The construction of the brick kiln would take time, so to avoid disturbing the lives of the people in the territory, Draconis specifically chose an open space on the outskirts of the territory for its location.
The workers began construction using the bricks that had been fired previously.
The medieval brick kiln was not significantly different from the brick kilns Draconis had in mind, primarily consisting of three main parts.
The first part was the main kiln chamber, an arched space inside designed to hold the raw bricks. The second part was the ventilation system, which included air inlets and smoke outlets. The third part was the chimney, used to guide the hot airflow.
Building a brick kiln usually takes a considerable amount of time, but with the help of the two Machoke, the time required was greatly reduced, and it was completely finished in just a few days.
The workers stacked the shaped clay bricks inside, then added plenty of coal as fuel. Finally, at the command of the blacksmith Morik, Simisear used Flamethrower on the coal.
The blazing flames quickly ignited the coal.
The temperature in the brick kiln continuously rose, and the damp raw bricks turned red and hard at a visible rate.
Soon, the first batch of clay bricks from this newly built brick kiln was officially fired and completed.
Machoke and the workers cooperated to move the beautifully fired bricks to the open space outside.
Then, the territory's builders would transport these bricks to pave roads and construct houses.
With everyone's collective effort, this territory was undergoing earth-shattering changes.
Buildings rose one after another, and the original dirt paths transformed into neat and aesthetically pleasing red brick roads.
However, this was only a small part of the urban development. Even with the help of Pokémon, it would likely take several months for the town to be fully completed.
But this was already enough.
Draconis sat in the Lord's Hall, eyes closed, contemplating various matters within the territory.
The Shuckle for brewing Berry Juice were in place, the fruit trees in the Berry fields were growing, the miners were diligently mining, the farmers were working hard in the fields, and the builders were constructing the town for everyone.
Under Draconis's leadership, all aspects of this territory were developing in an orderly fashion.
"The crops in the fields can be harvested tomorrow, and then the food problem will be solved."
"As for poultry, some villagers have also caught wild chickens from the forest and brought them back to raise, so eggs and chicken meat are not lacking for now."
"But sources of meat like pork and beef are still a problem…" Draconis mused.
At least in the wilderness here, they had not yet found any traces of ordinary pigs, cattle, or sheep.
"I can send people to the villages below later to see if we can buy some young animals to raise," Draconis thought.
As for eating Pokémon… perhaps in this era, some people might consume the meat of Pokémon, but Draconis couldn't do it. Moreover, this kind of act would contradict the town he wanted to create.
Living with Pokémon while eating their meat—what would the Pokémon living alongside humans think?
Draconis felt it was necessary to issue a law.
—Prohibiting the consumption of magical beasts.
He summoned Alfred and assigned him to take charge of this matter.
Alfred, having received his new task, hurried out the door.
Not long after he left, the blacksmith Morik rushed over with an item.
"Your Highness Draconis, I have completed the task you assigned me earlier!"
Saying this, Morik held up the object that looked like a Poké Ball in his hand.
Draconis reached out and took it, carefully observing the "Poké Ball" in his hand.
While called a Poké Ball, it was in fact just an ordinary Apricorn split in half, with fixed iron rings and clasps installed on it, barely fashioned into the shape of a Poké Ball.
But did this thing really have the function of catching Pokémon?
Draconis held the Poké Ball and tried to aim it at the Dratini beside him.
But the "Poké Ball" showed no reaction.
"Woo?" Seeing Draconis's action, Dratini was momentarily unsure of its meaning. It looked at the round ball in front of it with some confusion, then looked back at Draconis.
"Your Highness Draconis?" Morik was slightly startled, equally puzzled.
"It doesn't work?" Draconis looked at the Poké Ball in his hand thoughtfully. Then, he said to Dratini, "Dratini, try to see if you can shrink and go inside."
He remembered that the developer of modern Poké Balls was a Pokémon Professor named Westwood I.
During one of his studies on Primeape's rage energy, due to an error in dosage, the Primeape's body became weak.
Surprisingly, the weakened Primeape's body began to shrink continuously and hid in the professor's glasses case.
This incident also demonstrated one thing—Pokémon, as creatures, have the habit of shrinking their bodies and seeking small, secluded places when in a weakened state.
This meant that a Poké Ball, at its core, was merely a container. As long as a Pokémon was willing, it could enter it at any time.
"Woo…"
Dratini blinked at the Poké Ball in front of it. The next second, its body transformed into a red light and it voluntarily entered the Poké Ball.
Seeing this scene, Morik's pupils contracted, and an expression of extreme surprise appeared on his face.
That… that magical beast went inside the Apricorn!
After a brief moment of surprise, Draconis's inner voice confirmed his thoughts.
But very quickly, Dratini came out on its own. It looked at Draconis with a pitiful expression.
And Draconis understood its meaning in an instant.
Staying inside made Dratini feel uncomfortable!
After all, it was an ancient Poké Ball, crude in both craftsmanship and other aspects, far from the sophistication of modern Poké Balls, let alone a Luxury Ball.
Draconis patted Dratini's head to comfort it.
Then, he made several more attempts.
Before long, Draconis drew several conclusions.
First, this type of Poké Ball did not possess the automatic recall function of modern Poké Balls.
Second, this type of Poké Ball could not be used to catch Pokémon; if a Pokémon wanted to escape, it could simply run away, as they couldn't be trapped.
Rather than a Poké Ball, it was more like a container created by utilizing the characteristic of Pokémon to shrink and hide when extremely weak, just like the glasses case where Primeape hid.
This Poké Ball was incomplete.
"It seems many other things are still missing," Draconis murmured.
Morik, beside him, was already dazed.
"Your Highness Draconis, what is going on?!"
How could such a large magical beast fit into such a small Apricorn? Wouldn't the Apricorn be stretched and broken?
This… this simply shouldn't be possible, right?
Draconis smiled and said, "This is something I read in an ancient book when I was in the Royal City. That book said that the bodies of magical beasts would shrink under certain special circumstances."
"So, if this thing can be made, we can have magical beasts enter it, making them more convenient to carry when we go out."
"It can be like this…" Morik murmured.
Magical beasts, these creatures, are simply too amazing, aren't they?!