Trick Room (Fourth update)

"Hahaha! I knew it, I knew it!!"

For a moment, Aaron nearly wept with joy, then gazed feverishly at Larvitar, who still seemed to be asleep.

Suddenly, something that should never have appeared entered his field of vision—something painfully familiar, something he would regret for the rest of his life: a red-and-white Poké Ball.

Then something happened that nearly made his eyes burst from their sockets.

As the Poké Ball landed on Larvitar, a beam of red light swiftly drew the Pokémon inside. A few red flashes flickered across the center of the ball, followed by a click. Larvitar had been caught!

Well, perhaps it did not really count as catching. Newborn Pokémon could barely resist at all, which was why so many poachers liked stealing Pokémon Eggs or capturing Pokémon that had just hatched.

And who else could have thrown the Poké Ball? There was only one person here besides Aaron, of course: Dian.

Dian felt fantastic. All that time spent practicing his ball throws had paid off.

So had his exposure to countless TV dramas, novels, and writings on ruthless scheming. He understood one principle profoundly: only what you had in hand was truly yours. Strike first and gain the upper hand; strike late and suffer. Rice was no good until you had cooked it.

His feelings right now could be summed up in one word: fantastic!

Aaron, meanwhile, stared with bloodshot eyes, itching to slap himself. Why hadn't he kept a few Poké Balls on hand? He had been a Hunter for so long that he had forgotten Trainers were all bastards who threw balls at every Pokémon they saw!

What he felt now was rather peculiar. It was as though he had finally met the goddess of his dreams, painstakingly won her favor, and gotten everything