And so, Lena Greaves always treated Simon Greaves as her childhood fiancé. Because of Simon's shyness, Lena was the one who usually handled things outside the house—what happened at home was anyone's guess.
When Auron Vale asked curiously about their Pokémon, Lena cheerfully explained. Her own Pokémon, Misdreavus, was a descendant of a Pokémon originally owned by Simon's parents, who were her adoptive parents as well. As for Simon's Pokémon, its story was downright legendary.
According to Simon's parents, when he was born, a Gengar suddenly appeared in the delivery room. As soon as Simon entered the world, Gengar slipped into the shadow of the newborn and vanished.
That Gengar stayed with Simon for seventeen years, protecting and accompanying him. It only left after Simon was old enough to become a Trainer himself—on the very night of the city-wide mock exam. Gengar left a Pokémon Egg by Simon's bed, then disappeared. A few days later, a Gastly hatched from the egg.
Lena reached out to ruffle Haunter's head, and he nuzzled her hand in return.
"Oh right, did you make these treats? Missy and Haunter seem to love them! Can I buy some from you?" Lena asked, patting Haunter's head as she turned to Auron.
Auron waved his hand. "No need, really. It's easy—I can show you how to make them."
Lena's cheeks flushed, and Simon's eyes curved into a crescent as he tried to stifle a grin.
"Um, I'm not great at making Pokémon snacks," Lena admitted bashfully.
Seeing Lena's shyness and Simon's secret amusement, Auron grinned. "No problem! The ingredients are simple. Let's exchange contacts—I'll send you the ingredient list, and when you have everything, I'll help you make a batch."
Lena brightened instantly, whipping out her phone. "Thank you! Really!"
After exchanging numbers and sending the recipe, Auron said, "It's nothing—happy to help."
Just then, a loud, excited shout echoed from the doorway—Jace Rowan, having finished his ten matches, burst in.
"Auron, I made it to the main event too!"
Jace paused when he saw Simon and Lena, and Auron quickly introduced everyone. "This is my childhood friend, Jace. And these two are friends I just met—Simon and Lena Greaves."
Jace gave a cheerful wave. "Hey, nice to meet you!"
Lena smiled politely, "Hi!"
Auron leaned in and whispered, "Simon's pretty shy, don't take it the wrong way."
Jace shot him a puzzled look, unsure what there was to be offended about.
Compared to Auron, Jace was a social butterfly. He turned to the new pair, "You both finished your ten wins already?"
Lena nodded, "We did!"
Jace looked impressed. "That quick?"
Lena just smiled mysteriously, leaving Auron to explain, "Their Pokémon are both really strong—Simon's got a Haunter and Lena's got a Misdreavus. Solid team."
"Ja!" Haunter called.
"Whoa!" Jace jumped, as Haunter suddenly popped out from behind Lena, startling him.
He clutched his chest, pale. "Are all Ghost-types this good at scaring people?"
Lena covered her mouth, giggling. "Sorry, sorry!"
Jace waved it off. "I'll get used to it."
Auron shared a story about his own mischievous Gengar at home. Simon perked up, interested. "You have a Gengar too? Could I meet it sometime?" he asked softly.
"Sure! Whenever there's time, just let me know," Auron replied.
The group chatted for a while, and before long, Lena and Simon got up to leave—it was noon, and with the preliminaries finished, they'd be heading home for the day. The main event was tomorrow.
Auron and Jace waited for Tim and Serena to finish their matches so they could grab lunch together.
Tim arrived first. Jace asked, "How'd it go? How many wins?"
"Seven so far—three to go. There's still time this afternoon." Tim looked a bit resigned. "If I hadn't drawn Serena, I'd have been done already. What a waste."
Before he could finish, Serena flitted in like a fairy, grinning. "I finished my ten! Pretty awesome, right?"
Auron nodded. "Yep, awesome."
Jace: "Yeah, awesome."
Tim: "Yeah, awesome."
Auron: "Let's eat."
Jace and Tim, together: "Let's go!"
The three headed out laughing, leaving Serena pouting and stomping her foot, but she followed anyway.
They found a random place outside the venue for lunch. Trainers and Pokémon ate their fill, then relaxed a bit until the 2 p.m. matches started up again. When it was time, they slowly made their way back toward the stadium.
Inside, Auron asked, "Want us to come watch your match?"
Tim quickly waved him off. "No, no! I get too nervous if you're all there. Just relax, I'll find you afterward."
"Alright, good luck."
Auron, Jace, and Serena wandered off together, an odd trio among the crowds of battlers. They didn't fit the intense, competitive atmosphere in the slightest.
No one challenged them, though. Here, anyone still eligible for a match wore a device on their wrist that glowed. After five straight wins, the device stopped glowing and matches were assigned by the system instead.
As they strolled through the venue, Auron stopped to watch a match: two rare Grass starters—both Turtwig! With few moves learned at this level, it was a comical exchange of Tackles and Absorbs, each Turtwig taking turns headbutting and draining the other, almost as sleepy as Auron's Munchlax versus Sobble match.
After a while, one Turtwig finally toppled the other. "Turtwig is unable to battle—Turtwig wins!" (Everyone laughed.)
They kept wandering until Tim called—he'd finished his ten wins and was waiting at the entrance.
Reunited, the four headed to Auron's house to review the day's toughest opponents and prep for the next stage.
In Auron's family's breeding room, after greeting Mrs. Vale and the Pokémon, the group gathered in a spare room.
Auron kicked off the meeting: "Let's go over the hardest opponents we each faced, and figure out how to handle them. I'll start."
"Alright," said the others.
Auron gathered his thoughts. "First up: Diggersby with Huge Power. Its Attack is scary—no real type counters, so it's all about raw strength. Watch out for Quick Attack plus Double Kick, and Defense Curl into Rollout. Otherwise, nothing too tricky."
"Second, Sobble—very fast, but the trainer's commands weren't great. Still, keep an eye on it."
"Third, Swoobat with Simple. It leads with debuffs, but I don't think it's learned Calm Mind or Nasty Plot yet, so it's not as dangerous as it could be."
"Finally, the two who finished their streaks even faster than me—Haunter and Misdreavus, both with Levitate. That means Ground-type moves won't work. Judging by their ten-win speed, they've got lots of moves and good coverage."
The others looked surprised. They'd thought Auron was already fast, but two people had done it quicker.
Jace said, "You mean those two from the lounge? I thought they came after you!"
Auron shook his head. "They're strong, and honestly, we don't have many counters to Ghost-types. They're big threats."
Everyone took note.
Auron sighed in relief. "Alright, Jace, your turn."
Jace sprawled back, getting comfortable. "You already mentioned Sobble—not much to add, the trainer's commands weren't great. Second, Bronzor. I had an easy win thanks to type advantage, but it had Levitate, not Heatproof. I beat it in two rounds, but it used Confuse Ray once before going down."
"Third, Rookidee. Not sure about the Ability, but its move set—Brave Bird, Roost, Tailwind, Hone Claws, Swift—made things tough."
Auron nodded. "Got it. Tim?"
Tim got serious. "Honestly, I need to be careful with Serena. Her Shellder is a major threat to me."
Jace and Auron burst out laughing. Serena glared at Tim.
"Be serious!"
Tim surrendered. "Alright, alright. My first tough one: Mr. Mime. It had a lot of tricky status and support moves, but for damage, mostly Psywave, Icy Wind, and Fake Out. Not sure if it's hiding anything else. Didn't figure out its Ability."
"Second, Pawniard. Super fast, not sure about the Ability, but the move set—Swords Dance, Sucker Punch, Fury Cutter, Brick Break—is dangerous. If it gets rolling with Swords Dance or Fury Cutter, it's trouble. Serena had a hard time against it, but you two shouldn't have much trouble."
(End of Chapter)
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