Early morning sunlight streamed through the cracks in the curtains, casting a golden glow onto the Pokémon egg resting on the desk. The white shell etched with purple markings gave off an almost divine aura.
"Auron! Aren't you coming with us to the shop? Why are you still in bed?!"
His mother's booming voice shattered the morning calm—and with it, Auron Vale's sweet dream.
"I'm up, Mom."
Rubbing his barely opened eyes, Auron mumbled groggily.
"Good, hurry up and eat, or you'll make me late."
He got dressed and went to wash up, muttering to himself, "As if you've ever been on time…"
The family ate breakfast in a cozy, familiar atmosphere before heading out together.
On the way, his father, Ashen, asked with mild curiosity, "So, son, the college entrance exam's coming up. Any idea where you want to apply?"
"Yeah. If I'm going, I'm aiming high. Jace wants us both to try for Qinghua University."
"Ah... Capital City, huh..."
Ashen sighed softly, eyes glinting with nostalgia. Auron, walking ahead, didn't notice and kept talking.
"But I'm not sure if I'll pass the written part. I'll try to raise my scores in the next few months. My battle exam should be fine, but getting in with just that is really unlikely."
Ashen frowned slightly. Auron was thinking to himself:
"If everything goes well and the Secret Realm opens in about a month and a half, I should be able to strengthen Zubat with the resources I find. If it evolves into Crobat, my chances improve even more. As for command ability… I mean, I was top 5 on the Pokémon Showdown ladder for years in my past life. I should be fine."
Ashen glanced at his son. "Do your scores actually meet Qinghua's entry requirements?"
"The written exam is iffy, but the battle scores should get me in!"
Seeing Auron's confident expression, both parents chose to believe in their son. Maybe they'd help him prep more over the next few months.
"But are you sure going in with just one Pokémon is enough? If you get in but can't keep up because of poor team strength, it'll hit your confidence. Most Qinghua students have at least two battle-ready Pokémon."
Ashen sounded concerned.
"Huh? How do you know so much, Dad?" Auron asked, puzzled.
"You didn't know?" His mom, surprised, turned to him.
"Know what, exactly? Don't keep me in the dark."
"Your dad and I met at Qinghua. We fell in love there and later got married. Your dad even got in with a special admission through his battle exam."
"What?! No one ever told me that!"
Auron looked dumbfounded. He really had no clue. No one had ever mentioned that his parents were top-tier university graduates.
"Huh? We never told him?" His mom turned toward Ashen.
"Guess not, dear."
"Seriously?"
"Yup."
As the three laughed and Auron sulked a bit, they soon arrived at the breeding center. Seeing the delivery staff, assistants, and high schoolers buzzing around, his mom sighed,
"Looks like another busy day ahead."
Inside, Auron handed his mother a sheet of carefully written energy cube recipes—not just the standard nutritional ones, but two other B-grade formulas: one for enhanced physical growth, and one for energy purification.
Most commercial energy cubes on the market were C or C+ grade. B-grade was rare, and B+ or higher were practically family heirlooms, rarely sold to outsiders.
These formulas were not just genuine B-grade—they were better than most available B-grade products in quality, appearance, and nutritional value. More importantly, they used accessible berries. Once the first batch sold and earned a reputation, the main store might start sourcing from his mom.
"Don't worry about anything else for now. Focus on training your Pokémon," his mom said, pulling out a card. "Here. Your dad and I put some money in it. From now on, any profits from the cube sales will be deposited here. If you want to get into Qinghua, you'll need a second battle-ready Pokémon before the exam. I believe in you—go for it!"
It was rare for her to speak so seriously. Ashen nodded and added with a firm tone:
"Since you're aiming high, you can't neglect the written exam either. I'll get you past papers from recent years. And you'll keep training for the battle exam, too. Later, I want to run a mock battle. You'll command Kommo-o, and I'll command Umbreon. Let's see how good your battle instincts are."
"I won't let you down."
Auron felt a surge of emotion. Even if the world's rules had changed, his parents hadn't. They were still the same people—doing everything they could to support his dreams.
"Alright, you two go train. I'll go handle the cube business."
His mom shot Ashen a look. He nodded back and said,
"Got it. Take care of it."
Once she left, Ashen turned to Auron.
"Want to check out some eggs? Your mom just got a new shipment from HQ. They're still in storage—hasn't gone on sale yet. You might find something you like."
"Sure."
The two headed into the storage room. Auron checked all the new eggs but didn't find anything he liked enough to pick as a second partner.
Ashen wasn't fazed. "No worries. There are shops all over the city. We'll go one by one this afternoon. The sooner you decide, the better."
Among the new batch, the best two eggs were a purple-grade Swirlix and a purple-grade Phantump. Neither fit Auron's plans, so he passed on both.
They walked into Kommo-o's training room. Ashen called out:
"Kommo-o! Come see who's here!"
The door opened, and out came a towering, muscular Kommo-o.
Ashen's Kommo-o wasn't very social. It usually stayed in its training room, quietly working on itself—unless it asked Ashen to take it out to spar. Yep, a total battle-obsessed shut-in.
Seeing Auron, Kommo-o lit up and pulled him into a big hug. After all, it had watched Auron grow up. It had just been a while since they'd seen each other.
Auron hugged it tightly in return. The moment Kommo-o walked out, his data display kicked in, revealing its stats—and wow. This thing was no joke.
Pokémon: Kommo-o
Gender: Male
Type: Dragon, Fighting
Ability: Soundproof (Immune to sound-based moves)
Potential: Red (Top Tier)
Basic Moves: Clanging Scales, Belly Drum, Dragon Claw, Roar, Dragon Dance, Outrage, Close Combat, Boomburst, Clangorous Soulblaze, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Giga Impact, Brick Break, Swords Dance, Scale Shot...
Inherited Moves: Hyper Beam, Draco Meteor, Superpower, Hyper Voice
It was the first red-grade Pokémon Auron had ever seen, and the sheer number of moves it had mastered was ridiculous.
"Alright, Kommo-o, today you'll let Auron command you. Let's have a sparring match—you versus me and Umbreon."
Kommo-o looked at Auron, threw an arm around his shoulder, and nodded enthusiastically.
"Let's go find Umbreon, then."
The two walked with Kommo-o to the imitation forest behind the breeding center. As they entered, they spotted Umbreon cuddled up next to Espeon.
Auron's eyes scanned the two and pulled up their data.
Pokémon: Umbreon
Gender: Male
Type: Dark
Ability: Inner Focus (Prevents flinching through mental fortitude)
Potential: Red
Basic Moves: Snarl, Swift, Baby-Doll Eyes, Pursuit, Moonlight, Dark Pulse, Hyper Beam, Payback, Crunch, Shadow Ball, Foul Play, Psycho Cut, Work Up
Inherited Moves: Wish, Stored Power, Curse, Foresight, Yawn
Pokémon: Espeon
Gender: Female
Type: Psychic
Ability: Synchronize (Passes on status conditions to the opponent)
Potential: Purple
Basic Moves: Charm, Tackle, Covet, Helping Hand, Psybeam, Confusion, Swift, Psychic, Role Play, Morning Sun, Future Sight, Hyper Beam, Rest, Weather Ball, Shadow Ball, Zen Headbutt
Inherited Moves: Outrage, Yawn, Foresight
Auron looked at the data, then at his dad, a realization forming in his mind:
"How did I never notice? Dad's three Pokémon—aside from Espeon—are all crazy strong. These aren't Pokémon an average family could raise. Just look at the moves—many of them aren't from TMs. Some clearly came from specialized tutors. And those aren't cheap… Wait, does this mean… I'm a secretly rich second-gen?!"
Ashen smiled at the two snuggled-up Pokémon. He called out to Umbreon:
"Umbreon, I'll be commanding you. Auron's going to command Kommo-o. Let's have a friendly match."
Umbreon glanced at Auron, then at the battle-hungry dragon by his side, and gave a nod of agreement.
(End of Chapter)
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