"Huh? How come?"
"After the Alolan Vulpix hatched, it turned out a bit frail. My mom was worried I couldn't look after it properly, so she and Alolan Ninetales are taking care of it for now."
"Oh, I see." Auron nodded. "Ask your mom in the next couple days if she can send the Alolan Vulpix over. I'll take her to my grandpa's research institute for a checkup."
"Really?"
Seeing the excitement in Serena's eyes, Auron puffed out his chest. "Of course. Forget the research institute—even for a Pokémon born with a weak constitution, I've got ways to make up for it."
"That's amazing, Auron! I'll tell my mom right now." Serena threw her arms around him in excitement, then dashed outside to call her mom.
"Ooh~"
"Tsk tsk~"
"Look at you, Auron."
The moment Serena disappeared, the whole group erupted in teasing—even Simon cracked a smile and gave Auron a thumbs-up.
"Ahem." Auron cleared his throat. "Let's keep looking. We still haven't found a Pokémon for Lena." He strode briskly ahead so his friends couldn't see the heat creeping up his face.
In his previous life, Auron had been single for over twenty years. He'd never been that close to a girl before. That sudden hug had turned him red from chin to ears.
"Chuu~ Chuu~"
"Hey—Dratini, what are you doing?"
Dratini was peering at him with an unmistakably teasing glint in her eyes, and Auron's composure crumbled on the spot.
"Chuu~"
"I do not!"
"Chuu~ Chuu~"
"My heart's beating fast because I jogged a few steps just now, okay?"
"Chuu~"
Dratini snickered and pressed the tip of her tail against Auron's chest, then shook her head slowly—her expression clearly reading: *You're not being honest.*
"Dratini, if you keep this up, no more movies for you. You're still young—you shouldn't be watching all that romance stuff."
Auron shot her a wounded look.
"Chuu!"
Dratini huffed and turned her head away with a haughty sniff, refusing to look at him any longer. Better to quit while she was ahead before she actually lost her movie privileges.
"Hmph~"
"Chuu!"
Auron let out a smug little hum at Dratini's retreat—but she was instantly displeased. She'd made up her mind: when they got home, she was going to gossip about Auron to Crobat and the others!
Without his friends and Dratini egging him on, Auron quickly regained his composure. By the time Serena returned, he was back to examining Pokémon eggs.
*Milotic, Cloyster, Galarian Darumaka, Alolan Vulpix, and then Sylveon... the offensive coverage would be awful. If a lineup like that ran into an Empoleon, they'd have zero answers.*
Auron stroked his chin in thought. In terms of type coverage, Serena's team had the weakest spread of anyone in their entire group. Against Steel-types, she'd be practically helpless—resisted and countered at the same time. A nightmare matchup.
The others didn't have that problem. Even Simon and Lena, who were going all-in on Ghost-types, had wide offensive coverage because Ghost was simply that versatile. Take Dragapult, for example—it could hit Water, Fire, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Dragon, Ghost, Dark, and Flying targets. Absolutely top-tier coverage.
Then there was Lucas. Among his Pokémon was the Alakazam that Auron had helped him pick out. Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon commanded high prices for a reason—beyond rarity, their coverage was equally comprehensive.
And Tyranitar's coverage was nothing to sneeze at either. The four elemental Fangs covering Electric, Fire, Ice, and Dark. Signature moves like Earthquake and Stone Edge. On top of that, it could learn Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. Plus Fighting-type moves, Dragon-type moves, Steel-type moves—and even the Ghost-type Shadow Claw.
Sure, Tyranitar had plenty of weaknesses. But its offensive reach was just as broad. In the real world especially, without the four-move limit, a single Tyranitar could cover virtually every type imaginable.
So Serena's was truly the only team with poor coverage. Against specialized teams—Dax's pure Steel lineup, for instance—she'd lose almost every time.
Auron was trying to think of a solution. Her first five Pokémon were already decided—nothing to change there. But the sixth slot was still open, which meant there was room to work with.
It was the same for him, really. His battle roster was fully set now, with Dratini simply excluded from the lineup.
Setting aside the fact that Dratini would evolve into a pudgy green Dragonite, she herself had no interest in fighting. Otherwise, given Dragonite's pseudo-legendary status, Auron would've at least asked for her opinion—even if he wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea of a green Dragonite.
But Dratini clearly didn't want to battle. The life she wanted was simply being at Auron's side. Good food, fun things to do, and a person she loved. Nothing to worry about. Others could handle the fighting. So she lounged beside Auron with zero guilt, perfectly content being a beautiful, cute, soft, understanding, elegant little freeloader.
Auron didn't mind. A trainer should always respect their Pokémon's wishes. After all, in this world, Pokémon weren't just game data—they were living, breathing creatures.
*Electric, Fighting, Ground... there aren't many Pokémon in those types that Serena would like, are there?*
*Forget it. I'll deal with that later. Let's find Lena her Ghost-type first.* Auron shook his head and went back to carefully examining the eggs.
"Is he okay? Did he overuse his Aura?"
Seeing Auron suddenly shake his head up ahead, Serena whispered worriedly to Lena.
"No way. Look at him—does he seem even slightly tired?"
"True." Serena nodded. "He's probably just lost in thought again."
Both Serena and Jace had been around Auron long enough to know he had a habit of randomly zoning out. Every time he suddenly shook or nodded his head to himself, Jace would curiously ask him what he'd been thinking about.
Serena, on the other hand, had just panicked out of concern—immediately worrying about whether Auron was exhausted since they'd been at it from morning until nearly noon, forgetting his little quirk entirely.
Meanwhile, Auron was completely oblivious to the whispered conversation behind him. His attention had drifted to the egg in front of him, and his thoughts were already wandering.
*A Farfetch'd's leek? If I ate it, where would it get a new one? And would the new leek taste the same as the old one—would it have that same special flavor?*
As a breeder, he naturally had enormous interest in ingredients, so the Farfetch'd egg in front of him had successfully caught his attention.
Yes, his interest was in the Farfetch'd's leek.
Not the Farfetch'd's meat.