"Buii~"
"Hi there, Eevee~"
"Buii~"
Auron Vale greeted the Eevee watching TV on the counter, then scooped it up in his arms.
"Hm? Seems like you've gotten a bit chubby?"
"Buii!"
"Hahaha, alright, alright, you're not fat, you're not fat."
After Auron Vale laughed twice, Eevee rolled its eyes at him, then wriggled out of his embrace and hopped back onto the counter to resume watching TV — completely ignoring him.
"Chirp~"
"What's so funny!"
Mini Dragon's laughter was the last straw. At this point, Auron Vale's dignity was completely shattered.
"Mom, you hold Mini Dragon. I'm gonna go find Dad."
"Go ahead."
Lu Mom took Mini Dragon into her arms and didn't even spare Auron Vale a glance — just waved her hand, signaling him to leave.
Auron Vale clicked his tongue but ultimately said nothing and headed toward the back.
*What do I do, now that I feel like I'm not the favorite anymore? Asking online, quite urgent!*
As Auron Vale walked toward the back, Deoxys hovered in the air, uncertain whether to stay and watch over Mini Dragon or follow Auron Vale.
"Deoxys, stay here for now. I'll call you when I need you."
"Sui~"
With that, Deoxys stopped hesitating and stayed right by Mini Dragon's side.
Auron Vale passed through the Pokémon egg section and entered the research institute through the back door.
Beyond the back door was a sprawling Pokémon breeding zone.
Originally, this breeding zone only housed the Pokémon that researchers cultivated for experiments.
But back then there weren't many Pokémon — in this vast breeding zone, they seemed sparse and few.
Now it was different. With Lu Mom and her Pokémon store joining in, the Eevee family, the Pikachu family, and the Feebas family that used to live in the Changan Pokémon store had all been relocated here.
On top of that, any Pokémon that had hatched but hadn't been sold yet were also here now.
And because the Pokémon population in this area had grown, Lu Mom's Mawile also worked and clocked in here.
Similarly, Lu Dad and Lu Mom's Espeon and Umbreon lived here too.
Now, all of the Lu family's Pokémon were either in the backyard of Auron Vale's house, or in the back section of the research institute. The only one Auron Vale kept by his side was himself — and his own Pokémon, of course.
"Pfui!"
"Ah, Milotic Dad, your move accuracy is a bit low, you know?"
"Pfui!"
Auron Vale had barely dodged the spray from Milotic Dad in the lake before he taunted — and immediately, Milotic Dad spat another mouthful of water at him.
"Hm? Milotic, aren't you gonna tell your husband to stop? Spitting water all day — how unhygienic."
After dodging Milotic Dad's second water-spit attack, Auron Vale complained to the Milotic watching the show nearby.
"Nai~"
Milotic smiled and chirped a reply, wanting nothing to do with the two of them.
"Fine then, don't say I wasn't nice about it."
Auron Vale laughed at Milotic's attitude and decided to stop holding back.
"I'm not the same person I used to be! Crawdaunt, Water Gun!"
Auron Vale released Crawdaunt at lightning speed, landing a Water Gun square on Milotic before it could react.
Staring at Milotic who was completely sprayed silly, Auron Vale burst out laughing, then recalled Crawdaunt.
"Hahaha, I'm taking off now~ See you next time~"
Before the words even finished, Auron Vale was already far away.
In the lake, Milotic, who had been watching the show, suddenly burst out laughing, then gave her husband a look of tender reproach.
*See? You got sprayed in the face again.*
But at the end of the day, he was still her husband. Milotic didn't say much to Milotic Dad — just gently used her tail to wipe the water droplets from his face.
"Nai~"
Looking at Milotic Dad, who was deeply moved by her gesture, Milotic turned around with a hint of pride and swam back into the lake.
Milotic Dad laughed stupidly, then quickly followed after his wife.
When Auron Vale confirmed no one was chasing him, he finally stopped, then released Crawdaunt again.
"Come on, give me a fist bump — you did great, Crawdaunt."
"Chyuu."
Crawdaunt reluctantly extended its claw to bump fists with Auron Vale. It didn't understand why he was so happy about just a small prank.
But what Crawdaunt didn't know was that this one Water Gun represented Auron Vale finally saying goodbye to years of oppression by Milotic Dad.
"Tabuné!"
Suddenly, a surprised voice rang out — and Auron Vale was tackled to the ground on the grass.
"Tabuné~"
"Hahaha, Mawile! Long time no see."
Auron Vale had startled when he was tackled, but he recovered quickly — that voice was Lu Mom's Mawile. So he didn't resist, letting Mawile pin him down.
"Nyam~"
"Chyuu… chyuu."
Right after Mawile tackled Auron Vale, two different voices rang out as well.
First came Tsun-yuki's grumbling at Mawile for tackling Auron Vale.
And then was Crawdaunt, staring at Mawile who had pinned Auron Vale down for some reason.
"Nyam~"
Tsun-yuki was displeased. Vines extended from behind her to lift both Mawile and Auron Vale back up.
Then, before Mawile could react, Tsun-yuki pounced at Auron Vale too.
"Hahaha, Tsun-yuki, long time no see."
"Nyam~"
Tsun-yuki had originally been annoyed at herself for not tackling Auron Vale first — but when she realized she was in Auron Vale's arms, she immediately blushed and buried her face in Auron Vale's chest, pressing close against him.
Mawile showed not the slightest displeasure, fully absorbed in the joy of seeing Auron Vale.
Though in terms of age, Mawile was younger than Tsun-yuki.
But in the family ranking, Tsun-yuki was the youngest little sister of the Lu family, and Mawile, much like Mega Milanch, served in the big sister role.
However, where Mawile differed from Mega Milanch was this: Mega Milanch was the imposing big sister, while Mawile was the gentle second sister.
After the excitement of seeing Auron Vale faded, Mawile started circling around Auron Vale, who was holding Tsun-yuki, to examine him carefully.
"Tabuné?"
(Seems like he's gotten a bit thinner?)
Mawile, who had watched Auron Vale grow up since he was little, could detect even the slightest change in him.
"Tabuné!"
Seeing Mawile turn serious, Auron Vale understood what she was getting at.
"I'm eating properly, okay?"
Auron Vale was somewhat helpless. He had indeed lost some weight these past two days — the food in the Black Mystery Zone hadn't been great. Compared to before the school term started, he'd definitely gotten thinner.
(This chapter is complete.)
———
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