At last, Gengar finished unloading everything from its round little belly.
The sheer amount of loot easily filled Ashen's entire private research lab. His lab wasn't as big as the ones owned by institutes, but it was far from small—yet now it was completely buried under items.
And that was without counting the crates of Berries still piled up outside.
When it was finally done, Gengar flopped flat on the ground, too tired to move a finger.
Auron walked over curiously and patted its belly.
"Man, you can really pack it in. Good work, Gengar. I'll add another box of Poké Puffs for you."
Instantly, Gengar perked up, sprang to its feet, slapped Auron on the shoulder, and gave him a big thumbs-up.
Dax Jonas was already rubbing his hands together, eyes glowing as he stared at the treasures covering the tables and floors.
"Time to split the loot, time to split the loot!"
Ashen shot him a glare. "Loot? Can you not make it sound so vulgar?"
He turned to Auron.
"What's the split you two agreed on?"
"Eighty–twenty," Auron answered.
"Fine. Let's start with the Berries first, shall we?"
Dax flashed an "OK" sign.
"Works for me. I'll take whatever."
"Alright then. Let's go."
The three stepped carefully over the heaps of held items and walked outside. Only the crates of Berries remained there, surrounded by curious Pokémon.
The staff had already sorted and organized them neatly before heading back to the storefront.
"Let's start with this crate."
Auron went over and looked—an entire box of Oran Berries, the most common of the basics.
"I don't need these."
"Yeah, let your mom sell them in the shop," Ashen agreed.
"Same here," Dax said.
"Alright. What about the other basics?"
Auron teased, "Might as well leave all the basics for Mom. I doubt Uncle Dax has any use for them either."
"Mm-hmm, skip it, skip it. Let's get to the good stuff," Dax said, barely paying attention to the banter. His mind was already set on the fortune ahead.
Once the common Berries were pushed aside, only the crates of rarer ones remained.
Dax picked up a fiery orange-red Berry.
"Chilan Berries—fire resist. I'll take these. You want any, Auron?"
Auron waved a hand.
"No, go ahead."
What he had in hand was a Starf Berry—the key ingredient for aptitude-enhancing Pokéblocks. His pulse quickened as he began hunting through the crates for other recipe fruits.
Before long, the two had sorted everything.
Dax didn't have much he needed, so he took just the Chilan, Passho (ground resist), and Tanga (fighting resist) Berries.
Auron swept up the rest—and sure enough, he found not one but three full sets of ingredients for aptitude-boosting Pokéblock recipes. He even picked up a couple of extras, like two stray Enigma Berries, though not enough to form a set.
On top of that, he also uncovered two full sets for another rare recipe.
Satisfied, Auron lugged a crate of the common Berries aside and scattered them among the Pokémon waiting eagerly at the edges. Then he followed Ashen and Dax back into the lab.
Now it was time for the real treasures: the items—and the Pokémon Eggs.
"Let's start with the Eggs first," Ashen suggested.
The Eggs took up the most space. Though not many, they still filled an entire workbench.
"Fine by me," said Dax.
"Same here," added Auron.
Ashen picked one up, its shell swirled with brown markings.
"This one's likely Ground or Rock-type. Who wants it?"
As he spoke, Auron activated his data-vision ability and scanned the Egg.
Pokémon: Mudbray
Gender: Male
Type: Ground
Ability: Stamina – Increases Defense when hit. Each consecutive strike still triggers it. Does not trigger on self-inflicted confusion damage.
Potential: Blue
Basic Moves: Rock Smash, Mud-Slap
Egg Moves: Double-Edge, Roar, Knock Off
Dax raised his hand.
"You know me. If it's not Steel, ask Auron instead."
Ashen nodded. "Well, Auron?"
"Put it up for sale in the shop. I already have three Pokémon, and once Grandpa gives me another, that'll be four. I'd rather wait for something I really like."
"Alright. Next one, then."
He lifted another Egg, this one covered in dark green swirls.
"Bug or Grass, most likely."
Auron checked.
Pokémon: Grubbin
…
"Store it," Auron said.
"Okay, next."
And so it went, Ashen identifying each Egg's likely typing, while Auron confirmed with his ability. Dax refused anything that wasn't Steel-type, and Auron left most for the shop.
"Here's one with blue markings. Likely Water-type."
"Pass. Next."
Pokémon: Piplup
Gender: Male
Type: Water
Ability: Defiant – When any stat is lowered by an opponent, Attack rises by two stages for each lowered stat. Does not trigger from self-lowering moves.
Potential: Orange
Basic Moves: Pound, Growl
Egg Moves: Icy Wind, Signal Beam, Water Pledge, Water Pulse
"Hold on," Auron said. "I think this one suits Uncle Dax."
"Huh?" Dax frowned. "Me? But I only want Steel-types. That's Water."
Ashen looked knowingly at Auron.
"Your aura told you, didn't it?"
"…Yeah," Auron admitted.
Ashen quickly explained his son's unique aura ability to Dax.
That got him interested.
"A Water-type that suits me? Wait… water and steel… Empoleon! This must be a Piplup Egg."
Ashen rubbed the Egg with fascination.
"Indeed, Empoleon is Water/Steel. Though Piplup and Prinplup start as pure Water. Makes sense. So? Do you want it?"
"Of course I do!" Dax snatched the Egg into his arms.
"Perfect. Water/Steel covers exactly what I was missing. Lucky me."
"You should thank Auron," Ashen muttered. "If not for him, you would've missed out on this excellent shield."
Dax rolled his eyes at him, then clapped Auron on the shoulder.
"Good work, kid. I'll look out for you from now on."
He shot Ashen a glare.
"Tch. You're the one who said it was just a Water Egg—I almost passed it. All thanks to Auron here."
Auron chuckled awkwardly and didn't comment.
With that resolved, they continued through the Eggs.
"Here's one with purple swirls—likely Poison."
Pokémon: Stunky
…
They skipped it.
Egg after Egg was examined. Eventually, one finally caught Auron's eye.
"This one, with sapphire-blue patterns… likely Ice-type."
"Oho, Ice? Isn't that the type your little girlfriend wants to build her team around?" Dax teased, waggling his brows.
Auron groaned.
"What girlfriend? She's just a classmate, and yes, she likes Ice-types. Who told you she was my girlfriend?"
"Your dad, last night."
Auron shot back, smirking, "Oh? So you were bold enough to hang around Grandpa, huh? Didn't he smack you for it?"
Dax puffed up with pride.
"Of course not. I went right up and told him: 'Don't worry, I'll bring Qianyi home to you in a few days.' The old man was thrilled. Otherwise, why would he tell me your gossip?"
Auron couldn't help laughing at how pleased he looked.
"You know… if I told Grandpa that you were just using Aunt Qianyi to scam him for Luxury Balls, how do you think he'd react?"
(End of Chapter)