"I'm finally home!"
Standing at his own front door, Caleb felt a rush of emotion as he looked at the door that couldn't be more familiar.
He wondered how the backyard was doing after just a few days away.
It's only been three days. Hopefully, they didn't cause too much trouble?
Praying silently, he headed toward the backyard.
Stopping at the backyard gate, Caleb hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching out and gently pushing it open...
The scene before him left him completely stunned—utter devastation!
The once-pristine lawn looked ravaged, full of pits and potholes. Huge boulders lay scattered across the grass, smashing it into uneven patches—a complete eyesore.
The orchard trees hadn't fared any better. Some were snapped clean in half, others had toppled over, and a few had even been uprooted entirely.
Even the previously upright lamp posts had collapsed, their glass shades shattered all over the ground.
It didn't feel like home anymore—it looked like a battlefield riddled with smoke and destruction.
Garganacl and Dusknoir, sensing Caleb's sudden return, both paused mid-action.
They looked up at him with the most innocent expressions imaginable. After locking eyes, they instantly pointed at each other.
Seeing how quickly they passed the blame, the two Pokémon immediately turned to glare at one another—and then dove back into another messy scuffle.
Caleb had finally reached his breaking point. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared:
"You two have gone way too far!"
Three days without a beating, and you're tearing the roof off!
Time to parent the old-fashioned way.
"Chansey, I'll leave it to you."
No more coddling. He called out Chansey from its Poké Ball.
"Lucky~"
Chansey responded obediently.
Then came—
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Three crisp, resounding slaps echoed through the yard.
As the saying goes: punish the parents to teach the kids.
Garganacl, Dusknoir, and Gliscor all clutched their faces.
Dusknoir looked at Chansey in disbelief—how could a Normal-type move hit a Ghost-type?! That's cheating!
Gliscor, on the other hand, was just terrified. It hadn't done anything, yet still got slapped.
And it was the face that got hit... so why was its butt burning?
"Lucky~"
Fix this mess in the next three hours.
Chansey's voice was gentle and tender.
But the three Pokémon shuddered at the command.
They each rallied their underlings...
Chansey really knew how to get things done. Caleb watched the backyard gradually fall back into order with a satisfied smile.
He walked to the artificial lake in the backyard and released the two Pokémon he had caught two days ago—Dondozo and Tatsugiri.
Somehow, they had both fit into the same Poké Ball, which was beyond bizarre.
"Dooooon—"
Since getting defeated by Caleb, Dondozo had been noticeably more obedient.
No more hunting for food on its own—it was great.
Tatsugiri, however, still wasn't having it. In its eyes, Caleb had used underhanded tricks to capture them, totally unworthy of its respect.
Just wait. One day, I'll get my revenge.
With that, Tatsugiri and Dondozo dove beneath the water.
Caleb wasn't bothered by Tatsugiri's attitude. He'd just have Chansey whip it into shape later.
Look at Gliscor—it used to be unruly too, but now it's totally well-behaved. No idea what Chansey's secret sauce was, but it worked.
Under the lake, a chubby blue and pink pair of Pokémon were snuggling together. Sensing someone had come home, they both tensed up.
Damn it. (greeting)
...
Back in his room, Caleb's phone suddenly pinged with a message.
It was from the "Kanto Region Master Group Chat."
This was the first time he'd ever gotten a notification from this group since joining.
[Blue: @Caleb, did Grandpa give you the scale?]
Seeing the message from Blue, Caleb froze for a second.
"Chosen Breeder" Blue—the first five-minute champion in league history.
[Gold: When did we get a new guy? What scale?]
???
Isn't this the Kanto Region chat?
Why is Johto's Gold in here?
Then again, I'm not from Kanto either.
[Caleb: Hello, seniors. (Newbie passing through.jpg)]
[Gold: All good, all good.]
Johto, New Bark Town.
Gold rolled around on his bed in excitement after being called "senior."
"Hehe, senior, senior..."
Group status +1.
In this group full of elite trainers, he could finally show off a little.
[Lorelei: Is it the scale from that giant Dragonite at Bill's Lighthouse? (Slowpoke confused.jpg)]
[Blue: Yeah, I heard from Gary that he gave it to him.]
Kanto, Viridian Gym.
While in the middle of training, Blue suddenly remembered Gary's emotional retelling from yesterday and felt a headache coming on.
How could Grandpa have another grandson?
He'd already looked into Caleb's background in secret that day.
Going back generations, his family had been one of the top wealthy families in Sinnoh. They even owned a massive gym, but there didn't seem to be any connections to the League.
His mother's side was a little complicated, but nothing shady.
The only thing that didn't add up was—how did a seemingly ordinary rich kid get mixed up with Eternatus and ancient civilizations?
And the League's secrecy measures hadn't failed either.
[Lance: If Professor Oak gave it to him, the guy must be exceptional.]
[Blue: I heard he knows a thing or two about that ancient era.]
[Red: He's pretty good in battle too.]
!!!
Knowledge of ancient civilizations, recognized by Red for battle skill.
Either one of those would be shocking enough on their own.
But Caleb had both?
[Erika: Caleb... that name sounds familiar. Isn't he the guy from the super popular Solaceon Gym? (giggle.jpg)]
[Koga: Really? My daughter loves his battle style.]
[Caleb: I just have a bit of a name, that's all.]
Caleb kept his tone modest.
Better to keep a low profile around this many powerhouses.
[Koga: For real, let's talk poison tactics sometime. I'm a big fan of your SubToxic strat.]
These days, Poison-type gyms were rare, and trainers who used poison often got misunderstood as shady.
So finding a like-minded fellow was a rare delight.
[Lance: Poison? That's nothing but a cheap trick. Real men use dragons!]
As the rising star of the Dragon clan, Lance was borderline obsessed with Dragon-types.
He once believed that anything that wasn't a Dragon-type wasn't even worth training.
[Lorelei: Hmph, you dragon-obsessed trainers are hopeless. (Slowbro judging.jpg)]
"Dragon-obsessed" referred to trainers whose teams were filled entirely with Dragons and wouldn't allow any other types.
Okay, sure—if this were Yu-Gi-Oh, that might make sense. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Osiris, Gandora—all super cool.
But this is Pokémon, okay? Have you seen what counts as a Dragon here? Apples, turtles, motorcycles, and even...
[Caleb: @Lance, aren't most of your Pokémon Flying-types?]