Breeder System: I Raise Mythical Pokemon

After two days of training and sparring, Jace had finally reached the point where he could occasionally predict Auron's moves—though, to be fair, with newborn Pokémon limited to just two or three moves, there weren't a ton of options. Still, it was definite progress.

Jace's straight-A student instincts were a huge help. Whenever he made a mistake in battle, he never repeated it. Slowly, he was leaving the "armchair commander" phase behind.

After three days of head-to-head practice, a ranking had naturally emerged between their Pokémon. In first place? Auron's Zubat, without a doubt.

Flying-types had a huge advantage in early battles—if your opponent couldn't reach you, all they could do was stand there and watch. Torkoal's Ember could reach, but thanks to Zubat's speed and Auron's focused training on his awareness, Torkoal could rarely land a hit.

Second place was Torkoal. With Ember and Smog, he could fight at range or up close, and his natural defense meant that unless Munchlax or Growlithe could take him down quickly, they'd be poisoned and whittled away.

Third was Munchlax—another close-combat specialist. Munchlax could basically smack Growlithe around.

Growlithe, unfortunately, landed in last place. He couldn't beat anyone. After each loss, he'd run laps around the field to burn off his heartbreak.

Honestly, there wasn't much difference between second and third. If Munchlax didn't get poisoned, Torkoal couldn't break through his defenses. But if the fight got close and the poison landed, Munchlax would inevitably go down. That's why he stayed just below Torkoal in their rankings.

"Auron! You ready for school? Is your bag packed? Get up and eat your breakfast!"

On school days, Mrs. Vale seemed like a whole different person—her sweet demeanor replaced by the "drill sergeant mom" mode.

"Coming, coming, I'm up!" Auron scrambled out of bed, got dressed, and called Zubat and Munchlax to join him for breakfast.

For Munchlax, breakfast was a mountain of Pokémon food and five boxes of energy cubes. Zubat was simpler—just Pokémon food and a single box of cubes.

Since their hatching, and now that they were leaving the newborn stage, their appetites had grown and grown. Auron had been carefully blending high-energy cubes for them, and it showed—their physical condition was way above average for their species and age.

"Finished! Dad, Mom, I'm heading out."

"Study hard!" called Ashen from the kitchen.

"Okay. Munchlax, Zubat—Pokéballs, please. Time for school."

Auron slung his bag over his shoulder, took the two Pokéballs, and watched as red light whisked both Pokémon inside.

"I'm off!"

"Be careful on your way!"

"Auron!" Jace was waiting at the school gate and, as soon as he spotted Auron, charged over and launched himself onto his back.

"Dude! Get off me—you're heavy as a Snorlax!" Auron groaned under the weight.

"Excuse me, I'm a perfectly healthy weight, thank you very much," Jace replied, dropping down and then throwing an arm around Auron's shoulders as they walked toward the building.

"So, Auron—when do you think our Pokémon will finally be able to use those inherited moves in battle?"

Auron shrugged. "Keep training. Once they're out of the newborn stage, it should get easier."

They'd both noticed: except for Zubat's Air Slash and Torkoal's Smog, their Pokémon could only use their inherited moves in training. In battle, they needed too much time to charge up, which meant their opponents could interrupt them. Later in battles, sometimes their Pokémon just didn't have the stamina left for a big move at all.

They guessed it was all about move proficiency. If their Pokémon weren't used to a move, it took longer to pull off—and if they were tired, high-power moves were even harder. Later battles confirmed their theory.

Jace sighed. "Man, I can't wait for the day we can have a real brawl—just unleashing big moves, no holding back."

"Maybe focus on your command skills first. You don't want to breeze through exams and then flop in the trainer assessment at Skyspire," Auron teased.

"Please. I'm gonna ace everything. I've been watching a ton of Pokémon breakdown videos these past few days. You haven't noticed how fast I'm improving?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep at it," Auron replied, dropping his bag onto his desk and sprawling over it with a yawn.

"Whoa—Auron, Jace, you two are actually early for once? That's a surprise."

As they bantered, a cool but silly voice cut in. The words were chilly, but the tone was pure goofball—leaving Auron completely at a loss.

"Serena Elm, your mom didn't raise you to play the ditz, you know."

"Excuse me? I'm obviously the mysterious ice-queen type," Serena shot back, hands on hips.

Auron gave up. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever makes you happy."

"So what about you two? What's your starter Pokémon? Show me!" Serena plopped herself in the chair in front of Auron, chin propped up, eyes bright with curiosity.

"My starter's Zubat."

"Mine's Growlithe," Jace added.

"Zubat? Crobat is so cool! I can't wait to see yours evolve."

"Yeah, for sure," Auron said, not really paying attention.

The group dynamic was always the same: Auron was the center, Serena played the fangirl, and Jace… well, he was the eternal outsider, grinning like a proud aunt.

Serena hadn't been part of their little group from the start. She'd joined in middle school. In the beginning, she'd always tag along when Jace and Auron hung out. Later, Auron thought she was actually pretty cute. With Jace already along, he figured, "Eh, what's one more?" (He'd never admit that his curiosity was really about Serena's mismatched "cool voice, goofy heart" vibe.)

Jace, meanwhile, wondered if Serena might have a crush on Auron—she stuck to him like glue.

As for Serena? She definitely did have a crush on Auron, but she was too shy to make a move. And so, the three of them played together from middle school all the way to now.

"So, what's your starter?" Auron asked.

"Feebas! And don't say it's ugly—it's adorable! Here, I'll show you." Serena jumped up, went to the back of the classroom to fetch a bucket, filled it with water, and released her Feebas into it. Both boys came over to take a look.

Pokémon: Feebas

Gender: Female

Type: Water

Ability: Adaptability (boosts same-type move power)

Potential: Red tier

Basic moves: Tackle, Water Gun

Egg moves: Confuse Ray, Dragon Breath, Hypnosis, Ice Beam

"Why'd you pick a Feebas? It can't even evolve. How are you going to pass the trainer exam?" Jace poked Feebas with a finger.

Smack!

"Don't you talk about Beauty like that! She's adorable!" Serena protested, glaring at Jace. In the bucket, Feebas looked up at her trainer with sparkling, grateful eyes.

"Actually, this one does look kind of nice. Not like the usual Feebas," Auron admitted.

This Feebas had the same potential as Ashen's Kommo-o. With a dedicated trainer like Serena, there was a real chance it could evolve into Milotic without needing a Prism Scale.

Jace was still skeptical. "So, how are you going to handle the exams?"

"I'll raise another Pokémon for the exam, but I'm not giving up on Beauty." Serena hugged Feebas close, looking at her with determination.

Milotic's pre-evolution was Feebas—everyone knew that. But since Prism Scales were so rare, the conditions for evolving Feebas had always been a mystery. After all, wild Milotic only appeared after a Prism Scale dropped at a Milotic's death.

Back when people first realized Milotic evolved from Feebas, Feebas became the most sought-after Pokémon around. Demand soared, and with so few in the wild, they almost disappeared. But over time, when trainers found their Feebas never evolved, disappointment set in, and the infamous "mass abandonment" of Pokémon began.

These days, almost no one bothered raising Feebas. If it couldn't evolve, what was the point?

"Where'd you get yours?" Auron asked, running a hand over Feebas's bumpy scales.

Who wouldn't want a Milotic? The one at Auron's house had held a grudge against him ever since, as a kid, he'd called it ugly. Now, whenever he got near the pond, he'd get spit on. He could only dream of training one himself.

"From the Love Pokémon Store. The manager told my dad they'd just gotten a batch of high-potential eggs. You know how I am, so I picked a Water-type. They didn't even tell me what was inside!"

Auron's eyes widened. "Wait, I was there that day! I didn't see that egg at all…"

Serena frowned, "You were there? How'd I miss you? Or did you just not see me?"

Auron waved her off. "Guess I was too focused. I saw that golden Munchlax egg and got completely distracted. Didn't even check the others."

Jace butted in, "So what's the story? Anything you're not telling me?"

Serena grinned. "The egg ties into my dream, but I'll tell you about it later. Ask Auron if you're curious."

"Put Beauty away, Serena. You're gonna splash the classroom." She recalled Feebas and skipped back to her seat.

"So, what's her dream?" Jace pressed.

"Later. I'll tell you during break."

"Oh, come on, not you too!"

The three friends bickered all the way back to their seats as the classroom started to fill. With the homeroom teacher due any minute, nobody wanted to get caught goofing off.

(End of Chapter)

---------

Please Give me Power Stones support me on Patreon @ patreon(dot)com/SorenEclipse : Read 15 Chapters Ahead on Patreon