“This is the Pokémon League’s exclusive hotel.
It’s really comfortable, meow.” Meowth sighed in satisfaction as he lay on the soft bed.
After the Pokémon Research Academy competition ended, Aaron brought Meowth and James along with Lorelei to the venue of the Elite Four Challenge Tournament.
As a seeded participant in the Elite Four Challenge, Lorelei enjoyed certain privileges that other contestants didn’t have.
The first was accommodation.
Others could only stay at the Pokémon Center, but Lorelei had two rooms—one for herself and one for relatives.
However, her relatives were all extremely wealthy, and even one room wasn’t enough for them.
So she simply let Aaron and James stay in this room for free.
“Enough of that.
Stop just enjoying the comfort.
In a while, come with me to take care of Sister Lorelei’s Pokémon and help us translate.
This is an important time for her, so all the Pokémon need the best care,” Aaron said.
“No problem.
If I can live in a place like this every day, even being a translator wouldn’t be an issue, meow,” Meowth replied.
“Boss, can I still do business?” James asked.
“You?
Come help me take care of them, and while you’re at it, go get a Pokémon Breeder’s license,” Aaron said.
“A license?” James raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.
You’re unusually gentle and attentive with Pokémon, but your battle command ability is only average.
Without a strong personal interest in battling, you’re not suited for challenging gyms and the League.
You’re more suitable as a Coordinator, a Pokémon Breeder, or even a Pokémon Professor,” Aaron explained.
“Really?
I actually have that kind of potential?” James said excitedly.
“Yes.
But only if you work hard.
Also, you’ll need to prepare your own Pokémon,” Aaron added.
“A Pokémon?
We’ll talk about that later,” James replied.
“Fine.
Just behave yourself, or I’ll beat you up,” Aaron said, flexing his fist in mock threat.
“I’ve always been well-behaved,” James said, shrinking his neck slightly.
Aaron smiled faintly.
James really was easy to get along with—most of the time, he was so gentle it was almost unbelievable.
No wonder he was constantly taken advantage of by Jessie in the original story.
“Wait, boss!
That Pokémon egg is glowing!” Meowth suddenly shouted.
Aaron’s eyes lit up as he looked at the glowing egg.
It was the one from the Pokémon Academy. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
He hadn’t expected that taking it out late would actually make it hatch faster instead.
“What kind of Pokémon will it be?” Meowth asked.
“I don’t know.
But Dr.
Utsu said its potential is very high,” Aaron replied.
“High potential?
Could it be a Legendary Pokémon?” James asked.
“Could it be Articuno?”
“Or maybe Mew?”
“Maybe even a Ho-Oh egg?”
“…Stop it, you two.
Can you use your brains for once?
This is a reward from the academy.
How could they possibly give out a Legendary Pokémon?
If we’re talking realistically, at most it would be something like Growlithe.
Its final evolution Arcanine has a base stat total of 555—there are very few Pokémon above it even among so-called ‘legendary-tier’ ones,” Aaron snapped.
Articuno, Mew, Ho-Oh…
Those three were just wishful thinking.
Articuno might still be occasionally caught in rare circumstances, but Mew and Ho-Oh?
Those weren’t Pokémon you just “caught” because you felt like it.
Under the trio’s anticipation and discussion, the Pokémon egg finally hatched.
A small, chubby, bear-like Pokémon with pointed ears opened its eyes, looked around, sniffed the air, and then—finding Aaron’s scent most pleasant—leapt straight into his arms.
“What Pokémon is this?” Meowth asked.
“Snorlax pre-evolution… Munchlax,” Aaron said weakly.
Of course it was this big eater.
In terms of potential, it truly had it.
Its final evolution, Snorlax, was one of the strongest Pokémon in the Kanto region.
With the Thick Fat ability, its defensive power would be terrifying.
Unless it faced Fighting-type Pokémon, most attacks wouldn’t even make it flinch.
A famous example was Ash’s Snorlax—during the Orange League, it endured attacks from Pikachu, Charizard, Lapras, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle all at once and still kept sleeping as if nothing had happened.
But alongside its strength, it was even more famous for its appetite and laziness.
It needed to eat about 200 kilograms of food every day just to sleep, and its routine was simple—eat, sleep, wake up, repeat.
Without deep pockets, no one could afford to raise it.
He even wondered if Hoenn had already developed Pokémon food cubes yet.
If not, maybe he’d have to follow Ash’s example and leave it at Professor Oak’s lab to be fed.
That means it eats a lot, right?
Then what about my food in the future?” Meowth wailed.
“From now on, no work, no food,” Aaron said.
“I’ll behave, boss!” Meowth quickly promised.
“Good.
Let’s go take care of Sister Lorelei’s Pokémon,” Aaron said.
They headed to Lorelei’s room.
As soon as they entered, they saw her lying on the balcony, sunbathing.
Aaron couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“Sister Lorelei, the competition starts tomorrow.
Is it really okay for you to be this relaxed?”
“It’s precisely because the competition is tomorrow that I need to relax.
If I were to train harder now, my Pokémon would be overwhelmed.
At times like this, both Trainer and Pokémon need maximum rest,” Lorelei said casually.
Her gaze then fell on the Munchlax in Aaron’s arms, and she smiled.
“So this is the Pokémon egg your grandmother gave you.
Munchlax, huh?
Good potential, but after evolution it eats a lot.
Just let Professor Oak raise it for you.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Aaron nodded.
“So I’ll start taking care of your Pokémon first.”
Lorelei currently had nine Pokémon: Lapras, Slowking, Slowbro, Cloyster, Jynx, Dewgong, Ninetales, Alolan Sandslash, and Piloswine.
Aaron was extremely familiar with all of them.
He had taken care of them many times before, so the moment he arrived, they all rushed toward him.
Smiling, Aaron began caring for each Pokémon one by one.
The first was Lapras—one of Lorelei’s oldest partners, raised since childhood.
It was also her strongest Pokémon and the ace that once helped her win the Indigo Plateau Conference championship.
A true Elite Four mainstay.
Lorelei remained lazily reclined, clearly enjoying this lifestyle more and more—relaxing while Aaron took care of her Pokémon for her.
She even thought that if she won this time, she would definitely make Aaron her unpaid Pokémon caretaker.
Aaron, however, had no idea what she was thinking.
Even if he did, he wouldn’t care—because Lorelei wasn’t going to win the championship anyway.
At this moment, he was holding the tournament bracket, analyzing opponents for her and skipping over weaker ones entirely.
The bracket was quite interesting.
The competition was divided into four groups.
Lance, Lorelei, and Bruno were deliberately separated as seeded players, and the fourth seeded player in another group was none other than a well-known figure—Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader, who would later become the Poison-type Elite Four member of Johto.
However, at this point in time when Ash began his journey, Koga was still just a Gym Leader.
In this tournament, he was destined to lose, so Aaron barely gave him a second glance and moved on.