The battle between Rayquaza and Latios hadn't affected Auron in the slightest.
The distance was too great. There was nothing to feel even if he'd tried.
So Auron was doing what he'd been doing for the past hour — working overtime in the kitchen, grinding through the task Cyrus had handed him.
No choice. He was broke. Everything came down to money.
Cyrus had made it simple: keep the mythicals happy, and he'd see a little extra in his pocket.
Auron stood at the stove crafting Pokémon food, while in the living room, Serena had Dratini wrapped contentedly in her arms, watching a movie. Cherries, Cheri Berries, the occasional snack — she kept feeding them to Dratini one by one, the expression on her face thoroughly satisfied with the arrangement.
The scene looked like a handmaiden attending royalty.
Auron shot a glance at them and felt a pang of envy.
Nothing he could do about it. No girl alive could resist a soft, rosy little Dratini.
He pulled his gaze back to the stove. *Money. Focus on the money.*
"No idea what flavor Rayquaza prefers," he muttered to himself. "Doesn't matter — I'll go with whatever Dragon-types tend to like."
He folded in some Dragon-type berry juice to maximize the profile, then moved on to preparing separate batches for Jirachi, Ho-Oh, and Marshadow. The main courses were the priority; he could handle the snacks afterward.
With his Aura giving him precise control over every ingredient — and the formulas running clean in his head — the result was something even a mythical Pokémon couldn't say no to.
The front door slammed open.
"Guys! I'm back and I'm loaded!"
Jace Rowan burst in, voice at full volume, waving at everyone in the living room like he'd just won the war.
"What the—"
"The hell, man. Can you try walking into a room like a normal person?"
Auron yanked his hand back. The sudden shock had made him twitch, and he'd accidentally poured in too much Payapa Berry juice.
Payapa Berry juice was sour. Too much, and the resulting food tasted like eating a raw lemon — the whole batch was ruined.
He pitched the pan into the trash and stuck his head out of the kitchen to glare.
Jace at least had the decency to look sheepish. He waved off the stare. "Hey, I got excited, okay? Listen — do you know what I got for winning the tournament today?"
"What?"
That got everyone's attention. The room leaned in.
Jace lifted his chin, thoroughly pleased with himself. "First — five hundred thousand Dracocoins. That part's whatever."
"The real prize is—" he reached into his jacket with a theatrical pause— "ta-da~"
He held up a Poké Ball.
"...A Heal Ball?"
"Just that? I mean, they're rare, but I wouldn't exactly call it exciting."
Jace shot Tim an unimpressed look. "Easy for *you* to say, Mr. Old-Money. And it's not one — it's a *set*. Six of them."
"Six?" Tim rubbed his chin. "All right, that's actually decent. The sponsor put some real budget behind this."
"Exactly. That's what I'm saying." Jace tucked his prize away with satisfaction.
He'd gone into the tournament expecting only the cash reward. But his final-round opponent had been unexpectedly strong — a first-year student from Jing University who'd pushed him to his limit.
Jace had been left with no choice. He'd Mega Evolved Charizard.
A shiny Charizard was already attention-grabbing on its own. Add a Mega Evolution — which had been all over the news lately — and his identity was instantly public. The crowd surged. The fight that followed was spectacular in a way the earlier rounds hadn't been, drawing in more spectators by the minute.
The sponsor, delighted with the unexpected spectacle, announced on the spot that the champion's prize would be supplemented. The bonus: one set of special Poké Balls.
The moment Jace heard "bonus prize," he'd snapped to attention and commanded Charizard to end it with Dragon Rush. One hit. Done. Prize secured.
Special Balls were rare, but they still ranked below Berry Balls in overall scarcity. Even so, as the most accessible tier of rare Poké Balls on the open market, they weren't cheap.
A standard Poké Ball at any Pokémon Center went for 800 Dracocoins — completely ordinary pricing.
From there, the price curve went steep. Great Balls jumped to 5,000. Ultra Balls were worse — official retail on an Ultra Ball was 30,000 Dracocoins.
Special Balls sat above that, and each variety carried its own premium. Take the Net Ball: a three-times capture rate on Bug and Water types sounds modest, but the price wasn't three times a Poké Ball. It was 50,000 Dracocoins at official retail.
And the Heal Ball? It couldn't increase capture odds at all — but it cured status conditions and slowly restored a Pokémon's stamina after capture. That functionality alone put its official price at 120,000 Dracocoins.
The reason was simple: special Poké Balls required rare materials to manufacture. Limited supply meant limited output, and limited output meant elevated prices. The added effects were genuine improvements over a standard Poké Ball — more comfortable for the Pokémon inside, better recovery — so the market reflected that.
"Just a set of Heal Balls." Auron finished cleaning the kitchen, stepped out, and waved at the room. "Come on. Let's go get a proper dinner."
"Chu~"
Dratini spotted him emerge and immediately broke loose from Serena's arms, coiling happily up around him.
"Little traitor."
Serena watched the instant defection with a flat look. She'd spent the last hour holding Dratini through an entire movie and hand-feeding her the entire time — and the moment Auron showed his face, she was gone.
"Chu~"
Dratini shook her head with a cheerful wriggle, then flicked her tail back in Serena's direction.
*I'll make it up to you later.*
Jace blinked. "What fancy dinner?"
He'd already tuned out Auron's dismissive comment about the Heal Balls — not worth dwelling on. Auron had a Luxury Ball, after all. Of course he could afford to be unimpressed.
And not just any Luxury Ball. The ones Auron carried were in a different class entirely from ordinary special Balls — which explained exactly why he'd had so many people coming after him for them.
A standard Luxury Ball already ensured a Pokémon's comfort inside. But Auron's version also carried the full benefit of a Heal Ball: status recovery, gradual HP restoration. On top of that came the doubled friendship effect.
Ever since Mega Evolution entered the public consciousness and the Dragon Kingdom's Elite Four acknowledged just how critical trainer-Pokémon bonds were, Luxury Ball prices had launched into the stratosphere.
Supply was still nonexistent on the open market. Not that it stopped anyone from wanting them.
"I got everyone a new Pokémon today," Auron said. "Tim's treating us to dinner."
"New Pokémon?"
*(End of Chapter)*