Another ordinary day. Lucien sat in his study working through dispatches from Unova, Dragonite and Volcarona resting lazily nearby. Hoopa and Mew had gone to the Tree of Beginning to play together.
Mew could not stay away from the Tree of Beginning for extended periods, so it would spend a day or two in Lucien City before returning.
Hoopa, fond of Mew's company, simply used its rings to travel back and forth between the two places freely. They sometimes detoured to Galar to watch Zacian and Zamazenta spar. Having Hoopa around made distance completely irrelevant, which Lucien found quietly convenient.
He was thinking of the two of them and smiling when hurried footsteps came from outside.
A guard entered holding a sealed envelope, his voice barely steady with excitement. "Your Majesty, news from Captain Columbus!"
Elif stepped forward, took the envelope, opened it carefully, and passed it to Lucien. Something flickered in the old man's cloudy eyes.
Lucien read it. His expression settled into a smile.
"Columbus has found a new continent."
The letter described a landmass in the northern sea: no nations, no organized states, only tribal villages. The people there worshipped two deities, the God of Time and the God of Space, said to have created the world.
Sinnoh.
Columbus had not yet returned. The letter had traveled by Pelipper. The fleet was reorganizing on a nearby island and would be able to send detailed information on the region within a few days.
Elif was pleased. "With proper intelligence we can plan carefully rather than going in blind."
Lucien nodded, set the letter aside, and picked up his pen.
"Once Columbus confirms a safe route, we send people. Everyone who arrives on that continent is to act with complete care. Do not disturb the inhabitants or their Pokémon. Record everything. Harm no one."
"I will arrange it immediately." Elif took the letter, bowed, and left with steady careful steps.
The years of stable governance had changed the territory considerably. Population had grown, wasteland had become farmland, factories ran continuously, trade routes connected every region, and villages had appeared in border areas that had once been empty.
People and Pokémon working together had simply become how life was. It was because of that foundation that Lucien could turn his attention outward.
He leaned back and looked at the world map.
Sinnoh would require a different approach than the other regions. The people there lived in tribal communities with no central government. What had to be avoided above everything was what history had shown repeatedly when outsiders arrived at a new continent: exploitation, displacement, destruction.
He wanted nothing of the kind. He wanted every living being on that land to choose this peace willingly.
Dragonite seemed to sense the weight of his thoughts. It shifted and rested its chin on the edge of the desk, its warm eyes simply present.
Lucien reached over and rested a hand on its head. With these companions beside him, no matter how uncertain the road remained, he had never once thought about turning back.
Then a warm yellow light filled the corner of the study.
Hoopa's ring opened, and Hoopa and Mew came through one after the other, both of them covered in Tree of Beginning petals and grass fragments, completely happy.
"Miu~" Mew flew directly to Lucien's shoulder and pressed its small head against his face.
"Lucien, we're back!" Hoopa held up a handful of berries. "The Tree of Beginning had so many sweet ones, we brought you some!"
It opened a ring over the desk and bright red berries rolled out and formed a small mound. A fresh, clean fruit smell filled the study.
Lucien stroked Hoopa's head and ran his hand over Mew's soft fur. "Tired from playing? Good timing. Try some of the new pastries."
He rang the bell on the desk. A servant came and went, returning with pastries and warm berry tea.
Hoopa pulled Mew onto the chair beside it and immediately began recounting everything: the chases through the Tree of Beginning, the detour to watch Zacian and Zamazenta. Mew added soft sounds at intervals, its small face bright.
Hoopa ate until its face was covered in crumbs. Mew worked through the berries in small careful bites, eyes curving with contentment.
Lucien sat quietly and watched.
All the effort, all the campaigns and negotiations and long nights of planning. Was it not for exactly this? No war, no slavery. People and Pokémon free to live well and enjoy the world together.
When Elif returned and reached the doorway, he stopped. Inside: the afternoon light falling warm across Lucien, Dragonite drowsing nearby, Hoopa and Mew sharing their berries. Elif stood quietly at the door and did not go in, a gentle smile on his aged face.
The sun moved west. The light in the study turned gold.
Lucien looked out at Lucien City settling into evening and turned the next steps over in his mind. Once Columbus sent back the full Sinnoh report, he would go there himself, with nothing but goodwill, and begin speaking with the native villages directly.
He believed that as long as goodwill was maintained and peace upheld, every corner of this world would eventually find its way to genuine prosperity.
Half a month later, Columbus sent a second and considerably more detailed dispatch by Pelipper from the Sinnoh seas.
Lucien was in his study watching Hoopa use its ring to fetch Mew from the Tree of Beginning. The two of them were playing around Dragonite, filling the room with noise. Elif came in carrying the letter, his aged voice carrying a barely concealed urgency.
"Your Majesty, Captain Columbus's full intelligence report has arrived."
Lucien gestured to the Pokémon to give him a moment, took the letter, and read it carefully.
The continent was described as pristine and largely untouched: icy snowfields in the north, lush green in the south, a continuous range of mountains and dense forest through the center. Several rivers crossed the land and nourished it, the soil more fertile than expected.
The indigenous villages were scattered throughout in tribal formations. The people were straightforward and had protected their land across generations without actively provoking conflict with anyone.
They were wary of strangers but not hostile. And, as Lucien had anticipated, they were deeply afraid of wild Pokémon, hiding within their villages, rarely venturing out, and had been completely stunned by Columbus's group moving freely alongside Pokémon without fear.
The continuous mountain range described in the letter was almost certainly Mt. Coronet.
Elif bowed. "Captain Columbus has established a temporary encampment near the coast and is ready to support our delegation. However, the situation there has not been fully assessed. Should the delegation bring additional guards?"
Lucien shook his head. "A reasonable number, but not many. We are going with goodwill to establish friendly relations, not to intimidate anyone. Too many soldiers will make the local people think we came to threaten them."
He continued: "Select delegation members skilled in trade and communication. Bring sufficient supplies: food, cloth, medicine, and Unova-made Pokémon food as gifts. Include Pokémon skilled in healing, to help the local tribes treat illness. That will demonstrate our intentions more clearly than any words."
"Understood. I will begin preparations." Elif nodded, genuinely impressed.
Hoopa, who had been listening, immediately abandoned what it was doing and rushed over, grabbing Lucien's arm.
"A new continent! Lucien, take Hoopa! Hoopa can open a ring and get you there instantly!"
Mew flew to his other shoulder and pressed its face against him, making small sounds that clearly meant the same thing.
Lucien patted both of them. "All right. You both come. With Hoopa's rings, the travel will be faster and considerably smoother than sailing."
The delegation would take time to prepare. In the meantime, Lucien saw no reason to wait. He settled the remaining instructions with Elif, stood, and looked at Hoopa.
"Open a passage to Columbus's encampment on the Sinnoh coast."
"Yes!" Hoopa clapped its hands, focused itself, and a golden ring expanded in the study. Through it came the smell of sea air and the sound of waves, and on the other side the outline of a coastal camp was faintly visible.
The sea breeze moved through the ring and into the study, carrying salt and coolness with it. Mew approached the ring's edge with its head tilted, looking at the unfamiliar seascape.
Lucien adjusted his robe and turned to Elif at the door. "The city's affairs are yours. If there is an emergency, use the communication channel Hoopa left."
Elif bowed. "Your Majesty, rest assured. This old servant will protect the Kingdom. Please take care of yourself."
Lucien nodded, and stepped through the ring.
The wooden floor of the study became damp sand in an instant. Salt wind moved freely. Waves came in against the shore. Several exploration ships sat anchored out on the water, and along the beach, rows of simple wooden structures made up the camp, Unova-uniformed expedition members moving purposefully around them.
The guard at the camp gate saw the golden light and who came through it, and his voice went loud before he had thought about it.
"Your Majesty!"
The shout went through the camp immediately. Columbus emerged from the main tent at a stride, his explorer's clothes worn from weeks at sea, his face carrying the particular look of someone who has been living outdoors for a long time and is entirely comfortable with it.
When he saw Lucien, shock and reverence crossed his face simultaneously. He dropped to one knee.
"Your subordinate Columbus greets Your Majesty. I did not expect you to arrive so quickly. Forgive me for not meeting you properly."
"Rise, there is no need." Lucien helped him up and looked over the well-organized camp. "Your work charting the route and documenting Sinnoh's terrain has been excellent. I mean that."
"It is simply my duty, Your Majesty." Columbus straightened, face flushed. He looked at Hoopa and Mew floating nearby with open admiration. He had seen Hoopa's spatial rings before. The sight still impressed him.
Hoopa and Mew were already surveying the coastline, watching the waves and the Pokémon moving on the sand, Hoopa whispering commentary to Mew in a continuous stream.
"The villages and the Pokémon distribution around them," Lucien said, turning back to Columbus. "What more do you have?"
Columbus straightened into his report. "Your Majesty, we have approached several of the nearby indigenous villages. We delivered fresh water and food and posted guards to protect them rather than threaten them. They remain cautious, but they are no longer turning us away."