"Empoleon, Aqua Jet!"
"Garganacl, Iron Defense."
At that moment, on the battlefield, a black penguin Pokémon was wrapped in a layer of white crystalline material. Its expression was twisted with discomfort, but it still obeyed its trainer's command and charged at its opponent.
Aqua Jet—priority move!
Extremely effective against the Rock-type Garganacl.
But when the Aqua Jet slammed into Garganacl, it didn't even flinch. Instead, it calmly reinforced itself with another Iron Defense.
A flash of metallic sheen shimmered across its body—its defense skyrocketed.
It had already used Iron Defense twice before; this was the third time.
Standing in front of Garganacl, Empoleon's attack looked pitifully weak. Even with all its might, it couldn't so much as dislodge a single grain of salt from the opponent's body. Panic visibly spread across its face.
But that wasn't even the worst of it.
The crystalline structures clinging to its body began to stir once again, crawling slowly up across its form, piece by piece.
"Empooo…"
With a pained groan, Empoleon doubled over in agony.
"Empoleon!" the trainer shouted in a panic.
His already dark face turned several shades darker.
He tried to make one last command, but it was as if something was stuck in his throat—he couldn't get a single word out.
So he could only stand there helplessly and watch as Garganacl leapt high into the air.
"Garganacl, Body Press."
Caleb gave the order calmly.
BOOM!!
The ground quaked as the attack landed, leaving a massive crater in the battlefield.
With three layers of Iron Defense, Body Press was no less devastating than Earthquake, Overheat, or Hyper Beam—those battlefield-destroying moves.
"Empoleon is unable to battle. Garganacl wins."
"As both of the challenger's Pokémon have lost the ability to battle, the winner of this match is Gym Leader Caleb."
Green announced the results with a blank expression.
She was used to it by now—she'd seen too much. No longer did she overreact like she had back when she first started reffing.
The challenger dropped to his knees with a loud thud, then tilted his head back and let out a sky-shaking wail. Once he finished, he dramatically launched into some over-the-top rant, and finally stormed out with exaggerated pride.
Watching all this, Green could only shake her head and sigh. "Ugh, that's the fourth one today…"
Ever since Caleb posted that video on PokéTube two days ago, actual challengers had started showing up at the Gym.
And weirdly enough, they all seemed to follow the same pattern—same speeches, same drama.
After observing and keeping notes, Green had broken it down:
Roughly 20% of them opened with "I'm here to avenge that poor kid!"
Another 50% yelled about "punishing heresy."
The remaining 30% shouted "restoring righteousness to the world of competitive battling!"
And no matter what their opening line was, once they lost and were leaving the Gym, without exception, every single one screamed:
"I'll be back!"
Yep, they were all as stubborn as Mankey with a grudge—totally dead set on throwing themselves at the wall.
The ones who came back the next day were the reasonable ones. Some came morning, noon, and night, always showing up at mealtimes. Some even moved into town and swore not to leave until they earned a badge...
All of this meant way more work for Green. She was supposed to be lying in bed, doing absolutely nothing right now.
But Caleb? He was having the time of his life.
Wrecking rookies was fun. And wrecking them non-stop? Even better.
Caleb returned Garganacl to its Poké Ball, clearly in a good mood.
That made four wins this morning—he'd hit his daily quota. Time to eat.
He picked up his phone to check where the Delibird delivery was, only for a Gastly to suddenly pop out of nowhere and scare the crap out of him.
"Mimicry, mimicry~"
It babbled incoherently.
Luckily, Caleb had the power of Viridian Force, allowing him to decipher what Gastly was trying to say.
"You mean Chansey wants me to head over?"
"Gaaastw!"
Gastly nodded frantically.
"Sheesh, you really need to learn how to talk properly. No idea who you take after."
Muttering as he walked, Caleb headed toward the backyard.
Gastly: (?°3°?)
...
Backyard of Solaceon Gym.
It was packed with Pokémon—Gligar, Gliscor, Nacli, Naclstack, Dusknoir...
Caleb spotted Chansey among them.
Right now, the egg in the pouch on her belly was glowing.
A clear sign that the egg was about to hatch!
According to Chansey, she'd been training the others out here in the yard when the egg suddenly kicked her and began to glow for no reason.
Caleb listened while giving instructions to the floating Gastly nearby.
"What are you standing there for? Go grab the birthing kit—uh, I mean, the black bag. It's in the cabinet in my room."
After reassuring Chansey and telling her not to worry, Caleb began checking the contents of the bag.
A few bottles of fresh milk with a rich, creamy scent, and a silk scarf.
The milk came from a renowned ranch in Goldenrod City, known for its strict standards and exceptional care of Miltank. The Moomoo Milk they produced was top-tier—smooth, flavorful, and beloved worldwide as a premium dairy product.
It was also a crucial nutrient source for newborn Pokémon.
As for the silk scarf, it was made from a combination of Trubbish's adhesive and silk threads from Bug-types, processed through multiple refinement steps to create a held item that boosted the power of Normal-type moves.
But unlike ordinary white Silk Scarf, this one was a luxurious black-gold variant—from a prestigious designer brand in Veilstone City.
A birth gift Caleb had prepared for the little one.
Under the watchful, excited eyes of the gathered Pokémon, the glow from the egg slowly dimmed.
Crack...
With a soft sound, a fracture appeared on the eggshell. Then, thin spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the surface.
"Meow~"
A tiny creature emerged from the egg, looking around curiously.
It had plush red and black fur, a round little head, bright yellow eyes, and a red forehead marking made of two horizontal lines and a vertical stripe.
One of Alola's starter Pokémon—the true deity of Gen VII—Litten, the pre-evolved form of Incineroar!
Before Caleb could even react with joy, Chansey collapsed first.
"Luuuucky~~"
Her pink cheeks flushed crimson, forehead burning hot, nose bleeding slightly, murmuring unintelligibly...
Chansey had entered a state of extreme excitement.
This was the first time Caleb had ever seen Chansey get like this without being punched.
Was it because of this newborn?
Well, she had been eating and sleeping with the egg every day.
Maybe, in her heart, she'd already considered Litten her own child.
Watching Chansey writhing with joy on the ground, Caleb smiled and said, "Could this... be maternal love?"