Veilstone City Airport.
Caleb sat early in the waiting area, holding the Riolu egg in his arms and waiting for everyone to arrive.
Inside the egg, Riolu wasn't wasting a single second of training.
Right now, its Aura sense could only detect a range of a hundred meters or so—still a bit short of that thousand-meter milestone.
Train harder, train harder!
Behind him, Haunter was giving Caleb a shoulder massage, grinning up at him with a fawning look.
Uh, so... about that photobook...
"Haunter, listen, I'm not trying to hog that photobook for myself. I'm doing this for your own good! Pokémon and humans just aren't meant to be."
Caleb patiently explained to Haunter.
"Gua~ss(?_?)"
"Hey, Caleb!"
Just then, a booming voice rang out across the airport, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"It's Flint!"
"Flint, I'm your biggest fan!"
"Monkey Gang forever!"
"Aaaah! Flint, have my babies!"
...Okay, pretty sure someone slipped something inappropriate into the crowd.
Even though Caleb often complained about how unreliable Flint was, he was still one of Sinnoh's Elite Four.
One of the top five faces of Sinnoh, with a massive fanbase.
In an instant, the airport was swarmed by the crowd surrounding Flint.
Male fans pushing forward, female fans screaming their heads off.
Wait, Flint has female fans?
"Caleb... help me!"
In the chaos, Flint stretched out a hand, begging Caleb for rescue.
Caleb?
Someone in the crowd seemed to recognize him too and shouted, "Guys, it's the heretic! Follow me and take him down!"
In a flash, a portion of the crowd peeled off from Flint and started charging toward Caleb.
Staring at the sea of people rushing at him, Caleb silently cursed Flint's entire lineage.
"Chansey, Teleport!"
"Lucky~"
Chansey popped out of its Poké Ball, scooped up Caleb, and vanished on the spot.
"Ugh, typical heretic—teaching a Chansey something disgusting like Teleport."
Someone in the crowd sighed, clearly regretting not making a move earlier.
Then—flash!—in another burst of light, Chansey reappeared next to Flint, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him like a duffel bag.
Teleport!
"Flint's gone!"
"Noooo! I haven't had your babies yet!"
The crowd descended into another frenzy.
Thankfully, Officer Jenny arrived and quickly brought the chaos under control.
Near the restroom at Veilstone Airport.
Chansey dumped Flint to the side and gently set Caleb down.
"What are you guys doing?"
A familiar voice called out from nearby—Gardenia.
Caleb looked up and saw Gardenia, wearing her usual midriff-baring green top that perfectly showed off her slender waist.
Standing beside her were Candice in a crisp, clean shirt and braids, and Maylene in her karate gi with a band-aid on her nose.
The three stood in a row, staring blankly at Caleb and the sprawled-out Flint.
"Nothing much. What're you guys doing here?" Caleb asked.
Candice pointed back toward the airport, "I don't know why, but a huge crowd suddenly formed over there. It's packed—can't even get close."
"Yeah, Officer Jenny had to come to manage the crowd," Maylene added.
Caleb silently threw a look at the man on the ground—Flint, the one who started it all.
Still lying flat, Flint suddenly sprang up like a Magikarp, scratched his head, and laughed awkwardly. "Didn't think I had that many fans, haha..."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Hahaha."
"Ha... ha."
"Ha..."
Under their silent stares, Flint's laughter gradually died off.
Uh... is there a crack in the floor I can crawl into?
Gardenia tilted her head. "Actually, I've always wondered—Flint, why are you coming along on a team-building trip? Don't Elite Four have work to do?"
"Work?"
Flint peeked up from his imaginary floor crack, looking utterly puzzled—as if he hadn't heard that word in ages.
Okay... no need to ask anymore. I know who to feel sorry for.
Caleb sighed to himself.
"By the way, did Clay end up coming or not?"
"Oh, you mean Clay? He's right behind you," Gardenia said, pointing behind Caleb.
Turning to look, Caleb spotted a figure slowly walking out from the restroom.
Tall and broad-shouldered, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses and the kind of gray work uniform you'd see at a construction site—
That's Clay, Gym Leader of Driftveil City.
"Hey there!"
Clay greeted them warmly the moment he saw the group.
"He's not coming with us, though. He said he wanted to head to Icirrus City to dig for fossils," Gardenia explained to Caleb.
Hearing this, Clay scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Really sorry, guys. Boss Grimsley said they found some rare fossils over there, so I'll be skipping out."
Rock lovers in the Pokémon world are all the same—once something stone-related comes up, they're glued to it. Clay's like that, Steven's like that...
Caleb didn't mind and waved it off. "No worries. Since everyone else is here, let's..."
"Head to Unova!" Flint cut him off with a cheer.
...
Aboard the flight from Veilstone, the group headed for Mistralton City in the Unova region.
From the air, the city below looked vibrant and full of energy.
The most eye-catching feature was its massive, awe-inspiring airport—a steel behemoth sprawling across the land.
According to reports, Mistralton's airport wasn't just the largest in Unova, but globally, it ranked second in scale—just behind Lumiose City Airport.
Thousands of flights took off and landed here daily, with travelers and cargo flowing in from all over the world.
The moment Flint stepped off the plane, he bolted like a monkey off its leash, face lit up with excitement.
Caleb, reacting fast, grabbed the back of Flint's collar to stop him from dashing off and disappearing.
"Alright, alright, forget the team-building for now. I've got a doubles match with a viewer scheduled."
"Oh? Who is it? Need my help?" Flint asked, eyes lighting up.
The words had barely left Caleb's mouth before Flint perked up like a kid, pushing in eagerly. "Who is it? Need me to jump in? My skills are top-tier, you know!"
"Nope." Caleb shoved Flint's overenthusiastic face away with a look of pure disgust.
Clay waved his hand, already heading off. "Well then... I'm off to Icirrus. Guess we're parting ways here!"
With that, he broke into a jog toward the airport exit, clearly itching to dive into his beloved rocks.
"We'll call you when we're heading back—don't forget!" Caleb shouted after him, worried he'd get so wrapped up in fossils he'd miss the return trip.