Ashen Vale dragged Auron into the lab, and Auron obligingly explained some of his ideas.
The reward for his cooperation was a hearty clap on the shoulder — repeated several times.
"Haha! Good kid. Why be a breeder when you could be a researcher with me? You've clearly inherited your father's brains."
Auron gave a wry smile and gently pulled his father's hand away. He definitely couldn't let his mother hear that — she'd always insisted his intelligence came from her.
"Dad, you do your research. I'm going to check on Milotic."
Since he'd already gotten the answer he wanted, Ashen didn't object, waving him off before turning back to study the Pokéblocks.
Auron left him a whole box of Pokéblocks for analysis, along with a few guesses:
Maybe the evolution happened because Beauty had become more attractive.
Maybe it was because of his mother's compliment.
Maybe her good mood after being praised triggered it.
Ashen had admitted the theory sounded ridiculous… but also oddly plausible. So he began digging into records and data.
Feebas evolving into Milotic in captivity wasn't unheard of. Every time it happened, it sparked a wave of research — but no one ever found conclusive results. Public fascination with Milotic remained strong, but researchers' enthusiasm had cooled over the years.
That was Ashen's problem, though. Auron just had to wait for the results.
Outside, Milotic was still displaying her elegant form in the pond.
Pokémon: Milotic
Gender: Female
Type: Water
Ability: Competitive — When any stat is lowered by an opponent's move or Ability, Special Attack increases by two stages (does not activate from self-inflicted drops).
Aptitude: Purple
Base Moves: Water Pulse, Flail, Water Gun, Splash, Wrap, Tackle, Disarming Voice, Twister, Aqua Ring, Attract, Life Dew, Dragon Tail, Recover, Aqua Tail, Safeguard, Surf, Rain Dance, Coil, Hydro Pump
Egg Moves: Haze, Hypnosis, Confuse Ray
Auron was surprised to see the skill list. He'd thought that, as a Feebas, Beauty wouldn't have learned much — that even after evolving, she'd have to relearn many moves. But she'd already mastered every move she could naturally learn upon evolution.
Of course, proficiency was another matter.
After watching her a bit longer, he looked for Kommo-o among the gathered Pokémon.
For all his reclusive habits, Kommo-o never missed a good spectacle.
Auron patted his scaled shoulder.
Kommo-o was in the middle of arguing with Feebas's father and ignored him.
Sighing, Auron raised his voice.
"Kommo-o! Smash him!"
Instinctively, Kommo-o's tail came swinging down — but halfway through, he caught himself and slapped the water in front of Feebas's father instead. The fish's eyes went wide in alarm.
Auron burst out laughing. There was no way Kommo-o could actually reach him from there. He'd only wanted to spook the guy — that smug habit of spitting water every time they met needed payback.
Ptooey, ptooey!
No sooner had Auron laughed than two more jets of water hit him in the face. Luckily, he shut his mouth in time. Pulling a face at the irate fish, he quickly dragged an awkward-looking Kommo-o away.
Behind them, Feebas's father smirked triumphantly before turning back to gaze at his mate, eyes full of hearts.
Auron and Kommo-o headed to Golbat and Umbreon's training ground. Golbat was working hard, while Umbreon stood by. Espeon, of course, had gone to admire Milotic.
Auron gave Golbat a thumbs-up without interrupting him, then released Munchlax.
"Kommo-o, could you help me teach Munchlax a few more moves? Stuff like Hyper Voice, Dynamic Punch, Hammer Arm, Flamethrower, Focus Blast."
Kommo-o thumped his chest and pulled Munchlax close in a half-hug, promising to handle it.
Smiling, Auron praised him before jogging over to Umbreon.
"Umbreon, can you do me a favor and find Gengar? I can't see him."
Umbreon nodded, then glanced at Auron's shadow. Dark-types really were great at sensing Ghost-types.
"Gengar, don't bother trying to scare me — I already know you're there. Come help me out."
Gengar slunk out of the shadow with a sulky look, glaring at Umbreon, who returned a sly, challenging grin.
Ignoring the exchange, Gengar turned to Auron and patted his own chest like Kommo-o, signalling "leave it to me."
"Gengar, Munchlax's long-range move pool is way too small. Can you teach him some ranged attacks?"
Gengar made an effort to form a chubby little "OK" with his fingers.
Auron almost laughed but held it in.
"Alright, it's up to you. I'm thinking Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Psychic — stuff like that."
With the plan set, Auron felt much lighter. From his bag, he pulled out various Pokémon snacks and several top-grade Pokéblocks, spreading them out on a picnic mat and calling everyone over.
Munchlax was first, drooling as he shoved snack after snack into his mouth.
Kommo-o, Gengar, Umbreon, and finally Golbat came over to join in.
Partway through, Umbreon tried one snack, his eyes lit up, and he howled for Espeon to come back and share.
Seeing everyone enjoy themselves, Auron gave a top-grade Pokéblock to each Pokémon except Munchlax and Golbat — they'd already had theirs earlier, and too many wasn't healthy.
Afterwards, Auron slung his bag over his shoulder and walked back to the pond to hand out food to the Pokémon there.
Technology was amazing — these space backpacks weren't just roomy, they didn't even feel heavy.
Once the last snack was gone, he returned to Golbat's training spot. Everyone had finished eating and gone back to work, so he left them to it.
Lying on the grass, he browsed skill discs online, adding promising ones to his cart:
Body Slam — bought.
Ice Beam — bought.
Hyper Beam? Shame, Kommo-o already knew it.
Steel Wing and X-Scissor for Golbat.
Then he spotted Recycle — perfect for Munchlax.
And Rock Slide — another for Munchlax.
Looking over at him, Auron added Heavy Slam and Heat Crash.
One more — Nasty Plot and Heat Wave for Golbat.
"That should do it… Oh? Protect? Nice bonus."
He tossed Protect into the cart and hit checkout.
"…Holy crap! That's expensive."
Counting under his breath: "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands… millions—"
"Tsk, tsk. That's several million Dracocoins gone in one go. Ouch."
Still, he paid without hesitation. Just Protect alone was nearly a million, and Body Slam and Ice Beam weren't cheap either.
Looking at Kommo-o, Umbreon, and Gengar, his eyes sparkled.
"Good thing you guys save me so much money."
End of Chapter
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