In the end, Snorlax only stopped eating after it had polished off every last plate of fresh meat the hotpot place had prepared for the day. It patted its round belly, perfectly content, and then stood cheerfully behind Auron Vale.
After Jace Rowan finished paying the bill, he walked over and clapped Auron on the arm with a look of theatrical pity.
"tsk tsk, I already feel sorry for your wallet."
Auron brushed Jace's hand away without a care. "What's there to feel sorry about? The more it eats, the stronger it gets. Besides, I've got Pokéblocks."
"Snorlax only wasn't getting full because its energy intake wasn't high enough. I'll just make more of the special Pokéblocks. It used to be limited to two a month because each one was so dense with energy. Now that it's evolved, that problem's solved."
At that, Jace latched onto Auron's arm with a shameless grin. "Make some for me too, yeah? You know Charmander's at a crucial growth stage. As the younger brother of your Charmander, you wouldn't let him go hungry, right?"
The cloying tone made Auron shiver. He shook Jace off and took a few steps back. "Cut it out. Charmander can't handle those yet. He wouldn't be able to take it. You're just making excuses."
Jace tried to edge closer again, still grinning, but Auron blocked him with an outstretched hand. With no choice, Jace stopped and switched tactics.
"Look, you're not busy anyway. Just help me make a batch. Relax—I'll bring the ingredients. You just do the mixing."
"What are you two doing? Hurry up!"
No sooner had Jace finished than Tim Wynn stuck his head in through the front door and shouted.
Auron had stayed behind with Jace to settle the bill; the others had stepped out first to get some air that didn't smell like hotpot broth.
"Got it! Coming!"
Auron shouted back, then turned and walked toward the door, calling over his shoulder to Jace, "Fine. Forget the ingredients—I've got them. But since you said you're not busy, do this: head over to the entrance to the Pokémon Secret Realm and help me collect some things, yeah? I'll send you pictures tonight."
Jace jogged a couple of steps to catch up. "Sure, no problem. How much do you want?"
"As much as you can get."
…
The next day, at the Vale home, Ashen Vale was directing workers from a home renovation company as they replaced Auron's bed with a bigger, sturdier one.
The night before, the very moment Auron released Snorlax—before he could even react—Snorlax took a flying belly flop onto his bed and crushed it flat.
Snorlax stared at the wreckage for a beat, then seemed to remember it had evolved and wasn't a little Munchlax anymore. It sat up, looking aggrieved—like a pudgy giant over three meters tall trying hard not to cry.
Thankfully, the Vales' ceilings were high and the rooms spacious. They'd had to be, considering the family used to keep a massive Pokémon about the size of Snorlax at home. When Ashen bought the place, he'd chosen a development with generous floor plans and wide building gaps—an Onix Real Estate property. Their whole selling point was "big" and "built to last."
There was nothing to be done about the bed. One night of making do, then. It was Snorlax who suffered for it, spending the night inside a Heavy Ball.
Snorlax had slept on a bed every night since it was born. Could it be expected to accept such indignity?
So while Ashen supervised the workers bolting together the new frame, Snorlax sat to the side, eyes glued to them, as if guarding its future nest.
As for Auron, he was in the study prepping to make Pokéblocks, leaving the bed problem entirely to the adults.
From his perspective, worst case, he could layer the floor with mats and blankets and have Snorlax sleep there—and he could sleep on Snorlax's belly. That wouldn't be the end of the world.
Once he had all the ingredients laid out, Auron exhaled, steadying himself, and began the first batch of the day.
He would start with some regular Pokéblocks, then move on to a run of special, high-nutrition blocks. Last would be the toughest of all: the Pokéblocks formulated to improve a Pokémon's aptitude.
He'd meant to do this before the college entrance exams, but he hadn't been able to calm his mind enough to focus. He'd had to put it off.
Now that exams were over, he could finally make Pokéblocks in peace.
With practiced ease, he fed berries and additives into the Pokéblock mixer. Before long, neat, gleaming cubes began dropping out one after another.
…
Elsewhere, under a blazing sun, Jace arrived at the site where the Pokémon Secret Realm had opened.
Even though the place had been active for a while, it was still crowded and lively.
He stared at the entrance—people flowing in and out across a raised platform—and felt a headache coming on. "How am I supposed to do this? I've got zero experience buying up materials."
Then he noticed most of the people exiting the Secret Realm were all heading in the same direction. His eyes lit up.
That had to be the buyback area.
Jace hurried that way. Sure enough, a long row of tables had been set up, each piled with various Pokémon-related items. Most of the explorers coming out of the Secret Realm were bringing whatever they wanted to sell straight over here.
Everything was arranged in tidy rows, but the noise was a wall—voices overlapping, haggling flying back and forth. Jace picked his way through the throng, careful not to get jostled, when something caught in his peripheral vision. He stopped at one of the stalls.
The stall owner was in the middle of a heated back-and-forth with a seller, arguing strenuously over the price, like the item was some huge point of contention.
Jace listened for a moment and got the gist: it was the usual—seller thought the offer was too low.
The buyer, for his part, claimed the item didn't have much of a market. It hadn't shown up often before, so demand existed, but the price was uncertain—so he was doing everything he could to press it down.
When the argument paused, Jace leaned in. "Hey, I'm actually pretty interested in that. Want to sell it to me?"
The seller glanced at Jace and didn't move.
The stall owner, though, practically jumped out of his skin. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Security! Security! We've got a disrupter!"
The cry silenced the whole market. It wasn't a big place to begin with, and now every pair of eyes turned toward them.
Jace froze, stunned, not sure what to do with himself.
Two burly security guards pushed through the crowd to the stall. The stall owner jabbed a finger at Jace like he'd been mortally offended. "Him! He's disrupting my stall—my turf!"
The younger guard perked up immediately, grabbed for Jace's wrist, and barked, "So you're the one causing trouble? Let's go. We'll talk outside."
The older guard slapped the younger one's hand away and shot him a glare. Then he turned to Jace with a gentler tone. "He says you're disrupting the market. What's going on?"
Jace felt just as wronged. He barely understood what had happened himself. So he explained what he'd done, step by step.
After listening, the older guard let out a helpless little laugh. He pulled Jace a half-step aside and murmured near his ear, "You look pretty young. First time at a place like this?"
Jace nodded.
"Different places, different rules," the guard said. "Here, there's one you need to know: you can't jump in to buy while the seller and stall owner are still negotiating. Doing that is considered a direct challenge to the stall owner."
"Try to understand—those two are in the middle of a deal. You butting in isn't appropriate. If you're interested, wait until they finish, or the negotiation breaks down. Then you can step up and ask."
Jace nodded. "Got it. Thanks, sir."
The older guard waved both hands. "No, no—don't mention it."
He turned back to the stall owner to smooth things over. "The kid's new here. Didn't know the rules. I've explained it. He's here to buy, not to make trouble. And you—don't go hollering at the first sign of a hiccup."
Hearing "here to buy," the stall owner's expression flipped like a switch. He beamed, grabbed Jace by the arm, and said, "Of course, of course! It won't happen again. Come on, little brother—tell me what you're looking for. I'll show you around."
The two guards, satisfied the situation had cooled, drifted back to their posts. The onlookers, realizing there'd be no further drama, went back to their own interrupted business.
Jace's eyes slid sideways, a sly idea rising in his mind like a bubble.
(To be continued)