Trick, a move that swaps held items between Pokémon.
As strange light shimmered around both Rotom and Machamp, the items they carried were exchanged.
Rotom obtained a flame orb radiating intense heat, and as soon as it made contact, unsurprisingly, it was burned.
Machamp, on the other hand, ended up with a finely crafted blue-and-white striped scarf.
The Choice Scarf—part of the "Choice" item trio—increases a Pokémon's speed by 50%, but restricts it to using only one move after being sent out.
Just as Machamp was all set to unleash its power after Focus Energy, it suddenly felt something odd around its neck.
Looking down, it saw that blue-and-white scarf had somehow found its way onto it.
What the—how did my moves just get locked!?
You want me to take a stat-boosting move into battle? Are you serious?
Thanks to the Choice Scarf, Machamp's speed soared, but its preferred move, Brick Break, was now unusable.
It glanced helplessly at its trainer.
"Trick, huh?" The old man hadn't thought much of it when Box explained earlier, but now that he'd experienced it firsthand...
This was way too unorthodox!
"Machamp, forget the scarf! Just rip it off!"
"Show some fighting spirit!"
The old man shouted with passion.
There it was! That favorite line of all Fighting-type trainers: Show some spirit!
But hey, if spirit worked, why bother with money?
For context, this Choice Scarf wasn't just some cheap item from the system—it was a prized piece from Dad's storage.
Rumor had it that a master had specially crafted it, and the old man dropped 20 million on it at an auction to take it home.
"Rotom, Volt Switch!"
As Machamp fumbled with the scarf, Caleb acted swiftly.
Due to League regulations, Gym Leaders couldn't directly swap Pokémon, so Caleb had to use moves like Volt Switch or U-turn.
With a flash, a surge of electricity struck Machamp, and Rotom vanished into a streak of light, returning to its Poké Ball.
Taking its place was the Flying/Ground-type Gliscor.
Seeing Gliscor, Box shuddered.
That toxic menace again.
"Gliscor, Swords Dance!" Caleb commanded, seizing the moment while Machamp was helpless to boost his stats.
Just then, the old man spoke up, "Wait a minute... don't tell me... you're planning to..."
Though he was old, his mind was still sharp, and he immediately grasped Caleb's intent.
Caleb's lips curled into a smirk. "That's right. You guessed it."
"I'm going for the sweep."
As his words fell, Gliscor began an eerie dance, phantom swords materializing all around it...
[Gliscor's Attack +2]
The intense pressure from Gliscor's rising attack stat made Machamp visibly panic. All four of its arms were now yanking at that scarf.
Pull harder, damn it!
Machamp was desperate.
But no matter how hard it pulled, the scarf remained perfectly intact.
You get what you pay for—this thing was premium quality.
Caleb gave another command. "Gliscor, again! Swords Dance!"
Once again, right in front of Machamp, Gliscor performed another swords dance.
[Gliscor's Attack +4]
Damn it! Pull harder, for crying out loud!
With Gliscor's attack climbing even higher, Machamp's eyes turned red with anxiety, mustering every ounce of strength to tear that scarf.
Still no use.
With just two Swords Dances, Gliscor could already wipe a team. But for good measure...
"Gliscor, one more time! Swords Dance!"
After the third boost, Gliscor's attack stat hit a terrifying peak, the surrounding air turning violently oppressive.
[Gliscor's Attack +6]
Staring at the now fully boosted Gliscor, Machamp gave up and let go of the scarf.
Whatever, man… just end it.
"Gliscor, Acrobatics!"
A +6 Acrobatics, super-effective against Fighting-types? The result was obvious.
Not even a top-tier Pokémon could survive it.
As Gliscor lunged in, Machamp, resigned to its fate, slowly shut its eyes.
Bring it...
Just then, its trainer shouted from behind: "Don't give up, Machamp! Show your willpower! Take that hit!"
The old man was back to screaming at full volume.
Clearly, he'd been the emotional type in his younger days.
But telling a Fighting-type to take a Flying-type move? Uh... not sure how to comment on that.
Even Machamp's face was full of question marks.
You okay, man? How am I supposed to take that? With my face?
Unsurprisingly, Machamp was one-shot instantly.
As it fell, it muttered something under its breath—Caleb didn't even need special powers to tell, it was definitely swearing.
And it wasn't at Caleb.
With Machamp down, the old man reluctantly withdrew it and sent out his second Pokémon. "Your turn, Medicham!"
A humanoid, pink-colored Pokémon entered in a yoga pose, hands clasped together.
"Cha~"
"Gliscor, Acrobatics!"
"Cha?!"
Bro, chill—I just got here.
BOOM!
Medicham was blasted away by Gliscor's Acrobatics before it could even steady itself.
...
Another one-shot. Another instant KO.
The room fell silent.
Why does it feel like Grandpa lasted even less time than me?
That's what Box was thinking.
And not just him—Caleb thought the same.
If he had harbored even a sliver of doubt about those online comments before, now they were gone.
The Weakest Elite Four—he might question that title for anyone else, but for this guy? No objections whatsoever.
Still… why was he just standing there?
Box froze after losing, and now this old guy too?
Guess it runs in the family.
At this moment, the old man stood motionless, looking skyward at a 45-degree angle, taking a deep breath.
His fist clenched.
Yes, he broke the agreement first by using his main team. But for Caleb to let Gliscor sword-dance to +6 and then one-shot his Medicham—that was a bit much too, right?
His ace got one-shot by the weakest Gym's Pokémon.
He was an Elite Four, for crying out loud. He had a reputation.
If this gets out...
The thought made his fist clench even tighter.
A wild urge rose in him—to challenge Caleb to a real fist fight.
No! A true martial artist must stay calm, unmoved even if the heavens fall—
Screw that! I can't calm down at all! I'm gonna beat him into my grandson!
The old man had snapped. He suddenly darted forward like a bullet straight at Caleb.
"Holy crap, a humanoid Pokémon!"
Seeing the old man suddenly appear in front of him, Caleb blurted out in shock.
If you're this strong, why even bother with Pokémon battles?
Real combat is way cooler!
Just as the old man's karate chop was about to land, a Chansey jumped out of its Poké Ball and blocked the blow.
"Lucky~~"
The chop hit Chansey square on the head.
Despite its shriveled frame, the old man packed a surprising punch.
Chansey's cheeks briefly turned pink before the color drained. It stared at the old man with visible hostility.
That chop might've felt good, but trying to hurt Caleb? Unforgivable.
Caleb patted Chansey's head to calm it, and once it had cooled down, he pointed upward and said calmly, "You know there's a security camera up there, right?"
"Wh...what?"
That one line instantly turned the boiling-hot old man into an ice statue. He froze in place.
"A former Elite Four publicly attacking a Gym Leader... Lord Elite Four, you really wouldn't want to see that footage on the news tomorrow, would you?"
Caleb gave a slow, meaningful smile.
"W-Wait, let's talk this out, okay? As long as you delete that video, I'll do anything!" The old man was clearly panicking now.
He wasn't the type who enjoyed being the center of a scandal.
"Oh? Anything?" Caleb's eyes lit up, clearly intrigued.
?
"What are you planning?"
Seeing Caleb's expression, the old man had a very bad feeling about this.
"Really anything?"
Caleb's grin widened as he slowly stepped forward.
The old man instinctively backed away, terror written all over his face, shouting,
"I'm warning you, don't get any funny ideas!"
"Stay back!"
"Don't—"