The principal clapped Auron and Tim on the shoulders, beaming with delight.
"Excellent, excellent! The quality of students this year is really impressive, haha!"
Auron and Tim quietly stood by as the principal praised them to the whole school.
Finally, it was time for the awards. The prizes were simple—just trophies for first, second, and third place, nothing else. None of the three winners looked particularly excited; they wore calm, collected expressions.
In contrast, their homeroom teacher seemed like he was barely holding himself back from jumping for joy.
That evening, Tim took Auron and the others to a wildly popular Charizard Hotpot restaurant—the most famous hotpot spot in all of Vantora.
"Why did we have to come out for dinner with this cocky guy?" Jace complained, hands laced behind his head, clearly annoyed.
"You're only saying that because he flattened you earlier," Auron shot back.
"Hah! If I had a pseudo-legendary on my team, I'd flatten him, too."
"Yeah, right. Keep dreaming," Serena teased.
Jace and Serena looked ready to start bickering again, so Auron quickly stepped in.
"Hey, come on, don't embarrass us. We're getting a free meal here—can't you be grateful?"
Throughout the battles that day, Auron had noticed Tim always wore a calm, indifferent look, almost like nothing really mattered to him. It reminded Auron of someone from his previous life—a coworker earning a modest salary who also acted indifferent about everything, never interested in much, just doing what was necessary and going home.
That coworker, on a work trip one day, suddenly jumped off a bridge with no warning, ending his life before he was even thirty. Later, the police found a farewell letter he'd written back in college. The look Tim sometimes got in his eyes was eerily similar, and maybe that's why Auron had agreed to dinner—he'd seen something change in Tim's eyes during the match.
"Come on in! So, um…this is my favorite hotpot place," Tim said, a little nervous as he opened the door. "I don't know if you'll like it, but if not, we can go somewhere else."
"It's fine, we're easy," Auron said with a smile. "Let's go in."
The four of them walked to their private booth, ordered the hotpot base and dishes, then sat in awkward silence for a while, no one quite sure how to start the conversation. Finally, Auron broke the ice.
"So… Tim, is there something you wanted to ask me tonight?"
Tim blinked. "No, not really. I just… it's the first time I've met someone like you. I wanted to make friends."
Auron's eyebrows shot up. Jace and Serena both snickered, but Auron ignored them.
"Uh, well, I'm pretty open-minded, but, um… I do prefer girls, just to be clear."
Tim: "???"
Tim, slow on the uptake, finally realized how his words sounded. He waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, not like that! I meant friends, just like you and him." He pointed at Jace, who burst out laughing along with Serena.
"So why do you want to be friends with me?" Auron asked.
Tim hesitated, then said, "You're the first person my age I've ever met who's actually better than me."
Tim began to open up about his life. His dad was the richest man in Vantora and spoiled him rotten—he got whatever he asked for, but it was always through spending money, never real warmth. His mom was the same. Both parents ran their own companies and were always busy; in Tim's memory, family meals together could be counted on one hand.
Because of his parents' status, most people who played with Tim just humored him, never really treating him like an equal. Their "friendship" felt more like a master and servant relationship.
Tim never liked that. He didn't know what true friendship was, but he knew those weren't real friends, so he spent most of his childhood alone.
Until today, he'd only watched Auron, Jace, and Serena goof around and tease each other—something he'd never experienced himself. But it was when Auron defeated him in the tournament with clever tactics and bold moves that Tim felt something stir inside him for the first time. That was when he decided he wanted to be friends.
Jace nudged Auron and asked,
"So if Auron was a girl, would you try to date him?"
"Yes," Tim replied, completely serious.
Everyone burst into laughter, Serena nearly choking on her drink.
Tim realized the double meaning and quickly corrected himself, "No, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant Auron is the first person I've met who's really better than me, so I want to be friends."
"So, you never had real friends growing up?" Serena asked.
"Not really. None like you guys, anyway. My 'friends' were more like extras in my story… yeah, that's the word."
Tim thought about it for a second. His "friends" existed only to make him look good, more like coworkers than equals. He laughed at himself. "Then I got Dratini, and I figured Pokémon were enough. I stopped talking to those people, and honestly, I felt a lot better. But today, watching you three, I realized I haven't had a single real friend in over a decade."
"So you brought us out to dinner just to make friends?" Jace asked.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"But you know, you can't just say you're friends and make it true," Auron said. "Personality matters too—if you don't get along, you'll just have the same weird relationship as before."
"You're right," Tim said, taking it seriously.
"Then let's introduce ourselves properly," Tim said, standing up and reaching out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Tim Wynn."
Auron stood and shook his hand. "Auron Vale. Nice to meet you."
"Jace Rowan," Jace said, grinning, putting his hand on top of theirs.
"Serena Elm," Serena chimed in, slipping her hand underneath Auron's.
Auron gave Serena a puzzled look, not sure what to make of it, but the four of them all smiled, then sat down again as the food arrived. They started chatting and eating.
Jace asked, "Hey, how do you train your Dratini? It's so tough!"
"Yeah," Serena agreed. "It's like you can't even scratch it."
Tim shrugged. "I barely train it, honestly. Dratini kind of trains itself. Maybe it's the food? Dratini only eats A-rank energy cubes, so its constitution is pretty good."
Jace asked, "But you used a lot of moves against Auron—did Dratini learn those on its own?"
"No, some came from TMs, some from tutors," Tim replied.
Auron joined in, "Did you ever test Dratini's potential? It's got a lot of moves, so it must have pretty high stats, right?"
Tim shook his head. "No, I don't want to. If Dratini didn't have great stats, I think it'd always bother me. Testing just doesn't matter to me."
He scratched Dratini, who was happily munching energy cubes on the table. Dratini pressed up against his hand, purring with pleasure. Since the booth allowed small Pokémon out, Dratini and the others' Pokémon were all relaxing outside their balls, though only the humans were eating hotpot. The Pokémon preferred energy cubes—hotpot wasn't their thing.
(Side note: a Munchlax could come out, but not Snorlax after it evolves—unless the restaurant is specially equipped for giant Pokémon.)
"Well said," the others agreed, giving Tim a thumbs-up, which made him blush and tell everyone to just eat.
Dinner ended with everyone in high spirits—gotta admit, the food was fantastic.
Tim asked, "Can we eat together again tomorrow?"
Auron answered, "Probably not. We've got training in the morning."
"Can I train with you guys tomorrow?" Tim asked hopefully.
"Of course! Why not?" Auron grinned.
"Alright, let's meet at the Battle Center downtown, 8:30 a.m. Don't be late!"
"Deal. See you there!" Tim agreed, then left with his driver. Serena's family picked her up, leaving Jace and Auron to stroll home through the moonlit city.
On the way, Tim had offered them a lift, but they declined since they lived close by. Serena had someone coming for her.
As they walked, Jace asked,
"Why'd you agree to be his friend? You've never been the social type."
It was true—Auron only really had Jace and Serena as friends growing up, and while he got along fine with classmates, they were just that—classmates.
"He's different."
"How so?"
"Real friends are the kind you can hang out with no matter where you are, who never get awkward even after a long time apart. Someone like Tim is actually pretty suited for that—and I bet we'll all end up at Skyspire University together. Well, assuming you pass the exams."
Jace scoffed, "Psh, with my written grades, as long as I don't flunk the practical, I'll get in. Wait, you mean his goal is also Skyspire?"
"With Dratini on his side, what do you think?"
"Alright, fair point."
The streetlights stretched their shadows long across the pavement, the two friends slowly disappearing around the corner.
Back at Tim's house
Tim came home, turned on the lights, and—sure enough—found himself alone.
The Wynn family didn't like having outsiders in the house. Aside from the cleaning staff, it was always just them. And, truthfully, Tim spent most evenings at home alone.
He went to his room, let Dratini out, sat at his desk, and opened his journal.
Today, we had the school Pokémon Battle Tournament. I came in second, but I'm not upset at all. I think…I might have finally found a real friend, someone truly interesting…
(End of Chapter)
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