Sometimes, being too low-profile isn't a good thing—like right now.
The Gym had been open since morning, and half the day had gone by, but not a single visitor had shown up!
What the heck was going on?
Did I not promote it well enough?
No way, there were still tons of discussions about me online.
Could it be the Gym's location is too remote?
Thinking of this, Caleb couldn't help but glance at Green, whom he'd dragged over early in the morning to help out at the front desk.
"Green, what do you think is going on?"
Hearing his question, Green thought back to the battle she'd had with him a few days ago.
"...Uh, is it possible the problem is... you?"
"No way. Absolutely not!"
Caleb shot her theory down without hesitation.
He had so many fans in the group chat, and with the star effect working in his favor, there should've been a crowd by now...
So it really was the location, huh?
If nothing else made sense, maybe that was the answer.
Just as Caleb was feeling stumped, a figure came running toward them.
It was a girl with long pink hair, wearing a white uniform and a pink skirt.
The most eye-catching feature was her curvy figure.
Fiona Joy.
Caleb couldn't help but wonder: Were the Nurse Joys really this free these days? Weren't they always super busy in his memory?
"Caleb, who's she?"
The moment she arrived, Fiona Joy's eyes landed on the unfamiliar girl standing beside Caleb.
Caleb quickly smiled and replied, "Oh, she's my new hire, Green."
Then he turned and introduced them, "Green, this is Fiona Joy."
After the quick introductions, Caleb looked back at Fiona Joy. "So, Fiona, you came all this way—don't tell me you came just to ask that?"
"Of course not!"
Fiona Joy immediately denied it, then held up her phone excitedly and pointed at the screen. "Caleb, do you know? You're going viral!"
"So what? Even if I'm trending, nobody's coming to the Gym."
Caleb looked totally let down. He'd expected better news from her.
Come on, he'd been popular even before the Phoenix Cup finals.
"What are you talking about? I don't mean that, I mean your livestream—that livestream blew up!"
Fiona Joy pulled up the app and explained.
Livestream?
Caleb suddenly remembered—the one that got reported by that jerk.
It should've been unbanned by now, right?
But did I even say anything controversial?
Aside from mentioning that Gardevoir could breed with Muk, I don't think there was anything else...
Wait a second...
"You remember saying Gardevoir could breed with Muk during your stream? Guess what—Professor Elm just published a paper confirming it."
Professor Elm was the Pokémon Professor of the Johto Region and a junior to Professor Oak. His field of expertise was Pokémon breeding and Pokémon eggs.
He was the one who discovered Pichu's pre-evolution form and coined the concept of egg groups.
In the Pokémon world, the title of Pokémon Professor carried serious weight—they were as influential as regional Champions.
So for Caleb to have known about the Gardevoir and Muk pairing before Professor Elm's paper dropped—it's no wonder he went viral.
He pulled out his phone and logged into the Wutong Gym's official site. The comments section had already exploded—thousands of comments flooding in.
But this time, no one was comparing him to Cerulean Gym anymore.
"I don't believe it. This has to be fake. Please tell me it's fake."
"The Gym Leader's not only a tactical genius, but also an egg group researcher. [Respect]"
"Today, every gentleman who loves Gardevoir quietly died a little inside."
"According to Professor Elm's info, Weezing is also in the Amorphous egg group, which means..."
Caleb ignored the nonsense and quickly spotted a comment left by Professor Elm himself.
"So Caleb also studies Pokémon breeding. If you ever have time, why not visit Solaceon Town?"
Without hesitation, Caleb hit the friend request button.
Surprisingly, the professor accepted instantly.
A Pokémon Professor this free? Caleb always thought they were buried in their labs, surviving on instant noodles and skipping meals.
A message popped up right away.
"Caleb?"
Before he could reply, his phone suddenly started ringing.
He picked up, and heard Professor Elm's excited voice.
"Is this really Caleb?"
"Yes, this is Caleb. Hello, Professor Elm."
"Haha, I happen to be at Professor Rowan's lab today. Want to drop by?"
Professor Rowan's lab. Two professors. Meeting in person... traffic spike!
Putting the pieces together, Caleb didn't hesitate.
"Sure! I'd be honored."
"Great. I have some questions about Pokémon myself. We can talk it all over later," Professor Elm said with a laugh.
—Rowan's Lab—
Beside Professor Elm, a striking woman suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The Garchomp following her nearly bumped into her.
Caleb?
After Professor Elm ended the call, the woman finally spoke.
"Professor Elm, was that Caleb you were just talking to?"
"Yes, he said he's coming today."
"Caleb?" an older man nearby called out in surprise.
He had a neatly trimmed mustache, a serious expression, wore a crisp shirt under a blue vest, and had a tie—looking extremely meticulous.
"Professor Rowan."
Cynthia greeted him respectfully.
Professor Rowan waved his hand dismissively and asked with curiosity, "Who's this Caleb you're talking about?"
Cynthia thought for a moment before replying, "A Gym Leader... and kind of a master of underhanded tactics who's gotten pretty popular lately."
Professor Elm added, "Also a young man with quite a bit of knowledge about Pokémon breeding."
...?
Cynthia raised an eyebrow in surprise. Caleb knew about egg groups too?
That definitely piqued Professor Rowan's interest.
A researcher and a battler, just like Professor Oak?
"In that case, we might as well have him take a look at the new Pokémon batch."
"The ones in the yard?" Cynthia asked.
She had also been invited by Professor Rowan to help with Pokémon management. After all, Rowan was a pure researcher—not exactly skilled at handling unruly Pokémon.
Whenever overly aggressive ones showed up, she'd come by to help.
"Mhm," Rowan nodded with a smile.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out outside the lab.
"Crap—it's Flint! I promised him a battle today!" Cynthia gently rubbed her forehead.
"I'll go take care of it."
...
After finishing the call with Professor Elm, Green curiously asked, "What's up?"
"We're heading to Professor Rowan's lab."