Night.
After a long, busy day, Caleb lay in bed, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
He had been up since early morning, taking on challengers. Then he spent two hours dealing with Litten's hatching. After a short break in the afternoon, he was back to accepting more challengers. Dinner didn't even happen until after 8 p.m.…
Ugh, his spirit may be fulfilled, but his body couldn't keep up anymore!
Surely no other Gym Leader is as hardworking as me.
If I'm not ranked #1 in the year-end Gym Leader evaluation, something's seriously wrong!
He opened his phone and started scrolling.
Someone happened to be chatting in one of the groups.
"Sinnoh Gym Leaders Chat Group."
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: I'm losing my mind over this beginner breeder license exam! (Angry.jpg)
[Monkey God of the Universe]: What happened? Spill! (Infernape curious.jpg)
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: Wasn't it something Candice took a while back? @Snowpoint City – Candice
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: Yeah, but that was two years ago. I heard the test's gotten way harder lately.
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: "Harder" doesn't even cover it—it's downright cruel!
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: They used to test us on things like typing matchups, regional climate fill-ins, and move pairings. But now they've added this thing called 'Guess Who I Am?'! (Disgusted.jpg)
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: Can you guess what Pokémon this is?
[Image.jpg]
Caleb clicked on the image out of curiosity. It was a black sphere on a white background.
…It looked oddly familiar…
[Monkey God of the Universe]: Oh come on, this one's easy. That's a Voltorb. (Confident.jpg)
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: Could it be a Poké Ball? (Brainstorm.jpg)
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: Naughtball, maybe?
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: No, no, no! If it were that simple, it wouldn't be pure evil like this!
Eterna City.
Gardenia clutched a plushie and burst into uncontrollable laughter. After seeing everyone's guesses, the torment of this ridiculous test finally felt a little less painful.
Just then, a new message popped up.
[Solaceon Town – Caleb]: It's a Jigglypuff seen from above.
!!!
Wait, how the heck did he know that?
That's not something a normal person could possibly guess!
Unless…
Caleb is a breeding master?!
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: Jigglypuff? That's way too… way too…
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: Correct. (In disbelief.jpg)
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: ???
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: That's amazing.
[Hearthome City – Fantina]: Oh~ How incredible.
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: Okay, what about this one? (Let's see you handle this.jpg)
[Image.jpg]
The silhouette in the image was a graceful fox with nine tails—seemingly obvious.
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: Ninetales? (Not sure.jpg)
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: Maybe Alolan Ninetales?
[Oreburgh City – Roark]: Judging by the sadistic mindset of the question maker, no way. I'm guessing Ditto! (Trust me, no cap.jpg)
This one was tougher. Even Caleb wasn't fully certain.
But he could tell for sure—it wasn't Ninetales. Ditto was doubtful too.
[Solaceon Town – Caleb]: It's Zoroark.
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: That is… correct!
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: ...
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: ...
[Oreburgh City – Roark]: ...
What kind of maniac made these questions?!
Just moments ago, the three who answered confidently now looked like absolute clowns.
[Monkey God of the Universe]: No wonder Caleb was praised by Professor Rowan and Professor Elm as a breeding prodigy.
[Veilstone City – Maylene]: !
[Snowpoint City – Candice]: !!
[Oreburgh City – Roark]: !!!
[Eterna City – Gardenia]: ?
Wait—he really is a breeding master?!
So on top of being a Gym Leader and a tactical genius, now he's a breeding master too? Who else has pulled that off?
Oh, right… that guy.
Green from Kanto—the one who held the Champion title for five minutes, now guards Viridian Gym, with flawless tactics, and was handpicked by Professor Oak as the "One Who Breeds."
Legend.
Everyone could only think of one word: legendary. Could Sinnoh be birthing its own mythical figure now?
If so, one of the Elite Four might have to step down. Who would it be?
Aaron… or Flint?
Having shown off enough, Caleb didn't plan to stick around, just in case he got too full of himself. Gotta stay humble.
His only regret was that his cousin wasn't here. Come to think of it, she hadn't been around lately.
Could she be hiding out, preparing some kind of secret weapon? Ha.
He pushed the thought aside and clicked into the "Sunshine Group Chat."
The folks here were still as wholesome as ever.
[Ordinary Whimsicott]: Why do all my friends say Whimsicott is a troll Pokémon… that I'm a troll trainer… short for trollner… sob sob sob. (How do I face the world.jpg)
[Not a Miltank]: That's nothing. Since I was a kid people have called me Miltank. Miltank is such a cute, harmless Pokémon, so why does everyone call it the pink devil?! Clearly Chansey is the real one. The world's just full of malice.
???
So you're deflecting hate from Miltank onto Chansey now?
What a vicious marketing war.
[Shiny Fearow]: Mine's worse. My Fearow totally has Ho-Oh's bloodline, but everyone says it's just an off-color reject. No matter how I explain, they don't believe me. I'm losing sleep.
Caleb clicked on this person's profile.
Yup. Confirmed. It was a shiny Fearow.
Jeez, people will say anything for attention.
[Slowpoke Biting Its Tail]: Comrades, don't be discouraged. The world wears tinted glasses. They just can't understand our nobility. We must not think them foolish. We must always face life with a positive and sunny heart. I believe that's what the group leader created this group for!
Preach. It hit Caleb right in the feels.
"Sunshine Group Chat" really lived up to its name.
[Bug Catcher]: So no one's gonna tell me how to beat a Dragonite with a Caterpie? The Indigo League's about to start. I have to beat Lance. Urgent urgent urgent. (Please someone help me.jpg)
Next.
Ding~
Another message popped up from a different group.
"Solaceon Gym Raid Group."
This was a group made by people who'd lost to him. Their mission: gather together to take down Caleb. Their motto: eliminate heresy.
Ironically, this motto earned Caleb a spot in the group.
Three days in, and no one had caught on.
[Empoleon]: Bros, I figured out how to beat that Garganacl.
[Gardevoir's Dog]: Spill, now.
[Empoleon]: Garganacl's main offense is Salt Cure and Body Press. So we use Taunt to shut it down and force it into a fair fight. Just in case, no Steel or Water types—Ground types are safer.
[Mouselike Garchomp]: What if he brings out Dusknoir? Dark types don't care about Taunt.
[Empoleon]: Then just bombard him with Fairy-types!
[Dragon Slayer]: Or we could just storm the Gym and beat up the leader. Way faster.
[Gardevoir's Dog]: Can't. Some old guy said the Gym's got cameras everywhere. We'd get caught.
[Empoleon]: @Dragon Slayer, patience. Hold on just a little longer. I'll try again tomorrow and gather more intel.
[Fire Pig – Infernape]: Dragon Slayer, I'll go with you.
[Gardevoir's Dog]: Count me in.
[Empoleon]: True brothers. (Cheers.jpg)
Caleb grinned at the messages. Using Taunt on me, huh…
At the same time, he made a mental note of "Dragon Slayer." If he ever met a trainer with an Azumarill, they'd be getting special treatment.
Before he knew it, it was already 11 p.m. Not exactly early anymore.
He tapped into one last group.
"Kanto Region Masters Chat Group."
Ever since Caleb had joined, no one had said a single word.
That cold, huh?
Well, it made sense. Kanto, after all, was the League's headquarters—practically the strongest region.
Their Elite Four were on par with Champions from other regions. Their Gym Leaders? Equivalent to other regions' Elite Four.
(P.S.: Cerulean and Pewter Gyms excluded.)
With power like that, being aloof was understandable.
"Kanto, huh…"
Caleb muttered. Since arriving in this world, he hadn't really gone out to explore much.
Maybe it was time to take a day off tomorrow. Get some rest.