Waves of heat surged across the battlefield.
If Jumpluff took a direct hit, it'd be done for.
Then, what awaited Jangmo-o was a full-on gang-up by Whimsicott and Litten.
Seeing this, Cynthia shouted, "Block it, Jangmo-o!"
Block it? What kind of move was that?
Caleb thought it'd be Protect, but when Jangmo-o sprinted forward and shielded Jumpluff with its own body, he realized he'd guessed wrong.
Seriously, how is that any different from yelling "Duck!" or "Get up and hit back now!"?
The Heat Wave spread across most of the battlefield, almost like it had a will of its own—it went straight for Jangmo-o, completely ignoring the Jumpluff tucked safely behind it.
Wait… is that even fair?
Caleb looked around, half-ready to report Cynthia for cheating, only to find Gardenia, Cheryl, and Maylene watching with thoughtful looks, stroking their chins like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
At that moment, Flint—who'd somehow revived from earlier—suddenly yelled, "Caleb! Watch out!"
Distracted, Caleb turned back just in time to see the Jumpluff spring out from behind Jangmo-o, shaking its fluffy tufts.
A faint purple dust floated into the air.
Poison Powder.
Litten inhaled it, and a pale violet hue spread across its face.
Litten had been poisoned.
Honestly, as a Poison-type Gym Leader, Caleb had never imagined one of his own Pokémon would get poisoned by someone else.
Even if it was just regular poisoning.
Litten shook its head—the poison didn't seem to affect it much. It wasn't even as bad as a Chansey's Protein Egg.
Inside the swirling heat, Jangmo-o closed its eyes and began performing an odd dance—its attack and speed surged.
Dragon Dance: boosts Attack and Speed.
Outside the battlefield—
Garchomp watched Jangmo-o's weird little dance with a flash of envy… which quickly turned into murderous rage.
No other Pokémon! No other Pokémon dances the dragon dance in front of me!
Oh… but Cynthia gave the command…
Still not okay!
Even if it was on orders from the Trainer—how dare you do that in front of me!? Might as well hop on my head and take a dump!
Clearly, this newbie had no clue about the rules. Once the battle ends, I'm going to personally teach him a lesson.
Dragon Dance complete, Jangmo-o felt amazing—power boosted, speed up—but for some reason, it also had a bad feeling.
"Jangmo-o, focus! Use Iron Head!" Cynthia's voice rang out from behind.
Jangmo-o shook its head—whatever, don't worry about that feeling. Focus on the battle.
Steel energy gathered at its forehead, and it charged straight toward Whimsicott.
Steel beats Fairy, and with Dragon Dance boosting it, Jangmo-o should be able to one-shot Whimsicott.
Cynthia had the same thought as Caleb—take out the support first.
Boom!
Iron Head landed clean.
Whimsicott hit the ground, unable to continue battling.
At that moment, Cyril shot Caleb a look.
Plan succeeded.
Seeing this, Caleb smirked and gave Litten the command: "Flamethrower!"
"Meow!"
A stream of blazing fire burst from its mouth, shooting straight at Jumpluff.
Since Sunny Day was still active, the flames were supercharged.
Cynthia instantly realized—Whimsicott had been bait! The real play was hitting Jumpluff with a Fire move while Jangmo-o was locked onto the decoy.
"Jangmo-o, hurry—!"
Mid-sentence, Cynthia froze. She was stunned to see Jangmo-o moving sluggishly, like it had been bound by invisible chains.
That was it!
Whimsicott had used Switcheroo right before fainting, swapping Jangmo-o's Eviolite for an Iron Ball.
Iron Ball: forces the holder to move last if priority is equal.
With Jangmo-o no longer able to shield it, Jumpluff took the Flamethrower head-on and was cleanly knocked out.
And without Prankster, Jumpluff couldn't get off a Parting Gift on Litten before going down.
Doubles instantly turned into singles.
"Looks like Miss Cynthia's at a disadvantage now," Maylene noted.
"Have you forgotten how Cynthia became Champion?" Cheryl replied. "Besides, Litten's not in great shape either—it's still poisoned..."
"The poison?" Everyone looked toward Litten—only to see the violet tint on its face completely gone. Not even a trace left.
Wait, what poison?
Poison? Already cured.
Caleb's Viridian Force had healing properties—not just physical wounds, but status effects too.
Freed from poison, Litten roared with renewed strength.
Its whole body was glowing.
Glowing?
Caleb squinted. That wasn't just battle energy—that was evolution!
It had been nearly two months since Litten hatched, and with high-quality Pokéblocks as its daily food, evolution wasn't surprising.
He whipped out his phone and hit record.
Your Pokémon only evolves once—gotta catch that moment. Something to look back on when you're old and nostalgic.
The white light surrounding Litten began to fade, revealing its new form.
Torracat.
Honestly, it looked more like a tiger than a cat now.
Its head had a fierce-looking cowlick, grown from the stripe that used to mark its forehead.
Its crimson fur had taken on an orange hue, and its forelimbs were thick and powerful, each ending in three sharp black claws. Across its back were two horizontal stripes and one vertical—matching the pattern on its forehead.
But the most eye-catching change was the glowing bell-shaped organ around its neck.
Its flame sac.
This newly developed organ burns hotter the more emotional Torracat gets—and right now, it was burning hot.
Because even after evolving, Torracat noticed… the two front teeth that got knocked out still hadn't grown back.
And the one who caused that?
Was slowly walking toward it.
That slow walk… you looking down on me or what!?
Let me hit you with an Intimidate first!
[Jangmo-o, -1 Attack]
"Wait, doesn't Intimidate only trigger when the Pokémon enters the field?" Maylene asked, confused.
Flint scoffed, "Litten is Litten. Torracat is Torracat. Two different Pokémon."
"Your Pokémon never evolved mid-battle? Seriously, that's basic knowledge."
"…Honestly, no," Maylene admitted.
For fighters, evolution comes from months and years of training and discipline—slow and steady. Not this kind of mid-fight trickery.
"Then clearly your bond with your Pokémon isn't strong enough," Flint said. "With the right bond, evolution isn't the limit—you could even hit rage mode, survive with 1 HP… just like him."
He gave Caleb a proud look.
Torracat must've evolved mid-battle because of its bond with Caleb.
He'd been right about Caleb all along—those dirty tricks were just a cover. Deep down, he was one of them.
Flint nodded sagely.
"Flare Blitz!"
A new move learned upon evolution—a giant flaming "大" (big) symbol erupted and surged toward Jangmo-o.
Iron Ball, crafted from the tail of a Steelix—massively heavy. Unless the Pokémon was insanely strong, it'd move slower than usual.
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the battlefield. Jangmo-o collapsed.
"Boss lady… lost?"
No one looked more stunned than Flint.
He'd challenged Cynthia 997 times and never won once.
Seeing her actually lose now—how could he not be shaken?
Even if it was just one of her newer Pokémon, it had been under Cynthia's command.
Round it up—it was still a win against the Champion!
Caleb was amazing!
This win made Flint realize—Cynthia wasn't unbeatable.
"Alright! When we get back, I'm challenging her for the 998th time!" he shouted, suddenly fired up.
Unlike the shocked crowd, Cynthia took her loss with a light laugh.
No one stays undefeated forever. Losing isn't shameful—it's how you respond that counts. Some people break down. Others learn and grow.
Cynthia was clearly the latter.
With a smile and graceful steps, she walked toward Caleb. Sunlight framed her like a painting.
She extended her hand, eyes as clear as water, and said sincerely, "That was a wonderful battle. I lost… but next time, I'll win it back."
"Meow~"