Beep.
At just the right moment in Aaron’s conversation with Lorelei, the treatment inside the Pokémon Center finally ended.
Nurse Joy and Chansey wheeled out the Alolan Vulpix.
Aaron shot forward in a flash, his face full of concern.
The Vulpix, lying on the stretcher, saw him and immediately lit up with joy.
It let out a cheerful cry and leapt straight into his arms.
Aaron gently patted its head with affection.
After sharing life-and-death danger together, its affection for him had clearly increased significantly.
He then took out some newly developed Pokémon food from his pocket and offered it to the Vulpix.
It sniffed it once before happily eating.
Seeing how much the Vulpix enjoyed his food, Aaron showed a satisfied smile.
Sometimes, the heavens were fair—hard work did bring rewards.
Since he couldn’t become a Pokémon Trainer right away, over the past two years he had worked closely with Pokémon while also obtaining a Pokémon Breeder certification, reaching Level 5.
The Pokémon food he carefully crafted was highly attractive to wild Pokémon.
“Vulpix, do you want to eat this every day in the future?” Aaron asked with a sly, almost “wolf in sheep’s clothing” smile.
“If you do, then go into this Poké Ball and become my partner.”
The Vulpix tilted its head cutely at him.
Catching and being caught was instinctive knowledge for almost all Pokémon after birth.
After thinking for a moment, it gently pressed its paw against the Poké Ball.
A flash of red light.
It was absorbed inside.
The Poké Ball barely shook before settling—capture successful.
Aaron was overjoyed.
He immediately released it again and hugged it tightly.
“From now on, let’s take care of each other.”
The Vulpix happily cried out in agreement and licked his face with its small tongue, showing its affection for its new trainer.
Aaron didn’t feel annoyed at all—instead, he liked it very much.
At last, he had his first Pokémon.
Whether it was the path of a Pokémon Professor or a Pokémon Master, this was the crucial first step.
On the side, Lorelei watched the entire scene and couldn’t help but show a strange expression.
“Using emotional bonding to capture Pokémon is indeed a good method,” she said.
“But it’s lucky that this Vulpix has such a gentle and lively personality.
“There’s no need to doubt,” Aaron replied casually.
“I definitely couldn’t have succeeded.
This is my first Pokémon.”
“First?” Lorelei looked at him in surprise.
In this world, unless someone disliked Pokémon, they would already have received their first partner at age ten.
Yet Aaron clearly loved Pokémon very much.
“Yes,” Aaron nodded.
“But I’ll have many powerful Pokémon in the future.
And when that time comes, I’ll be stronger than you.”
“Stronger than me?” Lorelei chuckled.
“Then how about I give you a Pokémon?
As long as it’s not too rare or Ice-type, I can get it for you.”
“Really?” Aaron blinked in surprise.
“Yes.
For me, capturing Pokémon is easy,” she said confidently.
Aaron thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Forget it.
I’m not officially a Trainer yet, and I still have research papers to write.
I don’t have the energy to train two Pokémon.
One Vulpix is enough.”
“Think carefully.
You only get one chance.
If you refuse, you won’t get another opportunity later,” Lorelei said with a gentle smile, lightly stroking the Vulpix in his arms.
“See you in half a year.
Don’t forget to come cheer for me.”
“Lorelei-sister,” Aaron suddenly said, “if you really want to become Champion, you should consider catching an Alolan Vulpix here.
Its evolution can counter Fighting-types.”
“Counter Fighting-types?” Lorelei turned back slightly.
Ice-type Pokémon were weak to Rock, Fire, Steel, and Fighting.
Rock and Fire could be handled by Water-type moves, and many Ice Pokémon already had Water coverage.
Her ace Lapras was especially strong in Water-type attacks. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
But Fighting and Steel types were much harder to deal with.
Now he was saying there was a way to counter Fighting-types?
Aaron simply shrugged and said nothing more.
He couldn’t say more.
If he did, he would end up revealing the Fairy-type.
“Forget it.
See you in half a year,” Lorelei said with a smile before turning to leave.
In any case, she had already planned to catch an Ice-type Vulpix here, and evolving it was part of her plan anyway.
“Let’s go home, Vulpix.”
Aaron gently patted its head.
The Vulpix happily cried out again and nestled in his arms, curiously observing everything around it.
Having lived in the forest, it had never experienced a city before, and everything felt new and interesting.
Back at the hotel, Ash—who had been watching a Pokémon competition on TV—immediately ran over excitedly the moment he saw the Vulpix, asking countless questions.
After learning it was Aaron’s Pokémon, he became even more excited, spinning around while holding it.
Aaron shook his head with a smile.
If it came to knowledge about Pokémon, even ten Ashes combined couldn’t match half of him.
But if it came to love for Pokémon… he might only equal half of Ash.
Watching his younger brother, overflowing with pure passion for Pokémon, Aaron fell into thought.
Ash’s dream—to become the world’s greatest Pokémon Master—was something every fan knew.
But in reality, not only had he never become Champion, he had barely even secured major titles outside the Orange League.
There were many reasons: sometimes his own reckless decisions, sometimes the writers forcing him to only use newly caught Pokémon in regions like Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos, ignoring his older partners.
And sometimes, blatant plot bias—like Sinnoh, where despite reaching peak battle skill and using old partners, he still lost to Tobias, the infamous “legendary trainer.”
At that time, even though Ash lost, Sceptile and Pikachu both performed at god-like levels, defeating legendary Pokémon, while Tobias’s runner-up hadn’t even beaten a single Darkrai.
But now things were different.
This was a real world—no writers, no script.
As an older brother… maybe he should properly train this kid so he wouldn’t grow up so naïve.
While passion and bonds were Ash’s greatest strength, blind enthusiasm could turn into recklessness.
And if the younger brother became a fool, the older brother would lose face too.
Thinking this, Aaron placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder.
“Ash,” he said, “there’s a Pokémon school here.
The principal is Professor Oak himself.
How about you enroll?”