As Umbreon slowly rose to its feet, Ashen turned to Auron.
"This spot's good enough. Let's see how well you can command in a battle."
"Alright, Dad. Let's do this!"
In a clearing deep within the forest, Umbreon and Kommo-o faced each other. The dragon let out an excited roar, but Umbreon remained calm and composed.
"When the stone hits the ground, the battle begins."
Ashen tossed a small stone into the air. As it dropped, both trainers called out at the same time:
"Umbreon—Baby-Doll Eyes!"
"Kommo-o—Aura Sphere!"
Kommo-o ignored the charm effect entirely, standing firm and powering up its aura sphere, hurling it directly at Umbreon.
Ashen raised a brow and glanced at his son. He hadn't expected Auron to take such a bold risk—predicting that Ashen would open with a stat debuff. If Kommo-o had been interrupted mid-charge, the move would have failed, and it would've taken free damage. But Ashen quickly adjusted.
"Umbreon, dodge it—then use Dark Pulse!"
"Kommo-o—Dragon Dance!"
Auron remained unfazed as Umbreon narrowly dodged the attack. He seized the opportunity to buff Kommo-o's stats instead.
"Kommo-o—use Dragon Tail to break through the Dark Pulse!"
"Umbreon—Taunt!"
Ashen knew his dragon well. If Kommo-o was allowed to Belly Drum and Rest mid-battle, things would spiral fast. The Taunt would lock out any setup moves.
Kommo-o's tail slammed through the incoming dark energy, scattering it like shards of black glass.
"It's down to raw strength now, Kommo-o!"
The dragon roared in response, eyes burning with battle spirit as it stared down its opponent.
"Umbreon, let's not get outpaced!"
"Umbre!"
"Kommo-o—Close Combat!"
"Umbreon—Iron Tail!"
Umbreon's tail shimmered silver and struck first, but Kommo-o's Close Combat connected at nearly the same time. Umbreon was flung backward, while Kommo-o stumbled a couple of steps. The Iron Tail clearly hadn't done much.
Ashen's eyes lit up. All that training really paid off. He quickly followed up.
"Moonlight!"
"Interrupt him, Kommo-o—Boomburst!"
Auron saw Umbreon's eyes start to glow. He knew what was coming. If he didn't break the healing process, all his earlier work would be wasted.
Just before Umbreon could finish casting, the thunderous blast of Kommo-o's Boomburst knocked it back, disrupting the skill. Umbreon staggered, panting.
Taking a boosted Close Combat and a Boomburst back-to-back… if this weren't Umbreon with those insane defenses, any other Dark-type would've dropped by now.
"Not bad, Auron. That was a clean call."
Ashen's eyes gleamed with pride after witnessing his son decisively use a sound-based attack to cancel the heal.
"Kommo-o—again! Close Combat!"
"That's enough. Umbreon, Protect, then go into Moonlight."
A transparent barrier shimmered around Umbreon, perfectly blocking the incoming strike. Its forehead markings began to glow as it initiated recovery.
"Kommo-o—Ice Punch! Stop it!"
As soon as he saw those markings light up, Auron knew what was coming. He called out the counter.
But it was too late.
The Ice Punch connected—but Moonlight had already landed. Umbreon weathered the punch thanks to its sturdy bulk.
Though limited due to daylight, the Moonlight restored a fair bit of stamina. If Umbreon kept healing like this, it would be hard to win.
Even worse, Auron thought, Close Combat dropped Kommo-o's defenses twice already. If this keeps up, we're in trouble. And let's face it—Dad's no rookie.
"Kommo-o—Earthquake!"
"Umbreon, jump!"
Kommo-o slammed its tail into the ground, sending tremors through the earth. Umbreon, quick on its feet, leapt into the air.
When Auron saw the plan going exactly as he'd hoped, he grinned.
Ashen saw that grin and felt something wasn't right. His heart skipped a beat.
"Umbreon, Protect the moment you land!"
"Too late! Kommo-o, Belly Drum—then end it with Brick Break!"
Auron's voice rang out with confidence.
Kommo-o's eyes glinted red as thunder rumbled through its body. Its claw lit up with fighting energy, and as Umbreon touched down, it was slammed by the devastating blow and sent flying.
Ashen rushed over to check Umbreon. Confirming it was just unconscious and not seriously hurt, he called for a staff member to take it to the recovery room, then walked back over to his son.
"So you were banking on me ordering Umbreon to jump?"
"Had to take the risk. That was the fastest route to victory. The landing gave Kommo-o enough time to buff and strike."
Auron gave Kommo-o an appreciative pat on its flank.
Ashen chuckled. "What if I hadn't told Umbreon to jump? What was Plan B?"
"Well… if you didn't jump, you'd either eat the Earthquake, block with Protect, or counterattack. But if you tried Protect again after just using it, odds are it'd fail. And if you went for a direct counter, the tremor could interrupt it. Jumping was the safest option—you'd pick it most of the time."
"Solid read. But what if I had taken the hit and survived? Or if Protect worked again?"
"In that case, Umbreon would probably be left a little shaken. Then I'd follow up with Aura Sphere—I haven't used it yet, so you probably forgot Kommo-o even had it. With Umbreon's defenses, it'd still survive, but I'd stick close and keep pressuring so you couldn't cast Moonlight again."
"And if both Protects succeeded?"
"Then I'd take the free time to boost Kommo-o with Work Up or even Sword Dance. By then, one good Pounce plus Aura Sphere should be enough to take it down."
Auron shrugged, a calm smile on his face.
Ashen blinked. Huh. I really did forget about Aura Sphere...
"You've definitely got what it takes to ace the practical exam. You might even qualify for special admission, depending on how well your Pokémon performs."
"Don't worry, Dad. I've got my sights set on becoming a Breeder."
"A Breeder, huh? That's a great dream. I'm proud of you, son."
In the gentle glow of the forest morning, father and son exchanged smiles and bumped fists—firm and resolute.
…
Over lunch, Ashen brought something up.
"Son, this afternoon, why don't we visit the main egg distributor in Chang'an City? Your mom got a tip last night—apparently, they're receiving a batch of eggs from top-tier Pokémon parents."
"Really? But… I thought we were supposed to focus on just one partner until after the exams?"
"That's true—for students aiming at regular universities. But for top 10 schools in the country, it's a whole different game. If you only have one battle-ready Pokémon when the semester begins, you're at a serious disadvantage."
Ashen went on. "Take Skyspire for example. A week after orientation, you'll be expected to compete in 2v2 battles. Two months later, it'll be 3v3. And by the second semester, full 6v6 matches."
"The better the school, the more they care about your ability to train multiple Pokémon. Back when I was in school, I didn't realize this and had to 1v2 and even 1v3 just to stay competitive. I didn't start raising Lucario and Aggron—well, it was just Aron back then—until summer break. But by second term, battles had already shifted to full teams."
"I missed out on a ton of rare school resources just because I didn't have enough Pokémon. That's why I want you to get your second partner early—you won't fall behind when classes start."
Ashen sighed at the memory, clearly still a bit regretful.
"Also, don't worry about the money. I already put a million credits in your card. You'll keep earning more from your energy cube formulas, too. And since you can make and improve them yourself, you're more than capable of managing training costs."
Auron paused, then nodded with a grin. "Alright, Dad—you've convinced me. Let's go after lunch."
Ashen smiled, satisfied. "Good. We'll go together."
(End of Chapter)
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