The next day, the temperature plummeted, occasionally accompanied by bone-chilling winds, and the sky was a gloomy gray, without a trace of sunlight.
The residents of the territory hurried their steps; even without much life experience, seeing this scene, they all knew that a Blizzard was coming.
For the past few days, everyone had been working day and night at the logging camp.
With everyone's combined efforts, the construction of the wooden houses was nearing completion, with only a few left to be entirely finished.
Draconis sat in his tent and began issuing orders to Alfred.
"Alfred, instruct everyone to speed up. As for food, how has the Gathering been these days?"
Alfred replied, "In addition to the previously stored black bread, white bread, ham, bacon, and other foods, everyone in the territory has gathered many tree berries and wild berries these days."
"And with the help of your Dratini and Snover, Your Highness, the warehouse currently stores a large amount of frozen fish. Some people are also using smoking methods to process those fish to extend their storage time as much as possible."
"The food currently stored is more than enough to get through this winter."
"That's good." Hearing this, Draconis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"The temperature has dropped again. Since there's enough food, have the Gathering team help collect wood. Before the Blizzard arrives, we must gather enough firewood for heating."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
As for Fire-type Pokémon, currently, there was only one powerful Ninetales nearby, and with their current strength, they could only temporarily give up on it.
As for other Pokémon, they would have to wait until winter ended and spring arrived to search for them.
Draconis formulated a plan in his mind while speaking:
"Also, have Lila prepare some herbal medicines for frostbite, fever, and colds, to prevent people from falling ill due to the cold weather."
"Alright, Your Highness!" Alfred responded.
Seeing that Draconis had finished giving his orders, he hurriedly left the tent to carry them out.
"Min...Min..."
Five Minccino huddled at the front of the tent, looking worriedly at the darkening sky outside.
Pokémon's senses were always sharper than humans'. The moment the surrounding environment changed, they immediately felt it.
At this moment, these five little guys all showed expressions of worry and anxiety.
"Min...Min..."
The Minccino were very flustered.
According to their usual habits, before winter, they would prepare a large amount of food to ensure a stable winter.
But this winter was special; their homes were all cut down, and after observing for these past few days, they had never seen Draconis bring food home from outside.
One Minccino couldn't help but try to ask Draconis, but had to give up because he couldn't understand them.
"This human, he couldn't possibly not have a habit of storing food, could he?"
The Minccino were very flustered.
"Min!" "In that case, wouldn't they starve?"
The five Minccino grew more and more worried the more they thought about it. Suddenly, one of the Minccino remembered something.
"Min!"
"Didn't they collect many chestnuts, pine nuts, and tree berries in the forest during autumn?"
Another Minccino also remembered: "Min!"
It remembered that they had hidden all that food in a certain stone cave!
After they mentioned it, the other Minccino also recalled it.
They immediately ran out of the tent and rushed towards that stone cave.
Before the Blizzard arrived, they had to move those chestnuts, pine nuts, and tree berries back!
So, under Draconis's stunned gaze, the five Minccino ran out, and their figures quickly disappeared.
Draconis: "?"
"Where did they go?" Draconis couldn't help but ask Dratini.
"Woo..." Dratini replied.
Just then, someone outside the tent suddenly requested an audience.
Following that, a short-haired girl with freckles on her face walked in, looking worried.
Draconis recognized her at a glance.
Megan, the girl he had previously assigned to care for the six Magikarp.
"What's wrong, Megan?" Draconis asked.
"Your Highness Draconis..." Megan hesitated, saying, "The weather has been too cold these days, and the surface of that pond freezes every day. I'm a bit worried that the Magikarp will suffer from the cold, so I wanted to ask you if I could take them home to care for them, and then return them to the pond after winter passes!"
"She came for the Magikarp?" Draconis raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.
It seemed that after spending this time together, this girl had grown fond of those six Magikarp!
However, Megan seemed to lack some basic knowledge. Although the lake surface would freeze in winter, the water temperature at the bottom of the lake, beneath the ice, would remain relatively stable.
The Magikarp would not be affected at all.
But Draconis was very happy to see the people in his territory developing special feelings for Pokémon, so he nodded and agreed:
"Of course, no problem. However, they cannot be out of water for too long."
Seeing Draconis agree, Megan was very happy: "Mm-hmm, I know! My brother helped me make six wooden troughs, where the Magikarp can stay!"
Megan's family had been allocated a wooden house a few days ago, and she was now living there with her brother, Chris.
"Alright, in that case, the Magikarp are entrusted to your care." Draconis nodded.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness Draconis!" Megan bowed gratefully.
Draconis smiled and watched Megan turn and leave.
Undoubtedly, this was a good start.
Perhaps one day, those six Magikarp might evolve into Gyarados under Megan's care.
After all, it was quite normal for such miracles to happen in the Pokémon world.
A little while later, the Minccino still hadn't returned.
Draconis couldn't help but stand up, preparing to go outside and look for them.
But when he and Dratini arrived at the place where the Minccino were first discovered, Dratini suddenly seemed to sense something and turned its head to look in one direction.
"Woo?"
"What's wrong, Dratini?" Draconis, who was searching for Skwovet, followed Dratini's gaze.
The next second, he spotted a familiar figure behind a tree.
"That was... Snivy?"
Draconis was slightly startled.
When the Snivy saw that it had been discovered, it immediately tried to turn and flee.
Seeing this, Draconis quickly called out, "Wait, Snivy!"
Snivy's steps paused, and it looked back over its shoulder.
Draconis quickly ran towards Snivy, speaking as he ran:
"Snivy, the Minccino already told me that you also live in this place. I'm very sorry, we destroyed your home."
"But the Blizzard is coming soon, and it will be very dangerous for you to stay outside."
Especially since Snivy was a Grass-type Pokémon; although it didn't need to hibernate, in winter, it would still be affected by the environment and temperature, causing it to fall into a weakened state.
"So, would you like to join our territory and spend this winter with us?" Draconis asked, "Next spring, I can also help you plant a berry grove as your new home, how about it, Snivy?"
Snivy paused slightly. It calmly looked back at Draconis, then agilely disappeared into the forest.
Draconis: "..." It ran away again.
So what did this Snivy mean?
It always ran when it saw him, but it would still appear near them multiple times.
Was it tsundere, or was it due to its Contrary ability?