Okay, breathe. Stay calm.
It's just using Minimize. Poison moves don't work on Steel-types—Toxic doesn't pose any real threat to me.
It's fine, it's fine.
After reassuring himself, Arthur started regaining a bit of confidence.
If Caleb was going to boost his evasion, then he'd boost his offense.
"Scizor, use Swords Dance!"
As long as Scizor maxed out its Attack, even if it missed over and over, just one hit on Chansey could still turn the tide.
In a moment of panic, Scizor finally picked up on its trainer's command. It had just started to move into the Swords Dance pose when its right leg felt like it was seized by an invisible hand—then suddenly it was hurled high into the air by a mysterious force.
Scizor: (? ○ Д ○)?
I'm... flying?
Wait—was that... Seismic Toss!?
Arthur immediately recognized the move and his heart sank.
He couldn't even see where Chansey was, let alone come up with a counter.
Caleb smiled faintly.
It was back—that feeling of becoming so small, so evasive, that your opponent couldn't land a hit no matter how hard they tried.
Unless it was Earthquake, Stomp, Body Slam, Dragon Rush, Heat Crash, Heavy Slam, or Shadow Sneak... there was simply nothing that could touch a triple-Minimize Chansey.
And guess what? Scizor couldn't learn a single one of those.
"Scizor, use Roost to recover!" Arthur shouted. His Scizor was one of the rare few that could actually learn Roost.
"As if I'd let that happen. Chansey, Body Slam," Caleb responded without hesitation.
Scizor had barely hit the ground and hadn't even caught its breath when it felt another crushing force pin it down.
It couldn't even breathe.
Scizor: ( ?_? )
"Now hit it with Fire Punch!" Caleb's eyes lit up as he threw a mock punch forward.
Arthur: !!!
Bro, who teaches a Chansey Fire Punch? What kind of logic is that?!
Chansey's base Attack is 5!
Pinned helplessly to the ground, Scizor finally got a clear look at the now-pea-sized Chansey in front of it.
On that tiny arm, flames had begun to swirl and blaze, bright and blazing hot.
Scizor: Stay back!
Scizor instinctively tried to escape, but Chansey had it pinned with its other arm. It couldn't move at all.
Then—Fire Punch, straight to the gut.
BOOM!
Everyone knows that a quadruple weakness is the mark of a true warrior.
Right, Scizor?
Scizor: That wasn't me! I didn't say that! I NEVER said that!
Another Fire Punch landed squarely.
BOOM!
Then a third. A fourth...
BOOM!
BOOM!
...
The flicker of confidence on Arthur's face twisted once again.
Even the crowd watching couldn't bear to look anymore.
Using Fire Punch on a Scizor while it's down? And not finishing it in one blow? But going for a third, a fourth—just imagine what Scizor must be feeling right now.
Finally, on the sixth punch, Scizor fainted completely.
And maybe it was just an illusion, but as it passed out, there was a blissful smile on its face.
(Scizor: Finally... it's over!)
"Sc-Scizor is unable to battle. The winner is Caleb!" the referee declared after checking, raising his flag high.
Dear god, that was brutal. Gotta go home and watch a few true crime documentaries just to calm down.
Even after the match was over, Arthur still couldn't believe what had happened.
He just stood there in a daze.
Then, all of a sudden, he burst out laughing.
Wild, unhinged laughter.
His expression was twisted.
"Minimize, Fire Punch! Minimize, Fire Punch! Haha! Haha!!"
"Minimize, Fire Punch! Minimize, Fire Punch..."
Dude... is he losing it?
No way, right? Who goes mad after one battle? He probably just put too much pressure on himself.
Poor kid, Caleb thought with genuine pity.
At that moment, his manager Lisa sprinted to his side, shielding him from the swarm of TV reporters trying to get their shots.
"No more pictures! Stop filming!"
She was on the verge of tears. So a woman's intuition really is spot on...
...
Pokémon Center. Caleb was picking up Pachirisu, who had been enjoying the buffet.
Just as he was about to leave, a female reporter called out to him, saying they wanted to do a quick interview.
Caleb recognized her—one of the many media folks crowding the venue earlier.
She walked up with a smile. "Don't worry, it's just a quick chat. If you don't know how to answer, that's fine too—we've got a great editing team in post."
"Sure," Caleb nodded.
Sinnoh TV and the Sinnoh Daily were part of the same group, known for their professionalism. No shady edits, hopefully.
And hey, maybe it'd bring some attention to his gym.
Meanwhile, Pachirisu on Caleb's shoulder also perked up and put on an extra cute face.
I'm gonna be on TV—I better look good.
"Alright, let's begin."
Once everyone was ready, the reporter gave an OK signal to the cameraman and turned to Caleb.
After a brief intro, she asked the first question.
"Mr. Caleb, what inspired you to choose Chansey as your starter Pokémon? Many people see Chansey as more of a support mon than a battler."
"I believe the idea of strong or weak Pokémon is just a human perspective. A truly great trainer should be able to win with the Pokémon they love, and grow stronger for them," Caleb replied.
He wasn't just saying that to sound cool—it was something he'd come to understand deeply during these last few days spent with Chansey and the others.
In that time, he'd slowly broken free from the idea that this world of Pokémon was just some fantasy game.
Whether it was Chansey, Pachirisu, or the other Pokémon in his gym, they were no longer just sprites or characters to him—they were family.
"I see. Let's move on to the next question."
"Mr. Caleb, some of the strategies you used during the match clearly broke your opponent's mental state. Aren't you worried about someone challenging you to a duel off-stage?"
"It's all tactics. Sure, some might call it a little dirty, but as a Gym Leader, that's part of my job."
"Oh?"
The reporter's eyes lit up—finally, some juicy material.
"So, Mr. Caleb, you're actually a Gym Leader?"
"Yup, I'm the Gym Leader of Solaceon Town." Caleb had said it deliberately—he wanted this to come up.
"As a Gym Leader, then, why participate in a tournament for newbies?"
"Like you said, these days young people are too impulsive—always trying to start fights IRL. They're not ready. I'm doing this for their sake.
A truly strong trainer isn't just strong in battle. They've got to be strong up here, too," Caleb said sincerely, tapping his temple.
"Lucky~" (Master, you're the best~)
"Pachipa!" (You liar!)
"You're clearly a very responsible Gym Leader. Even your Pokémon agree! That wraps up our interview for today. Viewers at home—did you learn something?"
...
Solaceon Town. An old man poured himself another cup of tea.
What can he say—old folks just love tea.
The sun was just as warm and nice today.
He glanced again at the latest issue of the Sinnoh Daily lying on the table, then silently got up and threw it in the trash.
Last night's nightmare after reading it? Not worth it. Better just watch the news.
He picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
What was airing? None other than the very interview from moments ago.
What, more coverage of the Little Ho-Oh Cup?
"The main event's really gotten this popular?" the old man muttered in surprise.
"Holy crap!"
Not this guy again!
As soon as the interviewee showed up, the old man cursed out loud.
Because on screen, grinning like sunshine, was none other than Caleb.
"So, as a Gym Leader, why participate in a tournament for beginners?"
"Simple. To crush rookies."
That was Caleb's deadpan response.
The old man: "..."
He stared at Caleb's radiant smile on the TV screen and slowly turned the thing off.
Sinners, all of them.
...
In the spectator stands, Arthur's fans had begun to leave. From the crowd emerged a girl with reddish-brown shoulder-length hair, wearing a round cap and a stunning face.
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