December 15th, Year 148 of the Kingdom's Calendar. Half a month had passed since the convoy set up camp in this valley plain.
Draconis sat inside the tent, warming himself with the red tea a maidservant had brought him, while listening to Alfred report on the recent work in the territory.
Dratini was curled up on the table, enjoying the fish meatballs Draconis had prepared for it.
These were made from the perch caught in the river earlier, after deboning and removing the spines.
With limited resources and no Poké Puffs or Energy Cubes, Draconis could only find ways like this to provide suitable food for Dratini.
Alfred, standing to the side, glanced at His Highness's little Pokémon, feeling that it seemed to be getting more and more... plump.
This made Alfred recall when they had departed from the Royal City, on their way to the territory.
At that time, winter had just begun, and temperatures were slowly dropping. This little Pokémon was terribly afraid of the cold, hiding in the carriage from morning till night.
The change in temperature and environment had made the little Pokémon lose a lot of weight.
But now... it had not only gotten fatter but could even swim in the icy river water.
It had to be said, His Highness truly had a knack for raising Pokémon! Alfred couldn't help but exclaim.
He composed himself and then began to report on the progress of the Commoners' work in the territory yesterday.
"Your Highness, all the seeds in the farmland have been planted. Now we just need to patiently wait for them to mature. The logging work in the forest is also progressing very smoothly. If there are no surprises, all the wooden houses can be completed in about another week at most."
At this point, Alfred paused.
A smile appeared on his face: "Moreover, everyone is also preparing to use this upcoming time to build a winter house for you."
Hearing this, Draconis initially felt it wasn't necessary, as his tent was still habitable, providing shelter from wind and rain. But then he reconsidered; this was also the Commoners' good intention, and he also quite wanted Dratini and him to have a "home" of their own.
Since that's the case, then this place will serve as the Lord's Hall for discussing affairs from now on!
"I understand." Draconis nodded. He then thought of Ryan and the other two who had gone out to explore the surroundings and couldn't help but ask: "Have Ryan and the others not returned yet?"
Several days had passed since Ryan and his companions left the territory. Although their names hadn't disappeared from the Commoners' panel, Draconis still couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Alfred shook his head and replied: "Not yet, but please rest assured, Your Highness. Ryan and Cleveland are experienced. If they encounter dangerous Pokémon, even if they're not a match, they can still retreat safely."
Upon hearing this, Draconis nodded. At this point, all they could do was wait.
"Your Highness! Draconis, Your Highness! It's bad!"
Just then, a hurried shout suddenly came from outside the door.
Draconis and Alfred looked up and saw a woman rushing in.
"What is it?" Draconis asked.
"Your Highness! There are Pokémon!" The woman was full of panic: "Pokémon attacked everyone at the logging camp!"
Pokémon?
Draconis frowned and immediately stood up, saying: "Take me to see!"
"Yes!"
Draconis took Dratini, and led by the woman, quickly arrived at the logging camp.
After half a month of logging, at this very moment, the trees in this large area of forest had all been cleared by humans, leaving only a barren open space, where one wooden house after another had been built.
When Draconis arrived there, he saw from a distance several knights holding weapons, shielding a group of Commoners behind them, their gazes nervously directed towards the large trees ahead.
"Your Highness Draconis!"
Someone noticed Draconis's arrival and quickly made way.
"Your Highness, please be careful!" a knight said.
Draconis nodded to him, then followed everyone's gaze and looked up.
Not far ahead, on several large trees, stood a group of small-bodied, squirrel-like Pokémon with a pair of fluffy big ears and bodies.
They held small branches and pebbles in their hands, looking angrily at the people below.
"Chinchin!"
That's... Minccino?!
"You annoying little things, go away! Don't disturb our work!" A knight standing at the very front tried to drive away these cute-looking Pokémon.
But the next second, countless pebbles and branches mixed with a few berries flew towards him.
The knight was immediately covered in bumps, and he ground his teeth in anger, saying fiercely: "Damn it! It seems you won't learn without a lesson!"
However, before he could finish his sentence, the Minccino glowed with dazzling light.
Swift!
In an instant, a sky full of stars rapidly blasted towards him, and in a blink of an eye, he was engulfed in starlight.
The poor knight was knocked unconscious without even making a sound.
Seeing this scene, the Commoners, who had originally thought these small-bodied Pokémon were cute, immediately showed expressions of fear, even involuntarily taking a step back.
The Minccino looked at everyone with determined expressions, clearly indicating that if they took another step forward, they would continue to attack.
Seeing this situation, Draconis hadn't spoken yet, but the three Snover couldn't hold back.
During their time together these past few days, they had developed a deep bond with everyone.
The people here not only played with them but also shared food with them; they had long considered these people their companions.
Now, seeing their companions attacked by other Pokémon, Snover immediately stepped forward, attempting to retaliate.
"Wait, Snover!"
"Ugu?"
The Snover looked back at Draconis.
"Please wait." Draconis shook his head at them, then stepped forward.
He looked up at the Minccino standing on the branches, quickly understanding the reason for this situation.
Their logging of the forest these past few days had destroyed the "home" that this group of Minccino relied on for survival.
Therefore, they appeared here today to stop them.
This was an inevitable conflict between humans wanting to expand their territory and wild Pokémon.
With Draconis's appearance, the Minccino immediately turned their gaze to him.
Apparently sensing that he was the leader among these humans, the Minccino let out accusing Growl:
"Chinchin!"
Currently, there were two options before them.
One, reconcile with the Minccino and invite them to live with the humans.
Two, forcibly drive them away with brute force.
Draconis's gaze swept over the Minccino in the trees.
One, two, three, four, five... There were a total of five Minccino. With their current combat strength—Dratini + Zorua + three Snover—they might not be their opponents.
However, Draconis knew very well that they were at fault first in this matter; they had destroyed the Minccino's home.
What should be done?
In an unnoticed corner.
A small-bodied Pokémon with a green body was hiding behind a tree, secretly observing the humans and Minccino not far away.
"Vine..."