Now it was Jace's turn for his expression to darken. He quickly swatted Fugui's hand away.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo! Who's his disciple? Just call me Uncle-Master."
"Mm-hm, got it, Senior Brother. I understand, Senior Brother."
Seeing the two of them like this, Auron didn't bother intervening. He simply smiled and led the way into the store.
Jace and Fugui followed behind him, though the two of them continued arguing about the proper form of address.
"How about this—we each take a step back. I won't call you Fugui, and you won't call me Senior Brother. Deal?"
Jace whispered to Fugui, but the boy maintained that cheerful smile of his.
"No can do. Wang Quan or Fugui—that's just a matter of names. But if I have to call you Uncle-Master, that's a whole different generational ranking."
"Hey, you little..."
"Hello there! What can I help you with? I can guide you to the designated area."
The moment Auron's group entered the main hall, an attractive young woman with long legs approached and addressed him.
"Great, thank you. We'd like to look at Pokémon Eggs."
"Certainly, no problem at all. Please follow me."
The young woman turned slightly, guiding Auron and the others toward the Pokémon Egg sales area.
"Is there a particular Pokémon or type you're interested in? Just let me know and I can take you directly there."
The saleswoman spoke warmly to the group.
Auron waved his hand. "No need. We'll browse on our own first."
"Of course. If you need anything, feel free to call me over anytime."
"Will do."
After leading them to the area, the young woman stepped aside on her own, not disturbing them while they looked at eggs, yet positioning herself within easy calling distance.
"Tsk, tsk. As expected of the nation's largest Pokémon Egg retailer. The service attitude alone is impeccable."
Jace glanced at where the saleswoman was standing and clicked his tongue appreciatively.
"Obviously. There's always a reason why a business grows this big. By the way, is there any Pokémon you're looking for? We can check for it today too."
Auron didn't look up, examining eggs while asking Jace.
Jace scratched his head. "Uh, I've been relying on you so much, I'm starting to feel bad about it. How about... I pick one myself?"
At this, Auron immediately raised his head to look at Jace, brow furrowed.
"Are you sick or something?"
"Uh, I just thought I was troubling you too much..."
Auron sighed helplessly. "Troubling me? What's troublesome about this? Come on, cut the nonsense. When I used to trouble you, did I ever act like this?"
"Uh, no, I guess not."
In Auron's memories—whether from the previous world or this one—before they came of age, he had always been the one calling the shots.
However, the well-behaved kid with good grades enjoyed certain privileges with parents and teachers.
The same action would yield one result when Auron did it, and a completely different result when Jace did it.
So when they were young, Jace often stepped forward to take the fall for Auron. After all, for these minor incidents, Jace would get off scot-free while Auron would get scolded or smacked.
And that wasn't even counting all the toys and snacks from their childhood that Jace had paid for.
There was no helping it—Auron didn't have much pocket money as a kid, so he could only tag along with Jace to eat, drink, and have fun.
So now, in Auron's eyes, if he had the ability to help, of course he was going to take care of his friend. Why would he let good fortune flow to outsiders?
"Uh, alright then. Sun team stuff—just pick whatever you think is good for me."
After Jace finished speaking, Auron shot him a look.
"Should've just said so from the start. Did you really need me to talk you into it?"
"Hehe."
Auron ignored Jace's silly grin and silently thought to himself:
For a Sun team, he already has a weather setter and a sweeper. Next up should be defensive synergy and coverage. The best choice for his next Pokémon would probably be Venusaur.
Venusaur could replace Charizard in the Mega slot, since Charizard's Solar Power Ability is already quite strong in a Sun team.
But if Venusaur goes Mega, it loses the Chlorophyll Ability's speed boost. In that case, Mega Venusaur would mainly serve a defensive role.
That's still fine though. It might be slower, but it's tanky. Arcanine and Torkoal can handle offense. Though come to think of it, Victreebel, Exeggutor, and Shiftry aren't bad options either.
After all, if the Mega slot goes to Venusaur, he'd need a Whimsicott to boost the speed tier. Oh right, Whimsicott can also set up Sunny Day. Running into a Whimsicott would be nice. Or maybe Oranguru...
As for Fugui's third Pokémon—he already has a weather setter and an attacker, so a defensive pivot or coverage mon would be ideal. Togekiss would be perfect. If there isn't one, we'll look at other options.
Come to think of it, Togekiss would work in a Sun team too—it's such a versatile pick. Too bad Serena wants an Ice-type team, otherwise Togekiss's Serene Grace Ability would pair perfectly with her Super Luck trait.
Auron suddenly thought of Togekiss and Serena, and smiled.
Hmm, it's been so long since I've seen her. I'm actually not quite used to it. Anyway, let's focus on picking eggs first. My Shiny Beldum—come to me.
Auron first smiled and shook his head, then steeled his resolve to find a Shiny Metagross, beginning to scan through the rows upon rows of Pokémon Eggs.
Pokémon: Floatzel
Gender: Female
Type: Water
Ability: Water Veil (The Pokémon with this Ability cannot be burned. If a burned Pokémon gains this Ability, the burn is cured. However, if the Ability is lost, the burn returns.)
Potential: Blue
Base Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack
Egg Moves: Aqua Ring, Aqua Tail, Me First
"Take this egg, for example. The pattern on it is entirely pale blue cloud-like swirls. That means there's a high probability it contains a pure Water-type Pokémon."
"Mm-hm, got it, Master."
Auron nodded, playing the master role to perfection. He pointed to the next egg and continued.
"Now this one has dark purple cloud patterns, so it's most likely a Poison-type Pokémon. At the same time, there are some red markings mixed in with the purple. So think about it—what Pokémon has both Fire and Poison typing?"
"Fire and Poison? That should only be Salandit and Salazzle, right? So this egg is a Salandit?"
Jace thought for a moment before answering first.
Auron grinned teasingly at him.
"Correct. Looks like you've gotten used to being my disciple—you're even racing to answer now."
"Get lost."
Pokémon: Salandit
Gender: Male
Type: Poison / Fire
Ability: Corrosion (In battle, a Pokémon with this Ability can poison Poison-type and Steel-type Pokémon.)
Potential: Orange
Base Moves: Poison Gas, Scratch
Egg Moves: Fake Out, Sand Attack, Mud-Slap, Belch
After checking Salandit's information, Auron shook his head with some regret.
"What a shame. Decent potential, good Ability too. Unfortunately, it's male—can't evolve."
Auron moved on to the next one. After a glance, a smile spread across his face.
"Alright, quiz time. What Pokémon is in this egg? Here's a hint—don't mix it up."