Chapter 67: Off We Go 

Snap. Caleb took a photo of the cozy little scene in front of him and hit send.

Kanto Master League Group Chat.

[Caleb: (image.jpg)]

[Erika: Wow, is this your late-night snack, Leader Caleb? Looks amazing! But your Pokémon don't seem too happy?]

Not happy?

Caleb glanced at his three Pokémon. Right now, they were slumped over the table, completely spaced out.

Pachirisu: I just ate a Farfetch'd… I'm tainted! But wow, it was really tasty...

Haunter: Forgive me, Marowak, if your spirit still lingers in the afterlife—it wasn't me, it was Caleb who forced me. Please don't come for my soul...

Litten: zzz...

Litten had eaten some Slowpoke tail stewed in rice wine and was now completely passed out drunk.

A brooding Pachirisu, a praying Haunter, and a dead-asleep Litten.

How's that not happy?

[Caleb: They're just stuffed. (Blissey smiling.jpg)]

[Erika: Oh, I see. (Victreebel gets it.jpg)]

[Gold: Wait, wait, what are you guys talking about? (Togepi crashes in.jpg)]

[Gold: Whoa, Caleb, your food actually glows! Did you put some kind of fluorescent additive in it?]

[Caleb: Nah, it just glows when I cook it. (Blissey smiling.jpg)]

[Blue: I heard Kalos Elite Four member Siebold once made food like that, but only chefs at Copperajah level or higher can pull that off.]

(ps: Chef rankings: Koffing level - 1 star, Sudowoodo level - 2 stars, Milcery level - 3 stars, Copperajah level - 4 stars, Charizard level - 5 stars.)

[Daisy: That's enough to be head chef at a 4-star hotel! (Psyduck shocked.jpg)]

Huh?

Caleb rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Wasn't this the Master League group chat? When did Daisy become a master?

Does being a water ballet master count now too?

[Blue: For a top-tier breeder, cooking skills are absolutely essential. (Pyukumuku thumbs up.jpg)]

Blue had already learned from Gary and Professor Oak about Caleb's talent in Pokémon breeding.

Add to that his research skills, battle prowess, even archaeology... If Caleb really was his grandfather's grandson, Blue actually kinda respected the guy.

(ps: Blue is 17, Caleb is 18.)

[Gold: @Caleb, don't forget—you're coming to Johto tomorrow! I've got a surprise for you. (Togepi sneaky laugh.jpg)]

Oh right, tomorrow was the day he'd arranged with Professor Oak to head to Johto and pick up the egg.

He'd been so busy playing with Vulpix the past three days that he almost forgot.

Caleb quickly switched apps and booked the earliest flight for the next day.

Hmm, better get a ticket for Green too.

She was just goofing off at the Gym anyway. Might as well come help carry luggage.

"Achoo!"

In the security office, Green—who was on night duty—suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

Who's thinking about me?

After booking both tickets, Caleb switched back to the group chat.

He saw that the topic had shifted.

[Lorelei: So I heard our little "Dragon Master" had a match today with "Storm of Dragons" Raihan—whose dragon was stronger, his or yours? (Jynx disdain.jpg)]

Storm of Dragons, Raihan...

Caleb remembered him—Gym Leader of Hammerlocke in Galar. Always posting updates, number one in popularity on that little video site.

Technically a Gym Leader, but in any other region, he'd be Champion level.

Rumored to go toe-to-toe with Leon, but his record was 0/10.

[Lance: Obviously, my dragons are stronger. (Dragonite Hyper Beam alert.jpg)]

Caleb: Heh.

Let's be real, your whole team probably isn't even dragons. You probably shouted "Dragon Pulse! Draco Meteor! Outrage!" at a bunch of Flying-types and called it a day.

Can't imagine what Raihan was feeling at the time.

[Lance: Though I won, his tactics today were pretty interesting.]

[Red: Tactics? What kind of tactics?!]

Knew it. Red caught wind of the word "tactics" and showed up instantly. After Lance briefly described it, the battle had gone something like this:

Raihan led with Torkoal and Turtonator. Lance led with Gyarados and Aerodactyl.

Lance assumed it was a sun team and decided to brute-force it.

Then Raihan swapped in Flygon to summon a sandstorm. Torkoal laid Stealth Rocks and used Yawn.

Charizard, which Lance swapped in later, got wrecked...

In the end, Lance won with Dragonite spamming Hyper Beam—16 times.

Sixteen Hyper Beams!

And they say Kanto isn't broken? Arceus himself would get roasted alive here.

That's why Caleb hated trainers like them—always talking about "bonds" while secretly cheating their way through battles.

Flint triggers Blaze with full HP, and Lance has no-cooldown Hyper Beams.

[Red: A sun and sand combo? Interesting.]

For most trainers, mastering one weather-based strategy is already impressive.

But combining two seamlessly? Not as easy as it looks.

Probably only someone like Raihan, "The Weather Child," could pull it off.

[Red: @Caleb, what do you think? (Pikachu poke poke.jpg)]

Oh? Red knows how to use such cute emotes?

I thought he only—

But what kind of insight are you asking for? This is just a sun-sand team, nothing fancy.

[Lance: Like he'd know anything useful—he plays dirty tricks. (Dragonite contempt.jpg)]

Everyone knows weather teams are inherently busted—enhanced types, ability boosts, nothing "dirty" about it.

???

Trying to provoke me?

Fine, Lance, you've successfully pissed me off. Time to show you how a real tactician plays a weather team.

Caleb went full throttle, fingers flying across the keyboard, and cranked out a 5,000-word tactical essay in one go.

In an instant, everyone's screens were flooded with a wall of text.

The "essay" was lengthy but covered everything—sun-sand team strengths and weaknesses, counter-strategies, optimal team compositions, and more.

[Erika: What the heck is Chlorophyll Venusaur with Wide Lens Sleep Powder under harsh sunlight?!]

[Janine: What's this about Weakness Policy Tyranitar under sandstorm for mindless damage output?!]

[Sabrina: Why does a sun-sand team include an Eviolite Dusclops with Trick Room and Ally Switch?!]

[Red: Theoretically viable. I'm gonna try it.]

Right after that message, Red went offline in a flash and called up Blue.

"Hey, did you see Caleb's sun-sand team breakdown in the chat?"

"Oh, I'm reading it now."

"Let's try it."

"Huh?"

"Forget it—I'm coming over."

He hung up and immediately summoned his Aerodactyl to fly to Viridian Gym.

Red was always a man of action. When it came to tactical theory, he believed only hands-on experience could determine if it worked.

That decisiveness gave him a clear edge in both training and battle.

Coincidentally, Venusaur and Charizard were Red and Blue's ace Pokémon. And Blue was a Trick Room specialist—Viridian Gym had a Dusclops too.

As for a Tyranitar? Just head up to Mt. Silver and catch one.

...

The next day.

Caleb and Green boarded a plane to the Johto region.

Kanto and Johto were directly connected, separated only by the vast Silver Mountain Range.

Their plane landed at the Goldenrod City airport.

Waiting to greet them was a girl with twin pigtails and a white round cap.