In the anime, Mahogany Town housed a Team Rocket base. The base was located underground, using a local shop as its entrance and cover...
To the north lay the Lake of Rage, home to many Gyarados.
As the Aura's vision slowly extended downward, Caleb soon detected a massive three-story underground facility beneath the town.
This was the Masked Man's research and manufacturing site for the GS Ball.
Lucario's Aura had a detection limit of about ten meters, it was just enough to reach the first floor of the underground base. Anything further down remained beyond its perception.
But for Caleb, this was more than enough. He withdrew his focus and disguised himself as a Trainer traveling the world to collect Gym badges, then headed straight for the Mahogany Gym.
The Masked Man, or rather, Pryce, emerged in a wheelchair to accept the challenge...
In this world, Pryce had thinning gray hair, a pale complexion, and an emaciated frame.
If not for his prior knowledge as a player, Caleb would never have connected this frail old man to the cold, ruthless Masked Man hidden behind the ice mask.
Pryce was pushed out by a gentle-looking girl with short hair. She seemed very young, appearing to be around eighteen years old.
Caleb only gave her a brief glance before shifting his attention to Pryce. Because of this, he missed the stunned expression on her face when she saw him...
Shock, excitement, and joy flashed across her features. She opened her mouth as if to call out, but before she could make a sound, Pryce spoke from his wheelchair.
His voice was slow and gentle, the very image of a polite, kindly old man, "Welcome, Trainer from afar. I am Pryce, the Gym Leader of Mahogany Gym."
Caleb responded, "Hello, Pryce. I'm Ash from Pallet Town, traveling the regions to become a Pokémon Master."
Pryce smiled faintly and continued, "The rules of Mahogany Gym are 1v1. Each Trainer may only use one Pokémon. The battle ends when one side is unable to continue."
Caleb nodded in understanding and released Lucario's Poké Ball. A flash of white light later, Lucario stood on the icy battlefield.
"Lucario? A rather rare Pokémon," Pryce remarked, observing it, "In that case, let this one be your opponent!"
He unclipped a Poké Ball from his waist and aimed it at the field, pressing the release button.
A milky-white beam shot out, materializing into a Mamoswine nearly 2.5 meters tall, its body radiating an intense chill.
With the referee's whistle, the Gym battle officially began!
Pryce struck first, commanding, "Mamoswine, Earthquake!"
"Roar!"
This Mamoswine was unlike any Caleb had seen before. An invisible aura of cold surrounded it, and its massive tusks gleamed menacingly.
Following its Trainer's order, Mamoswine reared up and slammed its front legs onto the ice with tremendous force.
*Crack!* *Crack!*
The entire battlefield trembled as spiderweb-like fissures spread rapidly from Mamoswine's position, racing toward Lucario.
In an instant, the cracks reached beneath Lucario's feet.
The icy battlefield was made of slick, frozen terrain. Unless a Pokémon was accustomed to fighting on ice, maintaining balance would be nearly impossible. And without stable footing, battling effectively was out of the question.
Pryce had clearly anticipated this, hence the Earthquake attack.
Caleb remained calm, ordering, "Jump up, then close the gap with Extreme Speed."
- Extreme Speed: a Normal-type move that allows the user to strike with blinding swiftness, guaranteeing a preemptive strike...
If ground combat wasn't viable, they'd take to the air. By leveraging Lucario's speed and agility, they could minimize contact with the unstable ground by attacking from above.
For this battle, Caleb chose not to use their 'One Heart, One Mind' fusion technique. While it would significantly boost Lucario's power, his body would emit a conspicuous green glow. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't resort to it.
Lucario's legs tensed, and just before the seismic waves reached it, the Pokémon launched itself high into the air. Its body became a streak of white light, leaving afterimages in its wake.
Before anyone could react, Lucario was already upon Mamoswine, its momentum sending the massive Pokémon staggering from the impact.
"Climb onto its back and use Power-Up Punch!" Caleb commanded without pause.
Most Fighting-type moves relied on sheer physical power... Swift and relentless strikes that left no room for counterattacks.
Unlike moves like Hyper Beam or Solar Beam, which had obvious wind-ups, Fighting-type attacks were a storm of rapid blows once the opportunity arose.
Before Lucario even touched the ground, its claws seized Mamoswine's thick fur, using the grip to flip itself onto the Pokémon's back.
- Power-Up Punch: a Fighting-type move that hardens the user's fists with each successive hit, raising its Attack stat...
Mamoswine had a quadruple weakness to Fighting. Every strike landed with devastating effectiveness!
Pryce seemed momentarily taken aback, giving Caleb an appraising look.
'This Trainer has genuine skill...'
Under normal circumstances, Pryce might have enjoyed a proper battle. But now, with his plans at a critical stage, he had no time to waste on Gym challenges.
Mamoswine fell to Lucario's seamless combo.
Pryce sighed, his tone carrying a mix of sincerity and feigned resignation, "The world belongs to the young now, doesn't it?"
"Come, young man. Here's your reward." He gestured, and the girl behind him stepped forward, holding out the Glacier Badge for Caleb and Lucario.
Having finished the battle, Pryce appeared weary. He recalled Mamoswine into its Poké Ball and massaged his temples with closed eyes.
Caleb's true objective wasn't the Gym badge, so he paid little attention to the approaching girl, instead discreetly observing Pryce's demeanor.
Until the girl whispered softly in front of him: "Onii-chan?"
Caleb froze, then turned to stare at the gentle, beautiful girl before him...