"Caitlin?"
"Cynthia?"
As Dylan and Caitlin entered the main hall, Cynthia immediately recognized the elegant young woman standing before her.
Caitlin also seemed quite surprised to see Cynthia.
"It's been a while, Caitlin. What brings you to Kanto?"
Cynthia approached her with delight. Ever since Caitlin had headed to Unova, it had been quite some time since they last saw each other.
"I came here specifically to challenge Leader Dylan," Caitlin said with a faint smile.
"I see. But Dylan is really strong—you'll need to be careful," Cynthia replied, not looking the least bit surprised, but rather offering a friendly warning.
"Stronger than you?"
In Caitlin's mind, Cynthia was the pinnacle. Even Champion Alder didn't compare in her opinion.
And she called him just "Dylan"? Was their relationship that close? Caitlin was curious.
"Me?" Cynthia glanced over at Dylan and gave a wry smile. "I'm nowhere near his level."
Caitlin blinked in disbelief.
"Dylan is very powerful," Steven said with a laugh. "But he adjusts his team to match the challenger's strength, so don't worry."
"Indeed, Caitlin, let's see which type you'll be facing," Dylan said, gesturing to the large roulette wheel.
"All right."
Caitlin walked over and examined the roulette with interest. Choosing your opponent's type with a spin of a wheel—what a fascinating approach.
"Oh? Water type's been added?" Wallace's eyes sparkled as he noticed the aqua-blue segment on the wheel.
"Dylan, have you finished training your Water team?"
As a Water-type specialist, Wallace was deeply invested in the beauty and strength of the type.
Unfortunately, while he had proven Water-types could reach champion-tier, pushing beyond that had proven difficult.
But Dylan—Dylan could elevate Water-types even further.
"They're ready for battle now," Dylan said with a warm smile.
Geeta curiously observed the roulette. As expected from Leader Dylan—so many types under his command.
"Is it this button here, Leader Dylan?" Caitlin asked.
"Yes, go ahead, Miss Caitlin."
Caitlin pressed the button. The wheel began to spin rapidly, the pointer whirling around.
Soon, it slowed, finally stopping on the aqua-blue section representing the Water type.
"Yes!" Wallace cheered. He'd finally get to see Dylan's approach to Water-types.
"Water type…"
Caitlin contemplated. Water was one of the most common types, with a wide pool of Pokémon.
Compared to other types, it was more straightforward—no strange gimmicks, just raw versatility.
With the type decided, Dylan and Caitlin entered the battle arena and took their places.
The audience, including Cynthia, Silver, Yellow, and now-returned Leaf—who had arrived to act as referee—took their seats.
"We now begin the Rota Gym challenge. The challenger is Caitlin, hailing from Sinnoh.
"Battle format is 4 vs 4. Leader Dylan will send out first and may not switch Pokémon. The challenge is successful once all four of his Pokémon are defeated."
"Battle start!"
Leaf announced the rules with professional clarity and stepped out of the arena.
On the screen above, the scoreboard lit up with portraits of Dylan and Caitlin.
"I wonder how many of Dylan's Water-types Caitlin can defeat," Steven mused, resting his chin on his hand.
"She'll be lucky to take down two," Wallace said, shaking his head. "Even if they're newly trained, Dylan's Water team is probably already incredible."
"She'll do well just to avoid a sweep," said a new voice from behind them.
"Oh?"
Wallace turned and spotted three familiar figures.
It was the trio of the older lady, the bird keeper, and the psychic—the last of whom had spoken.
"We know Dylan's Gym all too well," the psychic said confidently. "The new types he adds are always the hardest to beat—because there's no existing strategy to counter them yet."
On the field—
"Miss Caitlin, since this is your first challenge at Rota Gym, allow me to formally introduce myself."
Dylan loosened the collar of his black shirt, adjusted it slightly, and smiled.
"I'm Dylan, Leader of the Rota Gym. Today I'll be using a Water-type team."
"Do you understand Water-types, Miss Caitlin? They are quite special. They can be as gentle and pure as a still ocean, soothing and cleansing the soul.
"But when needed, they can become surging waves—fierce and overwhelming, sweeping away any who stand against them."
"So please, allow yourself to fully experience the beauty of Water-type Pokémon."
With a graceful motion, Dylan donned a pair of black gloves and released an Ultra Ball.
"I look forward to it," Caitlin said with a composed smile, her sapphire eyes sparkling.
"Then my first partner will be…"
"Pelipper, into battle!"
With a flash of white light, a white and blue bird Pokémon flapped its wings and landed before Dylan. Its massive yellow beak took up most of its body.
It was none other than Pelipper, evolved from Wingull.
Beep~ Pelipper. Water/Flying-type. Water Bird Pokémon.
Ability: Drizzle
Moves: Hurricane, Roost, Tailwind, Protect, U-turn, Surf, Blizzard…
Info: Flies just above the ocean surface, scooping up food and seawater alike with its large beak.
"Pelipper, huh?"
Wallace went into deep thought. Using Pelipper as the lead—was it for setting up rain? After all, Pelipper wasn't exactly high-tier.
Dylan likely intended to start with weather control.
"A Water/Flying-type," Caitlin murmured as she tossed a Poké Ball wrapped in a blue aura.
"Musharna, let's go!"
A dreamy, lavender-hued Pokémon floated before her, its eyes gently opening as it gazed at Pelipper.
Beep~ Musharna. Psychic-type. Drowsing Pokémon.
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Moonblast, Psychic, Yawn, Charge Beam…
Info: Can solidify the dreams it consumes. The mist from its forehead can turn into shapes seen in dreams.
Strong, no doubt—a Four Elite Trainer's Pokémon.
Lillie looked at the Pokédex's data in awe. Not only was Caitlin beautiful—her Pokémon were powerful, too.
"Musharna, huh?" Dylan nodded. "Nicely trained."
"Pelipper."
The bird spread its wings with a cry. Blue light shimmered from its body as storm clouds gathered overhead. Heavy rain began to fall.
Drizzle had activated.
"Since you're the challenger, Miss Caitlin, you may take the first move," Dylan offered with a smile.
"Then I won't hold back. Musharna, use Psychic!"
Caitlin opted to test Pelipper's strength first.
Blue psychic light gleamed in Musharna's eyes, surrounding Pelipper in an attempt to paralyze and control it.
Pelipper struggled against the pressure. Musharna was finding it hard to hold the bird still.
"Hydro Pump," Dylan said calmly.
Pelipper opened its massive beak and launched a powerful blast of water.
"Dodge!" Caitlin responded immediately.
Musharna wasn't fast—but with psychic power to levitate, it dodged the uncharged Hydro Pump easily.
"Pelipper, close the distance."
The bird flapped hard, charging toward Musharna.
"Musharna, fall back," Caitlin countered. She didn't care what kind of melee Pelipper was planning.
Musharna floated back as fast as it could—but Pelipper was already upon it.
"Musharna, Yawn!"
Hypnosis could be dodged, but Yawn? That was different.
"U-turn."
Dylan gave a small smile.
Caitlin's eyes widened.
Musharna yawned, a puff of white vapor wafting toward Pelipper. The bird inhaled it—already marked to fall asleep.
But its glowing teal body slammed into Musharna at the same time.
A Bug-type U-turn.
Musharna gave a pained grunt, pushed back slightly by the hit.
Bug beats Psychic—but Pelipper's attack stat was mediocre, so the damage was only average.
But—
After hitting, Pelipper returned to its ball in a flash of light.
U-turn's effect: switch out after attacking.
"Miss Caitlin really got outplayed," Geeta said with a sigh.
Pelipper set the rain, landed a clean hit, and got away scot-free.
"Makes sense. Pelipper was just the weather setter. Now comes the real offense," Wallace said with satisfaction.
He was taking notes—he was definitely copying this team.
He had raised a Pelipper before, but found it underwhelming. And the 4x weakness to Electric really hurt.
Gyarados had the same weakness—but Gyarados was just that good.
"Milotic, to the field!"
Dylan sent out his second Pokémon.
With a graceful cry, a large, elegant sea-serpent Pokémon appeared in front of Dylan as the rain poured down.
Cream-colored scales, long gray-blue brows, sapphire eyes, and a tail of gleaming black and gold.
It was his shiny Milotic.
The dazzling creature coiled slightly, tail swaying elegantly—a calm, serene beauty radiated from it.
"Oh~ such breathtaking beauty!" Wallace clutched Steven's arm, visibly emotional.
"Steven, look! That's the descendant of my Milotic!"
"Yeah, yeah, but it's Dylan's now," Steven muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Shiny Milotic… how beautiful," Cynthia said, eyes glowing. She also had a Milotic on her team, but there was something extra about the shiny one's aura.
"Oh? Is this Milotic descended from your ace, Wallace?" Geeta asked with surprise.
"Yes. Dylan wanted to raise a Water team, so I entrusted him with a shiny Feebas," Wallace said proudly.
"And didn't Dylan give you that Pokémon called Iron Bundle?" Cynthia teased. "How's that going?"
"Well…" Wallace's face turned a little strange.
"What can I say… It's exactly what you'd expect from something Dylan gave me. Once it's fully trained, it might replace my ace."
He'd always said strength was for the unrefined. He was a master of beauty and elegance.
But after training Iron Bundle for a while… he had to admit: nothing else on his team could match it in power.
How could something that looked like a Christmas penguin be so utterly broken?
He felt guilty—even toward his beloved Milotic.
But if he were being honest?
Iron Bundle was probably going to be his new ace.