Watching Elif's figure disappear, Lucien slowly exhaled a long breath.
Night had grown deep, and the entire territory glowed with warm lights.
Lucien stood by the second-floor window, gazing across the whole town. A quiet but overwhelming sense of accomplishment slowly rose in his chest.
The glow of kerosene lamps shone through every window; families were likely gathered around their tables, eating dinner with their Pokémon companions.
The wild Pokémon living in the town had probably already eaten and were now curled up in the grass, on roadside benches, or atop rooftops, sleeping peacefully.
The town was lively and full of life.
Outside the town stretched vast Pokémon ranches and growing fields.
The ranches housed Pokémon that produced valuable resources such as honey and wool, while crops in the fields grew vigorously thanks to the help of Dugtrio, Diglett, and Sandshrew.
These orchards, pastures, and farmlands provided the entire territory with a stable foundation that supported every resident's daily needs.
At long last, his territory was beginning to settle into a proper rhythm.
Lucien breathed out softly.
Next, he would expand the town's facilities encourage commercial development create Pokémon Centers and hospitals open shops academies and other public institutions and establish breeding houses for hatching and caring for young Pokémon.
Morik's production of Poké Balls would also have to be expanded.
Because once the town was fully completed, Lucien planned to officially promote Trainer culture. Using Pokémon eggs produced in the breeding houses, he would give them to the children of the territory, forming the very first generation of Trainers in this era.
Trainers would play a crucial role in the territory's future.
Beyond serving as a military force to defend the town, Trainers would also be essential to daily life.
If an ordinary civilian wanted to get close to a particular Pokémon or raise one, but didn't have the ability to do so, they could hire a Trainer to help. Trainers could also handle Pokémon disturbances and calm any Pokémon that went out of control.
Previously, with fewer Pokémon around, such incidents were rare.
But now, with the growing population of Pokémon in the territory, the chances of accidents or riots would naturally increase.
Lucien quietly sorted out his plans for the coming days.
At that moment, Dragonair's voice sounded behind him.
He turned around and saw Dragonair, Larvesta, Victini, and several Minccino poking their heads into the study.
Lucien immediately understood.
They were here to remind him to go to bed because he hadn't returned to his room yet.
"All right, I'll come right away."
Lucien quickly washed up changed clothes and lay down on the bed.
The moment he settled down, all the Pokémon happily scrambled to their sleeping spots.
Five Miniccino sprawled out messily at the foot of the bed.
Servine lay on the rug beside him.
Dragonair curled up to Lucien's left. Larvesta plopped down on his stomach.
Victini watched the entire scene with bright curiosity, then flew under the blankets without hesitation, burrowed into Lucien's arms with only its head sticking out, and very thoughtfully tucked the blankets around itself.
"Nini."
Surrounded by a group of Pokémon, Lucien felt both happy and annoyed.
In winter, how wonderful it would be to huddle together for warmth while sleeping.
But now it was June, and the temperature was gradually rising, already showing signs of summer.
Sleeping together like this at this time of year made Lucien feel unbearably hot.
Especially since Larvesta naturally had a high body temperature, Lucien often woke up in the middle of the night feeling overheated, and whenever he touched his back, it was already covered in sweat.
And in this era, with no such thing as air conditioning, Lucien didn't even want to imagine what the peak of summer would feel like.
Ah… if only he could somehow bring down the Articuno from the snowy mountains and use it as a living air conditioner!Lucien couldn't help fantasizing.
If that failed, running into a Gengar would be nice too, Ghost-types were naturally cool.
Unfortunately, since his transmigration, Lucien hadn't encountered many Ghost-type Pokémon.
While thinking about Ice-types, Kyurem's colossal, imposing silhouette surfaced in Lucien's mind.
Previously, his strength had been far too limited. Challenging Kyurem would have been suicide.
But now… months of relentless training had begun to pay off.
Servine was extremely close to evolving into Servine.
Dragonair still needed more time, but it was steadily approaching Dragonite.
As for Larvesta, evolution was still a long way off.
But then Lucien wondered:
'Could Victini fight Kyurem?'
He scanned through Victini's move list again, and the sheer lineup made him whistle inwardly.
Burnout. Flame Burst. Psychic Hammer. Purgatory. Flame Jet. Psychic Power. V-Create.
It was powerful, but…
Judging from Victini's nature and abilities, it seemed better suited for support than for one-on-one combat.
Victini was a Mythical Pokémon of Victory, it generated infinite energy and could share that power with anything it touched. With Victini supporting them, even weaker Pokémon could perform above their limits.
But actual combat experience?
The original owner's memories had no battles involving Victini.
Lucien thought for a moment.
Then he simply turned to the small creature nestled in his blankets.
"Victini."
"Nini?"
Victini, who had slept the entire afternoon, was now fully awake.
Hearing Lucien call it, the little Pokémon immediately fluttered into the air.
"I want to ask you something," Lucien said.
"Nini!"
Victini puffed out its tiny chest proudly. 'Ask anything! It would definitely tell Lucien everything it knew!'
"Well… I was wondering," Lucien continued gently, "are you good at battling other Pokémon?"
"Nini?" 'Battle?'
Victini tilted its head, thinking carefully. A moment later it nodded with great spirit.
"Nini!" Of course!mIt had never lost a battle!
But, why was Lucien asking such a thing?
"Nini?"
Victini blinked in confusion.
Lucien sighed and rested his chin lightly on his arms.
"My older brothers are about to start a war," he explained.
"I've heard they each have a legendary Pokémon, Reshiram, the Dragon of Truth, and Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals."
"Their power far surpasses ordinary Pokémon. Right now, with our current strength, we can't possibly win against them."
"Nini!"
Victini's eyes flashed with determination.
"Nini!!"
No matter what, it would protect Lucien!
Even if the enemies were terrifying, even if the odds were impossible, Victini would give everything it had!
Lucien couldn't help laughing softly.
"I'm not asking you to go to the battlefield."
"Nini?"
Victini froze, confused again.
"I want to ask for a different kind of help," Lucien said, his voice low and thoughtful.
"I've heard that besides Reshiram and Zekrom, there's another legendary dragon in this kingdom… Kyurem."
"A being whose strength isn't inferior to either of them."
Lucien looked toward the window, into the dark night beyond.
"So I was thinking… if we can earn Kyurem's approval…
then we might truly have the power to stand against my brothers."