The afternoon sun was warm, and a faint, edgy heat rode the breeze as noisy birds in the distant trees kept up their chorus.
Auron Vale felt a weight growing on his chest. In his dream a facehugger latched onto him—he couldn't breathe.
"Hu!"
He jolted awake to find most of the Pokémon still fast asleep, except for the Golbat he'd startled awake.
Golbat had been puzzled about why Auron had suddenly shot up, but when it saw Auron, its eyes curved into happy crescents.
Seeing Golbat grinning so widely, Auron couldn't help returning a smile. That only made Golbat even happier.
He didn't tease Golbat any further. Now fully awake, he realized what had been causing his discomfort.
He'd fallen asleep lying on Munchlax's belly. Munchlax was soft, sure, but not exactly low; Auron's neck and shoulders were propped on it too. That made it easy for the Charmander napping on Auron's chest to slide off. Even in his dreams, Charmander was scared of slipping.
So, unconsciously, he'd rolled over and, by reflex, looped his tail around Auron's neck to hold on.
As Charmander's dream went deeper, the fear of falling grew—and his tail squeezed tighter.
That was why Auron had dreamt of getting ambushed by a facehugger and choking.
Once he pieced it together, Auron looked down at Charmander with helpless affection, then patted the little guy's rump to wake him.
"Pa pa"
The soft smacks didn't wake Charmander, but they did wake the Kommo-o who'd been watching over them lately.
Kommo-o slept very close to Auron; you could say Auron and Munchlax were tucked right into Kommo-o's arms. It had curled its own tail into a half circle, sheltering the sleepers in the middle. Charmander dozed on Auron's chest, Kommo-o's tail lay to one side, and on the other side two Eevee slept curled together.
Golbat wasn't used to sleeping lying down, so it hung upside down from a branch, eyes closed—who knew whether it had truly slept.
Kommo-o's stirring set off a chain reaction, rousing the others. With a sleepy rustle, Gengar popped up from Auron's shadow in a blink, bleary gaze sweeping the area.
Auron chuckled and glanced at the Eevee couple. The two were the picture of elegance, not a trace of grogginess. They exchanged a look and stretched at the same time.
(Elegance never goes out of style~)
As the two Eevee finished their stretch, the whole crew was awake now. They all looked toward Auron—and then, suddenly, every Pokémon burst into laughter. Kommo-o laughed the loudest, a strange, wheezy sound bubbling from its throat as tears pooled at the corners of its eyes.
Munchlax squinted with glee and reached out a paw to rub Auron's face, trying to wipe something off. When it didn't come off, there was nothing more it could do. Charmander was so delighted he rolled back and forth on the ground.
Auron touched his own face, confused. "Do I… have something on my face?"
They were all laughing too hard to answer. At last, Golbat—who had already been laughing for a while—flapped over and led Auron to the edge of the pool.
Auron bent over the water and saw his reflection: his face was covered in doodles.
Turtles, goofy grimaces, pig snouts—someone had drawn all sorts of patterns on him with a black marker. There wasn't much skin left unmarked.
While he studied himself in the water, he failed to notice Papa Milotic glowering from below the surface.
(What's this kid trying to pull? Peeking at me?)
Papa Milotic took a mouthful of water and stealthily glided upward, planning a surprise attack.
He broke the surface just as he was about to spit water—only to meet Auron's bewildered face tilted down at him.
With those doodles on Auron's face, Papa Milotic couldn't hold it in. A laugh burst free—
—but he'd forgotten his mouth was full of water. The laugh and the mouthful of water met halfway up his throat.
"Cough—cough… gk—"
Auron stared, baffled, at the suddenly surfacing and coughing Milotic. "You? You choked—underwater?"
Papa Milotic shot him a dark look, flipped his body, and slid back into the pool.
(Mortifying! Ugh! Mortifying for a Pokémon! For a Pokémon! For a Pokémon!)
Auron left Papa Milotic to his mortification. He had a more pressing matter: find the "culprit."
He marched back to the makeshift camp, cheeks puffed in mock anger. "Who drew on my face? If you stand up right now, I'll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, no dinner next time!"
Seeing Auron fake-fuming with a face full of doodles only made them want to laugh more, but they decided to give him some face and held it in.
One by one, with twitching expressions, they shook their heads. Not them.
That threw Auron. If not them, then who?
He thought back to what he'd seen in the water. The doodles were done in black marker. Around here, besides the stock at Dad's place, the only other place with markers was the little shop out front.
Decision made, Auron headed to ask Dad.
"Kommo-o, keep running practice with Golbat and Munchlax, yeah?"
"Gengar, keep an eye on Charmander for me, okay? Don't let him wear himself out."
Both Pokémon flashed an OK sign. The others quietly drifted off toward the training grounds.
Auron had barely taken a few steps when the same laughter from earlier floated up behind him again.
"???"
He spun on his heel. The laughter cut off. Munchlax and Golbat were just setting up for drills, looking over at Auron in puzzlement.
He squinted. …Did I imagine it?
He turned and started forward again—there came the laughter.
He froze, turned—silence. Faced forward—laughter again.
This time he didn't turn back. He kept his eyes forward and strode toward Ashen's lab.
"So I'm Liu Xuan now?"
He'd laughed plenty in the past, but after tasting it today from the other side, he finally understood how Liu Xuan must have felt back then.
"Dad!"
Auron pushed the door open and called out.
"What is it?"
Ashen Vale turned—and when he saw Auron's inked-up face, he couldn't help a quick chuckle before he smothered it.
Watching that reaction, Auron narrowed his eyes. "You? That reaction? You know who did this?"
Ashen smiled and nodded. "I do know. But I promised the culprit I'd keep the secret."
"Jace Rowan?"
"No."
"Serena Elm?"
"No."
"Tim Wynn?"
"No."
"Could it be Uncle Mo?"
"No."
Auron's shoulders sagged. If it wasn't any of them, then who?
Suddenly, something clicked. He raised his head, staring at Ashen, stunned.
Ashen's smile sharpened with amusement. "What? Did you think of someone?"
Auron nodded, a little heavy. "Don't tell me… my mom?"
Ashen snorted and tapped Auron on the head. "What are you thinking? Your mother doesn't have time for something that boring."
Auron clutched his head in exaggerated pain. "Then who is it?"
Ashen only smiled and kept his peace.
(End of this chapter)