"Your Highness…" Lyon's heart stirred with excitement. "Is it like Anna and her little beast?"
"Oh?" Raven turned to look at the restless knight, raising a brow. "You want a beast of your own, like Anna?"
Lyon scratched his head sheepishly. "Yes… then we could fight side by side!"
"That's not impossible." Raven thought for a moment before speaking. "But beasts are highly intelligent. If you wish to win one over, you must treat it sincerely. Never as a tool. Otherwise, even if you succeed in capturing it, it will leave you."
His gaze shifted toward Dratini, swimming in the hot spring.
"Take my Dratini, for example. To you, it might look like a pet I keep for amusement. But in truth, it has always been by my side. To me, it's family."
Family?Lyon froze at those words.
Raven caught his expression and smiled.
"A beast will live with you—eat with you, sleep beside you. When you're away, it'll wait patiently for your return. When you're in danger, it will throw itself forward to protect you. They may not understand much, but to them, you are the person they trust and cherish most in this world."
"That's… just like raising a child," Lyon murmured, the thought striking him.
"Then you understand my meaning?" Raven asked.
An image welled up in Lyon's mind—him standing guard on patrol while his beast waited at home, fretting if he was late, then lighting up with joy the moment he returned. They would eat together, sit by the fire together…
His eyes grew moist.
His parents had died when he was only nine, leaving him to scrape by working at a bakery. Even after joining the knights, he had always been alone.
Lonely. So terribly lonely.
If… if there truly could be a beast willing to stay with him, he would treasure it with all his heart.
"…" Raven blinked. Why are his eyes red?
Then he recalled Lyon's past—the boy who had lost his parents too soon, who had grown up in solitude. Even now, as the knights' captain, he was still that lonely child inside.
"Your Highness, I want to raise a beast too!" Lyon pleaded. "Please, help me!"
Raven sighed. "Taming one won't be easy."
"What must I do?"
"As far as I know, there are several ways beast-masters bond with their partners.
First, through battle. By proving your strength, the beast acknowledges you and follows.
Second, by special means—appealing to its preferences. Some simple-hearted ones might join you just for food.
Third, like Anna and Zorua: shared experiences, where the beast comes to like you naturally.
Fourth, caring for one from the egg. When it hatches, it sees you as family."
Lyon listened intently. Of the four, the last was impossible—there were no eggs around.
The third was too rare, too much a matter of fate.
The second… he knew nothing of these beasts, not even what they liked.
That left only the first!
With a metallic shring, Lyon drew his sword, eyes blazing at the beasts in the spring.
Come, fight me!
"Psyduck!"
The two Psyduck panicked and fled. Marill ducked its head beneath the water, vanishing instantly.
"...?" Raven tilted his head.
Lyon blinked at the empty spring. "Isn't this how it works?"
"..." Raven rubbed his forehead. "Every beast has its own temperament. Even among the same species, some like to fight, others don't. For the latter, battling achieves nothing."
And besides—without Poké Balls in this era, there was no such thing as weakening and capturing.
"Then what do I do?" Lyon asked, utterly lost.
Raven turned his gaze toward the other hot springs.
Psyduck—plagued by headaches. If one could cure them, friendship might follow.
Buizel—the ultimate utility Pokémon. Rock Smash, Strength, Dig, Surf, Dive, Waterfall—it could do it all.
Simisear—a Fire-type, evolved from Simisear. Fond of sweet foods.
Raven explained each beast's quirks to Lyon.
Hearing this, Lyon fixed his eyes on Simisear's evolution.
"Likes sweets? Perfect—I still have candy from the capital!" His excitement grew.
And that beast looked so warm. With snow falling all winter, if it stayed by his side, he'd never fear the cold again!
"I'll fetch the candy right now!" Lyon said eagerly.
"Sir!" the young knight beside him blurted out, startled.
Raven glanced at the boy, smiling. "If there's a beast you fancy, you can prepare something too."
But the knight—Manon—hesitated, then shook his head. "I'll stay here to protect you, Your Highness."
Raven chuckled, not pressing further. His eyes returned to Simisear's evolution.
Truth be told, it was an unpopular Pokémon in the games.
But if Lyon could really tame it, it would be no bad thing for the territory.
After all, Simisear's evolution could spit flames over three hundred degrees. Come spring, they could use it to fire clay bricks and tiles, building sturdier homes.
As Raven pondered, ripples spread across the spring.
Dratini surfaced, holding an orange-yellow stone in its mouth, which it placed in Raven's palm with glee.
"Dree!"
It had found this stone underwater—a gift for Raven!
Raven's eyes widened as he recognized it.
A Fire Stone?!
Wait!
He looked back at the hot spring, at the stone Dratini had fished up. Simisear required a Fire Stone to evolve…
Could it be… that beneath this hot spring lay an entire Fire Stone vein?!
(End of Chapter)