Night enveloped the land, and above, a brilliant galaxy sparkled.
Reunited people gathered in the center of the territory, surrounding a huge bonfire, their faces beaming with irrepressible smiles.
"Hey, everyone, come help! These are the fish caught for us by Ryan's Pokémon!"
A young man walked over, carrying a basket of fresh, plump fish.
The chatting crowd stood up one after another, stepping forward to help clean the fish, skewer them, brush them with oil, sprinkle them with salt, and place them over the roaring bonfire to roast.
In no time, an inviting aroma of charring wafted in all directions.
"Wow, it smells so good!"
"It looks delicious!"
A few children looked at the golden roasted fish, unable to stop themselves from salivating.
The adults around them chatted with each other, recounting their experiences over the past few days.
For the Pokémon living in this territory, it was their first time attending such a lively bonfire party.
A group of Pokémon was also infected by the lively atmosphere; they chased and played around the bonfire, singing and dancing, looking so harmonious.
Draconis and Gerolt stood at the back, watching the scene.
At this moment, even Draconis, who had seen much of the world, couldn't help but feel a surge of pleasant surprise when faced with this situation.
The number of his Commoners had suddenly soared from 78 to 299.
With so many people, many of his plans could officially begin, and the construction progress of this territory would be greatly enhanced.
Gerolt, standing nearby, looked at the few unfamiliar Pokémon moving among the crowd and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what's the deal with those Pokémon?"
Draconis explained, "They are also members of this territory now."
Gerolt was slightly stunned, but he quickly understood the key.
"Is Your Highness utilizing the power of Pokémon?"
Draconis hummed in affirmation and nodded, saying, "Different Pokémon possess different powers. If utilized properly, they will bring us great help, just like the Pokémon beside you."
As he spoke, Draconis looked at the Haxorus standing nearby: "Will it fight alongside you?"
Gerolt nodded.
Ever since this Pokémon started following him, wherever he went, it would follow.
When danger arose, it would also fight alongside him.
"Haxorus," Draconis said.
Gerolt was slightly taken aback.
"Its name," Draconis said with a smile.
Gerolt looked at the Pokémon beside him, muttering softly, "Haxorus..."
Haxorus tilted its head and looked over.
Just then, Ryan ran over from the other side, his face full of excitement.
"Lord Gerolt, it's so good that you're safe!"
Upon seeing Ryan, Gerolt's expression softened slightly. He had already learned from Draconis about Ryan's performance during this period.
A hint of appreciation flashed in Gerolt's eyes as he nodded and said, "Ryan, you've done very well during this time."
Ryan grinned and said, "These are all things I should do!"
"Your Highness Draconis, everyone's accommodation has been arranged," Alfred walked over at this moment, reporting.
With so many people suddenly joining, there weren't enough wooden houses in the territory, so everyone had to temporarily stay in the previous tents.
Draconis nodded: "Since that's the case, let everyone enjoy this bonfire party. We'll discuss other matters tomorrow!"
"Yes, Your Highness," Alfred responded.
Draconis stroked Dratini's head, glanced at the Snivy yawning nearby, and after bidding farewell to everyone, he left with a few Pokémon.
After Draconis left, Alfred looked at Gerolt in front of him and smiled at him: "Lord Gerolt, please get some good rest!"
Gerolt nodded slightly. Although he was very tired, he did not rest. Instead, he found Ryan and asked him about everything that had happened during this time.
"Oh!" Speaking of these past few days, Ryan couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "At first, I thought we were all going to die. After all, there were so few of us, no place to live, and not enough food."
"But I didn't expect Your Highness Draconis to lead us to this place. Not only that, he also led us to build houses, Gathering berries, Fishing... Thanks to Your Highness Draconis, we were able to safely get through this winter. Everyone survived!"
"Not only that, Your Highness Draconis also found many Pokémon and had them join the territory to provide us with help!"
Simisear, Shuckle, Dugtrio, Snover... As he spoke, Ryan's eyes couldn't help but glow with admiration.
Gerolt listened to these words in silence.
He closed his eyes, feeling a surge of emotion. His Highness had truly grown up!
The bonfire flickered continuously, and humans and Pokémon celebrated this moment together.
In early April of the 149th year of the Kingdom's calendar, humans and Pokémon began a slow integration here.
*
The next morning, Draconis woke up early. While Minccino was still sound asleep, he took Dratini and Snivy to the temporary tent that served as the council hall.
Alfred, Gerolt, Ryan, Anna, Evan, and others were already waiting there.
Seeing Draconis arrive, Alfred was the first to step forward and report on the situation of the newly joined people in the territory.
"Your Highness Draconis, I just counted the numbers. So far, Lord Gerolt has brought a total of 221 Commoners."
Draconis nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What was their reaction to the Pokémon in the territory?"
"Initially, everyone was very scared, but perhaps others had already told them about these Pokémon, and everyone is now starting to try and accept it," Alfred replied.
"That's good," Draconis breathed a sigh of relief.
The arrival of so many Commoners in the territory was a good thing, but it also brought a corresponding increase in food consumption.
"Is there still enough food in the silo?" Draconis asked.
"Reporting to Your Highness, our current food reserves are probably not enough," Alfred shook his head. "But fortunately, Lord Gerolt also brought a lot of supplies."
"Black bread, white bread, ham, bacon, pickled fish, beef jerky, almonds, figs, wine, beer, mead, oats, cheese, wheat, spices... These should be enough for everyone to eat. Moreover, the rye, wheat, and potatoes in the fields are about to ripen and can be harvested in about a week."
Hearing this, Draconis was somewhat surprised. He looked up at Gerolt and asked, "How did you all get through that winter?"
Gerolt replied, "At that time, many of the supply wagons were lost due to the Blizzard. After encountering those Commoners, I led them to find the wagons containing food. After that, we also bought a lot of food from the villagers of that village using gold coins."
"Village?" Draconis then remembered this matter. He turned to Evan and said, "You've worked hard this time, Evan."
Evan scratched his head sheepishly: "These are all things I should do!"
"Do you remember what that village was called?" Draconis asked.
Evan shook his head: "People call it Nameless Village. That village is very small, with only about twenty households. But I did get some information from those villagers."
"Our current location seems to be on the border of the kingdom, in the northern part of the Unova region, very far from the royal city!"