"It's fine, I've got the money."
Owen pulled out his phone, scanned the QR code, and promptly paid the 500 Aurel challenge fee. Under the old man's amused gaze, Owen turned to his partner.
"Eevee, I'm counting on you."
"Vee..." Eevee let out a long, dramatic sigh. She hopped off Owen's shoulder and trotted to the center of the clearing, facing the Grumpig.
"Vee! Vee-vui!" She barked back at Owen, essentially saying: If we lose this, don't come crying to me!
Owen gave her a cheeky "OK" sign. He wouldn't blame her; he was just testing a theory.
"Well now, that's a brave 500 Aurels," the stall owner muttered, his eyes narrowing as he studied Eevee.
Thanks to a steady diet of high-quality Pokéblocks, Eevee's coat was lustrous, and her physique was lean and powerful from constant training and massage. Even though she was less than six months old, she looked more like a veteran's partner than a rookie's starter.
"You certainly seem confident." The old man signaled to Grumpig.
The Grumpig stepped forward. It stood on two legs, its body a mix of black and purple. As its gaze locked onto Eevee, both Owen and Eevee swallowed hard.
The challenge began.
Grumpig's arms began to sway in a rhythmic, hypnotic motion. The black pearls on its body began to glow with an eerie light.
Second 1: A wave of intense psychic energy washed over Eevee. She felt a sudden, crushing weight of exhaustion, as if she had stayed up for three days straight playing games on her phone.
Second 2: Eevee's eyelids began to droop. Her consciousness became a hazy fog. She fought to stay awake, but the intensity of the hypnosis was ramping up.
Second 3: The standoff continued. The old man looked confused—was this kid just a blockhead? He wasn't ordering Eevee to use a defensive move at all. No Heal Bell? No Refresh?
Owen didn't know those moves. But he wasn't a blockhead.
Just before the clock hit the third second, Owen took a deep breath. According to the rules, trainers were allowed to "cheer" or "encourage" their Pokémon to keep them awake.
Owen cupped his hands and roared: "EEVEE! MAGNEMITE JUST BLEW UP YOUR SMARTPHONE AGAIN!!"
In an instant, the Eevee who was about to drift into oblivion felt like she'd been jabbed by a thousand needles. Her eyes snapped open, wide and bloodshot. A surge of raw, volcanic energy erupted from within her, shattering the psychic fog like a hammer through glass.
Pop!
The hypnosis was forcibly broken. The Grumpig scratched its head in confusion and looked back at its master. Siyu and the surrounding crowd stared in shock. This was the first time anyone had actually interrupted the hypnosis.
And... what kind of code word was that?
"VEE-VUI!!"
Eevee, now fully awake and vibrating with fury, whirled around to find Magnemite. Where is that magnet?! "Uh, false alarm," Owen coughed quickly. "The 'phone blowing up' scenario is highly unlikely to happen again. You can relax."
Eevee: "???"
The clever Eevee immediately realized she'd been played. She shot Owen a look of pure betrayal. He hadn't warned her he was going to use such "despicable" psychological warfare to jumpstart her consciousness.
Still... it worked. The moment she heard those words, a surge of Rage Energy had flooded her system, the pure adrenaline of loss over-riding the Grumpig's mental suggestion.
The old man was stunned. "Is that... an application of Rage Energy?" He peered closer at Eevee. "This Eevee... it can consciously tap into emotional energy?"
Owen stiffened. This old guy has a sharp eye.
The stall owner chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, kid. You win. Pick anything you want from the table."
"However..." the old man paused. "Can I give you a piece of advice?"
Owen looked away from the treasures. "What do you mean, sir?"
The old man reached into a tattered cloth bag at his side, rummaged through it for a long time, and pulled out a weathered notebook. He flipped to the first page, where four bold characters were written: SWAGGER.
Move: Swagger.Provokes the opponent into a state of confusion. Due to the intense rage, the opponent's Attack stat rises sharply.
"Rage is a double-edged sword," the old man said. "If the 'Rage' move is about using your own anger to stay sharp, Swagger is about using mental suggestions to force your opponent into an uncontrollable state of fury.
Your Eevee already has a grasp on emotional energy and decent mental power. She'll learn this quickly, and it will help her master her own emotions in the process."
Owen took the notebook, staring at the old man. Up close, his hair was a bird's nest, and his clothes were caked in dust. He looked like a drifter, but his eyes were deep and piercing.
Owen found it hard to maintain eye contact for more than a second. He looked back down at the rare manual. "I can take this?"
"Of course."
Under the weight of the old man's gaze, Owen felt a bit dazed. Without much more thought, he accepted the recommendation.
Swagger...
"What was up with that guy?" Owen muttered as they walked out of the alley. He clutched the manual; it was the only proof that the encounter had actually happened.
"Why overthink it?" Siyu looked at the book with envy. "You actually won... and I don't think even Aurelia University's library has a manual for Swagger. That's an incredibly rare find."
"Is it?" Owen didn't usually focus on "status" moves. He preferred the big, flashy ones like Roar of Time or Spacial Rend—even if Eevee couldn't learn them.
But based on the old man's words, this move was the perfect fit for Eevee's unique growth path.
"Well, whatever," Owen grinned. "Time to go back and study this!"
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