Veilstone City Stadium, the venue for the Little Ho-Oh Cup, was already packed with spectators even before the matches began.
Caleb arrived at the registration area. Although the old man had used his connections to get him in, the formal registration process was still required.
As Caleb approached the registration desk, he was greeted by a pink-haired woman in a white nurse's uniform.
"Nurse Joy?" Caleb called out.
To his surprise, he'd run into yet another Joy here. In the few short days since arriving in this world, this was already the third Joy he'd encountered. Talk about fate. He wondered if this one might be related to Fiona.
May Joy looked up and smiled warmly.
"Hello, I'm Joy of Veilstone City. You're here to register, right?"
As she spoke, May Joy took out a registration form.
"Yes," Caleb nodded politely.
"Name?"
"Caleb."
"Found it." After confirming his name, May Joy picked up a numbered badge and handed it over.
"Zone D, number 404. This is your badge—keep it safe."
The moment he saw the number, Caleb froze. "404? Damn, that's a bad omen."
"Drawing 404 is a kind of luck in itself. You've got good hands," May Joy tried to comfort him.
She had a good impression of Caleb so far—handsome and well-mannered, seemed like a cheerful young man.
But the name Caleb... why did that sound so familiar?
"By the way, we also need to register the Pokémon you'll be using." May Joy smiled.
"We have to register that too?" Caleb was caught off guard.
He'd been thinking about letting Pachirisu get some action, but if he could only register one Pokémon, then that wasn't going to work. He had no illusions about Pachirisu winning a championship.
Guess it was up to Chansey again.
Damn, that brat dodged a bullet. He was planning to send it out this morning.
"Sir?" May Joy tilted her head curiously. Why was he taking so long to name a Pokémon?
Seeing his hesitation, she added helpfully, "Don't worry, it's not a full inspection. We just need the name—we won't ask about move sets or anything like that."
"Alright." Caleb was reassured. He opened the Pokéball and summoned Chansey.
"Lucky~"
Chansey let out its signature cheerful cry.
"Chansey?!" May Joy was taken aback. It was rare to see someone casually pull out a Chansey.
Wait a second—now she remembered!
Wasn't this the Caleb her younger cousin had mentioned in the family chat?
May Joy pointed at him in shock. "You… aren't you a Gym Leader?"
"Yeah," Caleb nodded without a hint of concealment.
"But this is a rookie competition!"
"So?" Caleb shrugged, clearly unbothered.
May Joy: "..."
She was stunned, at a loss for words.
Caleb continued, "I looked it up. A rookie trainer is defined as someone who has just received their first Pokémon and hasn't participated in any official matches. Technically, I meet the requirements."
May Joy: "..."
She was speechless. He even went out of his way to check the rules?
And so, she stood there dumbfounded, watching Caleb walk away.
As his figure faded into the distance, a sense of dread welled up in her chest.
She pulled out her phone and called her cousin.
...
"This year's Little Ho-Oh Cup feels stacked!"
As soon as Caleb entered the prep hall, he heard contestants chatting nearby. He casually sat down nearby.
"Guess who I just saw?"
"Who, who? Cynthia? Diantha?"
"Get real—like a Champion would show up to a rookie cup. I saw Rainman!"
"Who?"
"Dude, do you not watch the news? The guy with special abilities—supposedly he passively triggers rain just by showing up!"
"No way, that's basically cheating."
"League says no—those special abilities like telekinesis or whatever count as part of your natural skillset. Not considered cheating."
"Yeah? Try saying that to the Psychic Association's face."
"Tch. If the Association didn't have so much pull, the League would've banned that rule ages ago. Those special types are all freaks. I'd beat every one of them if I could."
"..."
At that moment, Caleb quietly left the prep hall, his Viridian aura intact and unnoticed.
As he walked down the corridor, he overheard a group of girls gossiping.
"For real? Are you sure it was him?"
"Absolutely!" one of them said with complete confidence. "It was Arthur!"
"Ahhhhhhh!!" x5
"I can't believe he's competing too! I'm so happy!"
"Think I'll run into him during the match?"
"If you do, count yourself lucky."
Caleb was baffled. Who the hell was this Arthur guy that had these girls swooning like fangirls?
Reminded him of the idol-chasing girls from his old school.
He pulled out his phone to look it up.
Yep, just as he suspected—a trending celebrity.
Apparently had a cameo in a Kalos-region movie with Diantha a year ago, got scouted by a talent agency, and only recently received his starter Pokémon a few months back.
As for acting skills? Barely passable. Total eye-candy with no substance.
A walking pretty-boy.
Caleb headed into a nearby café, found a seat, and pulled out a contestant list he'd mysteriously picked up somewhere.
Know your enemy and yourself, and you'll win every battle—Caleb understood that well.
If he ran into any powerhouses smurfing this rookie tournament, he could at least plan accordingly.
Scanning down the list—nothing impressive.
...Huh?
His gaze froze on a familiar name.
Pallet Town!
Caleb's eyes went wide.
There was a contestant from Pallet Town!
Forget the special-powered Rainman or the idol boy—just those three words hit Caleb like a truck.
Everyone knew Pallet Town was a legendary place—home of champions like Red, Blue, the first League Champ Professor Oak, even Super Saiyan Ash.
Caleb had done his research. This world was a weird hybrid of the anime and Pokémon Adventures.
The manga plotlines were canon, and even the anime arcs could be found documented online.
Who could it be? Red? Blue? Don't tell me it's Professor Oak?
If it's Ash, no biggie—he should still be a greenhorn on his journey. No threat.
But if it's one of the others… Caleb didn't even want to think about it.
He hurriedly looked down, trying to read the contestant's name—but then he cursed aloud:
"Sh*t!"
The crucial part was covered by a brown mystery stain—completely unreadable!