At this moment in the Pokémon Domain, everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Throughout the entire winter—aside from the few days of heavy snowfall—the daily lives of the people had not differed in the slightest from previous years.
In Fruitvale Village, the orchard farmers waited for warmer weather to arrive before once again busily tending to their berry groves.
Within the village, one could often see several Combee flying past, zipping into the berry farmers' orchards.
With spring's arrival, a few early flowers had begun to bloom. The Combee were able to locate these blossoms with remarkable precision and quickly collect the nectar.
Because of the heavy consumption over the winter, the supply of Sweet Honey inside the Combee hive was already nearly depleted. They needed to begin producing fresh Sweet Honey as soon as possible.
In Uncle Mike's orchard, the Combee hive had been established among the trees, and the entire grove had practically become the Vespiquen's own residence.
"Vespiquen, it has been a long time," Aven greeted as he stood before the hive.
This winter had indeed been incredibly busy, and it had been a while since he last visited Fruitvale Village.
"Buzz—buzz—buzz…"
Vespiquen rapidly fluttered her wings and happily flew forward to greet him.
The hospitable bug Pokémon also took out some of its precious Sweet Honey to share with everyone.
When it came to Sweet Honey, most Pokémon had almost no resistance at all. Upon receiving the Sweet Honey, they happily ate it with great delight.
After sharing the honey with her workers, Vespiquen's gaze naturally drifted to Lilligant standing beside Aven, lingering on the golden blossom atop her head.
From that flower, Vespiquen could sense an aroma so enticing that it made her almost drool—a gentle fragrance carrying a powerful healing effect.
"Vespiquen, this is Petilil from before. She successfully evolved," Aven introduced with a smile.
Upon hearing that this was the evolved form of Petilil, Vespiquen showed a look of surprise, followed closely by a slightly flattering expression.
"Li-li-lili~"
Lilligant proudly lifted her chin.
Then, with a graceful motion, she used Grassy Terrain, causing grass and flowers to rapidly sprout from the soil.
Ordinary Grassy Terrain produced only grass—but because of Lilligant's special nature, she could directly generate blooming flowers as well.
Seeing the sea of blossoms across the ground, the Combee hovering nearby instantly lit up with excitement. They approached the flowers cautiously and were immediately enveloped in waves of intoxicating floral fragrance.
"Buzz buzz buzz…"
Vespiquen, too, fluttered toward one of the flowers.
Then, like a flowing hem of a dress, the lower part of her body unfolded—several tiny larval Combee crawled out.
The young bees swarmed eagerly toward the flowers, landing on the petals and beginning to collect nectar.
"Well done, Lilligant."
"Keep expanding the flowers until this entire clearing is full of them."
Aven spoke warmly. This would allow the Combee to begin honey production much earlier.
As long as flowers continued to bloom, Sweet Honey would keep being produced.
Once the Combee hive's needs were met, a very large portion of the surplus Sweet Honey could be exported to other territories as one of the Pokémon Domain's specialty goods.
"Li-li-lili~"
Lilligant loved planting and raising flowers more than anything.
By now, the castle was already filled with countless varieties of flowers grown by her.
To Lilligant, flowers seemed to possess a kind of mystical power that helped her grow stronger.
After discovering this trait, Aven had sent trading caravans throughout the land to gather as many types of flowers as possible.
Now, in Uncle Mike's orchard, Lilligant once again began sowing flowers. Once the area was transformed into a sea of blossoms, it would fully satisfy the Combee hive's nectar needs.
After greeting Vespiquen, Aven headed toward the experimental fields.
At the moment, a large number of Berries were being cultivated there, including Yache Berries and Pomeg Berries, which could mutate into new types when planted near one another.
Spring had already arrived, which meant the other Berries could also begin planting. By letting them grow and mutate repeatedly, Aven would eventually obtain the Berries he desired.
"Your Highness Aven, are we planting the new Berries now?" asked one of the orchard workers waiting at the edge of the grove.
Due to his workload, Uncle Mike no longer had the time to personally care for the orchard, so he had entrusted Berry cultivation to several serf farmers skilled in the craft.
After working the entire winter, these farmers had accumulated a substantial amount of contribution points. Once this spring passed, they should have enough to earn their freedom.
"Yes," Aven nodded. "The new Berry saplings will be brought here soon. You just need to plant them."
"I'll give you a planting chart later—follow it closely."
"These Berries must be planted in mixed patterns. It will be more tiring for you all, but I will record double contribution points."
The farmers quickly wrote everything down without any confusion. They had long known that Aven was experimenting with Berry mutations—and having witnessed the astonishing results, their shock had long faded.
The promise of double contribution points filled them with motivation. After doing some rough calculations, they realized that once spring ended, they really would become free citizens.
After giving additional instructions, Aven left his uncle's orchard and headed toward the village with his Pokémon.
After a full year of development, Fruitvale Village now resembled a small town. In the southern part of the village, a large residential district had risen, complete with schools, hospitals, and other essential facilities.
Fruitvale Village was no longer simply a berry village—it had now become a hub for Berry trade, Berry harvesting, Berry processing, and medicine production, forming an entire industry chain centered around Berries.
Additionally, due to the ongoing development of the Black Coast Forest, Fruitvale Village had become an important link to the region. Today, the Black Coast Forest housed industries like the silk-processing factory and the White Apricorn Grove.
The White Apricorn Grove was precisely one of the main reasons Aven came today. The Poké Ball Factory had officially been completed, and Apricorns, the raw material for crafting Poké Balls were now indispensable.
Last time, Aven had used the White Apricorn saplings to create a new grove outside Fruitvale Village, but the yield was still far too low.
Within the Black Coast Forest, the original White Apricorn Grove, once an older Vespiquen's territory remained the most crucial production zone. Though the forest was undergoing large-scale clearing, the Apricorn grove had been preserved exactly as it was.
Leaving Fruitvale Village, Aven rode his Luxray swiftly toward the Black Coast Forest. He also needed to inspect the current progress of land clearing to prepare for the territory's future development.
When he arrived at the former Black Coast Forest, he saw that a vast portion had already been cleared.
Many trees had been transported to construction sites to be used as building materials; others had been stacked near the steel factory to be used as fuel.
Along the way, he passed by many small settlements—villages built by the civilians in charge of the clearing operations.
These people had originally come to the Pokémon Domain as refugees. Supported by the territory's food and work programs, they had now achieved stable lives.
Once the coastal town was built, these people would all be relocated there.
They were the builders of the town—moving into a city they had helped construct would surely give them a deep sense of accomplishment.
"Greetings, Your Highness Aven," Mado hurriedly approached upon receiving the news.
He had been responsible for overseeing the Black Coast and Black Coast Forest's security, and with the knights' protection, the entire area remained exceptionally safe.
Judging from the current progress, the clearing of the Black Coast Forest had already reached deep into the heart of the Black Forest.
Although the workers hadn't taken a single day off during the winter, clearing an entire forest was no easy task.
Even so, the road connecting the Black Coast Forest to the Black Coast itself had been fully established. Riding Luxray at full speed, Aven could reach the coast directly without obstruction.
"Yes, the progress is even faster than I imagined," Aven said.
"Our next step is to determine the location of the future town."
"The construction of the coastal town can proceed alongside the forest clearing. In particular, choosing the site for the harbor is of utmost importance."
Deep in thought, Aven continued planning out the next phase of the Black Coast Forest's development. This area where the Pokémon Domain met the sea would soon become the heart of all future expansion.
(End of Chapter)