"Not going to send out Riolu?" Brock asked with a puzzled look. "Is there really anything better than Riolu?"
Then his gaze drifted to the little purple ghost floating behind Caleb.
No way... Haunter?
The thought alone made Brock suck in a cold breath.
Sending a Ghost-type into a Fighting-type tournament — wouldn't that get you knocked out?
Hmm... But knowing Caleb's style, that honestly wasn't too far-fetched.
So Brock mused silently.
Just then, Haunter noticed someone staring at it. It puffed out its chest with pride and waved its floating little hands.
"Gwaaah (｀∧′)!"
That's right — it's me.
Haunter looked smug beyond words.
Caleb immediately pushed the ghost aside and explained, "It's not Haunter. It's her."
He pulled out a Poké Ball. With a flash of light, it opened slowly, and out came a pink, egg-shaped Pokémon.
"Lucky～"
Chansey appeared and bowed politely to everyone, a warm smile on her face like a spring breeze.
"Wait, that's a Chansey?" Ash scratched his head, utterly confused.
He was way too familiar with Chansey — he saw one at nearly every Pokémon Center.
But he'd never seen one in battle before...
Dawn looked equally baffled. "Chansey can battle?"
Caleb: "..."
He could've sworn this wasn't the first time someone had asked him that exact question.
Unlike Ash and Dawn, Brock had seen Caleb's battle videos online. Let's just say... his style was definitely "unconventional." Plus, Brock had a Happiny himself — Chansey's baby form.
That little thing could lift a boulder taller than two people with one hand...
Maybe the whole Chansey line was secretly built for combat and nobody realized it?
"By the way, Brock, Ash — which Pokémon are you two planning to use?" Caleb asked.
"Me?" Brock looked down at his vacant-eyed Croagunk. "Probably him. The organizers said Steelix isn't allowed."
Steelix? That giant hunk of metal? You really thought about using it?
Brock might look like he had a calm face and thick eyebrows, but… maybe he was sneakier than anyone here.
Caleb made a mental note.
Then he turned to Ash, who was already tossing a Poké Ball excitedly. "As for me — I'm going with this guy!"
A burst of white light.
An orange-red monkey with flames burning on its tail appeared in front of them.
Chimchar? Baby version of the Great Master?
Caleb's childhood idol was that epic fight between Infernape and Electivire. He must've watched that episode a dozen times.
Ash turned to Chimchar and shouted, "We're gonna win this tournament, Chimchar! We're gonna show Paul what we're made of!"
"Chim!"
Chimchar gave a sharp, spirited cry, and the flame on its tail flared up dramatically.
Outskirts of Veilstone City.
A blonde girl on roller skates zipped down a slope, sunlight bouncing off her as she weaved and spun, a smile of pure energy lighting up her face.
"Grandpa, hurry up!" she called playfully over her shoulder to the older man trailing behind her.
The elderly man walked with a calm, powerful stride. His long white eyebrows flowed like waterfalls, swaying slightly with each step.
Beside him, a Lucario carefully supported him by the arm.
This was Gurkinn, the inheritor of Mega Evolution in Kalos.
He had brought his granddaughter to Veilstone to participate in this year's Fighting-type Expert Tournament.
Not just to broaden her horizons — he also hoped the experience would train her well.
He looked up at her zooming ahead and called out, "Korrina! Slow down! You'll crash into someone!"
"Don't worry, Grandpa! This road's totally empty — there's no one around... oof!"
Before she could finish, fate struck — she'd been going too fast and hadn't noticed the girl in a karate gi walking straight toward her.
Korrina collided head-on with her.
She jumped up quickly and apologized. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see you! Are you okay?"
The girl on the ground didn't respond. Instead, she stood up and muttered under her breath, "Protect or not Protect... Protect or not Protect..."
Korrina: "..."
Uh... did I just knock her brain loose?
The Lucario behind the girl gave her a little shove, snapping her out of her daze.
She quickly turned to Korrina and apologized. "Sorry! Are you hurt?"
Korrina: "???"
After a long pause, Korrina waved it off. "No, no, I'm fine."
The girl looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I've been busy preparing for the tournament and haven't been sleeping much."
"You're in the tournament too?" Korrina lit up. "Perfect! We're in this together. I'm Korrina — what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Maylene. I'm the gym leader here in Veilstone."
"A gym leader? What a coincidence — I'm the gym leader of Shalour City in Kalos. My grandpa just passed the title down to me! And hey, we both have a Lucario!"
As the two fighting girls chatted, they quickly got to know each other.
Korrina, ever curious, asked, "Earlier, you were mumbling something about Protect. What's that all about? Are you guarding something or...?"
Maylene and her Lucario both turned red.
Every time Korrina brought up the subject, Maylene just went silent.
Which only made Korrina more curious. "Ooh, is it your secret weapon? Something you can't show anyone?"
Still, no answer.
Just then, something else caught their eye — a dark-skinned, barefoot girl in a karate gi ahead of them.
No — she'd caught everyone's attention.
She was currently sparring with a Machamp.
A four-armed Machamp, who was steadily being driven back by the girl's ferocious blows — it looked like she was even about to beat it.
"Isn't it painful fighting barefoot like that?" Korrina whispered to Maylene.
"Actually... I'm barefoot too," Maylene admitted awkwardly. "For fighters, it's... sort of a way to train both body and mind."
"…Really?"
(Actually, Maylene grew up poor and couldn't afford shoes — eventually, going barefoot just became her thing.)
BAM!
With a final combo, the girl knocked Machamp to the ground. Its eyes spiraled in defeat.
Korrina grabbed Maylene's arm and shook it excitedly. "Did you see that?! She actually beat a Machamp! Is she even human?! Can someone really tank a Pokémon's moves like that?"
"W-well... sometimes I can block Lucario's Aura Sphere..." Maylene mumbled. "And yes, I am human."
Korrina: "???"