"Aelif, you should go back and rest early."
Raven withdrew his gaze from the window and said to his old butler.
"Yes, Your Highness." Aelif saluted. "Please rest early."
The old butler left.
Raven then looked at the beasts around him and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, this house is sturdy."
The Minccino hopped from the window to the floor. They ran to the corner where their food was stored, looking at the small mountain of fruit and pinecones piled there, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Minccino…"
The firewood in the fireplace burned fiercely, sparks crackling as they popped.
The warm light filled the room, driving away the chill of the snowstorm.
Watching the Minccino's cautious actions, Raven chuckled.
"Don't worry. Even if we had no food, I wouldn't let you starve."
As he spoke, Raven patted the bed beside him and said, "Come up and sleep."
"Mincci."
The five Minccino leapt onto the bed, crowding around Raven as they squabbled for their own tiny blankets.
Honestly, it was really something—having a bunch of little furry Pokémon around.
At night, when you're surrounded by warm fluff, even sleep feels sweeter.
After a day of training, Dratini was already asleep.
Raven turned his head toward Snivy, who was lying on the carpet, and extended an invitation.
"Snivy, come sleep with us, will you?"
Snivy, who had been glancing this way, froze the moment it realized the attention had shifted to itself, then immediately turned its head away.
"You really don't want to?" Raven said again. "It's warm up here."
"Snivy…"
At that, Snivy hesitated.
Raven pressed on. "The ground's cold. Up here it's warm and lively. Everyone wants you to join them."
Hearing this, Snivy crossed its arms proudly and gave a lofty turn of the head.
Fine. Just this once.
It climbed onto the bed too, though it stayed at the far edge, well away from Raven.
This little tsundere. Raven couldn't help grumbling in his heart.
Remembering what had happened before, he asked softly, "Snivy, were you attacked by other beasts that day?"
"Snivy?" Snivy froze, then recalled the ambush by those cunning Sneasel. "Snivy."
"I see…" Raven muttered.
After these days together, they had come to understand each other somewhat.
Raven decided the time was right.
He took a moment, then asked:
"So, Snivy—would you like to be my Pokémon?"
"Snivy?" Snivy was stunned, as if not quite understanding.
Raven explained: "Just like Dratini. Once you become my Pokémon, I'll set up a special training plan for you to make you stronger. You could evolve into Servine, or even into Serperior."
The Regal Serperior—with Contrary, it could raise its Special Attack with every Leaf Storm, stacking infinitely. Raven thought, with just that combo, they could dominate this era.
"Snivy…"
But Snivy wasn't thinking about becoming stronger.
What came to mind was the way Raven had apologized to the Minccino and promised to take them in.
Or the way he trained Dratini, massaging it gently and spending time with it.
The way he laughed and interacted with all the beasts in this territory.
All of that left Snivy feeling unsettled.
Wasn't that the reason it had shown itself to this human over and over again?
In its heart, hadn't it already been hoping for this?
Snivy sat up and stared at Raven.
Seeing Snivy hesitate, Raven also sat up, meeting its gaze.
One human, one Pokémon, staring across the bed.
"What do you say, Snivy?" Raven asked.
Snivy crossed its arms proudly, closed its eyes, and turned away.
"You agree?" Raven's eyes lit up.
"Snivy."
Raven grinned. Ancient-era Pokémon really were easier. If this had been a modern Snivy, he'd have had to battle it before catching it.
He extended his hand toward Snivy. "Please take care of me, Snivy."
Snivy blinked, then looked at his hand. The corners of its mouth lifted ever so slightly before it reached out its own hand.
"Snivy."
Raven let out a long breath of relief.
Very good. He had officially subdued Snivy.
A beast capable of escaping five Sneasel had considerable combat strength.
Now, his lineup finally had some teeth.
And Snivy's growth rate was far faster than Dratini's.
In the games, it only needed Lv. 17 to evolve into Servine, and Lv. 36 for Serperior.
By then, Dratini might not even have reached Dragonair yet.
More importantly, fast growth didn't mean Serperior's potential ceiling was lower.
It all depended on how the trainer raised it. Raven firmly believed that, with the right effort, even a so-called "common" Pokémon like Beedrill could one day stand against legends.
The Pokémon world was full of proof.
Just look at Giovanni's Beedrill—or Pryce's Swinub and Delibird in the specials.
＊
The snowstorm raged until the next morning.
Outside, the wind howled and snow fell thick.
To check the bricks, Raven pulled up his fur-lined hood, leaving a few beasts to stay at the cabin, while he and Blacksmith Morik trudged through the snow to the kiln.
After burning all night, the red-hot bricks had cooled completely.
Morik lifted one carefully, examined it, then broke into a smile.
"Your Highness Raven, these bricks were fired successfully."
Relief and joy spread among the workers.
Morik handed the reddish-brown brick to Raven.
Raven squeezed it in his hands, feeling its solid, weighty hardness.
Success.
Relief washed over him.
With bricks like these, once winter ended, they could build real brick houses.
"Thank you for your hard work," Raven said.
"This is our duty, Your Highness," the workers replied.
"Good. Since the brick firing was successful, everyone should rest first. We'll continue after the blizzard clears."
"Yes."
After everyone dispersed, Raven turned to Aelif.
"Aelif, fetch some rewards from my private vault for them."
"I understand, Your Highness."
Raven's mood was buoyant. If they started stockpiling bricks now, by spring they'd have plenty ready.
Then construction of brick houses could begin in earnest.
And with resources like Hoothoot tree sap, Mareep wool, Combee honey, and Sawsbuck tea…
He could already envision juice shops, tea shops, bakeries…
Step by step, his territory could grow from a village into a small town.