After Elekid had eaten his fill, Auron played with him in the living room for a while. Before long, the little Pokémon was sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep.
Auron checked the time—it was only just past six o'clock. With no other choice, he gently picked up Elekid and prepared to carry him upstairs to sleep.
"Oh, morning, Crobat."
The moment Auron reached the top of the stairs, he spotted Crobat already awake, hovering in the air and staring at Snorlax's belly.
Upon suddenly hearing Auron's voice, Crobat turned his head toward him with evident delight.
He'd thought Auron had gone missing, but before he could even ask, he noticed Elekid snoozing away in Auron's arms.
"Shh, he's sleeping."
Auron whispered to Crobat, who cooperatively used one wing to cover his mouth and nodded.
However, the two pairs of wings on Crobat's upper body were rather large, and in his haste, he accidentally covered his entire head.
Auron chuckled softly but said nothing. He simply placed Elekid on Snorlax's belly.
The moment Snorlax felt something on his stomach, he instinctively wrapped his arms around the Pokémon without even opening his eyes.
He probably thought it was Charmander. Although Charmander had now evolved into Charmeleon, back when he was still a Charmander, he would often wander onto Snorlax's belly in the middle of the night while sleeping.
This protective habit of Snorlax's had developed after one particular night when Charmander had climbed onto his belly and then rolled off in his sleep.
The newly hatched Charmander had never experienced anything like that before. He'd sat right there on the floor and started wailing at the top of his lungs. It was after that incident that Snorlax began instinctively cradling any Pokémon that ended up on his stomach.
"Want to go for a run together?"
The moment Auron finished speaking, there was a whoosh as Crobat shot out the window, unable to contain his excitement.
Auron smiled and opened the door, heading outside as well. After all, he couldn't exactly jump from this height.
Along the way, Auron jogged leisurely through the neighborhood paths while Crobat happily followed behind him, gliding along at a relaxed pace.
Although Crobat wasn't flying as fast as he usually did during morning training, even this leisurely flight filled him with joy and excitement today.
After completing a lap, Auron returned home drenched in sweat. He took a shower first, and by the time he was done, his mother and grandmother had nearly finished preparing breakfast.
"Well, well. Did the sun rise in the west today? You're actually up early and going for a jog?"
His mother was in the kitchen, but her teasing words reached Auron's ears clearly.
"Tch, I train alongside my Pokémon, you know. Getting up early once in a while—look how shocked you are."
Auron spoke with a hint of defiance. What, was a person not allowed to get up early once?
"Let me guess—there's usually a reason for getting up early. And today there's a new Aura signature in the house. Don't tell me Elekid was born?"
Grandpa Ashford came down the stairs, speaking as he walked with a knowing smile.
"No way. Elekid's egg was only in the incubation tank for just over two days. He couldn't have hatched this quickly, could he?"
Grandmother Liu Xiangjun set breakfast on the table, looking puzzled.
"Could it be premature? Should we take him to the institute for a checkup?"
Auron nodded after hearing this. "Yeah, sure. I'll bring him along when I go."
Indeed, although Auron hadn't noticed anything wrong—in fact, Elekid's potential had inexplicably increased by a tier—it never hurt to get a checkup.
After the family finished eating, Auron headed upstairs to get Elekid, intending to bring him to the research institute.
But the moment he stepped into his room, he saw Elekid happily stuffing his face with Poffins.
Charmeleon and Clawitzer seemed to be in some kind of eating contest with him, both of them shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they could.
However, Clawitzer was the first to fall. Poffins really weren't to his taste—he much preferred Pokéblocks, especially ones flavored with kelp.
The second to drop out was the still-young Elekid. He'd already had some Pokémon food and Moomoo Milk earlier that morning, and after eating more just now, he truly couldn't manage another bite.
So the final victor was Charmeleon!
Charmeleon puffed out his cheeks, stood up excitedly, placed one hand on his hip, pointed the other toward the sky, and let out a triumphant laugh.
"Great job, Charmeleon!"
Auron played along, giving Charmeleon two thumbs up. Then, as he passed by Snorlax, he looked up and winked at him.
Snorlax's smile grew even wider. Indeed, with Snorlax around, the champion of any eating contest would never go to anyone else.
"You all need to train hard today, okay? I'm taking Elekid with me now. Keep at it!"
Auron picked up the stuffed Elekid and headed for the door, offering some encouragement to his Pokémon. Their fighting spirit ignited in response.
Auron rubbed Elekid's protruding belly and addressed his grandfather, who was sitting on the sofa.
"I'm ready. Are we heading out now?"
"Let's go."
Grandpa Ashford was a man of action. The moment he said they were leaving, he rose from the sofa and strode toward the door.
As for Auron's father, he had already left right after breakfast. He was going to work on his thesis, while Auron and his grandfather were going to conduct experiments. Although they were all headed to the research institute, they would be in different sections.
Before long, they arrived at the institute—it wasn't very far, after all. Auron first took Elekid for a checkup.
The results showed nothing wrong at all. In fact, Elekid was brimming with energy and in excellent spirits. Only then did Auron feel at ease. He carried Elekid toward the experimental wing.
Inside the experimental area, Flint Jonas had already been waiting for a while. He seemed even more eager than Auron and his grandfather.
"Good morning, Grandpa Flint."
"Good morning! And good morning to you, Auron. I have to say, you're much better than your grandfather. Your grandfather, he—"
Just as Flint was about to continue his criticism of Ashford, he noticed that Ashford's hand had already moved to the Poké Ball at his waist. He promptly shut his mouth.
Ashford shot Flint a look but didn't bother responding. He simply removed the Poké Ball from his belt and released his two Pokémon.
"What, you old codger? You really want to have a battle in front of the kid?"
Seeing that Ashford had actually released his Pokémon, Flint immediately grew flustered. It was just a couple of jabs! Was he really going to take it this far?
"Grandpa Flint, my grandfather isn't targeting you. I asked him to bring them. They'll be useful for our research."
Auron quickly soothed the childlike Flint, then—fearing the two would start arguing again—hurriedly pulled Flint aside and asked:
"Grandpa Flint, where are all those evolution stones kept? I want to test whether my theory is correct."
"That's right, let's get to business. You couldn't beat me anyway. Acting like you're so tough."
Ashford chuckled and patted Flint on the shoulder, indicating that the work at hand was more important.
"Hmph. You old codger. If it weren't for matters of national importance, we'd definitely have it out today."
"Alright, alright. Just bring out the materials."
Ashford ignored him. The man was clearly just being stubborn at this point—there was no use engaging.
Flint said nothing more. He waved his hand, signaling a nearby researcher to bring everything over.
Auron examined the box the researcher carried over. He picked one item from inside, then retrieved another from his grandfather's pocket. Only then did he speak.
"This should be it. Shall we try?"