After breakfast, Auron took Charmeleon, Crobat, and Corphish to the training room at the Pokémon Battle Center as usual.
However, unlike yesterday, today there was also a pink little Dratini who absolutely insisted on clinging to Auron.
Originally, Auron had planned to leave Dratini at home, since newly hatched Pokémon tended to sleep a lot.
But Dratini refused. No matter what he said, she insisted on following him, and in the end, she simply wrapped herself around Auron's waist.
Left with no choice, Auron had to bring her along to the training room. However, he'd already explained to her that the training room would be rather boring with not much to do, so she might get bored.
Dratini didn't care about any of that—as long as she could stay with Auron, that was enough. She nodded without hesitation, then coiled her tail around his waist, raised her body upward, and rested her head on his shoulder.
Just like that, with Dratini "wrapped" around him, they headed out together.
It had to be said, though—Auron's appearance definitely drew attention. And with Dratini being pink, it attracted even more eyes.
All along the way, everyone who saw Auron's Dratini would pull out their phones to take pictures. Some even sneakily followed him to record videos.
This was getting unbearable. Auron tried negotiating with Dratini—would she mind going into her Poké Ball for now and coming back out once they reached the training room?
But Dratini shook her head adamantly, indicating that was absolutely not happening. She wanted to stay on Auron's body.
In the end, Auron endured the entire torturous journey under the gazes of passersby, struggling his way into the Pokémon Battle Center's training room.
What Auron didn't know was that videos of him and Dratini were rapidly spreading online. He'd be going viral very soon.
"Dratini, stay here for a bit, okay? We're going to train now."
Auron patted Dratini's head and placed her on a nearby bench, which was filled with various Pokéblocks, Pokémon snacks, and fresh Moomoo Milk.
Meanwhile, Auron's mother's Pokémon shop had been built. Although it wasn't decorated yet, that didn't stop her from putting out advertisements.
"Grand opening! Everything 10% off! Quality guaranteed! All Pokémon in eggs will have aptitude no lower than purple! Plus one pseudo-legendary egg available!"
Just like that, even before opening, Auron's mother's shop had already become popular within a small circle.
Days passed peacefully and quickly. After several days of training, the two Charmeleon—well, they didn't show any obvious differences from before, but because they spent each day so fully, their energy and spirits looked even better.
At this moment, the two Charmeleon were battling. Their daily battle had become a mandatory activity—every time training ended, the two Charmeleon would clash without needing anyone to say a word.
Dratini loved watching the two Charmeleon fight. Whenever they battled, she would excitedly sway her body on the sidelines, cheering them on.
While the two Charmeleon fought, Peter wasn't idle either, commanding Drilbur in battle against Corphish.
Honestly speaking, there was quite a significant difference in combat power between Pokémon battles with a trainer's commands versus without.
Like this battle—Peter was commanding Drilbur against Corphish, who had no commands from Auron.
Although Corphish had the advantage and had even won once before, without Auron's commands this time, he kept failing to find opportunities to defeat the commanded Drilbur.
Under Peter's guidance, Drilbur unhurriedly searched for openings, and the situation gradually began to shift into his control.
Worth mentioning was that this time it wasn't just Pupitar watching the show—there was also Abra, who'd hatched just a few days ago.
The two Pokémon floated quietly beside the battlefield, silently observing the four Pokémon's battle.
After a while, both battles reached their conclusions. The two Charmeleon had once again fought until both were completely exhausted and collapsed together.
Meanwhile, under Peter's command, Drilbur came out slightly ahead, knocking Corphish down in the Sandstorm.
After the three of them took their Pokémon to the medical room for treatment, they each headed home.
Auron was still wrapped by Dratini as the two of them "happily" walked home.
Over the past few days, the route Auron took home had become an internet celebrity check-in spot. Every day, people would camp out along that path, waiting for Auron to pass by with his pink Dratini.
Just two days ago, someone had even blocked Auron directly in the street, wanting to buy Dratini outright with cash.
The person kept going on about how rich his family was, how wealthy they were, how great his father was, and how they definitely wouldn't mistreat Dratini, and so on.
Auron wasn't angry. He simply told him, "My Dratini isn't for sale, but I know someone else who has a shiny pseudo-legendary—and it's both handsome and strong. I'll give you the number. Why don't you ask if he's selling?"
The person readily agreed, and after writing down the phone number, he immediately made the call.
"Hello? I heard you have a shiny pseudo-legendary. Are you selling? Name your price."
On the other end, Grandpa Flint froze, then burst out laughing. He said directly, "Sure! Where are you? I'll come find you—let's do the transaction in person."
Apparently, the person gave his father's company address, then after hanging up, he grabbed Auron's hands with tears in his eyes.
"You're such a good person! I never thought I'd have a day when I could own a shiny pseudo-legendary! I'm so excited!"
Auron said nothing, silently extracted his hand, gave him a perfunctory smile, and left.
He didn't know what happened afterward, but for those couple days, Grandpa Flint seemed to be in a very good mood.
After arriving home and finishing dinner, Auron lay in the courtyard, listening to his Pokémon playing and frolicking nearby. He closed his eyes contentedly.
"Another fulfilling day~"
"Ding ding ding ding Ding"
Suddenly, a phone notification pulled Auron from his daydream back to reality. He picked up his phone and saw it was a message in the group chat from Tim.
Tim: [video]
Tim: Holy crap, Auron, you're famous! A shiny Dratini—I'm so jealous!
Simon: [image.jpg]
Simon: A pseudo-legendary? Surely everyone has one by now, right?
Tim: Whoa, Dreepy!! So jealous!
Lena: Surely everyone has one, right? Right?
Lena: [image.jpg]
Jace: [eating lemons.jpg]
Serena: [jealous.jpg]
Auron: @Serena @Tim @Simon When are you guys coming to the capital? Jace isn't enough of a challenge for me anymore. Come to the capital and battle—let's see how much you've all improved!
Simon: Busy with studies, bye. [image.jpg]
Tim: Bye. [image.jpg]
Jace: ...
Just like that, with one sentence from Auron, everyone in the group fell silent, while Auron just smiled, put away his phone, and continued enjoying the cheerful laughter of his Pokémon.