Another week passed, and the days of focused study flew by quickly.
Every day, Munchlax and Golbat accompanied Ashen Vale and his wife to the daycare, where they learned new skills from their three "instructors" — Kommo-o, Umbreon, and Gengar.
Munchlax, being a fast learner, had already mastered Hyper Voice under Kommo-o's guidance and was now studying Thunderbolt with Gengar.
Golbat, meanwhile, was learning Hyper Beam from Umbreon.
With the two Pokémon working so hard, Auron wasn't slacking off either. Not only had he developed a new type of Pokéblock, but with growing experience his homemade Pokémon food was now tastier than ever.
He'd also been studying how to make Poffins. At this point, he could already produce standard-quality ones.
Over the weekend, Auron stayed home the entire two days to work on perfecting his Poffins. His persistence paid off — he finally succeeded.
For Munchlax, he made sweet Poffins, since the little guy loved sweets. Golbat's tastes were different, so she got refreshing Poffins instead.
He gathered up the leftover scraps and failed batches from his experiments, tidied up, and returned all the equipment to its proper place.
By then, the sun outside was a low half-circle on the horizon. Ashen and his wife would be home soon, so Auron set the Poffins neatly on the living room table to wait for them.
It wasn't long before the couple arrived with Munchlax, Golbat, and Audino in tow.
The moment Munchlax came in, he went straight to Auron and hugged him. Golbat flew over to nuzzle his cheek.
"Haha, alright, alright — I made you guys a little treat. Want some?"
At the word treat, Munchlax's eyes lit up, darting around.
"Haha, on the table."
Overjoyed, Munchlax scampered to his spot at the table and began stuffing a Poffin into his mouth.
Auron smiled and handed a refreshing Poffin to Golbat.
"Here you go. Want me to feed you?"
Golbat blushed slightly and waved her wings to decline, seating herself beside Munchlax to eat on her own. At one point, she even popped one into Munchlax's mouth.
(￣～￣) Chew!
After chewing, Munchlax offered her one of his sweet Poffins, insisting it was tastier. He watched eagerly as Golbat ate it, and when she smiled and nodded, he grew even more excited, eating with greater enthusiasm.
Seeing them so happy, Auron felt relieved — looks like his cooking was a success.
He then took a box of refreshing Poffins over to Audino, who was prepping ingredients. Pulling one out, he held it to her mouth.
"Here, try this."
Audino swallowed it in one bite, her eyes lighting up as she nodded vigorously o(*≧▽≦)ツ.
Auron chuckled, patting her head.
"I'll leave the box here. If you finish, you can come to me for more — or I can even teach you how to make them."
Audino hugged him happily, then went back to her work, humming her Pokémon song.
The night passed quietly, and soon it was back to the dreaded Monday morning.
Roused by "Mom Vale's Roar," Auron got up to wash.
"Ugh… another day of school. When will this end? A whole month until the entrance exams…" he muttered at his reflection.
"Morning."
"Morning~."
Serena Elm greeted Auron cheerfully, while Jace Rowan, as usual, was ignored.
Two classes later, during the long break, Tim Wynn came running over excitedly.
"Auron, Auron — where are the others? Let's go to the battle arena together."
Auron gave him a curious look.
"Serena's in the bathroom, and Jace is in the teacher's office. He should be back soon. Why, what's at the battle arena?"
"Wait for them to come back, I'll tell you all together," Tim said, clearly brimming with excitement.
Serena and Jace returned quickly.
"Let's go."
"Go, go, go."
Jace blinked in confusion.
"Go where?"
"You'll see when we get there," Tim said, pushing him along without explanation.
Ever since the school's battle tournament ended, senior year's long break had been switched from physical exercise to free time. The tournament's battle grounds were now open for seniors during the long break, lunch, and after school.
"So what's so urgent that you dragged us here?" Jace asked.
"Dun-dun-duuun!" Tim intoned dramatically, pulling out a Poké Ball.
Jace scoffed.
"Pfft. A Great Ball? So what? I've got one too. And aren't you the richest kid in Vantora? Why not get a Luxury Ball?"
Tim curled his lip.
"Who said I'm showing you the ball itself? And do you think Luxury Balls are easy to get? You're Auron's childhood friend — ask him if he can get one right now."
Auron, who'd been enjoying their bickering, suddenly found himself dragged into it. Both of them knew he had two Luxury Balls, and that he couldn't get a third — Tim was just using it to jab at Jace.
These days, the market mostly saw standard Poké Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls.
Poké Balls were a product of the late industrial era; before that, people used Apricorn Balls — not the rare Heavy, Lure, or Level Balls, but the ordinary kind similar to modern Poké Balls.
Special Apricorn Balls, whether in ancient or modern times, were master-level craftsmanship. In the old Dragon Kingdom, they were royal exclusives; anyone else who had one had received it as a gift from the emperor.
Nowadays, the artisans who could craft them were even rarer. Centuries of war had almost erased the skill, and any surviving examples were treasures you'd never see on the market.
Ultra Balls and Great Balls only came about after the Second World War, when the world entered an era of peace. Both were far more expensive than Poké Balls, and their internal environments were more comfortable for Pokémon.
Auron had started with ordinary Poké Balls, until old Mr. Mo Anguo — a senior from the Dragon Kingdom — visited and insisted on gifting him two Luxury Balls as a "meeting present." According to Mr. Mo, they were a new design from the kingdom's research institute. The technology was still unstable and had a high failure rate, so they weren't being sold yet; he had only brought two.
Luxury Balls offered Pokémon an environment even more comfortable than Ultra Balls, so Auron hadn't refused the gift.
"Don't look at me — I can't get Luxury Balls either. Those two were gifts from an elder."
"So… are you about to show us a new Pokémon?" Auron asked, eyeing the ball in Tim's hand.
He had to admit — Tim had their curiosity hooked.
(End of Chapter)