"Lana, where'd you trick a Zorua into coming from…?"
"Hehe, can't fool you, Brother Sheng—yep, it's a Zorua!"
The Lana on the left clapped the "Lana" on the right. White light shimmered; a black fox the size of Houndour dropped to Lana's feet.
Houndour trotted up to play. Zorua coolly lifted a forepaw and nudged him away.
Zorua: "Stupid dog. Back off—I don't want your dumb rubbing off on me."
A few questions later, Ethan had the gist: just like the secret manual burning a hole in his bag, this Zorua was the Dark Faculty's sweetener to recruit Lana.
In her three trial matches, Lana's chain of Fake Out + Torment + Baby-Doll Eyes + Swagger had dazzled the proctors—on top of Iron Tail and Protect as bonus points. So after a clean sweep, the "famished" Huang Yi moved fast.
Upstairs, his eyes had practically gone red; if anyone tried to poach this student, he'd have thrown hands. Sure, Boss Cat (Persian) is pure Dark so there's no faculty tug-of-war… but section placement happens after enrollment, and it's entirely up to students. If a gem like this got siphoned into Fire/Water/Grass, the old master would have his hide.
So he slapped down his own Zorua line as a bet. Turned out the little fox liked Lana back, and they inked a stack of terms.
To get Zorua, she'd commit to the Dark track—and her Starter pick would be either Froakie or Litten.
Which fit Lana perfectly. Being a consummate "Ethan disciple," she also haggled for more. Scarred by her earlier hunt for Lum Berries, she knew how rare they were; without even comparing notes, she mirrored Ethan and swapped her custom feed stipend for a fruit stipend—though hers landed at 50,000 credits, half of Ethan's.
At their ankles, Houndour kept trying to cozy up to the aloof Zorua. The look on that dog was… unbecoming.
"Bro. What are you doing." Ethan yanked Houndour back before he embarrassed them both.
Lana stroked Zorua's head, helpless. "Why are you trying to charm him out of nowhere?"
Ethan: "… "
So… both of her picks counter Houndour? One coquettes; the other seduces. Little genius. Trying to make my Houndour lose all face?
—
Round Three wrapped. Yuna swapped contacts and headed out. Ethan and Lana lingered—one last chore: spanking the Rock Gym's second heir.
Under Regis's witness, Wang Xiao and Lana faced off.
Wang Xiao looked down his nose, but he'd prepped—he'd been replaying Lana's trial footage in the monitoring room. The moment Aerodactyl launched, it kept circling high, refusing to meet "Boss Cat's" gaze.
Hypnosis trauma?
Later, Yuna would tell Ethan: Boss Cat had just popped off lately—Hypnosis success rate way up.
But… was this really Boss Cat?
Ethan noticed "Boss Cat" was sharpening its claws—buffing itself.
Wang Xiao frowned. Wasn't Fake Out her opener? Why no ambush?
Before he could probe, Lana called for a Sucker Punch. "Boss Cat" sprang, raked Aerodactyl's back… and then its eyes flashed—Psychic rippled, grabbed the fossil and spiked it.
Psychic.
Not Boss Cat at all—Lana's brand-new Zorua.
The sky's overlord trembled—actual fear in its eyes. Ten percent proc, but Zorua hit the lottery. Another Psychic snared it midair and slammed it into a stone pillar. Down and out.
As the ref waved it off, the Persian silhouette shimmered and flowed back into Zorua.
Two L's in one day—this last to a peer he hadn't even identified. It rocked Wang Xiao. He scooped up Aerodactyl and left in a daze without a word.
Ethan clicked his tongue in the stands—what a waste. Why couldn't he run into one of those rich kids who dump their mon after a loss? In the daydream, Wang Xiao would boot Aerodactyl, noble Ethan would take it in… then, cue a tidy face-slap arc where Ethan returns with the "abandoned" mon to beat its old master and live happily ever after.
Alas, reality had other plans.
Regis saw them off from the Rock Gym beaming. Odd guy—earlier he'd asked them to "go easy" on his brother; now he was all "anyone who clobbers my bro is my kind of teammate." Plus the way he sets traps…
Regis = eel.
New cursed knowledge acquired.
—
That night, stuffed from a celebratory feast, they crashed back in their VIP room. No night bus; they'd ride out in the morning.
Both were thinking the same thing: utility mons. In this world, you don't live on battles alone—you take contracts outside the city. A proper trainer carries two tools:
one for flight/terrain,
one for water/ocean.
In the room, Ethan palmed the day's new ball.
Click—an Abra popped onto the bed.
"Arf!"
Houndour snapped his own ball and sprang out, planting himself between Ethan and the yellow fox, lips curled. Not friendly.
Fair—because of this one, they'd almost been roasted today, and Ethan had nearly caught stray shrapnel too.
"Houndour, easy. It's not all on him."
Wild mon wanders into Imperial High, gets netted, almost assigned as a Starter. To their credit, the school didn't force an unwanted bond… but afterward someone marked it as 'reserved,' so nobody else dared approach. It lived like a caged bird.
Given a crack to leave, of course it tried. Understandable. And in the end, Ethan came out the biggest winner.
He fished a Lum Berry Lana had lent him and waved it under Abra's nose.
The scent finally got a reaction; Abra lifted a hand, took the fruit, tossed it into its mouth—eyes still mostly closed.
Was it awake? Who could tell.
"Word is an Abra sleeps through everything but still senses the room. So I'll be blunt."
"You probably don't actually want to follow me. I'm not a psychic. The Alakazam line prefers partners with strong psionics. You didn't like Li Yuan's psychic-born kid; odds are you won't like me either. If you want out, just say so—I'll let you go."
He dangled the ball in front of its face and waited… three, four minutes. Abra slowly cracked one eye with a drowsy look.
Ethan: … Should I repeat that?
Before he could, a young voice spoke in his head.
Telepathy.Rule-breaking, huh?
Abra shouldn't have that—Telepathy's a rare trait (think Gardevoir line, certain legendaries). Ethan tamped down the shock and listened.
"I chose you. Why are you trying to send me away? Is your brain broken?"
Ethan smirked inside. Another mouthy "master," is it? Fine—polite now, reality check later.
"Doesn't your line prefer psychic partners? Or… do I actually have latent talent you just sensed?"
Hope flickered. Every other transmigrator gets a cheat—maybe his was late delivery?
Abra pried its eyes wider, studied him head to toe.
"Impossible. You're hopeless. With that brain, no way you grow psychic power."
…
Excellent. Little menace.
"Houndour."
"Arf!"
"Wait—don't sic the evil mutt on me. You really don't have the talent. It's innate; not my fault!"
Houndour bunched to spring. A ghostly eye opened on Abra's brow—Miracle Eye. It glanced once; a Revealed state fell over Houndour. With that marker set, Abra's Telekinesis shoved Houndour back onto the mattress.