"Gliscor?" Fiona asked, puzzled. "But that's not even a Poison-type."
In her mind, most Gyms specialized in a single type. Although the League never strictly required this, Gyms that did usually left a stronger impression on challengers.
Hearing Fiona's naive comment, Caleb let out a small scoff.
Everyone knows that the Dragon-type Elite Four doesn't actually have all Dragon-types.
So a Poison-type Gym without Poison-types? Totally reasonable.
Still, it wouldn't do to say something like that to Fiona's face.
"Yeah, Gliscor. I heard there's a swarm of Gligar and Gliscor appearing in the next town over," Caleb said. He had just seen the news while scrolling on his Rotom Phone the night before.
That neighboring town was near both their own town, Solaceon Town, and Veilstone City, so it wasn't far at all.
Barely an hour later, the two arrived at their destination.
As soon as they stepped onto the streets, Fiona frowned. "This place is a mess."
The roads were cluttered with random junk, and bits of broken merchandise littered the ground. Yet, strangely, no one seemed to be cleaning it up.
Normally, Officer Jennys wouldn't just let things get this bad.
"Probably because of the Gligar swarm." Caleb handed his phone to Fiona. In the video, a huge horde of Gligar was pouring into the streets, causing chaos for the local shops.
"Don't worry, the League will send trainers over to deal with it soon enough," Caleb reassured her.
This was a tiny fourth-tier town with no strong trainers of its own. In situations like this, they had to rely on the League or traveling trainers passing through.
"My goal is a Gligar or Gliscor with the hidden ability Poison Heal." Caleb smiled.
Fiona blinked. "Don't most Gliscor use Sand Veil?"
Sand Veil boosts evasion in a sandstorm, which is why many trainers running sandstorm teams bring along a Gliscor.
Compared to that, not many people use Poison Heal.
"Tsk tsk, wow, you really don't know anything, huh?" Caleb clicked his tongue.
When it came to Gliscor, he had opinions.
A stellar base stat total of 510.
A rare Ground/Flying typing.
Excellent defensive synergy.
And on top of that, the top-tier hidden ability: Poison Heal.
Plus, it had an insanely diverse movepool.
Substitute, Protect, Toxic, Knock Off, Spikes, Taunt, Swords Dance, Baton Pass, U-turn...
Even five-star Trainer MacArthur swore by it.
Seeing that all-too-familiar smile on Caleb's face, Fiona's expression shifted. She had a bad feeling.
That was the same look he had when he talked about Chansey...
Hopefully, just her imagination.
After searching through most of the town, they finally found their target in a quiet alley.
Beep~ Gliscor, Ground/Flying type, Fang Scorpion Pokémon
Ability: Poison Heal
Moves: Sand Attack, Harden, Poison Jab, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Quick Attack, Fury Cutter, Knock Off, Acrobatics, Night Slash, U-turn, Screech, Swords DanceEgg Moves: Counter, Feint, Cross Poison
Description: Once it catches a breeze, it can circle the globe without flapping its wings even once.
Yep, still clean and fierce as always. Luckily, it had Poison Heal, so it was still salvageable.
"Let me save you—go!" Caleb raised his arm and threw a Pokéball. "Chansey, Seismic Toss!"
The ball opened midair, and a giant pink egg emerged.
"Luckyyy~"
Chansey dashed straight at Gliscor, grabbed its tail, and soared into the air. Spinning once in midair, she shaped the arc like a globe, then hurled Gliscor hard into the ground.
BOOM!
A huge shockwave erupted as dust flew everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Gliscor was lying flat on the ground, swirly-eyed.
!?
"Wait, Gliscor's that squishy? One Seismic Toss and it's out?"
Was that really a Gliscor and not a Ditto in disguise?
"Of course it is!"
Just as Caleb was still processing what happened, a cold voice rang out from behind.
It sounded oddly familiar. Caleb turned around.
A boy, thirteen or fourteen years old, stood there.
Short purple hair. Purple and dark green long-sleeved jacket. A cold, detached expression like he didn't care about anything in the world.
Paul!
Ash's rival in Sinnoh—his training philosophy was the exact opposite of Ash's. He focused on innate potential, abilities, and move synergy. Other than Red, he was the character that most resembled a real game player.
"I mean, didn't you notice the layer of ice on Gliscor's wings before the battle?" Paul said coolly.
As he spoke, a Weavile stepped out from behind him, while the Honchkrow that had been circling above gently landed on his shoulder.
Yup. That smug, sharp tongue that makes people want to punch him—definitely Paul.
And though his words were harsh, the meaning behind them couldn't have been clearer.
Caleb had stolen a catch that should've been his.
"Hmph, wild captures go to whoever gets them first," Caleb snapped back, not about to back down.
This Gliscor could be key to his Gym's future—he wasn't giving it up that easily.
Paul let out a snort. "Prepare for battle, Weavile, Honchkrow."
So we're really doing this, huh? No small talk at all.
Caleb didn't even flinch. He tossed out Pachirisu and Chansey.
"Whoa, hold up! You two are seriously going to fight over this?" Fiona hadn't expected them to go from zero to full-on battle mode in a second and rushed to stop them.
But neither Caleb nor Paul was listening anymore.
"Weavile, Night Slash. Honchkrow, Tailwind," Paul said calmly.
That Honchkrow clearly had the Prankster ability—status moves got +1 priority, making its speed tricky to deal with.
"Pachirisu, Follow Me! Chansey, Toxic!" Caleb called out, perfectly in sync with Paul's commands.
Follow Me redirected all enemy attacks to Pachirisu and had +2 priority—faster than even a Prankster-boosted move.
Just as Weavile was about to strike Chansey, it suddenly veered off toward Pachirisu instead.
Chansey had already lined up her shot—Toxic landed squarely on Weavile, disrupting its attack.
The poison worked fast. Weavile suddenly doubled over in pain, its face turning a sickly purple hue.
Neither Weavile nor Honchkrow had any moves to clear status effects. Once hit with Toxic, the clock was ticking.
This… felt really familiar.
Fiona watched the purple poison arc from Chansey's hand and had major déjà vu.
"Hmph. Honchkrow, Taunt. Weavile, Knock Off," Paul ordered calmly.
Taunt would prevent the target from using status moves for three turns.
Now that Weavile was poisoned, Paul had clearly seen through Caleb's strategy—have Pachirisu draw fire while Chansey wore them down with Toxic.
Honestly? Kinda scummy.
Most Trainers, once their Pokémon got poisoned, would panic and start making poor decisions.
But Paul wasn't some rookie. He quickly figured out a counter—shut down Follow Me, and there's still a chance to win.