Spring had arrived, and the residents of the territory were busier than ever.
The miners went to the quarries to dig up clay and limestone, hauling it back to the settlement with the help of Bouffalant.
At the kilns, the blacksmiths used Simisear's flames to fire the clay into bricks.
After a whole winter's accumulation, the stockpile of bricks now filled an open square. Once the next batch was ready, they could finally start building brick houses and paving stone roads.
After morning training ended, on his way back, Raven spotted Megan feeding the Magikarp in the pond.
When she saw him, Megan jumped up in a panic and saluted. "Y-Your Highness Raven!"
"No need to be so nervous, Megan." Raven smiled, then glanced at the six Magikarp surfacing from the water.
Thanks to her careful care, the Magikarp looked lively and healthy.
"You've done a fine job raising them," Raven praised.
"This is what I ought to do!" Megan answered stiffly.
The six Magikarp all stared back at him.
Raven: "…"
He couldn't help but imagine a scene:
—The timid girl, shielded by six ferocious Gyarados. Anyone foolish enough to bully her would be obliterated by six Hyper Beams in unison.
Yikes… terrifying. But… also something worth looking forward to.
Smiling faintly, Raven told Megan to keep getting along with them, then turned to leave.
Watching him go, Megan finally let out a long breath. She crouched down again, speaking softly to the Magikarp.
"That was His Highness Raven. He's a very good person! Thanks to him, my brother and I can live in a proper house and eat delicious food."
Back when they were slaves in the royal city, they had lived at the bottom of society—subsisting on cold, stale black bread, the food of the poor, and sleeping on hard wooden planks.
If they made the slightest mistake, the overseers would beat them.
Those memories still made Megan shudder.
The Magikarp seemed to sense her emotions. They leapt from the pond with splashes before falling back down.
"But now… things really are getting better." Megan smiled.
＊
Back at the territory hall, Raven let Snivy and Dratini play while he sat down at his desk. Dipping a quill into ink, he began to write a letter to the old king still residing in Aelif's royal city.
Though Raven wasn't the body's original owner and had no true ties to the king, he felt obliged to report his safety given his current identity.
He also wanted to inquire about the state of the capital—and perhaps request skilled workers, along with Pokémon that were being mistreated there.
The letter was written quickly. The next challenge was figuring out how to deliver it back.
The Pokémon world was vast and sparsely settled. Ever since they'd gotten lost in that blizzard, Raven hadn't even known where in Unova they were, let alone the direction to the capital.
And even if he chose someone to carry it, the journey was fraught with danger. A careless misstep could mean never arriving at all.
If only there were Pokémon to deliver messages… like Wingull, Raven mused.
At that moment, the old butler Aelif entered, holding several round, red fruits with a sharp smell.
"Your Highness, is this what you were searching for?"
Raven looked up. His eyes widened.
Apricorns…
"Where did you get these?" he asked.
Aelif smiled. "You mentioned them before, so I had the knights keep an eye out. They found these fruits in a nearby forest."
Raven weighed one in his palm. It was light, about the size of a Poké Ball.
It really is an Apricorn…
He checked his system's technology tree but grimaced. He didn't have nearly enough satisfaction to unlock Poké Ball tech yet.
Then we'll just have to figure it out ourselves.
But first, there was still the matter of the letter.
"I've written a message to the capital," Raven told Aelif, "but I don't know how to send it. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Perhaps someone in the territory remembers the roads here," Aelif mused. "Or Your Highness could send scouts to search for nearby towns and villages. If they find any, they can ask for directions."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Raven nodded.
"Of course." The butler bowed. "I'll see to it immediately."
"And call Morik here," Raven added, looking back at the Apricorn.
While Aelif went off, Raven sketched the outline of a Poké Ball on parchment.
He remembered tidbits from the anime—how Pokémon had the instinct to shrink their bodies and hide in small, enclosed spaces when weakened. That was why they could rest in Poké Balls.
But if that's the case… could they hide in any container? Even a bottle?
Still, it would be better to start by shaping proper Apricorn shells.
"Let's try making one first," Raven muttered.
Soon, Aelif returned with Morik the blacksmith.
Raven handed him both the Apricorn and the drawing. "Can you make this fruit into something like this?"
Morik studied the sketch of the split sphere, puzzled. "What is it? …Well, it should be possible."
He explained: first, split the Apricorn into two halves; then bind them with a metal ring, so they could open and shut freely.
"But…" Morik hesitated, embarrassed. "We don't have the right materials here. We've found traces of iron ore in the mines, but haven't dared go deep. Too many beasts live there. The miners have only been digging clay at the surface."
"Iron ore…" Raven thought of Christina's ecology notes—mentioning Aron dwelling in mines.
"What kind of beasts?" he asked.
"Floating stones with arms… and huge serpents made of rock," Morik said, shuddering.
Raven immediately pictured them.
Geodude. Onix.
"I'll go investigate myself," Raven decided.
Perhaps he could strike a deal with them using food. And if not… then he'd mine the ore by force.
After all, he had Snivy—and against Rock- and Ground-types like Onix, Snivy's Grass advantage was overwhelming.