After seeing Megan off, Lucien sat quietly in the lord's hall, deep in thought.
Everything in the territory was progressing steadily.
At the ranch, the Combee and Mareep populations were thriving, the honey collected could be used for food, while the soft wool shed by Mareep was sent to skilled weavers to be made into carpets and warm clothing.
Meanwhile, half of the territory's citizens were working tirelessly on the construction of the town. With the help of two Machoke and a team of Darmanitan, the pace of building was faster than ever.
In the mines, the workers, protected by Geralt and Anna, continued extracting ore without interruption.
The knights under Geralt's command had also begun making contact with the Aron population, following Lucien's plan to establish a disciplined Pokémon corps.
But what pleased Lucien the most was something else entirely; more and more ordinary people, after witnessing Pokémon's power and gentleness firsthand, had begun to approach them willingly.
Some even started raising Budew, finding joy in nurturing the small, harmless Pokémon.
Given enough time, Lucien believed this land could become the first place in the world where humans and Pokémon truly coexisted.
A world where both could thrive together.
"Time…" Lucien murmured softly to himself, resting his chin on his hand. "All I need is enough time."
Then, he could build a true utopian town, like those he once saw in the Pokémon anime of his past life.
He opened the territory's management panel and scanned through the citizen list until his eyes stopped on Ivan's name.
Ivan had departed for Lacunosa Town the previous day. At his current pace, it would take about a week for him to arrive.
Lucien then glanced toward the corner of his desk.
Six handmade Poké Balls, crafted from special Berries, sat neatly lined up. Morik had delivered them early that morning, the result of several days of dedicated work.
While they didn't have the advanced features of Poké Balls from the modern Pokémon world, no shrinking or auto-capture mechanism, they were functional enough for Lucien's needs.
Just then;
"Splash!"
A sudden downpour began outside, heavy raindrops drumming against the rooftops.
Lucien blinked, startled. "Rain?"
He heard shouts from outside, the townsfolk scrambling to take shelter.
Rising from his chair, he stepped toward the doorway with Larvesta, Dratini, and Servine following curiously behind.
"What heavy rain…" he muttered, peering up at the sky.
While others might have been troubled by the weather, Lucien knew it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, not with Larvesta by his side.
"Larvesta," he said, smiling slightly, "use Sunny Day."
"Vesta!" Larvesta chirped, sparks flaring eagerly from its antennae. It was ready to perform.
But before it could release the move, Lucien suddenly raised a hand. "Wait!"
Larvesta tilted its head in confusion. "Larve?"
Lucien chuckled and patted its head. "Not yet. I just remembered, rainy weather is the perfect opportunity for Dratini to train its Rain Dance technique."
He turned to the serpentine Pokémon beside him. "Servine, Larvesta, return to your Poké Balls for now. I'll be training with Dratini by the river."
Both nodded obediently before vanishing into their Poké Balls in a flash of light.
Lucien grabbed an umbrella and stepped into the rain, with Dratini slithering eagerly beside him.
The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and the sound of rushing water as they approached the riverbank.
Lucien knelt down, watching the gentle ripples spread across the water. "Dratini, focus on the water-type energy around you. Feel the rhythm of the rain, let your aura resonate with it."
"Draaa~!"
Dratini dove into the river with a joyful cry, its sleek body gliding through the rain-kissed surface.
It tilted its head upward, feeling each raindrop strike its scales, sensing the moisture in the air.
Lucien stood beneath the umbrella, his voice steady but encouraging. "Steady now. Concentrate. Don't force it, just listen to the flow of nature itself."
Immediately afterward, a surge of pure blue energy enveloped Dratini, and it blinked in surprise, looking around in wonder.
'This... is this the flow of Water-type energy?'
It could feel the living rhythm of the rain, the way the drops struck the surface, the hum of the current, the pulse of life that ran through every ripple.
Dratini closed its eyes and tried to resonate with that energy.
Perhaps it was the result of days of relentless training, but this time, the connection came easily. The energy flowed through it, steady and smooth.
Everything was going perfectly, until suddenly, it hit a wall.
An invisible barrier stopped the flow.
"Dra…?"
Dratini strained, trying to push through, to deepen the connection, but no matter how hard it tried, the resonance refused to stabilize.
A flicker of frustration rose in its heart.
"Don't give up, Dratini!"
Lucien's calm, confident voice carried across the rain-soaked air. "Believe in yourself, you can do it!"
Dratini froze, then lifted its head.
Lucien was standing on the riverbank, drenched from the rain, his umbrella forgotten at his side, but his gaze was filled with unwavering faith.
Dratini's heart thudded.
Lucien had always been there, patiently guiding it, training it, believing in it.
How could it let him down now?
Servine and Larvesta had both grown stronger. Dratini didn't want to be left behind, it wanted to stand proudly beside them. No, ahead of them. It wanted Lucien to see it first.
That desire, that determination, that longing for acknowledgment, burst forth like a storm.
A surge of emotion ignited deep within its chest, and at that instant, something broke.
The barrier shattered.
An invisible current roared outward, scattering the rain into a spiraling mist as a brilliant azure light erupted from Dratini's body.
Lucien's eyes widened. "This is..!"
At first, he thought it was another molt… but no.
The light wasn't shedding old skin, it was transforming.
Evolution.
Lucien's breath caught in his throat. Finally!
The radiance flared brighter, illuminating the entire riverbank. Dratini's body stretched longer and sleeker; its scales took on a deep, sapphire-blue sheen.
When the light finally dimmed, a majestic serpentine Pokémon hovered before him, its white underbelly gleaming, a single ivory horn gracing its forehead, and delicate wings sprouting elegantly from each side of its head.
Three crystalline blue orbs glowed softly, one beneath its throat, two near the tip of its tail.
"Woo~!"
Dragonair lifted its head, letting out a long, melodic cry that seemed to echo across the sky.
In that instant, the rain and the very air itself began to stir, drawn toward it by some unseen force.
From every direction, streams of pale, milky-white wind gathered and flowed into the sapphire orb beneath Dragonair's neck.
The orb shimmered faintly, releasing a gentle azure radiance as a rippling aura spread outward, wrapping Dragonair in a cloak of flowing energy.
Lucien watched in awe as Dragonair turned its gaze skyward.
Then, carried by the swirling currents, it soared gracefully into the air, its sleek, sapphire body cutting through the rain like a divine spirit ascending to the heavens.
A moment later, the thick storm clouds above began to part, dispersing as if bowing to its presence.
Through the opening in the clouds, a single beam of golden sunlight broke through, pouring down upon Dragonair, bathing it in a radiant halo.
For a fleeting moment, Dragonair seemed almost celestial, a being of wind and light.
The rain ceased. The wind stilled.
Time itself felt as though it held its breath.
Then, just as the sunlight touched its peak, a faint blue glow shimmered once more from Dragonair's scales.
It twisted its elegant body midair, and in response, the scattered clouds began to reform.
A moment later, a fine drizzle returned, soft and steady.
Lucien's eyes widened in astonishment.
"This… this is Rain Dance!"
Dragonair had not only evolved, it had mastered Rain Dance, completely attuning itself to the rhythm of the weather.
A surge of pride welled up in Lucien's chest as the majestic dragon descended, gliding effortlessly on the wind.
It landed gracefully before him, its serpentine body coiling lightly on the wet ground. The air around it shimmered faintly, rippling with residual water-type energy.
"What incredible speed…" Lucien murmured, genuinely impressed.
But then he noticed something: the crystal orb beneath Dragonair's neck, which had glowed so brightly moments ago, was now dimming.
...
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