"What about what happened at the beach last time?"
"Last time they didn't know your identity. Now they do. Even if you gave them a few extra doses of courage, do you really think they'd dare?"
Watching Dax's incredibly domineering aura, Auron was utterly speechless. With that attitude, you could tell people it's YOUR background and no one would doubt you.
"Hm? Wait a minute—"
Only now did Auron realize something. Come to think of it, Dax's background wasn't exactly humble either. He was the son of the Director of the Dragon Nation Research Institute—and also an Elite Four member of the Dragon Nation. That actually seemed even more impressive than Auron's own credentials.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Seeing Auron staring at him strangely, Dax asked with a puzzled expression.
"Nothing, nothing."
Auron quickly averted his gaze, though he couldn't help but grumble internally: Looking at you like this, you must pull the 'background card' pretty often.
"Huh? Wait—that's not right. If my background is so powerful, why didn't I know anything about it before?"
Auron blinked, then fell into deep confusion. Realistically speaking, before turning eighteen, Auron genuinely hadn't noticed his family's circumstances were anything special.
But he didn't dwell on it. When something didn't make sense, he simply stopped thinking about it. Auron had at least that much self-awareness.
From that point on, Auron became a shut-in just like Dax, sinking into the soft sofa. Then, at Dratini's insistent demands, he pulled up a recently popular movie and started watching.
Since he was already home, there was obviously no reason to go back out.
Metagross was also very considerate, using psychic powers to float a cup of Lady Huajie Sweet Tea over to Auron, who was nestled in the sofa unwilling to move. And so, the two of them—along with the Pokémon—settled in at home to watch movies, completely ignoring the commotion outside.
"What are we eating for dinner?"
After spending the entire afternoon lounging on the sofa watching movies, Dax rubbed his stomach and couldn't help but ask.
"Myu!"
The moment food was mentioned, Dratini perked right up.
She grabbed the menu Auron had made for the Pokémon and excitedly pointed at the sweet roasted tail meat curry, looking at Auron with sparkling eyes.
Ever since trying the sweet roasted tail meat curry last time, she'd ranked it as her second-favorite food, right below fried chicken legs.
"Making curry rice for the Pokémon? That works. But what about us?"
Auron grinned. "We'll also eat curry rice, obviously. What else? You think I'm going to make something separate just for the two of us?"
"Uh... the hand-pulled noodles you made yesterday were pretty good though." Dax said somewhat sheepishly from his spot on the sofa.
"Don't worry—my curry rice is also delicious. At the very least, it's worthy of Copperajah-tier rating."
Dax curled his lip. Copperajah-tier? As if. He didn't believe it for a second. You're just a kid—how could you possibly cook better than those seasoned veterans at professional restaurants?
Seeing Dax's reaction, Auron said nothing. He simply smiled, got up, and headed toward the kitchen. "You sit tight. I'll go prepare dinner."
"Mm. Need help? I can do it."
Auron glanced back at Dax, who—despite offering to help—remained completely motionless on the sofa. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he immediately declined.
It wasn't that Dax had never helped before. The price had been: numerous ingredients, several plates, several bowls, and one pot. After that incident, Auron had never again entertained the thought of letting him help.
After declining Dax's offer, Auron began processing the ingredients. Curry rice was actually quite simple—first you simmered the curry sauce, then poured it over the rice and mixed it in (or didn't mix it, either worked). At that point, it was ready to eat.
So Auron finished preparing dinner quickly.
After sending out his aura to call Crobat and Charizard back, dinner officially began.
However, Auron didn't rush to eat. Instead, he prepared to watch Dax get his face metaphorically slapped.
After all, he had absolute confidence in his cooking skills. Setting everything else aside, he'd refined the flavor of this sweet roasted tail meat curry more than once. It absolutely catered to the taste buds of most people and Pokémon alike.
(￣～￣) Chew!
(o゜▽゜)o☆[BINGO!]
"Amazing! This really is Copperajah-tier!"
Watching Dax's eyes light up, Auron tilted his head back proudly. "Of course. Would I lie to you?"
But Dax didn't respond to Auron. Just like his Pokémon, he immediately buried his head and started eating with fervor.
After all, there was a Snorlax behind them. If they didn't eat now, there might not be anything left later.
"Oh, right—the head of the official network department asked me to check with you. They're going to announce the Mega Evolution discovery. Do you want your name included?"
After eating his fill, Dax rubbed his belly, leaned back in his chair, and asked Auron.
Auron shook his head. "Nah. As long as I get the rewards, that's fine. Whether my name's on it or not is a minor issue."
"The rewards definitely won't shortchange you. But your thinking really is just like your dad's and grandpa's."
"Them?"
Dax nodded. "Yeah. Your grandpa said you're already attracting too much attention as it is—not good. After all, you're already famous online."
"Famous online?" Auron's interest was piqued. "So does that make me an internet celebrity?"
Dax suppressed his laughter and nodded. "Mm... Charizard is the internet celebrity."
Auron's face fell. "Fine then."
After dinner, Metagross voluntarily took over dish-washing duties.
Psychic powers really were incredibly convenient—before long, Metagross had finished all the cleanup work.
Auron: @Jace, how'd it go? Did you win?
Jace: Of course. Who do you think I am? How could I not win?
Auron: Alright. Are today's matches done?
Tim: Finished. Tomorrow is the round of nineteen to ten.
Peter: Big news—that Lucario and Zoroark we saw before also didn't get eliminated.
Peter: Lucario's trainer has another Pokémon—a Machamp. Zoroark's trainer's other Pokémon is a Lampent.
Peter: There's also someone whose Pokémon are a Snorlax just like yours @Auron, plus a Greninja.
Peter: And the last person has a Delphox and a Camerupt.
Peter: From what I've seen so far, all these people are extremely strong. Be careful if you run into them.
Auron: ok
Tim: OK
Jace: OK
Simon: ok
Serena: ok
Lena: ok
Peter: [shy.jpg]
Auron smiled, set his phone on the bedside table, closed his eyes, and began settling into sleep. At the same time, his mind simulated battles against the Pokémon Peter had just mentioned.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, Auron was once again the early riser.
After preparing breakfast and eating with both his own Pokémon and Dax's, they all headed out together for a morning jog.
Auron had spent the past few days like this. Not only did he take his own Pokémon on morning runs—Dax's Pokémon also joined in.
Now that Dax finally had some time to himself, he'd been sleeping in every single morning.
Auron had every reason to suspect that Dax had agreed to the chancellor's request to return to his alma mater to watch the freshman tournament purely to give himself a vacation.