Monday, breakfast at the Vale house
Auron put on his most charming smile and spoke to his dad.
"Hey Dad, after school today, can I swing by the shop? Munchlax needs to learn a couple more moves. Could I borrow Kommo-o for a bit?"
Ashen gave him a helpless look.
"Sure, take him if you can get him to leave the training room. That lazy dragon hardly ever steps outside anyway. Oh, and bring Zubat for me—drop him off with Umbreon to learn a few more moves. I'm tired of those two showing off and being all lovey-dovey in front of me."
Auron turned to Zubat, who was eating breakfast next to him.
"Zubat, after I head to school, go with my dad, alright? Try to learn some more moves from Umbreon, too."
"Zuuu Zuuu"
Zubat fluttered up in agreement, then dropped back to the table to keep eating.
Apart from Auron's own Pokémon, the only other Pokémon allowed to eat at the table were Audino and the family's newly caught Eevee. The rest of Ashen and Auron's mother's Pokémon stayed at the breeding center—there was more space, and everyone could live more comfortably there than in a Poké Ball.
Having secured his dad's permission, Auron reached over to pet Eevee and turned to his mom.
"Mom, what do you want your Eevee to evolve into?"
She tapped her chopsticks against her teeth, thinking.
"I don't know yet. They all seem nice."
"How about Espeon? I really like Espeon."
His mom brightened.
"Alright, I'll take your advice, sweetie. You've solved a big problem for me!"
Auron scratched Eevee behind the ears.
"How about it, Eevee? Want to become your mom's form?"
Eevee tried to answer, but its mouth was full of food. It just nodded and kept eating.
Auron grinned, thinking to himself that if it evolved into Sylveon, his dad could write another paper on it—maybe even boost his reputation in the academic world. He smiled, feeling like a truly thoughtful son.
His mom waved a hand in front of his face.
"What are you grinning about? You're going to be late for school."
"Oh! Gotta go! Bye!"
Auron jumped up and dashed out the door.
The school day flew by, and soon it was time to head home.
Auron and his friends waited at the school gate for Tim. Earlier that day, Auron had told Jace and Serena they'd skip the Battle Center training and head to his family's breeding center instead, and they'd all agreed right away.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting."
Tim jogged over, a little out of breath.
"It's fine, let's go. It's not far—we can just walk."
"Great. And maybe we can check if there are any Dragon-type eggs. I can help your family's business out," Tim joked happily. Whenever he had free time, he loved browsing online listings for Pokémon and eggs, so visiting a real breeding center was a treat.
Auron rolled his eyes.
"Don't count on Dragon eggs. They're super rare."
"Come on, just keep me company then," Tim grinned.
"Fine by me," the others echoed, making Tim even happier.
When they reached the Vale family breeding center, the four of them headed straight to the room with the display of Pokémon eggs.
A few people browsed the store, mostly buying food or energy cubes. With home delivery so common now, almost no one bought food or cubes in person anymore. Only Pokémon eggs were still chosen by hand—Auron's mom would have them delivered for online orders of everything else.
Tim looked over the eggs, scanning for any with Dragon-like patterns.
"Hmm, I don't see any that look like Dragon-types," he said after a while.
It made sense. With most seniors already having their starter Pokémon, Auron's mom had only restocked a couple of trays from the main store—maybe a hundred eggs at most.
Auron looked too, spotting an egg that could become a Dragon-type after evolving.
Pokémon: Exeggcute
Gender: Female
Type: Grass/Psychic
Ability: Harvest (can regenerate berries that have been used)
Potential: Purple
Moves: Absorb, Hypnosis
Egg Moves: Ingrain, Moonlight, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder
Auron pointed it out.
"That one's probably Exeggcute. If you evolve it in the Hawaiian Islands, it'll become an Alolan Exeggutor—a Grass/Dragon-type."
Tim stroked his chin, considering.
"Not bad. What do you think, Auron? Give me your thoughts. I know my team won't be all pseudo-legendaries—or even all Dragons. Right?"
Auron thought for a moment.
"Alolan Exeggutor's actually pretty good. Its new Dragon typing gives it quadruple resistance to Water, Grass, and Electric, but it also gets a nasty quadruple weakness to Ice. Its attack goes up, but speed drops, and it loses Chlorophyll's speed boost. On the upside, it can set Trick Room itself, and Dragon typing lets it learn Flamethrower and Earthquake, so it's not walled by Steel-types anymore. The signature move, Dragon Hammer, is stronger than Dragon Claw. There's also Draco Meteor and Leaf Storm for special attack. Sure, it has lots of weaknesses and is pretty dependent on Trick Room, but offensively it's a powerhouse. It's up to you."
Tim was torn. So many weaknesses made him hesitate—Flying, Poison, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, and especially Ice and Fairy were common threats.
"Let me think about it. We should handle your stuff first," Tim said, pulling Auron away from the eggs before he could change his mind.
"Hey, wait—you're going the wrong way. I need to head further in."
Tim switched direction, still looking a little flustered.
"Sorry about that. Lead the way."
"Alright, come on."
They headed through the rear gardens, passing through a mini forest and by Ashen's research lab, then a row of rooms including Kommo-o's training area.
Jace and Serena had visited before and looked around with quiet familiarity. Tim, on the other hand, looked more and more content the deeper they went—surrounded by so many Pokémon was his happy place.
Ashen came out, smiling, when he heard voices.
"Hey, Auron's home! And you brought friends? Welcome, everyone!"
Serena answered sweetly,
"Hi, Uncle Ashen!"
Jace, never quite on the same wavelength, piped up,
"Morning, Uncle Ashen!"
Ashen blinked, then burst out laughing.
"Morning, Jace!"
Tim suddenly realized something.
"Wait, you're Dr. Vale? The Dr. Vale?!"
Ashen nodded.
"That's right, but you can just call me Uncle Ashen. You're Auron's friends, no need to stand on ceremony."
Tim's eyes shone—just like when Serena had first seen Dratini.
"Wow, Uncle Ashen, I'm such a fan! I always thought you lived in the capital, not here in Vantora. That's amazing. I can't believe my luck."
Suddenly,
"Gengaaaar!"
A Gengar popped out from behind Ashen, making everyone jump.
"Oh, Gengar, you scared me again!"
Serena scolded, but Gengar just grinned, clearly pleased with itself. Ever since Serena first visited the Vale house, Gengar loved to play pranks. The others had long gotten used to it, but Tim was too caught up in his excitement to see it coming.
Jace poked Tim.
"You good?"
Tim finally snapped out of it, clutching his chest.
"That nearly killed me…"
Ashen apologized, patting Gengar on the head as it grinned even wider, thoroughly enjoying its prank.
"Sorry about that, Tim. I'll have to teach Gengar some manners."
"Gen…gaar."
Gengar's grin faded. It pouted, looking completely wronged.
"It's fine, Uncle Ashen. Ghost-types love a good scare. I'm okay," Tim assured him.
Gengar's mood flipped in an instant. It patted Tim on the hip—couldn't quite reach the shoulder—giving a look that said, "You're alright, kid."
Auron was curious.
"Haven't seen Gengar around for ages. Where's he been?"
Ashen scratched Gengar's head,
"Gengar got bored and wandered off a while back. Ended up scaring a few customers. Your mom nearly lost it, so Gengar's been grounded for a month. He's only out now because your mom isn't home."
Auron, Serena, and Jace all burst out laughing.
Gengar: "Excuse me?! This isn't over!"
"Hey Dad, where's Kommo-o?"
Before Ashen could answer, Kommo-o burst from its training room, striking a dramatic pose.
Kommo-o: The star has arrived!
Auron couldn't help but laugh, giving Kommo-o's tail a friendly pat. He could just imagine it listening at the door, waiting to make its grand entrance.
Ashen, who knew all his Pokémon's quirks, just laughed.
"Go ahead and play. I've got a report to finish. Come on, Gengar, back inside."
"Gen~gaar!"
"Bye, Uncle Ashen!" the kids chorused.
As Ashen headed out, Auron released Munchlax.
"Kommo-o, could you help train Munchlax? There's a few moves we still need: Bulk Up, Stomping Tantrum, Heavy Slam, Sleep Talk, Superpower, Zen Headbutt, and if possible, Hyper Voice."
Munchlax had already learned Rest on its own, but for Sleep Talk it needed Kommo-o's guidance.
Kommo-o scooped up Munchlax in a bear hug, patting its own chest in assurance.
"Thanks! We'll go check on Zubat's training."
Kommo-o, still holding Munchlax, strode off to the training room while Auron and his friends made their way through the woods toward the home of the family's Eevee couple.
(End of Chapter)
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