"Mmm~…"
Auron Vale opened his eyes and stretched lazily.
Sunlight spilled across Munchlax's round belly. Auron couldn't resist giving it a playful rub.
"Mm… mm!" Munchlax grumbled, swatting his hand away before opening his own eyes.
When he saw Auron smiling and rubbing his stomach, he patted his own belly in amusement.
Golbat had gone out for an early flight and was probably in the kitchen with Auron's mother right now, helping with breakfast. She wasn't like Auron and Munchlax, who stayed in bed every morning. ╮(‵▽′)╭
"Auron! Get up! You're going to be late!" came Ashen Vale's voice from downstairs.
"I'm up, I'm up!" Auron called back. He gave Munchlax's belly one last pat before rolling out of bed to get dressed.
When he headed out of his room, he greeted Golbat, who was perched on the couch sipping from a basin of herbal Pokémon tea.
"Morning, Golbat."
"Gyaa~," the bat replied, flapping a wing without looking up.
Ever since Auron discovered Golbat had an "old man" sort of temperament — early to bed and early to rise, daily morning flights, nightly glass of Moomoo Milk — he'd gotten curious and brewed some herbal tea for her to try. She'd fallen in love with it instantly.
Of course, normal teacups weren't exactly designed for her… so whenever she had tea at home, she drank straight from a basin.
After washing up together in the bathroom, Auron and Munchlax joined the others at the table.
Ashen and Auron's mother were already eating alongside Golbat.
Biting into a fried egg, Ashen asked,
"So, that Toxic TM you won yesterday — who's it going to?"
Yesterday, Auron had finished his run in the Little Cup, earning the champion's reward: a Toxic TM (highly poisonous toxin).
Runner-up Simon Greaves had gotten a Gyro Ball TM (the slower the user, the more damage it deals).
Since Gyro Ball was useless for Gengar, he'd traded it with Jace Rowan for a mystery TM — one Jace refused to tell him about.
Third place had gone to Serena Elm. After losing to Auron, Lena Greaves seemed to have lost her fighting spirit, allowing Serena to clinch third. Her Water Pulse TM would almost certainly go to her Feebas, since her Shellder — caught in the wild — wasn't allowed in the college entrance exams by regulation.
With the exams so close, she could only try to boost Feebas's combat power. Auron figured it would probably evolve before then, since for the past three months it had been eating the beauty-enhancing Pokéblocks he'd recommended.
Auron swallowed a bite of sandwich and sipped his milk.
"I haven't decided yet… but I'm leaning toward giving it to Munchlax."
Ashen nodded.
"That works. Yesterday's match really showed Munchlax's shortcomings. Compared to Golbat, he's still not as well-rounded."
"Against ranged Pokémon, he's basically stuck with Earthquake and whatever luck Metronome gives him. If the opponent's a Flying-type with Levitate, then…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Honestly, you only made top four because you were lucky. Otherwise, Lena would've knocked you out."
"True," Auron admitted. "I noticed that during the match, too. So before the exams, I at least want Munchlax to learn some ranged attacks."
"Good. You've got enough Dracocoins, so buy the TMs you need. Just look at your opponent in the finals — he used at least three TMs yesterday."
"Yeah," Auron said. "Icy Wind, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp, even Shadow Ball — none of those are moves his Pokémon could learn naturally."
"Exactly," Ashen said.
"Got it, Dad."
"Alright, nothing else to say. Golbat, you still coming with me?"
"Yeah," Auron said. "She's got a few moves to work on with your Umbreon."
"Alright."
Before school, Auron quickly made another batch of Pokéblocks for Ashen to take to his own Pokémon.
For some reason, even when using the exact same recipe, Auron's Pokéblocks tasted better than the ones made by the staff at his mother's shop.
His mother had teased him more than once, suspecting he was keeping a secret ingredient to himself.
After breakfast, Ashen and Auron's mother went to wash the dishes, Auron cleared the table, and the family chatted a bit before heading off — Ashen to work, Auron to school.
On the way, as usual, he walked with Jace Rowan.
At School
History Class — the fun kind
"When Emperor Taizong of Tang passed away, the mythical Pokémon Victini, who had fought alongside him for a lifetime, also disappeared."
"Some say that upon his death, Taizong sealed Victini within his palace — right here in Vantora's Daming Palace."
"Of course, that's probably just a conspiracy theory. After all, the Daming Palace is now a tourist attraction. If Victini really was there, it would've been found long ago."
"Throughout history, countless generals and rulers have coveted this Pokémon of victory. The palace has been searched more times than we can count."
"So, the current mainstream theory is that Victini, like Jirachi, fell into a deep slumber. But again — that's just a theory…"
Pokémon Studies — the boring kind
"Alright, choose the only Grass-type from this list:
A: Comfey
B: Sirfetch'd
C: Lilligant
D: Exeggcute
E: Sudowoodo"
"This is a guaranteed test question! It hasn't been on the last two years' exams, so this year it will be. Five easy points — memorize it."
"Next question. Everyone knows that the fastest Pokémon on land, speed stat-wise, is Regieleki. But among land-based Pokémon in the Field Egg Group, the fastest is…?"
A: Ambipom
B: Manectric
C: Liepard
D: Sceptile
"Now, this one's a trap. Sceptile seems the obvious answer, right? But it's actually in the Monster and Dragon groups."
"Plenty of people fell for this one last year, so read the question carefully."
"So the answer is… A, Ambipom. Alright, next question. This one's also a guaranteed test question…"
Geography Class — the fun kind
"As you know, our country is vast, with a long history — and home to many legendary Pokémon. Which of the following reside in the northeast? (Multiple choice.)"
A: Moltres
B: Articuno
C: Heatran
D: Reshiram
"This one's easy. A, Moltres, is native to our neighboring country and is their covenant Pokémon. B, Articuno, is an obvious choice."
"Next, C, Heatran, lives in the Koro Volcano Range — no question there. As for D, if anyone knows where Reshiram lives, please tell me. I'll collect the official reward myself."
"So the answer is B and C. Remember — with multiple choice, you never know exactly how many are correct. Don't guess blindly…"
(End of Chapter)