"Sure, go ahead." Though Auron was a bit surprised, he didn't refuse. Better to hear the question first before deciding anything.
"Niche Pokémon... is there really a future for them?"
Auron blinked. The Dragon Nation had been established for several decades now—how was someone still asking a question like this?
But seeing the genuine sincerity in the stocky kid's eyes, Auron paused to think for a moment before answering.
"There is. No matter how niche a Pokémon might be, every single one exists for a reason. Find the right role for it, and who can't tear through the competition?"
"Thank you!"
The stocky kid bowed respectfully to Auron, then turned and walked back toward the dormitories with firm, determined steps.
Auron watched his retreating figure and scratched the back of his head. "Tsk... I hope I pointed him in the right direction. Not the wrong one."
After silently wishing the stocky kid well for about a whole second, Auron tossed the thought entirely from his mind. Cradling a contented Dratini, he made his way over to where Tim was waiting.
"How'd it go?"
"Take a guess."
"Did you win?"
"Of course! Clean sweep."
"Can't advance past that, can you." Tim gave Auron a helpless look. It was just the standard 2v2 format—how had "clean sweep" become a running joke at this point?
"The others aren't back yet?"
"Nope, you're the first one. Honestly, I'm genuinely curious—it feels like you're on a completely different level from the rest of us. I can't figure out why." Tim narrowed his eyes and studied Auron with a serious expression.
Auron smiled. "That? Hard work in training, I suppose."
Tim groaned and rubbed Monodragon's little head. "Ugh... why do Dragon-type Pokémon all have to grow so painfully slowly?"
"Well of course. If they were both strong AND grew fast, what would that leave for everyone else?"
Auron said this while holding Dratini in his arms. He'd already made up his mind about it—when the time came, it would be entirely up to Dratini herself. If she chose not to evolve, that was perfectly fine. Dratini's current form was lovely as it was. If she evolved once, Dragonair was great. One more evolution after that, and Flygon was wonderful too. It was all up to what Dratini wanted.
After all, getting stronger wasn't limited to evolving. The Flying-type Elite Four member Tao's two Dragonair were every bit as formidable as some Flygon out there.
"True enough. But still—hurry up and evolve already. I've been waiting so long my patience has worn thin." Tim nodded and gave Monodragon another rub on the head.
Monodragon didn't react in the slightest, simply allowing Tim to keep rubbing away. He seemed thoroughly accustomed to it by now.
The two chatted idly for a while longer before Jace and Simon both came back together.
"How'd you guys do?"
"Won, obviously." Jace plopped down onto the ground, stuck out his right hand, and brought his index finger and thumb together with just a small gap between the tips.
"Easy win!"
"And Simon?"
"Me—I won too." Simon nodded with a flicker of excitement, then reached out to gently intercept his Dragon Messiah, who had been trying to wriggle its way into Auron's arms.
"Here you go."
Auron smiled, picked up one of the small round cookies, and offered it to Dragon Messiah.
Dragon Messiah's eyes brightened at once. Dratini, however, let out a displeased little huff, gave Auron's thigh a light swat with her tail, then opened her little mouth wide—a clear signal for Auron to feed her immediately.
Auron laughed softly, gave Dratini an affectionate stroke, and grabbed two cookies at once to pop into her mouth.
Only then did Dratini flash a satisfied smile, nestling contentedly in Auron's lap as she set about demolishing the two cookies with full concentration.
Before long, Peter, Lena, and Serena all returned from their matches as well. Unsurprisingly, all three had advanced to the next round.
"Not bad at all—we all finished our morning matches, so the afternoon is completely free. Let's go eat first."
"Let's go! Time to eat!"
Jace leaped to his feet first, scooped up Larvesta, and charged toward the cafeteria. Larvesta, cradled in Jace's arms, wore an expression of quiet exasperation.
How a calm, gentle Pokémon like himself had ended up with such an impulsive owner was truly beyond comprehension.
Everyone gathered up their belongings, laughing and chatting as they fell into step behind Jace, the whole group chattering noisily all the way there.
That afternoon, after lunch, Auron headed back to his little apartment on his own.
The original plan had been to squeeze in some training, but Jace had shot that down flat.
Jace's argument was simple: they had matches again tomorrow. Better to rest up and conserve energy today.
Auron thought it over—fair point. So the afternoon became free time.
Back in his room, Auron opened his computer and began adding notes to his memo file—things he was afraid of forgetting.
Official rewards: National Treasure Vault key fragments — 15.
Evolution conditions (researched): Great Steel Serpent, Greninja, Slowking, Sky Scorpion King, Giant Claw Mantis, Thorn Dragon King, Marowak.
Evolution conditions (not yet researched): Sylveon, Pearl Clam (×2), Drill-Horn Rhino Beast, Wandering Night Spirit.....
After logging all of that, Auron jotted down a few other things he was afraid of forgetting, then closed the computer and sat quietly in the chair, letting his mind drift back to what his class advisor had said a few days prior.
"A Breeder. You aren't just raising your own Pokémon. A Breeder also has their own team. You need to choose your team carefully."
"Generally speaking, including the Breeder, a team runs about three to four people. More than that and you might not be able to keep up with everything. Fewer, and you might end up lacking real experience when it counts. Finding that balance is something you'll each have to figure out for yourselves."
Auron had been turning this over in his mind for days now. A Breeder needed a team. And within that team, the Breeder was responsible for the meal planning, energy block crafting, and raising plans for all the Pokémon involved.
Of course, effort deserved reward. The Breeder put in all of that work, and in return, the battle members would contribute in other ways—ensuring the Breeder benefited as well.
After all, a relationship that only ever went one direction? Nobody was a saint. Nobody would accept that forever.
"Still... the path I'm on seems a bit different from a typical Breeder, doesn't it." Auron sat in the chair and let out a quiet laugh.
He'd been developing along the Breeder track since high school.
The difference, though, was that he typically just handed the plans, the recipes, and everything else straight to Jace and the others—and let them handle it themselves.
Unlike other Breeders who did everything with their own two hands, Auron, strictly speaking, wasn't a full-time Breeder.
With an approach like his, even five, six, seven, or eight people would be no problem at all. There was simply no way things would spiral out of control.
Having worked that out, Auron finally rose from the chair and stretched lazily.
"Hmm... I wonder where Crobat's gotten off to again. These past few days she's been leaving early and coming back late, acting all mysterious about it."
Auron turned his gaze toward the wide-open window in the room. Every morning, before Auron was even awake, Crobat would slip out through this very window. Then she basically wouldn't return until nightfall.
Even so, Auron didn't worry too much about whether she was eating properly.
Because Crobat had her own little backpack. Inside it, Auron had packed a supply of energy blocks and food for her.
Every morning before she headed out, Crobat would strap the little backpack on.
"Still... Crobat's been getting noticeably stronger lately. I wonder if she's been sneaking off to eat extra on the side." Auron rubbed Dratini's head and smiled, gazing out at the brilliant blue sky beyond the window.