Rain?
Caleb looked up at the gloomy sky. Big, heavy raindrops were starting to fall one by one.
But Flint showed no sign of stopping. He grabbed Caleb's arm and kept heading deeper into the park.
Further in were several standard rectangular battle arenas, each about forty square meters, crisscrossed and spaced evenly. A rough sketch of a Poké Ball marked the center of each, with bright white boundary lines.
Out of the dozen or so arenas, only one was currently in use.
A crowd had gathered around it—some holding umbrellas, others in raincoats—all watching the battle with high spirits.
Even the downpour couldn't dampen their excitement.
"Crawdaunt, Aqua Jet!"
"Blipbug, get up, quick!"
"Blipbug is unable to battle. Crawdaunt wins!"
The referee in the center waved his flag.
"That's another win—his ninth in a row, right? One more and it'll be ten straight!"
"Special ability users are just on another level compared to us regular folks!"
"Word is his sister's even stronger—she won the lastTournament."
"But then she apparently ticked someone off and had to go into hiding."
"Yeah, I heard about that too. Lemme tell you—"
The crowd murmured and gossiped. Caleb pushed through and caught sight of the man on the battlefield—a moody guy with long hair.
The man seemed to notice the movement and glanced over.
When his eyes landed on Caleb in the crowd, they widened in shock, and he shouted, almost involuntarily, "Caleb!"
Caleb blinked, startled at being called by name. He turned instinctively toward the excited man and asked, confused, "Uh… do I know you?"
Flint, standing next to him, quickly poked Caleb's arm and whispered, "Caleb, I think that's the Rain Guy you faced in the semifinals of the Little Ho-Oh Cup."
Rain Guy?
Some vague memory fragments flickered through Caleb's mind.
Oh, right—that guy.
What were the odds of running into him here? Small world.
Since the guy was someone he'd battled before, Caleb figured it was only polite to at least say hi.
But just as he was about to speak, Rain Guy suddenly threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha! Heaven rewards the persistent! I finally found you! I still remember the pain you caused me—let's battle!"
…???
Wait, what!? You're opening with a duel challenge? What is this, Yu-Gi-Oh!?
And what pain!? Saying that out loud like that's gonna get the crowd seriously confused!
"Caleb, what did you do to him?" Flint whispered suspiciously in Caleb's ear.
"Three-on-three okay?"
Rain Guy ignored everyone and recalled his Crawdaunt, then threw out a new Poké Ball.
Hey! I haven't even agreed yet!
Even though he was thinking that, Caleb's body acted on its own. He tossed out a Poké Ball too.
A flash of white light.
A massive, warty blue toad appeared on the battlefield.
Water/Ground-type—Seismitoad.
And on Caleb's side came a fiery orange tiger.
Torracat.
"What the heck? Fire-type versus Water-type? This guy's gotta be a rookie."
"Not just that—Seismitoad's also Ground-type. That's a double disadvantage."
The crowd started murmuring. Even if they weren't Pokémon pros, everyone knew Water beats Fire. Basic stuff.
"Looks like Rain Guy's gonna lock in that tenth win."
"You guys don't get it! If the bond is strong enough, a Fire-type can beat a Water-type too!" Flint jumped in to defend him.
Type matchups are for newbies—real Trainers win through connection and trust!
"Meow~"
Intimidate on landing.
Then—
Slap!
A sharp smack echoed through the air. Fake Out!
Seismitoad was caught completely off guard. The stinging blow to the face left its head spinning.
Did… did someone just slap me!?
"Seis!!"
No one likes getting smacked in public. Furious, Seismitoad let out a deafening roar.
It was ready to teach this little kitty a lesson!
But just as it was about to retaliate, Caleb smirked.
"Parting Shot!"
"Meow meow meow meow meow!"
"Meow meow meow meow meow!"
Torracat launched into a relentless, foul-mouthed tirade against Seismitoad.
No one could understand what it was saying, but the popping veins on Seismitoad's wart-covered head said plenty. It had clearly been roasted.
Even Caleb was curious where Torracat had picked up such language.
As the trash talk ended, Torracat turned into a streak of white light and returned to Caleb's Poké Ball.
And just like that, Seismitoad's aggression was crushed. Both its Attack and Special Attack dropped by one stage.
Parting Shot: Hurl a sharp insult to lower the opponent's Attack and Sp. Atk, then switch out with a teammate.
The one replacing it was a pink, smiling, giant egg.
Seeing Torracat vanish and get swapped out for a Chansey sent Seismitoad into a blind rage.
Come back! Get back here! Fight me one-on-one if you dare!
You coward!
You scaredy-cat!
What the heck is an egg gonna do!?
But when Rain Guy saw the Chansey, his face twitched uncontrollably—clearly haunted by traumatic memories.
"Seismitoad, stay sharp! Use Drain Punch!"
"Seis!!"
An egg? No problem—I'll take it out in one hit.
Seismitoad clenched its right fist and lunged at Chansey's face.
Drain Punch: Absorb the opponent's power with a punch and recover HP equal to half the damage dealt.
Chansey didn't even bother dodging. The punch landed squarely on its forehead.
"Seis!!"
Seeing its health go up a bit, Seismitoad chuckled smugly.
See that? Know your place and bring that cat back already!
Wait… that's it?
Why did it recover so little? Isn't Normal weak to Fighting?
Staring at its own fist, Seismitoad fell into an existential crisis.
"Seismitoad, dodge—now!"
Rain Guy's desperate shout rang out from behind.
"Lucky~"
Oh, you're distracted? Here, have an egg!
Boom!
Chansey detonated its nutrition egg. A thick cloud of purple smoke engulfed the battlefield.
Egg Bomb—with poison!
Rain Guy knew this move all too well. He'd seen Chansey use it in the Little Ho-Oh Cup finals against Hitmonchan.
Unaffected by Taunt and packing serious poison damage.
As the smoke cleared, Rain Guy squinted at the battlefield.
Just as he feared—Seismitoad's body was now tinged with a sinister purple hue.
It was poisoned!
Then, white light flashed around Chansey as it vanished from the field.
Teleport.
In battle, it bypasses status effects like Ingrain, Bind, or Shadow Tag and allows a clean switch.
Replacing it on the field…
Was that same fiery orange tiger.
Torracat.
Hey hey, I'm back, baby!