Auron waved a hand on reflex. "Hey. Cut it out."
He rolled over and sank back into the battle with Dante.
"Tya!"
Farfetch'd's cool, flat expression flickered — just barely. He jabbed Auron's face with the leek again.
"Char? ...Char?"
Charizard had just come back from downstairs carrying a bottle of Moomoo Milk. He stopped in the doorway, eyes wide, staring at the scene in front of him.
Farfetch'd was standing on Snorlax's belly, brow slightly furrowed, methodically pressing his leek into the dimple of Auron's blissfully smiling cheek.
The window was wide open. Golbat was already gone, out somewhere. Crawdaunt was lying in the basin with both claws hooked over the rim, soaking like an old man in a hot spring.
Snorlax hadn't moved. Farfetch'd was standing on him and he had no idea. Still snoring.
Across the room, Deoxys sat with gentle eyes fixed on Dratini curled up in his lap, a quiet pulse of psychic energy gathered around her like a shell — holding out the noise so that neither Farfetch'd's jabbing nor Auron's murmuring could reach her.
Probopass had been moved in too, sleeping soundly beside her, tail draped over his side as if she'd done it herself.
"Char?"
"E-lec! Elec, lec lec lec—"
Charizard looked questioningly at Electabuzz. Electabuzz was already losing it — doubled over, wheezing with silent laughter, barely holding himself together.
When he caught his breath, he pointed at the leek still pressed against Auron's cheek, and at Farfetch'd's increasingly stormy expression.
Farfetch'd noticed that even after all of that, Auron still wasn't awake. His frown deepened.
"Char!"
Charizard called over to Farfetch'd, gesturing toward the Moomoo Milk — come eat something first.
Farfetch'd shook his head with a sigh, then stepped off Snorlax and walked over. He pulled out a grudging, lopsided smile for Charizard, then took the bottle and started drinking.
He'd only just hatched. He hadn't expected his trainer to be sleeping so soundly that he'd completely missed it — hadn't noticed him at all, let alone thought to get him anything to eat.
Farfetch'd drank the Moomoo Milk and watched the sleeping Auron from across the room. Then the man's arm shot out, pointing at the ceiling.
Farfetch'd's brow twitched.
Electabuzz, meanwhile, had hit the floor. Completely gone. Flat on his back, gasping.
Farfetch'd stared at him, then back at the trainer.
He was starting to wonder, genuinely, whether following this particular human had been the right decision.
If he was being accurate about it, he'd been conscious for several days already — awareness had come while he was still in the egg. But the reason he hadn't broken the shell sooner was simple: his energy hadn't felt right yet. So he'd stayed, waited, let it build.
This morning, once he'd absorbed the last of the nutrient solution, he'd judged himself ready and hatched.
The timing, though, had not been ideal.
It was barely past four in the morning. Auron's internal clock had him in the deepest part of his sleep cycle.
Charizard, having watched Auron raise Electabuzz and Dratini from birth, knew what newborns needed. Two things: Moomoo Milk, which he'd already brought up — and the Energy Cubes Auron prepared specially for new hatchlings.
"Char!"
He slipped into the next room and came back with the cubes.
Whatever had happened while he was gone, he couldn't tell. Only that Farfetch'd's frown had gotten worse, and Electabuzz was on the floor breathing deeply with a look of deep contentment.
Charizard glanced at Farfetch'd with a flicker of wariness. He couldn't have explained why, exactly — just something about the way Farfetch'd was staring that made him feel like he was looking at a very unhappy upperclassman.
"Tya!"
Farfetch'd saw the Energy Cubes in Charizard's outstretched hand, gave him another lopsided grimace of a smile, and turned back to watch Auron while he chewed.
*(Not very reliable. But the Energy Cubes taste decent. Good nutrition inside, actually. Should've come out sooner.)*
Charizard, catching the look Farfetch'd was giving Auron, quietly grabbed the still-sleeping Probopass and passed him to Deoxys, nodding toward the glowing pink psychic bubble — put him in there too.
Deoxys inclined his head, lifted Probopass with a gentle pulse of psychic energy, and set him down beside Dratini.
Dratini seemed to sense something. Her tail shifted.
Deoxys went very still.
Her tail settled over Probopass's shoulder. She was still asleep.
Deoxys let out a quiet breath.
Charizard watched him, and felt something like warmth coming off him — though that wasn't something he could have put into words. He shook it off and looked back at Farfetch'd, waiting to see what he'd do next.
Nothing, it turned out. Once the Energy Cubes were gone, Farfetch'd stopped moving.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, leek balanced across his knees, back straight, and closed his eyes.
Standing behind him, Charizard couldn't see the closed eyes. He kept watching, kept his guard up.
After a while, Electabuzz recovered, got up, walked over to Farfetch'd, and waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction at all. He clicked his tongue, interest gone, and went back to his bed.
Time passed quietly.
Charizard, still watching Farfetch'd, didn't notice when his own eyes slowly shut. He was asleep on the floor before he knew it.
---
6:40 a.m.
Auron's internal clock fired. He woke up.
"Mmm— oh, that was a good sleep. Really didn't want to come back."
He sat up, stretched, and muttered to himself.
His memory was still in the dream. Sirfetch'd, one hit — Meteor Assault — taking down Dante's Gigantamax Charizard. The whole crowd watching. Chairman Damaranchi draping the Champion's medal around his neck in person.
And then, on the awards platform, Marnie on one side and Lulina on the other, both pressing their lips to his cheeks.
"Heh... heh heh~"
The moment that sleepy smile broke across his face, Farfetch'd's eyes snapped open.
He rose, leapt, and swung down — one motion.
Auron felt the sudden strike incoming and his mind jolted awake on pure instinct. Aura surged out of his body, curved up into a half-dome barrier, and caught the blow.
"Farfetch'd?"
He looked up at Farfetch'd hanging in the air, leek pressed flat against the Aura shield, and called the name in startled recognition.
Farfetch'd looked at his reaction. Gave a single, measured nod. Landed cleanly.
"Farfetch'd! You actually hatched!"
The surprise burned off fast, replaced by a wave of pure excitement. He'd finally made it. He'd been waiting so long he'd started half-expecting Farfetch'd to pull a Deoxys on him.
(End of Chapter)