With Latias's insane speed, Chansey probably couldn't even aim her moves properly, let alone land a hit.
That's the power of high-speed, high-offense Pokémon—not only do they hit hard, but they're near impossible to catch.
But it's not like there's no counterplay.
When Latias charged at Chansey with Zen Headbutt, Chansey's Toxic was already lying in wait.
The moment they made contact, the poison seeped into Latias's body—just a fraction of a second faster than the impact.
Caleb had expected his first time commanding Chansey to be rough, maybe a bit clumsy. But to his surprise, she immediately understood his intent.
Looks like I've trained her into a proper little dirty egg.
Caleb was very pleased.
Ivy Joy looked up at him—and this guy was smiling.
That smug grin made her blood boil. She had to fight the urge to rush him and throw a couple punches right then and there.
But she knew better than anyone—this was the worst time to lose composure. Ivy Joy took a deep breath, slightly regretting not having taught Latias a move to clear status conditions.
The longer this fight dragged on, the worse it'd be for her.
There was only one path forward—go all in, end it fast.
"Latias, Tailwind into back-to-back Zen Headbutts!" she commanded.
In the games, Tailwind just boosts speed. But in real life, more speed meant more force behind every strike.
A sudden gust whipped through the battlefield. Latias, already lightning-fast, became a blur under Tailwind—moving with the speed of a jet.
Caleb could hear the high-pitched roar of something slicing through the air—like a fighter jet soaring overhead. That familiar red afterimage streaked across the field again—but this time, tinged with an eerie violet glow.
"Defense Curl," Caleb called out.
Chansey curled up her body, boosting her defenses.
But to Latias, she was just a sitting target. Zen Headbutt after Zen Headbutt landed cleanly, not a single miss.
And yet... even five hits in a row—with one of them a critical—still weren't enough to get Chansey even remotely hyped up.
So tanky… How is this possible?!
Earlier, she could blame Light Screen. But now?
Five full-powered STAB Zen Headbutts?!
Both Ivy Joy and Fiona stared, eyes wide in disbelief.
They'd both trained Chansey before. Sure, they knew she was durable, but this? This was absurd.
This Chansey was totally busted.
Seeing their confusion, Caleb figured it was his duty—as a responsible Gym Leader—to clear things up.
He looked at Ivy Joy and explained:
"Eviolite. I gave Chansey an Eviolite."
The infamous culprit—Eviolite boosts the Defense and Special Defense of unevolved Pokémon by 1.5 times.
And Chansey was the perfect match for it. With her naturally massive HP and the stat boost from Eviolite, her durability went way beyond just 1.5x.
No exaggeration, Eviolite was to Chansey what Jerusalem is to the West—utterly irreplaceable.
But Eviolite was ridiculously expensive in the Pokémon world. You couldn't even buy it—it was one of those "you know a guy" items. Caleb's was a hand-me-down from the previous Gym Leader, who had bought it from a Hoenn rock collector years ago for a fortune.
"Eviolite, huh? No wonder..."
As a Joy family member, Ivy Joy had heard of Eviolite, but this was her first time seeing its power firsthand.
She felt a twinge of pressure—but she still had her trump card.
That's the confidence a Legendary brings.
"Chansey, use Soft-Boiled!" Caleb said with a smile.
Ivy Joy: ???
"Lucky~"
The egg in Chansey's pouch began to glow with a soft white light. She popped it into her mouth, and a gentle glow wrapped around her body, healing her minor wounds.
Soft-Boiled—a Normal-type move that restores half of the user's max HP.
"You've got to be—"
Watching all the damage she worked so hard to land just poof away, Ivy Joy nearly cursed out loud.
Toxic to chip her down, then Soft-Boiled to top her back up... What kind of troll strategy is this?!
"Latias, Recover!" she snapped, expression dark.
"Chansey, let's go with Minimize."
"Mi—Mini...mize?"
Ivy Joy blinked, unsure she heard that right.
But when Chansey pressed her stubby hands together and began to glow, her body actually shrank. A little smaller. Then smaller again.
Ivy Joy's face darkened visibly.
"Minimize sharply raises the user's evasion," Caleb helpfully explained.
Ivy Joy: "..."
In the ref's corner, Fiona watched with an oddly complicated expression. Honestly, sure, Caleb had just saved the gym, but... something about this whole thing just felt off.
"Lucky."
Chansey's soft coo brought Fiona back to her senses.
She patted her own Chansey's round little head and said meaningfully, "You'd better not start learning from that one."
"Lucky?"
Her Chansey didn't quite get what she meant, just gave a half-confused hum.
A strange silence fell over the battlefield.
Caleb was the first to break it. "Miss Ivy?"
"Damn it! Latias, Recover—again, and again, and again!" Ivy Joy barked, teeth clenched. She didn't care about her family's reputation anymore.
This was just gross.
"You see? Now she's panicking."
Recover, like Soft-Boiled, restores half the user's HP—but it can't remove status conditions.
Which meant the outcome was already set in stone. Honestly, she might as well just forfeit.
But that's not how people in the Pokémon world worked. They never gave up until the very last second. There was even a word for it.
Ah, right—bond.
Supposedly, when a Pokémon resonates with its Trainer's feelings, they can tap into some kind of hidden power.
But let's be honest—that's just cheating.
Caleb firmly opposed that kind of nonsense.
For a Trainer who wins through tactics, that kind of emotional burst power-up is just unfair.
Ivy Joy, as a senior League inspector, obviously knew Recover couldn't cure poison. But she still clung to a sliver of hope. Maybe Latias could shake off the poison. Maybe a miracle would happen.
White light flashed over and over as Latias kept restoring its health.
But no matter how much she healed, the Toxic clung to her like a curse—its damage steadily ramping up.
That eerie purple tint deepened with each passing moment, like it was about to devour her whole.
In the end, the miracle never came.
Or maybe Ivy Joy and Latias's bond just wasn't strong enough to overcome the poison's grip.
Latias collapsed, overcome by the toxic rot inside her.
Right before she passed out, she vaguely caught sight of the now tiny Chansey, and a memory flickered in her mind—her Trainer's words from before:
"Latias, if you ever get hurt, go find Chansey. She's known as the angel of the Pokémon world..."
Trainer lied to me.
Latias's eyes spiraled into unconsciousness.
"Latias is unable to battle. The winner is Gym Leader Caleb," Fiona announced, raising her flag after a quick check.
"We won! That was such a fun match, Miss Ivy!"
It was Caleb's first victory since arriving in the Pokémon world. Naturally, he was excited. He threw Ivy Joy a triumphant gesture from across the field.
Just a simple motion—but to Ivy Joy, it looked just cocky enough to sting.
"That's wonderful, Caleb, the gym is... sa...—"
Fiona came down from the ref stand, eager to share the good news, but when she saw her cousin's terrifyingly dark expression, she swallowed her words immediately.
Maybe it was just her imagination.
But she could've sworn Ivy Joy's face was darker than it was before the match started.