Rain Guy let out a long, heavy sigh.
He could only watch as Gyarados was pinned under Chansey, getting punched over and over again, completely powerless to stop it.
God, I'm such an idiot.
I knew. I'd watched Scizor get wrecked again and again just yesterday. I studied all his dirty tricks. I even mentally ran simulations to counter them.
And still—I ended up just like Scizor.
Seriously, couldn't you at least switch up your tactics?
Where's your Substitute + Toxic?
Where's your Minimize?
Why are you suddenly fighting fair and square with me?!
Because of that Intimidate drop at the start, Chansey's already-low physical attack stat had dropped even further, making her hits weaker.
But that just meant she could throw more punches.
Chansey sat comfortably on Gyarados's neck, raining down Thunder Punches one after the other on its big face.
At first, Gyarados tried to fight back with its massive stamina—but as the beating went on, it just gave up.
Its expression turned blank, eyes lifeless, like it had lost all will to resist. Like a fish on a cutting board, just waiting for the next round of humiliation.
The crackling electric sparks even brought a faint aroma of grilled meat.
Gyarados was getting cooked.
The referee, catching a whiff of something strange, rushed over, raised his flag high and declared, "Gyarados is unable to battle! Chansey wins!"
He'd been so absorbed in the fight, he hadn't even noticed when the Pokémon fainted. As a ref, that was on him.
Thankfully, he caught it in time—any later, and someone might've had to call an ambulance.
The referee looked down at Gyarados with pity.
Its expression was exactly the same as yesterday's Scizor.
Brothers in suffering.
As that thought crossed his mind, the ref's gaze shifted toward Chansey.
"Lucky~"
Noticing the stare, Chansey politely climbed off Gyarados and gave a cheerful little chirp.
The sound made the ref shudder. He could swear he heard the whispers of a demon in his ear.
People always called Gyarados the savage monster, but if we're talking brutality—who could match her?
At this point, the ref could no longer see Chansey as an angel. And he wasn't the only one.
The same thought echoed across the crowd.
If it weren't for these past two days of battles, who would ever believe a Chansey could beat down a Scizor and tear apart a Gyarados with its bare hands?
Even if you posted the video online, everyone would say it was fake.
"Well done, Chansey."
Unlike everyone else, Caleb was genuinely pleased with her performance.
He praised her without holding back.
Chansey blushed, a rosy pink spreading across her face.
She rarely showed this kind of shyness.
Usually, she only blushed in two situations: one, after getting smacked around real good. And two, after getting praised by Caleb.
With that match over, Caleb had officially made it to the finals.
And barring any surprises, his final opponent would be Green.
The thought of going up against an Elite Four–level trainer made a wave of pressure wash over him.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plain-looking card. Despite its simple design, it contained detailed info on Green.
"Still… is this even legit?" Caleb muttered to himself, thinking of Green's shady merchant vibes.
After some hesitation, he quietly tucked the card back into his pocket.
Forget it. Better to stay on guard.
According to the card, Green's starter Pokémon was Hitmonlee—but that didn't match her usual main lineup.
Still, Caleb decided to prepare a counter-strategy just in case.
"Wait."
Just as Caleb was about to recall Chansey and leave, Rain Guy finally spoke up, his silence broken. Caleb stopped and turned around.
"Who… who the hell are you?" Rain Guy gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept defeat.
He had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Blessed with a unique ability, his family had pinned all their hopes on him from a young age.
While other kids were still learning to speak, he was already showing battle potential at five.
He got his first Pokémon at ten, and from there, his career skyrocketed.
By twelve, his peers couldn't even touch him.
At fifteen, he earned all eight badges and made it to the top 16 in his first League tournament.
At eighteen, he reached the quarterfinals and then went into intense training.
At nineteen, after a year of focused growth, he was ready to return—and just wanted to use the Little Ho-Oh Cup as a warm-up.
Then he ran into Caleb, this damn guy.
He had been sure that even if the opponent was a Gym Leader, he had the strength to beat him.
But Caleb… Caleb wasn't even human.
Forget the fact that he'd taught a sweet-looking Chansey some messed-up moves—
What really blew his mind was that she also knew offensive moves like Thunder Punch.
Who in their right mind would expect a Chansey to pack Thunder Punch?!
And during the match, she kept making weird noises, totally throwing off his rhythm.
This kind of calculating, underhanded, utterly shameless battle style—Caleb definitely wasn't just some average Gym Leader. That had to be a cover.
Caleb met Rain Guy's intense stare and smiled. "I'm just a passing Gym Leader, that's all."
And with that, he turned and walked off in style.
Leaving Rain Guy alone in the pouring rain, the fat raindrops pelting him from head to toe.
But he didn't flinch—he was used to it. He stood frozen, staring into the distance where Caleb had disappeared.
Hmph. So you won't tell me who you really are?
That's fine. One day, I'll tear off your mask myself.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, he threw his arms wide and burst into wild laughter.
The spectators still lingering in the stands: "..."
Great. Another one's gone mad.
...
Caleb reviewed his matches from the past few days…
Yep—no major mistakes.
And he had a great time.
But the final would be no joke—especially since it would be broadcast live.
For Caleb, this was a golden opportunity to show off his Gym's strength and style to a bigger audience.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
What if Green suddenly started yelling stuff like "Friendship!" or "Bonds!" mid-battle and charged at him?
Even though Caleb had full faith in his strategy, he'd have to take this seriously.
In the Special manga, Green was one of the top-tier trainers, with plenty of iconic moments—like beating Sabrina with a Poké Ball hidden in her cleavage, or tying up Lorelei using a Ditto.
"Hey, Chansey… got any ideas?" Caleb sighed.
Rather than stressing out on his own, better to brainstorm as a team.
He tossed out two Poké Balls, summoning Chansey and Pachirisu.
Three heads are better than one.
…Okay, fine. Two heads.
He wasn't expecting Pachirisu's walnut-sized brain to come up with anything groundbreaking.
"Lucky~"
"Oh? You already have an idea?" Caleb leaned in, pleasantly surprised.
"..."
"Wait—you can do that?!"