Sinnoh Region, Sandgem Town.
Rowan's Laboratory.
BOOM!
Just as they stepped through the door, a sudden explosion echoed through the air.
BOOM!
BOOM!
ROOOAAR!
Two more blasts followed in quick succession, mixed with the crackling sound of roaring flames.
Curious, Caleb and Green headed toward the back courtyard of Rowan's lab.
There, two figures were locked in a fierce standoff, the yard thick with smoke and fire.
One of them was tall and had a bizarre appearance—his style suspiciously reminiscent of that famous fast food mascot, Ronald McDonald.
His massive, fiery afro made the air feel hotter just by looking at him.
Flint, Sinnoh's Fire-type Elite Four member.
Caleb remembered him mentioning something in the group chat about a battle today.
His gaze naturally shifted to Flint's opponent.
It was a tall woman with long, golden hair cascading like a waterfall—her presence visually overwhelming.
Caleb's eyes widened as he suddenly realized.
Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh!
Noticing the newcomers, Cynthia gave a slight smile, but quickly turned her focus back to the battle.
"Spiritomb, Pain Split!"
Sssshhh-PA!
The moment Cynthia gave the command, the keystone embedded in Spiritomb began to tremble violently, radiating a deep, eerie purple glow.
In an instant, that light linked with Infernape on the other side of the field.
With a painful howl, something strange happened—the blazing flames on Infernape's head visibly weakened, as if its strength had been drained.
Meanwhile, Spiritomb, which had been on the verge of fainting, suddenly came back to life, its HP recovering rapidly to a stable level.
Pain Split—equalizing both parties' remaining health.
Seeing this, Flint visibly tensed.
Not again.
He'd gone out all excited today, determined to challenge the boss lady.
All the way there, his head had been filled with strategies to take down her Garchomp, but then she didn't even lead with Garchomp—instead, it was this unimpressive Spiritomb.
At first, he hadn't thought much of it. Fine, Spiritomb it is. She was probably saving Garchomp for the end to conserve strength.
That just meant he was strong enough to be taken seriously.
But things had gone completely off the rails.
This Spiritomb was straight-up dirty.
Toxic and Hex combo.
Curse and Pain Split.
Even managed to sneak a Lagging Tail onto his Rapidash when he wasn't paying attention.
Three of his Pokémon were already down—only Infernape was left.
Seriously, who battles like this?!
There's a line between competitive and disgraceful!
Flint clenched his fists, veins popping on his forehead, glaring at the Spiritomb with fury.
"Infernape, don't lose heart! Let's show her the strength of our bond!"
"Flare Blitz—full power!!"
Just from that shout, Caleb could tell—yep, this guy was definitely one of those over-the-top emotional Sinnoh trainers. Probably all his fault.
His eardrums were practically getting shredded. This was practically a real-life Metal Sound attack.
Still... why did Cynthia's battle tactics feel so familiar?
"Why do I feel like Cynthia's tactics are oddly familiar?" Green murmured beside him.
The battle style gave her both psychological and physical discomfort.
Something just felt off...
Fueled by Flint's roar, the exhausted Infernape suddenly surged with energy.
"RAAAAH!"
Its Blaze ability activated instantly.
The flames on its head shot up three meters high. It slammed its feet into the ground, which cracked and exploded beneath the force, leaving scorched stone behind.
Damn—manual Blaze activation.
Where's the referee? Caleb looked around frantically. I need to report this non-regulation Infernape.
But there was no sign of a ref. He sighed in disappointment.
Still, credit where it's due—Flint was an Elite Four for a reason. That sudden burst of strength was no joke.
Way stronger than a certain old man.
Infernape launched itself like a fireball, the surrounding air warping under the heat.
But then Cynthia's calm voice made both Green and Flint's pupils contract.
"Spiritomb, Shadow Sneak."
A dark aura surged up like a wave, quickly engulfing Spiritomb.
In the blink of an eye, Spiritomb vanished into thin air.
Shadow Sneak—Spiritomb would disappear on the first turn, charging in another dimension, and strike on the second.
BOOOOM!!!
The explosion was deafening. Shards of stone were pulverized in a massive shockwave that seemed to erupt beside everyone's ears.
The blast consumed everything around it.
Everything except Spiritomb.
Miss. A full-blown miss...
In that moment.
Flint felt something choking his chest. He opened his mouth wide but couldn't form a single word.
There was just no coming back from this.
Only Caleb felt like things finally made sense. Why stand there and tank a nuke to the face if you can just dodge?
The massive recoil from Flare Blitz nearly knocked Infernape out on its own.
Then, from the shadows, Spiritomb reappeared behind it.
As a proud Ghost-type, it had learned the golden rule: strike from the shadows whenever possible. If you can hide in the dark, never step into the light.
Clearly, this Spiritomb had internalized that truth.
BAM!
Infernape crashed to the ground, flames nearly snuffed out.
"Infernape, don't give up!"
Flint's voice rang out from behind.
A miracle occurred.
Infernape... stood up. It actually stood back up!
Even with injuries all over its body, way beyond what it should've endured, it rose again through sheer willpower.
Green watched in awe.
This scene felt oddly familiar.
"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball."
Cynthia gave the command without hesitation.
The Shadow Ball exploded against Infernape, ghostly energy ravaging it.
The faint flickers of flame around Infernape finally went out.
Never underestimate the value of a finishing blow.
Seeing Infernape collapse with swirly eyes, Caleb let out a long sigh of relief.
If it had still managed a comeback after all that, he probably wouldn't have slept tonight.
Still, that Sturdy-like ability was seriously annoying. Flint looked like a straight-laced guy, but he was clearly abusing all the cheat mechanics.
First power boosts, now unkillable HP tricks—what's next, main character plot armor?
"I... lost..."
Flint collapsed like a suspect in a crime anime, hands on the ground, eyes dazed and unfocused.
He looked like he couldn't believe what had just happened.
Sure, he'd been swept 1v3 before. It was even expected when facing Garchomp.
But this was Spiritomb—sure, one of Cynthia's core team members, but still, it was always under the radar.
And if Spiritomb alone could do this... didn't that mean the rest of her team could sweep him too?
Battle over.
Spiritomb shyly retreated back into its keystone.
So embarrassing... she was definitely going to get hate for battling like that...
Cynthia returned Spiritomb to its Pokéball, not even sparing a glance at the collapsed Flint. After today, maybe he'd calm down for a while.
She turned and began walking toward Caleb, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing through the open field like a melody played directly on people's nerves.
Caleb suddenly felt a little nervous.
Click. Click—
Her dazzling golden hair shimmered like sunlight spun into silk.
On her face was a warm yet distant smile.
The overwhelming presence of the Sinnoh Champion bore down on him.
Click. Click—
The breath-stealing sound of her heels stopped.
Cynthia came to a halt, raised her steely gray eyes, and looked straight at Caleb.