Everyone burst into laughter. Even the Ice-Fire Red Roly-Poly joined in from the sidelines, happily rolling around on the ground.
Dratini glanced curiously at the little chubby Pokémon tumbling across the grass, then turned right back to her chicken leg without a second thought.
"So does that mean I should go find an Ink Seahorse egg?" Tim rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Why not? The evolved form is Dragon type after all—it fits your team-building philosophy perfectly."
The moment Auron finished, Tim clasped his fists together with a firm bow.
"I owe you one!"
"Get lost."
"Hahahahaha~"
"Then—are there any Ice types?" No sooner had Tim finished asking than Serena jumped in with her own question, eager as ever.
The instant Serena asked, Auron's expression turned serious. "There are, actually—but are you sure you want to stick with an Ice-type team going forward?"
Serena nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
"Your Milotic isn't Ice type, you know." Jace pointed out from the side.
Serena shot him a look. "That's because there weren't any Ice-type Pokémon in that first batch of eggs, okay?"
Auron smiled. "Have you ever considered another Pokémon—one that's incredibly beautiful, and incredibly well-suited for a Coordinator?"
"Incredibly beautiful?!"
The word "beautiful" had Serena's full and undivided attention in an instant. Coordinator or no Coordinator could wait—beautiful was what mattered.
"That's right. Very beautiful. And pink and cute, too."
Auron dangled the bait in front of Serena with a coaxing smile.
He'd long since given up any hope regarding Mom's Eevee. Mom had turned that Eevee into nothing more than a housepet at this point. Not only did she cradle it in her arms every single day without fail, but—after actually consulting the Eevee's wishes—she'd gone ahead and put an Everstone on it, all so she could keep holding it in its current form forever.
"I want one!"
Serena was hooked instantly. What girl on earth could possibly say no to a Pokémon that was both incredibly beautiful and pink and cute?
"So your pure Ice-type team is out the window now, is it?" Tim laughed and teased from the side.
Serena glanced at him. "It was never a pure Ice-type team to begin with."
Tim choked. ...Alright. Fair point.
"Right—after this freshman tournament wraps up, we'll get yours, Serena's, and Peter's all sorted out at once."
"Sigh~"
The moment Auron finished speaking, a sigh drifted over from nearby.
Everyone turned to look at Jace.
"Sigh... why don't I have waveguide powers? That ability is seriously way too useful."
Auron felt helpless—but he obviously couldn't just say it out loud. Mine isn't waveguide powers. Mine is a cheat.
"It's fine. I've got it, haven't I? Mine might as well be yours at this point. We're practically the same person."
Jace nodded. "True—yours and mine aren't really any different. After all, when we were kids, you..."
Auron's expression shifted the very instant Jace started down that road. He lunged forward and clamped a hand firmly over Jace's mouth.
"Don't cover my mouth! What happened? Tell us—give us something to laugh about!"
"Yeah! I want to hear about Master's past too!"
Auron swept a dead-fish stare across the three of them, only to find that even Serena was wearing a look of intense curiosity.
"There's nothing to tell. Nothing happened at all. You're all reading way too much into this."
After giving everyone that dismissal, Auron leaned in close to Jace's ear and whispered in a low voice:
"If you dare breathe a single word of this to anyone—these waveguide powers will be used to take care of my own kin. Family comes second."
Jace, mouth still firmly covered, couldn't produce a sound. He nodded frantically, eyes wide.
"Understood?"
"Understood!"
Auron released his hand from over Jace's mouth.
Jace sucked in two lungfuls of air, then nodded again with finality. Message received loud and clear.
"Damn it... such a shame."
The moment everyone saw Jace's expression, they all deflated with collective disappointment. Something that interesting, and he'd been threatened into silence just like that? What a waste.
After the near-leak blew over, everyone chatted idly for a while longer before Simon and Lena both came back together.
"What was it that you guys were hiding just now? Tell me—quick, tell me!"
Lena didn't bother with pleasantries. The moment she sat down, she dropped right next to Serena and started pressing for answers.
"Auron, you really are something. Are there any Ghost-type evolutions you've discovered? Dragon Messiah's evolution cycle is absurdly long too."
After Serena filled them in on what had just transpired, both Lena and Simon turned to Auron with bright, eager eyes.
Auron nodded. "There are. Simon—after your Night Patrol Spirit evolves into Wandering Night Spirit, there's actually another stage of evolution beyond that. I'll tell you how to trigger it when the time comes. I haven't reported that one to the authorities yet."
"Thank you, Auron."
"What are you thanking me for? No need to be like that." Auron smiled. He'd actually assumed it would be Lena saying it—he hadn't expected it to come from Simon.
Seeing Simon open his mouth as though to continue, Auron quickly slung an arm around his shoulder. "Alright—one round of thanks is more than enough. Say it again and things start to feel awkward between us."
With Auron having said as much, Simon had no choice but to close his mouth. He pressed his lips together and offered a quiet smile.
"How did your matches go?"
"Simon and I both won. Though the opponents are getting noticeably tougher—I almost didn't pull through mine. I'd guess I'll probably get knocked out next round." Lena wore a pained expression as she spoke. In the end, if it hadn't been for the Cursed Doll pulling off Destiny Bond to take the opponent's second Pokémon down with it, that match might have already been lost.
Jace also nodded in agreement. "That's true. The opponents really are getting stronger one after another. I can still win, but a clean sweep is completely out of the question now."
Jace's own match had seen him put out both Arcanine and Charizard. Neither had been knocked out, but it had been a grueling, hard-fought battle from start to finish.
"Right. By the time this round finishes, it'll probably already be afternoon." Auron glanced up at the sky and said.
They were only through round 3 and it was already noon. Today's matches ran six rounds total—at this rate, it would easily stretch into the afternoon before everything was done.
"Let's go eat first. I'm guessing my round 5 match will be in the afternoon anyway. Might as well fill up before then."
Tim also looked up at the sky, rose to his feet, and brushed the grass off his pants.
"Let's go. Food."
.........
By the time everyone had eaten and made their way back to the arena, round 4 had just gotten underway.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long before Tim's match started.
Tim's opponent this round had brought two Grass-type starter Pokémon to the field.
One was a Torterra and the other a Sceptile. Torterra was manageable enough—but that Sceptile's speed was absolutely brutal.
In the end, it took both of Tim's Pokémon going down before Sceptile was finally swept off the field by Dragonair's Flamethrower.
"Ugh... now I'm the only one left, watching you guys keep fighting." Peter dragged his feet on the way back, wearing a dejected expression.
"How about you go scout out some intel?"
Peter thought it over—right, he'd already been eliminated anyway. Might as well go observe the opponents they might face further down the line. Know your enemy, win every battle.
Peter's eyes lit up as he clapped Simon enthusiastically on the shoulder. "Great idea! Now I've actually got something useful to do."
Peter's praise, combined with everyone's surprised and pleased reactions, turned Simon's cheeks red in an instant.
"I—I didn't... it wasn't that good of a suggestion, really."
Auron laughed and gave Simon a pat on the shoulder. "Not that good? That was an excellent suggestion."