for a while, Rosaria suddenly grinned and spoke up, "Actually, Father, Mother, you don't have to go all the way to the Safari Zone to get your Pokémon."
"What do you mean?" Lavinia asked, curiosity piqued.
Rosaria dashed back to her bedroom and returned, levitating three incubators effortlessly with magic.
"Tadah!" she announced proudly, presenting them to Gadeon and Lavinia.
Inside each incubator lay a Pokémon Egg.
"This is...?" Gadeon's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Arthur told me to give these eggs to you both before I left the palace for Rastor Village," Rosaria said with a sly smile, as if getting a little playful revenge for being restricted. "But since you kept me stuck here and left so quickly, I had to tell you now."
Gadeon and Lavinia exchanged surprised looks. So, there was no need for them to go to the Safari Zone after all—Arthur had already planned to gift them Pokémon Eggs today!
Suddenly, guilt washed over them for how they'd treated Rosaria and for doubting Arthur's thoughtfulness.
Unbeknownst to them, Ingrid and Lorelia exchanged a relieved glance, quietly thankful that the princess was confined within the palace walls.
Otherwise, neither of them might have gotten their own Pokémon so easily.
Their gazes drifted to their Pokémon, and a deeper fondness blossomed within them.
---
"Why? Feeling guilty? Huh? Huh?!" Rosaria teased with a triumphant grin, clearly enjoying herself as she mocked them to the fullest.
After getting her satisfaction, she gently set the incubators down on the table and handed one to King Gadeon and one to Queen Lavinia.
The Egg in Gadeon's arms was a dull, silvery gray, wrapped in faint, chain-like markings that spiraled tightly around the shell. Near the top, a blue, gem-like eye glinted faintly, stamped into the surface like a forgotten seal. A subtle, blade-shaped ridge traced along one side. It was cold to the touch and carried a faint, unnatural tremble—like something ancient, sharp, and eerie stirred within.
Lavinia's Egg was pale blue and faintly translucent, glowing with a soft, icy shimmer. Gentle arcs of rainbow light drifted across its surface like a frozen aurora, and a faint crystal-like pattern seemed etched along the side of the shell. It radiated a calm, cooling aura—peaceful, yet pulsing with dormant life.
"Ghost-type Pokémon?" Gadeon murmured, recognizing the eerie presence. It felt similar to the aura around the Haunted House—and Lorelia's Gastly.
"And mine seems to be an Ice-type," Lavinia said with a soft smile, gently stroking the smooth surface of the incubator.
Then, their gazes shifted to the third incubator still resting on the table. They turned to Rosaria, silently asking with their eyes: And this one?
"Arthur said this one's meant for both of you," Rosaria replied, her voice quieter now—equally curious. "I don't know the details either…"
The third Egg was delicate and pale, with a smooth, porcelain-like shell marked by faint, swirling lavender patterns that resembled steam. A thin, hairline crack-shaped marking near the top gave the illusion that purple liquid was trickling out. It emitted a soft warmth, yet the surrounding air always felt just a little too cold and a little too eerie.
"For both of us?" Gadeon and Lavinia echoed, glancing at one another in surprise. Their minds were already spinning with speculation.
Everyone—even their Pokémon—gazed at the three mysterious Eggs with quiet fascination, each of them wondering what kind of creatures would one day emerge.