Compared to the Pearl Settlement and Diamond Clan, which could only be called settlements,
Jubilife Village had already grown large enough to fully deserve the description of a "town."
At that moment,
what stood before Luo Mu was a settlement larger than those of the Pearl Clan and Diamond Clan, one that had begun to take on the shape of a town.
Tall log palisades encircled it tightly, forming a sturdy line of defense. Their sharpened tops gleamed with a cold, hard sheen.
The main gate was broad and heavy, reinforced with sturdy timber and metal fittings. Watchtowers stood on either side, where alert members in Team Galactic uniforms stood guard.
Looking through the open main gate, one could see that the interior was not a disorderly cluster of tents, but a relatively well-planned network of streets.
Wooden houses stood along both sides of the streets. Though their designs were simple and old-fashioned, they had been built quite solidly. Their roofs were covered in thick thatch or wooden boards, smoke curled from their chimneys, and the whole place brimmed with the atmosphere of everyday life.
Farther away, several larger buildings could vaguely be seen. They were likely Team Galactic's headquarters, workshops, or gathering halls.
Though Jubilife Village still retained the ruggedness and simplicity of a frontier settlement, its orderly layout, relatively complete defenses, and clearly larger population all showed the fundamental difference between it and the Pearl Clan and Diamond Clan settlements—
Simply put, the village formed by outsiders from places like Johto and Galar was more advanced than Pearly and the others, who had arrived earlier but integrated with the local "natives" of Sinnoh.
The air was filled with the scent of wood, smoke, and the bustling atmosphere unique to human settlements.
The faint clanging of a blacksmith's hammer,