The next day, outside the Battle Center, Tim Wynn was already waiting, a genuine smile lighting up his face as he spotted Auron and Jace approaching from afar.
Auron was a little surprised and asked,
"How come you're here so early? Have you been waiting long?"
Tim shook his head. "No, I just got here myself."
"Alright, let's wait for Serena. She should be here soon."
"Sure, whatever you say."
Jace seemed a bit awkward, but Tim's gentle smile and way of speaking gave off a surprisingly refined vibe—almost like a young lady from a well-off family.
"Sorry I'm late!" Serena called as she hopped out of a car, sticking her tongue out in embarrassment.
"It's fine. Let's head in," Auron said.
The four of them walked into the training room. Once inside, everyone assigned their Pokémon their own training tasks. Auron then called the group to sit together.
"Alright, let's talk. Which universities are you all aiming for? I'll start—my goal is Skyspire."
Jace followed immediately, "Wherever you go, I'll go."
Serena raised her hand, "Me too!"
Tim smiled. "Originally, I was deciding between Capital University and Skyspire, but since you're all heading for Skyspire, I'll go with that."
"So, it's settled—Skyspire for all of us," Auron said.
The others nodded in agreement.
Auron continued seriously, "We're all good for the written exams. As long as nothing goes wrong in the practicals, we shouldn't have any trouble. So we should think about what comes after we get in."
The written part wasn't a problem for any of them—Tim had always been at the top of the school, even ranking first citywide in the last mock exam. Jace and Serena were well-known as academic stars, usually in the city's top ten. Auron had studied hard, and while his last result was only in the twenties, his recent cramming had given him more confidence.
As for the practical, with the strength of their Pokémon and a couple more months to prepare, none of them were really worried.
Auron then explained the university's internal tournament and passed on the advice his father had given him.
Tim nodded, "I know a bit about that. The thing is, my team has some issues—I'm not sure when I'll get my second Pokémon, so I haven't worried much about it."
"What's the problem with your team?" Auron asked curiously.
"My dream is to become the next Champion of Vantora, so I want my team to be all Dragon-types. That's been my goal since I was little. But Dragon-types are mostly pseudo-legendaries, and it took my dad a ton of connections just to get me this Dratini."
Auron relaxed a little. "That's not a big problem, we can sort it out later."
After all, even the famous Lance comes from a family of Dragon trainers, yet he still got saddled with the 'Dodrio' nickname at first.
Jace spoke up before Auron could ask.
"I want to create the strongest Sun Team ever, so my team's going to be mostly Fire-types. Sun Team, all the way!"
"What about you, Serena?" Auron asked.
She blushed, stars in her eyes. "I don't have any big ambitions. My family wants me to be a Coordinator, but I just love Ice-types—they're all so beautiful! I want a full Ice team."
Auron couldn't help a headache. Jace's Sun Team was manageable—there were plenty of possible lineups and tactics. Serena's Ice team was tougher: Ice-types had lots of weaknesses, most of them weren't very durable, and a full Ice lineup wouldn't be strong in battles. But if she focused on contests, it wasn't a big deal.
Tim's all-Dragon team would have trouble against Ice and Fairy-types, but Dragons were so strong that, once formed, the team would still be formidable.
"Let's start with Jace's Sun Team," Auron said. "The core, Torkoal, is already covered. You've got Arcanine as your physical attacker. What you need now is a special attacker, something for coverage, and some support."
"First choice for special attacker is Volcarona. It can sweep after a Quiver Dance, and with Bug and Psychic coverage it's great, but it's super rare and has a nasty quadruple weakness to Rock. Second, Camerupt's a solid pick—whether before or after it evolves, both its abilities are useful. It also brings Ground-type moves for coverage. Third, Chandelure: sky-high special attack, just a little slow, but immune to Normal and Fighting moves."
"Ninetales, Charizard, and Flareon are all good options too," Auron added.
(No Mega Evolutions at this time, so Charizard isn't a must-have. Otherwise, Mega Charizard Y would be the Sun Team's MVP!)
"For coverage, Venusaur is a must-have. Its Chlorophyll ability doubles its speed in the sun, it can instantly fire Solar Beam and Weather Ball, Growth boosts both attack stats, and Synthesis heals two-thirds health in the sun. Plus, it covers Sand Teams' Ground and Rock-types."
"Second would be Exeggutor—better coverage than Venusaur, but slow. The third is the Craftsman Pokémon I mentioned before—great for extra coverage."
"For support, Whimsicott is ideal. With Prankster, its status moves always go first, so it can refresh Sunny Day, spread paralysis or poison, and has a deep move pool—perfect for Sun Teams."
Tim raised his hand, "Is it still a Sun Team if it doesn't use all Fire-type moves?"
Auron grinned at both Tim and Serena's curiosity.
"Any team built around Sunny Day is a Sun Team. Honestly, a mixed lineup is more versatile and powerful than a full Fire-type team."
Tim and Serena nodded, convinced.
"You could also get fancy and add Coalossal," Auron continued, "use Whimsicott to set Trick Room, then have Coalossal go nuts with its offense."
Jace listened intently. "Got it! I'll try to catch those. But if I find a Pokémon I really love, I'll add it even if it's not optimal."
"Exactly," Auron said. "Teams are just a guideline—Pokémon are individuals."
"Alright!" Jace grinned.
Now it was Serena's turn.
"For you, there's not much advantage to running Hail, so let's skip that. I'll tell you about some strong Ice-types, and you can choose your favorites."
Serena propped her chin on her hands, smiling sweetly. "Go on."
"We all know Beauty's great, but as for recommendations, Cloyster is a top pick—Ice beats Dragons, and most Dragons are part Flying or Ground, so Cloyster can deal quadruple damage. Dragons are usually physical attackers, but Cloyster's got sky-high defense, making it their worst nightmare."
Auron glanced at Tim, the would-be Dragon Master.
Tim just smiled wryly, rubbing his nose.
Auron smirked and continued,
"For physical attackers, there's also Galarian Darmanitan—massive attack, decent speed, and it can learn Fire and Fighting moves. Cloyster can boost with Shell Smash, Darmanitan with Belly Drum."
(Here, Galarian Darmanitan is called 'Ice Darmanitan' or 'Darmanitan—Arctic Form' in this world.)
"Weavile and Beartic are other options: Weavile's fast and strong but fragile, Beartic's tough but slow."
"For special attackers, Ice Ninetales, Frosmoth, Glaceon, and Froslass are all solid—catch any of them if you come across one."
"For tanks, Lapras has great resistances, and Mamoswine with Thick Fat is also excellent. It can even learn Freeze-Dry, which is a fantastic move."
Serena hesitated and then said, "Actually, my second Pokémon will probably be an Ice Vulpix. My mom already set aside one of her Ninetales' eggs for me, but it's still in the egg stage. She said I can have it after exams."
Auron grinned. "That's nothing to apologize for. But you'll want to start raising it as soon as possible—waiting until after exams will leave you with less training time."
"Okay, I'll talk to my mom about it."
"Now, Tim, your turn." Auron turned to him with a mischievous grin. "Did your family prepare any Pokémon for you?"
Tim smiled sheepishly. "I think my dad mentioned he might get me a Deino from a friend's Hydreigon, but I'm not sure if it'll be ready in time for college."
"Ah, must be nice having connections!" Auron teased.
Tim offered, "How about I provide the energy cubes for everyone? Mine are A-rank, better than the usual store-bought kind."
Jace showed his own box of cubes. "Ours are A-rank too—Auron taught us how to make them."
Serena nodded proudly. "That's right!"
Tim stared in amazement. "Wait, you know the A-rank energy cube recipe? Even B+ is considered a family secret in most households! You must be from an important family, too."
Auron laughed. "No, my family's just ordinary. I grew up around Pokémon breeders, so I improved the recipe and got lucky."
Tim looked impressed. "That's amazing. My dad always brags about inventing his own A-rank recipe. He says it's his life's greatest achievement—he'll talk about it forever. Guess that sort of thing needs a bit of luck and a lot of timing."
Auron scratched his head, embarrassed. "Anyway, back to your team. Dragons are easy—any pseudo-legendary works. I'd add a Kingdra for dealing with Cloyster or Weavile, but watch out for Freeze-Dry. There's really no way to avoid the Ice-type weakness with a full Dragon team. You'll probably have Deino as your second, and for a third, I'd recommend Altaria. It still has a quadruple Ice weakness, but its high defense and Cotton Guard can help it take hits."
Tim nodded, accepting the reality. "Yeah, I realized the Ice weakness was inevitable when I decided on a full Dragon team."
Jace turned to Auron. "What about you? What kind of team do you want?"
Auron hesitated. "I don't know. I guess I'd want a Legendary team, but—"
Serena gave him a gentle smack. "Be serious."
Auron just laughed, "Honestly, I just catch whatever I like. No particular team in mind."
He seemed pretty pleased with himself for dodging the question.
"Alright, team-building's done. Let's get to training—a good Trainer needs to be fit, too!"
Auron pushed Jace and Tim towards the running track. Jace protested,
"What about you? Aren't you training?"
"I'm a Breeder, not a Trainer! I just need brains, not brawn," Auron joked.
"I'm a Coordinator—I don't train that way!" Serena chimed in, twisting the knife a little.
Jace had no choice but to drag a bewildered Tim off to exercise.
Of course, Auron was only kidding—Breeders need to be fit too. He quietly moved over to the workout equipment and started doing planks, mulling over what his next Pokémon should be.
The day flew by, and soon evening had arrived. The four of them met at the entrance to the Battle Center to say their goodbyes.
Auron suggested, "Our Pokémon have been training hard—how about we take tomorrow off and go out for a bit? Let them relax, too."
"Sounds good!" Jace replied.
"I'm in," Serena agreed.
"Let's have a barbecue in the mountains tomorrow. I'll get everything ready. You guys just show up," Tim volunteered.
"Alright, it's all yours," Auron said.
Jace added, "I'll bring the drinks, then."
"Fine, I'll handle the grilling," Auron said.
Serena shrugged helplessly, "You guys took all the jobs, so I guess I'll just focus on eating."
The four of them burst out laughing and headed home.
Back home, Auron found his parents watching TV in the living room.
"You're back! Have you eaten?" his mom asked.
"Yeah, I already ate, Mom."
"Alright," she replied, turning back to her show.
"Oh, by the way," his dad said suddenly, "I called your grandpa today. He was thrilled to hear you're aiming for Skyspire. He said if you get in, he's got a special present for you—a really rare Pokémon."
Auron's face lit up with surprise. "Grandpa called? So if I get into Skyspire, does that mean the whole family's going back to visit?"
His dad nodded, "Yep."
"That's awesome! I haven't seen Grandpa in forever!" Auron shouted with excitement.
(End of Chapter)
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