"Dragonite, Hurricane!" Caleb commanded.
"Wuu!"
Dragonite let out a cry, flapped its wings, and soared into the air.
A milky-white vortex swirled around its wings, condensing into a fierce storm that swept toward Lopunny.
"Lopunny, use Bounce!" Maki waved his hand and pointed at Dragonite, shouting loudly.
Lopunny calmly faced Dragonite's Hurricane, bent its knees slightly, then suddenly leapt high into the air. With a twist of its body, it lunged toward Dragonite.
"Dodge downward!" Caleb's mind raced as the battlefield unfolded clearly in his head. The next sequence of events played out in his mind ahead of time.
From Lopunny's angle of attack, there was no way it could hit Dragonite once it descended to the ground.
Once Lopunny (which is unable to fly) landed, its landing spot would undoubtedly be behind Dragonite.
"Turn around, aim behind you! Use Dragon Rush!" Caleb ordered.
'What is he doing?' That was Maki's first reaction upon hearing the command.
But soon, what happened next made his eyes widen in disbelief.
Lopunny's Bounce missed Dragonite completely, and its body automatically began descending from midair.
At the same time, Dragonite turned around, its body erupted with a fierce crimson draconic aura, striking Lopunny before it could even land and sending it flying backward.
"How is this possible?!" Maki exclaimed in shock, "Lopunny, hang in there!"
Caleb continued without pause, "Don't stop! Thunder Punch, follow up!"
"Wuu!" Dragonite nodded, its fists crackling with yellow electricity.
Using the momentum from Dragon Rush, it charged toward Lopunny, who had just landed and hadn't even gotten up, and was still rolling twice on the ground.
And so, right in front of everyone, Lopunny went flying again...
Its body slammed into the rocky wall behind it. Electricity crackled across its fur as it grimaced in pain before sliding to the ground, its head lolling to the side as it fainted.
'What the– What just happened?!' Maki's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.
He hadn't even processed it, Lopunny was taken out in one go...
"Lopunny is unable to battle! The first match goes to Terrence!" Cynthia announced with a faint smile. She had witnessed Caleb's hard work and progress over these past few days.
Maki pressed his lips together, unwilling to accept defeat, "Again!"
"Terrence, will you switch Pokémon?" Cynthia asked.
Caleb shook his head. He wanted to test Dragonite's limits.
Maki sent out his second Pokémon. It was a Staraptor, Sinnoh's regional bird.
Right off the bat, Maki had Staraptor use Double Team, attempting to overwhelm Dragonite with numbers.
But Double Team was a move Caleb had already exploited to kingdom come with Mimikyu. Without hesitation, he ordered Dragonite to unleash a wide-range AoE move, Thunderbolt, instantly revealing Staraptor's real body.
Not only that, but Staraptor was unlucky enough to get paralyzed.
Dragonite followed up with Dragon Tail, sending Staraptor flying...
Thus, the second match also went to Caleb.
For the third match, Maki solemnly sent out his strongest Pokémon, an Infernape.
Six minutes later... Infernape fell from midair, landing on the ground with its eyes rolled back, unconscious.
Dragonite descended beside Caleb, who high-fived it before looking up at Maki.
Maki, who had just been swept by a single Pokémon, now wore an expression of utter disbelief.
He recalled Infernape into its Poké Ball, his face twisting oddly as he asked Caleb, "You… you're really just a three-year-old kid?"
Caleb nodded honestly. Though his mental age was in his twenties, his physical age was indeed three.
Maki opened and closed his mouth, glancing back at Cynthia, then at Caleb again, before forcing out, "Are you competing in the Sinnoh League this year?"
Caleb saw where this was going and reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm not participating."
"Phew! That's a relief!" Maki exhaled, an inexplicable weight lifting from his chest.
"How do you feel?" Cynthia walked over with a faint smile.
"Not bad, just a bit mentally exhausting," Caleb replied.
"Take a break." Cynthia pulled out a strawberry lollipop from her bag, unwrapped it, and held it up to him. "Ah~ open up."
She'd often seen Caleb with a lollipop in his mouth, so she started carrying a whole stash in her bag, all kinds of flavors.
Caleb glanced at it, then obediently opened his mouth and took it... The heartwarming sibling moment stabbed straight into the hearts of Terrence and Maki, who were standing nearby.
Maki couldn't take it anymore, "Uh, see you at the Sinnoh League, then! I've got stuff to do, so I'll head out first!"
Cynthia bid him a polite but distant farewell.
Caleb crunched the lollipop and said, "The tent is already set up. You can go rest there first. I'll go find a few more trainers to test Mimikyu and Lucario."
Cynthia thought for a moment before saying, "I'll come with you."
Caleb didn't refuse. He took her along to challenge some wild trainers...
....
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the day of the Sinnoh League had arrived...
During this period, Caleb hadn't gone anywhere. He stayed with Cynthia the entire time to train Dragonite, Mimikyu, and Lucario in Victory Road.
His mind was sharp to begin with, and with Cynthia's guidance and the help of countless training partners, he improved at an astonishing rate.
He had challenged almost every trainer in Victory Road. Aside from a few exceptionally strong opponents who forced him to use a second Pokémon, everyone else had been swept by Dragonite's one-on-three dominance.
Today was the day Caleb and Cynthia left Victory Road...
The path leading to the Sinnoh League was lined with blooming flowers, and trainers from all over the world, accompanied by their Pokémon, flooded into the Pokémon Center near the venue.
Just like in the Anime, the Sinnoh League held a grand opening ceremony before the matches began, complete with fireworks and a torch-lighting ritual...
....
On the day of the preliminary rounds, all eight Sinnoh Gym Leaders arrived at the venue...
The stands were packed with spectators, buzzing with excitement.
Amid the roaring crowd, Cynthia, standing on the battlefield, turned to look at the stands. Her eyes immediately found Caleb.
Holding Mimikyu, Caleb waved at her. Cynthia smiled faintly before turning back to the battlefield, launching a fierce offensive alongside her Garchomp.
After the preliminaries came the early rounds, where the top 64 trainers competed in 3v3 matches. The early rounds were followed directly by the finals.
On the day of the finals, Cynthia's grandmother also arrived at the venue. Caleb sat with her to witness the birth of the League Champion together.
On the battlefield, Cynthia was like a cold, regal queen... She was powerful and decisive.
But only Caleb knew that, in private, she was just a gentle big sister who loved ice cream and struggled with indecision...