President Stone nearly coughed up blood in frustration...
He slammed his hand on the desk twice and said to Ohkawa Nadeshiko, "Are those damn rocks really that fascinating?!"
Nadeshiko smiled awkwardly, thinking to herself, 'Isn't Steven like this because you spoiled him?'
Out loud, she said nothing, though she couldn't help but recall how Mr. Stone himself had secretly been researching fossil Pokémon revival behind the scenes...
....
Caleb returned to class...
Officially, he was here for further studies, but in reality, he already knew most of what was being taught.
Life had suddenly become uneventful.
Slumping lazily over his desk, he poked Jinpei in front of him and asked, "Any fun places around here?"
Jinpei immediately understood that this guy was bored. He suggested, "Your Pokémon are so strong, so why not challenge a gym?"
Caleb: "I don't think Slateport has a gym, does it?"
Jinpei nodded, "The Electric Gym is in Mauville City, which isn't far from here. It's only about half an hour by bike. There's even a bike path heading straight north to Mauville."
Caleb thought, 'Well, since I've got nothing better to do, might as well go fight a gym battle for fun...'
The Pokémon School had a very open-minded approach to education. From the principal down to the security guards, everyone encouraged students to challenge gyms, even if it meant skipping class.
"It's that extreme?" Caleb asked skeptically.
Jinpei shrugged helplessly, "They'd love it. Before you came, the principal was always nagging us saying, 'at least go earn some gym badges if you're not going to study...' He'd be thrilled if any of us competed in the League..."
"...That way, next year's admissions brochure can say, 'So-and-so student collected eight badges and placed XX in the League! Enroll now!'"
Caleb: "…"
....
That afternoon, after dropping Lily off at her classroom, Caleb set off alone for Mauville City...
The two cities were close enough that he didn't need a bike... Plus, he had Dragonite. And Dragonite was much faster than a bike.
The route between Slateport and Mauville was Route 110.
Here, Caleb encountered many 'fellow travelers': Lass, Hiker, Twins…
The moment these NPCs spotted a trainer approaching, their eyes lit up like hungry wolves spotting prey, and they rushed over eagerly.
'Damn...' Caleb couldn't help but think how if some underleveled newbie trainer passed through here, they'd be drained by these people...
System prompts popped up on his interface one after another:
[Lass (Beauty) challenges you!]
[Hiker approaches for battle!]
[Twins seek a match!]
No one ever complained about having too much money...
Caleb was no exception. He took out a Poké Ball and pointed to an open area nearby and said, "Don't rush. Line up, one at a time."
The crowd immediately sensed something was off.
The next second, a towering green Dragonite materialized before them, radiating overwhelming pressure.
Just then, two voices called out from behind:
"Hey! What a coincidence! Boss, you're here too?"
"Long time no see! Haven't finished your main mission yet?"
Caleb turned to see two newbie players he had once rigorously 'trained' walking toward him, their faces bright with excitement.
He raised an eyebrow, asking, "Where are the others? Just you two left?"
One of them explained, "They didn't follow the storyline route. We split up at Rustboro."
"Ah. I see" Caleb nodded, then focused on directing Dragonite through the battles ahead.
The two newbies stood off to the side, watching and occasionally gasping in admiration.
"As expected of the boss!"
"This is insane!"
"I'm so jealous! I hope my next Instance sends me to the Kanto Region... I wanna catch a cute Dragonite too! Look at its wagging tail! I wanna grab it!"
Twenty minutes later, Dragonite achieved the impressive feat of 1vN, leaving Lass and the others utterly defeated...
Oldale Town had been a beginner's area with low living costs, where battles only earned a couple hundred Pokédollars.
But Slateport was different. A single victory here could net at least a thousand.
Caleb counted the 8000 Pokédollars in his hand, and considered whether to challenge them again on his way back from Mauville.
'No wonder so many people choose this line of work... it's crazy profitable!'
With the roadblock NPCs defeated, the two newbie players no longer had to face challenges. They trailed behind Caleb.
"Are you two also heading to Mauville?" Caleb asked.
The newbies nodded, "We've already got the badges from Rustboro and Dewford. Next up is Mauville, according to the storyline."
"Alright, good luck then." Caleb mounted Dragonite and took off along the bike path toward Mauville...
...
Meanwhile, at the Mauville City Gym, a one-sided Pokémon battle was unfolding...
Gym Leader Wattson stared in disbelief as all three of his Pokémon were defeated, "You're really a rookie trainer who just got their starter this year?"
"Of course!" The young man nodded, recalling Caleb's advice before leaving Littleroot Town...
Once again, he marveled inwardly: 'The boss is such a good guy!'
Wattson took a deep breath, then burst into hearty laughter, "Seeing a promising trainer like you makes me happy! Here, proof of your victory!"
He handed over a lightning-shaped badge.
After the battle, the young man left...
Wattson then received a video call from Rustboro Gym's Leader, Roxanne, and Dewford Gym's Leader, Brawly.
Roxanne blinked curiously, peering at Wattson's background, "You had any rookie challengers lately?" she asked.
Wattson scratched his head sheepishly, "Ugh, don't even ask! This year's rookies are scary good. One of them swept my team of three in under thirty minutes!"
Roxanne giggled, "Never thought I'd see the day! At least I lasted thirty-eight minutes!"
Brawly sighed, "...Is that something to be proud of?"
While Gym Leaders held back to accommodate rookies, the Pokémon they used were still well-trained.
Being steamrolled by new trainers like this had never happened before...
Wattson perked up, "Wait, so you two got wrecked too?"
Roxanne nodded helplessly, "Let's share intel. From what I've heard, they didn't start their journey immediately after getting their starters."
Wattson, whose gym was farther from the starting town, didn't follow, "What's the connection?"
Roxanne explained seriously, "According to my sources, someone put them through 'hellish' training for half a month before they set out."
Wattson's eyes lit up with interest, "Who? Even we couldn't pull that off, could we?"
Roxanne shook her head... she didn't know. She glanced at Brawly who had been silent.
Brawly finally spoke, "I got a name from one of my challengers."
"Oh? What's the story? A Champion's secret love child?" Wattson joked.
"No." Brawly shook his head, "Just a young Bug Catcher. His name… was Caleb Chase."