"Honk honk!"
Accompanied by a melodious whistle, the steam train departing from Opelucid City slowly pulled into the Nimbasa City station.
Sharen and his butler Cran mingled with the crowd of tourists as they stepped off the carriage, both of them observing their surroundings with faces full of novelty.
"It's been a while since I've been here, and this place has changed quite a bit again!" Sharen said with great interest.
Cran was also looking, but his focus was on the passengers disembarking from the steam train around them.
Since this train had departed from their Opelucid City, the vast majority of the passengers were Commoners from Opelucid City.
Looking at those Commoners' faces, filled with hope and expectation for tomorrow, Cran couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
He still remembered how, just a few years ago, the residents of the territory always had numb expressions on their faces.
They labored in the territories all day, serving the great nobles or tilling the fields. That kind of hopeless life, with no future in sight, made them live aimlessly in this world like walking corpses.
But now, ever since His Majesty Draconis succeeded to the throne of the kingdom, people's lives had undergone earth-shaking changes.
The lives of these Commoners were getting better and better, and it brought a lot of hope to their previously numb faces.
They were no longer confined to one place; they could freely do what they liked, and even go to the Factories built in various places to get a job with a decent salary.
And with money, these Commoners could take the steam train to travel freely to other cities, settling there, touring, or visiting friends.
"Phew!"
Cran felt happy for these Commoners and Slaves from the bottom of his heart.
No... the Unova Kingdom no longer had Slaves now.
"Cran?" Sharen looked at the expression on his old friend's face and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Lord Sharen, I was just thinking that people's lives are truly getting better and better," Cran replied.
"That is natural." As the mayor of Opelucid City, no one knew this better than Sharen.
In his daily life, he could feel extremely clearly that both Opelucid City and other parts of the Unova Kingdom were becoming prosperous and bustling at a visible rate.
"Perhaps those Commoners are right," Sharen said with a sigh. "His Majesty Draconis was specifically sent down by the gods in heaven to save them."
"My Lord, I didn't expect you to believe in that too." Cran was suddenly a bit caught between laughter and tears. In his view, such claims were merely fantasies concocted by those Commoners to praise His Majesty Draconis's achievements.
"Why not believe it?" Sharen shook his head gently. "You haven't seen the former His Majesty Draconis..."
As he spoke, Sharen adopted a reminiscent look and said slowly, "Once, when I went to Eindoak to pay my respects to the King, I saw His Majesty Draconis in the Castle of the Sword of the Earth."
"At that time, he gave off a completely different feeling than he does now... The gods must have been unable to stand what was happening on this land, so they bestowed wisdom upon His Majesty Draconis, letting him lead us to create a prosperous and flourishing nation."
At least from Sharen's perspective, compared to the kingdom of the past, he preferred the current kingdom much more.
Unova... everyone united together, regardless of status, whether human or Pokémon; His Majesty Draconis had truly achieved universal harmony.
Such an achievement would likely still be praised by people even thousands of years into the future.
However, that had nothing to do with them.
Compared to that, what Sharen wanted to do now was to properly enjoy everything His Majesty Draconis had brought them.
They couldn't waste this opportunity to come to Nimbasa City.
Instead of wasting time here, it was better to enter the city as soon as possible to experience the newly opened Pokémon restaurant, and then head to the Grand Arena to watch a thrilling Pokémon battle performance.
What a beautiful and happy life!
Sharen and his companion came quietly and left quietly; they did not go to the castle to disturb His Majesty Draconis.
Draconis was not entirely unaware of all this, because he had heard news from some guards that Sharen, the mayor of Opelucid City, had come to Nimbasa City.
Initially, Draconis was quite surprised, thinking they had some urgent matter, but after hearing from his subordinates that they had just taken the train to Nimbasa City for a meal and to watch a few Pokémon battles, he felt somewhat speechless.
It seemed that even those former lords and nobles couldn't help but be attracted by these novel things.
So be it!
Draconis didn't pay it any more mind and instead looked down at a document he had just drafted on his desk.
"Order Document Regarding the Construction of New Urban Districts in Various Regions"
Draconis recalled the few letters sent from other cities early this morning.
Those guys... they were so resistant and reluctant when the reforms first started, but now they were taking the initiative.
However, this was exactly what he wanted.
Currently, except for Nimbasa City, the cities in various regions were in a very ancient and backward stage of urban construction.
If these places wanted to develop, they had to undergo a new expansion based on their original foundations.
Whether it was Pokémon Centers, tourism, or stations... some basic infrastructure had to be perfected.
"Send these documents to the other cities." Draconis handed the order documents to a subordinate.
The subordinate hurried away with the documents.
Right then, Alfred walked in from outside.
"Your Majesty, the bicycle you asked to be designed has been successfully manufactured by our craftsmen," Alfred reported.
"Oh?" Hearing this, Draconis immediately became interested. "Take me to see it!"
"Yes!"
Under Alfred's lead, the two arrived in front of the castle. There, a mode of transport Draconis was all too familiar with was placed—a bicycle.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to test this bicycle for you!" Alfred said.
"Do you know how to ride?" Draconis asked.
Alfred shook his head honestly. "Reporting to Your Majesty, I do not."
But he had seen those craftsmen riding it quite simply earlier, so he thought it shouldn't be difficult.
Draconis: "...Never mind, I'll do it myself."
Alfred was getting on in years; if he accidentally took a tumble, there would be no one to help handle official business.
Having not ridden for a long time, Draconis was a bit rusty at first, but he soon adapted.
With his feet on the pedals, he gave a light push, and the bicycle began to move forward slowly.
Seeing this, the guards stationed around the castle all looked over curiously.
"It's moving, it's moving!"
"How amazing. This thing is called a bicycle? It looks much faster than walking!"
"If I had one too, wouldn't it be much more convenient to come here for work from home in the future?"
"Naturally." Draconis heard the guards' words and nodded with a smile.
Seeing that their whispering had been discovered by His Majesty Draconis, the guards immediately stood up straight. "Your Majesty!"
Draconis only stopped after riding a lap, nodded to everyone, and then focused on studying the bicycle.
Yes, compared to the steam train, bicycles were much more convenient for short-distance travel, making them very suitable for people who didn't have rideable Pokémon for transport.
As urban construction progressed, the scale of Nimbasa City was growing larger. Relying solely on walking to get from one side of the city to the other took quite a bit of time.
In this situation, having a bicycle would be much more convenient, and in one's spare time, one could ride it to leisurely stroll around the city.
"Good. We can start mass-producing bicycles and officially put them up for sale later."
Draconis said to Alfred as he walked back toward the castle.
Alfred followed behind him and, hearing this, nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Draconis gave a slight nod.
Then, it was time for the next step of the plan.
The Unova Kingdom's current development was very smooth, and both public support and satisfaction points had reached an unprecedented height.
Under these circumstances, Draconis prepared to officially implement a unified currency throughout the country.
The past monetary system was too backward; the resources for gold, silver, and copper coins were limited, and if the quantity was large, they were very unsuitable for carrying around.
In this situation, modern printed banknotes would often be much more convenient.
Not only that, but a banking system also had to be officially established.
Draconis returned to his study, sat at his desk, and closed his eyes to ponder various systems, perfecting them and applying them to the current Unova Kingdom.
First was the difficulty of implementing a new type of currency.
With industrial development and the expansion of the economic scale, the precious metal standard gradually became difficult to meet the demand. They had to start exploring a more flexible currency issuance mechanism.
The people in the Unova Kingdom had long since grown accustomed to the old monetary system. Trying to implement a new currency would likely be a very difficult thing for them to accept.
Secondly, there was the issue of the exchange rate between gold coins and banknotes. How much face value in banknotes should a gold coin be exchanged for to be more appropriate and easier for the Commoners to accept?
Finally, there was the issue of the bank.
Before the war broke out, Draconis had established a bank in the territory where residents could store currency, and it had received support from many people, but it was far too primitive.
"Yes, the banking system also needs to be improved," Draconis thought to himself.
He could be said to know nothing about finance, but fortunately, he had his cheat code.
Coincidentally, during this period, the subjects in the territory had provided him with a lot of satisfaction points.
With a thought from Draconis, the Tech Tree panel automatically appeared before him.
Draconis scrolled through the technologies of the Industrial Age, and his gaze finally landed on a new technology branch.
[Currency Reform], [Central Bank].
[Currency Reform: Provides technology for monetary system reform. Exchange cost: 80,000 satisfaction points.]
[Central Bank: A professional institution used to manage the money supply and financial system. Exchange cost: 150,000 satisfaction points.]
His current satisfaction points were more than enough to unlock these two technologies.
Draconis's mind shifted slightly, and in the next second, a vast amount of knowledge and theories regarding economics flooded into his brain.
"So it can be done like this..."
Draconis's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up a quill pen and began writing on the paper.
—
"Wow, so this is Striaton City? It looks so magnificent!"
Koharu, who had always lived in a small place like Accumula Town, stood before the city gates of Striaton City. She looked up at this grandly scaled city, her heart filled with immense shock.
After several days of arduous travel, she and her Patrat had finally passed through the forest and successfully arrived at Striaton City.
Not only that, she had even caught a new Pokémon!
Koharu thought of that Heracross who had proactively run into her Poké Ball just to eat sweet honey, and she felt a bit between laughter and tears.
However, now didn't seem to be the time to think about that!
Arriving in a new city, the first thing she needed to do was go to the Pokémon Center to rest, and then go out to the Friendly Store and other places to purchase the supplies needed for the journey.
And of course, there was the Gym challenge!
The travel manual issued by the Trainer Association said that there was a Gym here in Striaton City!
Only by challenging the Gym and defeating the Gym Leader here could she obtain a badge from them.
"Patrat, Heracross, we have to do our best!" Koharu clenched her fists, full of fighting spirit.
Patrat also clenched its paws in response. "Patrat!"
"Let's go! To the Pokémon Center!"
Koharu held Patrat, and after asking a passerby for the route to the Pokémon Center, she hurried straight there.
Seeing the figure with pink hair in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, Koharu's eyes suddenly widened.
"Nurse Joy?!"
Hearing her voice, Nurse Joy turned her head in confusion.
"Eh? You know me?"
"Mhm!" Koharu nodded repeatedly. "We met before in Accumula Town! I just didn't expect that you would arrive in Striaton City before us!"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Nurse Joy's face. She shook her head gently and explained:
"That wasn't me! The one working over in Accumula Town is my older sister, Joy Yuki. I am Joy Tsuki. Although we look exactly the same, we are not the same person!"
"Ah?" Koharu was suddenly dumbfounded.
"Pfft, country bumpkin, what's there to be so surprised about? Every Pokémon Center has a Nurse Joy who looks exactly the same. Isn't that basic knowledge every Trainer must master?"
A mocking voice came from nearby.
Koharu turned to look and saw a boy dressed elegantly, like a noble, looking at her with disdain.
"You're the country bumpkin!" Koharu was a bit angry.
"What? Not satisfied?" The noble boy took out a Poké Ball encrusted with gems. "In that case, I'll show some mercy and have a Pokémon battle with you! It'll let a country bumpkin like you see what a real Trainer is!"
"Fine, let's fight then, who's afraid of who?" Koharu was also fired up. This guy was really too much! Calling people country bumpkins right from the start!
Nurse Joy watched this scene with a face full of helplessness.
She wanted to speak up to stop them, but looking at the two of them, she feared that no matter what she said, there would be no way to make them stop.
In order to prevent them from disturbing the other Trainers in the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy still spoke softly:
"You two, please head to the backyard of the Pokémon Center. There's a field specifically for Trainers to conduct Pokémon battles there."
"Thank you for the trouble, Nurse Joy!" Koharu bowed to Nurse Joy.
....
Power Stones PlZZZZ
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