The old lady's yard was small, and the dim bulbs gave off a faint glow. There were two bedrooms to the left and right of the main room, along with a storeroom and a kitchen.
As soon as Aron walked into the yard, a Rookie -level Poochyena ran up and started barking at him.
Combusken gave it a casual glance, recalling the earlier encounter with Emolga, and decided not to engage with the weaker Pokémon.
"This is a guest. Be polite," the old lady said gently, tapping Poochyena lightly with her cane. The little Pokémon lay down in the corner with its ears drooping.
"Grandma, I'm back,"suddenly a cheerful voice sounded from outside.
There were quick footsteps at the gate, and then the door creaked open. A tall, slender young woman entered the yard.
She was about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt that showed her smooth, porcelain-white skin. Her long hair was slightly wavy and natural, and her feet were in old-fashioned sandals. Her delicate face was like a blossoming peach.
She spotted Aron and froze, clearly unsure of what to say.
An adorable little Eevee peeked out from behind her.
[Pokémon: Eevee (Normal)]
Ability: Anticipation
Potential: semi-Elite
Level: 9]
The Eevee stood by her side, looking curiously at Combusken with its big brown eyes.
"Little Claire, this is a guest who will be staying with us tonight," the old lady explained, smiling.
Aron smiled at the young woman and then turned back to the old lady, saying, "Grandma, my name is Aron. You can call me Little Aron."
"H-Hello… I… my name is Claire," she replied softly, her cheeks tinged with a blush as she looked down.
Aron noted her reaction and thought, She seems introverted.
The old lady then said, "Claire, why don't you cook something for our guest, Little Aron, and then prepare the room next door?"
Aron quickly waved his hands in protest, "Oh, please, don't trouble yourself, Grandma. It's already very generous of you to let me stay. I have my own food with me."
Pausing, he added, "Besides,I'm not picky; I can tidy up the room myself."
Claire glanced at him quietly, a bit surprised by his response. Although he looked dusty from his travels, his clothing was clearly high-quality. His soft, unblemished skin suggested he wasn't exactly a rough person.
"I… I'll go right away," she stammered, hurrying into the kitchen with Eevee in her arms before Aron could say another word.
The old lady led Aron to the main room and poured him a glass of water.
The room was sparse, with a table, a few benches, and a very old television. It was a stark contrast to Aron's home in the city center.
"Little Claire grew up with me. Her family situation is… quite unique, and she hasn't had much contact with others.So,she's a bit shy," the old lady explained with a smile.
Aron could tell that only the old lady and Claire lived here, and it seemed like they had gone through some tough times. But that was personal, so he didn't pry.
The old lady looked at him closely. "Little Aron, I can see that you're a skilled Trainer."
Aron sat up a little straighter, caught off guard by her compliment.
She continued, "I have a small favor to ask… if you don't mind."
Aron nodded, showing he was listening.
"Little Claire has always worked very hard. She recently got a good score on her college entrance exams and was accepted to a university," the old lady began. "For a family like ours, it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
Aron secretly sighed,as she spoke.
"Although she doesn't say much, Claire has a strong will. She recently learned that there's a field training session for new students, where higher ranks earn points that can be exchanged for tuition fees and even living expenses."
Aron nodded—he'd heard about this. However, to him, those points can only be used to obtain valuable resources or rare Pokémon.
"But this girl… she's hoping to reduce her tuition costs with these points," the old lady continued. "Luckily, she recently found an Eevee in the mountains, saving her the cost of buying a Pokémon."
In families like hers, Pokémon weren't provided—they had to be bought. And getting one with good potential was an even bigger challenge. But somehow, Claire was lucky enough to find an Eevee with semi-Elite potential.
"This girl is hoping to use this Eevee to do well in the field training and reduce her tuition costs. But with no resources and no dedicated teacher, Eevee's progress has been slow. I can see that although she doesn't say it, she must be feeling anxious."
The old lady looked at Aron with hopeful eyes. "I was wondering… could you help coach her a bit?"
Aron wanted to refuse, after all, he was just a new trainer, but when he met the expectant eyes of the old lady, he finally nodded.
I am a Intermediate-level trainer anyway, so it is reasonable to coach a Rookie-level trainer..
After a short time, Claire came into the main room with a tray of food, her slightly curly hair tied back, revealing a gentle, oval face.
"Grandma, dinner's ready," Claire said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Soon, the three of them were seated around the wooden table, while Poochyena and Eevee ate their meals on the floor.
Aron, feeling a bit guilty for being treated so generously, took out a small pile of energy cubes and set them in front of Poochyena and Eevee.
"They're in a stage of physical development,so they need more essential nutrients."
Claire was silent,she also understands the importance of good nutrients.But she also knew that reality often made it hard to provide such luxuries.
As they ate, Aron looked at her seriously and said, "After we finish, I'll help you train Eevee."
Claire looked up, surprised, then turned to her grandmother.
The old lady nodded, smiling warmly. "I asked Little Aron to coach you."
Claire's cheeks flushed a deep red, and she quickly lowered her head, eating a little faster.
After the meal, Claire led Aron to the open area he'd considered camping in earlier.
The night had settled, with a quiet stillness over the mountains in the distance. The barking of dogs occasionally echoed through the village.A single lamp hung outside the yard, casting a faint glow over the space.
Aron knelt down to examine Eevee carefully. After a moment, he stood up and told Claire, "Your Eevee has great potential. Train it well."
"T-Thank you," she stammered, her face reddening slightly.
Aron observed her shy manner and couldn't help but think she seemed even more introverted than he'd originally thought.
"Since you're aiming for a good rank in the field training, we need to figure out how it'll be conducted," he explained, folding his arms thoughtfully. "Field training requires two main things: the ability to survive in the wild and a strong Pokémon. Both are essential."
"Leaving aside the survival skills, which you probably already know well, let's focus on making Eevee stronger. I'll coach you tonight on the best ways to train Eevee."
Claire listened intently, her face serious.
"Eevee's strength increases significantly through evolution, but that's not an option right now," Aron continued.
Claire nodded; she knew that Eevee's simplest evolutions all required special stones, something far beyond her reach.
"So, we'll focus on improving Eevee's current abilities."
Aron then shared the training methods he'd developed for training his own Pokémon, describing the exercises he'd used to build Torchic's strength. His approach was thoughtful and well-rounded, taking Eevee's abilities into account.
Meanwhile, Combusken gave Eevee a few demonstrations of moves like Quick Attack and Sand Attack.
They trained until late night. Aron finally yawned and stretched. "That's about it. Think it over, and it should help you a lot."
"Thank you," Claire said softly, her tone sincere.
"It's nothing. Get some rest now; enough sleep is important for both of you."
Aron waved goodnight and went back to his room.
Behind him, Claire hugged Eevee tightly, her cheeks pink as she watched him walk away.
---
The Next Morning
Early the next morning, Claire was excited to start training with Eevee. She picked up Eevee and hurried to the main room, only to find it empty. Her grandmother met her with a warm smile. "He's already left, dear."
Claire stood there in shock for a moment, then quickly went to the spare bedroom. The bed was neatly made, and on the corner table, a small canister of energy cubes sat with a note beneath it.
She picked up the note and read:
---
"I'm off. Thank you for the wonderful dinner—it was delicious. I've written down some training methods, and these energy cubes will be useful with them. I wish you the best of luck in your future training. —Aron Smith."
---
The note slipped from her fingers as a soft breeze blew in, carrying it out of the room, up into the morning sky.
Meanwhile,Aron was walking on the way to the urban area of Northern Riverland City, feeling the breeze blowing over his fingertips, he stretched out his hand to catch a fallen leaf.
North Riverland City, we are almost here.