Megan Stuart was an ordinary girl living in a town full of sunflowers.
Until she was four years old, war swept through her hometown, and young Megan witnessed her parents lose their lives in the conflict.
She and her brother became slaves to an enemy nation, living from childhood in cages that held magical beasts, and from then on, their lives were as lowly and humble as flowers in the mud.
Megan was assigned to care for the magical beasts forcibly captured to work for the royal city, while her brother became a stableman, looking after the horses.
Megan was originally full of fear towards the magical beasts.
Until she saw those magical beasts beaten black and blue by overseers for refusing to work.
Megan only felt that they were very pitiful.
And when Megan heard Draconis say, "Magikarp are extremely tenacious magical beasts; they can easily survive even in the dirtiest ponds," a feeling of shared suffering immediately welled up in her heart.
Yes! For her and her brother, those years in prison, weren't they also the "dirtiest pond"?
But now, that life was over.
She and her brother met Draconis, not only gaining their own small wooden house but also having their slave status abolished.
Draconis also said that next year they would be allocated a plot of land, and then she and her brother could plant a large patch of sunflowers by their door, just like their parents did.
No matter how difficult life is, one must live tenaciously—this was the spirit Megan learned from Magikarp.
"Fish, oh fish! You stay here and endure this winter with me and my brother!"
Inside the wooden house, Megan squatted in front of the water trough, looking at the Magikarp whose heads were above the water, looking up at her, and said softly.
This water trough was made by her brother from a huge tree, hollowed out in the middle and filled with water, turning it into a giant trough.
Six Magikarp lined up, looking at Megan.
Megan reached out and gently stroked their heads, just as she used to comfort injured magical beasts in prison.
"Magikarp, don't worry, our lives will slowly get better!"
Ripples spread in the water, and one by one, the Magikarp leaped out, splashing water, as if gently responding to the girl's words.
Just then, the wooden door was pushed open, and Megan looked back to see her brother, Chris, walk in from outside.
The boy was about sixteen, and though still young, years of hardship had made him seem very mature.
Seeing his sister caring for the magical beasts, Chris admonished:
"The Blizzard is coming, try not to go outside these days, and stay warm. Medicine is limited in the territory right now, so it would be bad if you got sick."
"Yes!" Megan nodded quickly, and seeing her brother about to leave, she asked, "Brother, where are you going?"
"The stable has just been completed; I'm going to lead those two Bouffalant there."
Bouffalant can both pull goods and help with Tillage, making them a very important presence in the territory, and there can be no losses.
*
Draconis, having failed to find Minccino, had to return to the tent. The Snivy was gone again, which made Draconis very helpless.
Just then, the Growl of Minccino came from outside.
"Min! Min!"
Draconis looked up and saw them running into the tent, each carrying a pile of wild goods like chestnuts, pinecones, and tree berries.
Draconis was slightly startled and couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"
"Min! Min!"
These were the foods they had stored, specifically saved for eating in winter!
According to their observations, Draconis didn't seem to have the habit of storing food.
One of the Minccino looked at Draconis.
If Draconis got hungry in the winter, they wouldn't mind sharing some of these berries with him.
But... Draconis and the Dratini seemed to eat a lot.
Looking at the pile of food in front of them, the Minccino couldn't help but start to worry again.
Will this food be enough later?
Then wouldn't they go hungry?
The Minccino became increasingly panicked the more they thought about it.
No, they had to go find more food!
So, after hastily hiding the food, these Minccino turned and ran out again.
Draconis was confused.
As far as he knew, Minccino's ability wasn't Pickup, was it?
Perhaps storing food in advance is a habit of these "Minccino" Pokémon? Draconis couldn't help but wonder.
However, thinking about these things was useless now. Before the Blizzard arrived, they should train more and strive to become stronger!
"Wrap, Glare, Twister, Thunder Wave..."
Recalling the moves Dratini currently knew, Draconis began to ponder how to further improve Dratini's strength.
Dratini has no legs, so to train its speed, it could only fly at full power.
And to train Dratini's strength... Draconis looked at the Dratini in front of him, long and soft-bodied, appearing not very aggressive.
Aside from using special moves like Twister and Thunder Wave, the only part that could be used for attack was its tail.
"Hmm, it's time to start special training for Dragon Tail."
Besides that, Dratini's special training could also gradually increase in intensity.
When Draconis first transmigrated, Dratini was skinny due to changes in temperature and environment, plus the long journey.
Now, after his careful care and nurturing during this period, Dratini had finally gained some weight.
Ancient equipment was limited; unlike the future, they couldn't use various mechanical aids for special training, so they could only use natural things as substitutes.
"Hmm... besides training its tail, Dratini can now perform weighted flight."
Draconis went outside, found several stones, and tied them to Dratini's body with ropes.
Although this training method would be very common in the future, in this era where human development of Pokémon was limited, it was already thousands of years ahead of them.
At first, Dratini was very unaccustomed, but to become stronger as quickly as possible and not die here, it still persevered with the weighted special training, carrying those stones.
Watching the constantly flying Dratini, Draconis slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, his Dratini was not the type to give up easily due to training being too tiring or painful.
After a moment of contemplation, Draconis went to find a piece of wood. He planned to have Dratini strike this wood with its tail to train its tail strength.
In addition, Draconis had someone bring several fish. While Dratini was undergoing special training, he deboned and de-spined these fish, then kneaded the fish meat into ball shapes and steamed them in a pot.
Although he was a lord and had maids and such around him, a Trainer personally preparing food for their Pokémon could help them become even closer.
When it came to getting stronger, Draconis couldn't do anything for Dratini besides formulating special training plans.
The only things he could do were to make fish meat balls from deboned and de-spined fish for it, and to help massage its muscles to relieve fatigue after its special training.
But for Dratini, these were already enough.
After a day of special training, Dratini lay lazily on Draconis's lap, eating the fish meat balls Draconis had personally made while enjoying Draconis's massage service.
Outside the tent, the cold wind howled, and snowflakes danced.
Inside the tent, however, it was warm as spring thanks to the charcoal fire.
Eating delicious food, and the person it liked most was also by its side.
This was Dratini's favorite time.