Besides Shuckle and Swablu, the book depicted many other Pokémon.
"Like bats, they flock together in dark caves for warmth," Christina noted in her writing.
Lucien glanced at the sketch and immediately recognized it.
Zubat.
A bat Pokémon that nests in dark caves, hates sunlight, and relies on ultrasonic cries to navigate.
He turned to the next entry.
"It is timid, burying its face in its fur when sleeping, yet pricking its ears at the faintest sound," Christina had written.
Lucien nodded. "That's Buneary." Before it evolves into Lopunny, it is quite weak, with limited speed and strength.
Page after page, Lucien saw more remarkable finds.
Glaceon. Braviary. Sandshrew. Combee and Vespiquen. Sawsbuck and Deerling. Cryogonal. Drapion. Aron. Ninetales. And even a herd of Mamoswine.
"This area is truly rich in Pokémon!" Lucien exclaimed in wonder.
His mind immediately began racing through the possibilities for the territory.
Shuckle, for brewing restorative juices and fermenting tree sap.
Swablu, whose shed feathers could be collected for quilts and pillows.
Sandshrew, adept at digging, could help loosen the soil for farming.
Combee and Vespiquen, who gather nectar and produce honey. But since Combee only obeys Vespiquen, cooperation would require careful handling. Perhaps, he thought, planting flower fields to let them forage freely, then trading protection for a share of their honey.
Deerling and Sawsbuck, whose seasonal leaves could be brewed into teas. Different seasons yielded different flavors.
Gliscor, marked in Christina's notes as extremely dangerous — hostile to humans and best avoided.
Braviary, majestic and powerful, could one day serve as an aerial mount and air force, though taming one at their current strength was nearly impossible.
Mamoswine, who traveled in herds, were massive and powerful beasts. If harnessed, they could haul heavy goods and serve as beasts of burden.
Cryogonal, strange beings said to form from frozen clouds. They only appeared in cold seasons, vanishing into mist when the air grew warm. While fascinating, Lucien judged their ability less practical for the territory.
Aron, small but sturdy, subsisted on iron ore. With enough resources, perhaps they could be raised as valuable partners for future industry.
And then there was Ninetales.
Lucien paused, staring at its elegant depiction. To think such a Pokémon lived in these mountains…
[Non-aggressive specimen with nine golden tails. Highly curious. It shadowed us for a time, observing from a distance, then eventually lost interest and stopped appearing.]
Ninetales. A Fire-type Pokémon is said to live for a thousand years.
If they could ever befriend, or at least enlist the aid of such a Pokémon, its intense flames could fire bricks and cement, giving the settlement sturdier, safer homes.
But they knew almost nothing about this particular Ninetales, least of all its true strength. A rash attempt to seize it might provoke disaster. Legends warned that a Ninetales never forgets a grudge, offend it, and its curse could pursue not only the culprit, but their descendants as well.
This would require careful thought.
With the survey book closed, Lucien had a decent grasp of the local Pokémon ecology. He unfolded the hand-drawn map Christina had compiled from their trek.
Their camp sat at the center. A broad river ran east; upstream, a snow-capped peak, Articuno's roost, rose over a crown of lesser mountains. To the west stretched fertile grassland; to the south and north, endless forest.
In charcoal, Christina had marked notable sightings. One mark, labeled Aron, sat on what looked like an ordinary ridge.
To anyone else it was nothing. To Lucien, it meant ore. Arons fed on metal and stone, if they were present, the mountain likely hid mineral veins.
He traced the spot with a fingertip, committing it to memory. When they had tools and time, he'd send a team to survey the site.
Fertile soil, fresh water, natural barriers, and even promising ore, by every measure, the valley was a ready-made haven for settlement.
At his shoulder, the old butler Elif hesitated. "Your Highness… do you truly mean to capture these beasts and use their power to build our town?"
Lucien nodded. "On human strength alone, we're far too slow."
He gestured toward the log cabins outside. "A crew of laborers needs a month or more to raise a house. With the right monsters, we could finish in days. That's the difference Pokémon make."
Elif fell quiet, the firelight flickering over his thoughtful expression.
"But one day, we must leave…"
Lucien understood Elif's meaning.
Their original plan had been to spend the winter in this valley plain before setting out for their assigned fiefdom. But new problems had arisen.
Food was the most pressing. Even if they departed the moment winter ended, the journey itself would leave them starving.
So, they had planted seeds, waiting for a May harvest before making any move toward the fiefdom. To survive until then, and to raise the quality of life in the meantime, they had built houses and begun domesticating monsters.
Lucien was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where exactly is this fiefdom?"
The old butler, Elif, replied, "It lies in the southern part of the kingdom, in Virbank City. It's a prosperous port town with both fishing and trade. I've heard it is very fertile, and the winters there are mild."
'Virbank… could that be the future Virbank City?' Lucien wondered.
"I see," he said finally. "We'll discuss the details when the time comes."
But there were still five months until harvest. No one could predict what their settlement would look like by then, or what unexpected events might occur.
Lucien, with the memories of his predecessor, knew well the dangers looming in the kingdom. His two adopted brothers were already locked in a shadowy struggle for the throne. One day, the kingdom of Eindhok could split in two, erupting into war.
And if that happened, it wouldn't just be a clash of princes. It would also be a clash of legends: Zekrom and Reshiram. War on such a scale would consume all of Unova.
A wealthy port like Virbank City , with direct sea access, would be a prime target. If Lucien were leading either faction, it would be the first place he seized.
Rather than living in fear of such a war, it might be wiser to remain here, in this valley rich with resources, and quietly build their strength.
Besides, the old king still lived, and neither of his brothers had yet awakened the legendary dragons.
That meant, for now, time was still on Lucien's side.