"...A strange ceiling…" Caleb groaned as he opened his eyes.
"You're awake?"
The first thing he saw was Flint's unmistakable red afro looming over him.
Caleb sat up. His head was still spinning a bit.
At that moment, Gardenia giggled and said, "The operation was a success. We're besties now, okay?"
Thankfully, Caleb still had some logic left in him and wouldn't fall for dumb jokes.
He could still very much feel that Little Caleb was alive and well.
His gaze scanned the room—until it landed on Haunter hiding behind Gardenia.
Suddenly, the memory of Haunter tossing spirit money over his unconscious body flashed back into his mind...
Caleb lunged forward and yanked Haunter by the ear, stretching its face into all sorts of hilarious shapes.
It was fine—Haunter was a gas-type lifeform. It'd bounce back in no time.
"Haun...ter (′xwx`)"
Mercy!
After finishing his revenge, Caleb suddenly felt all the strength drain from his limbs.
Darkness clouded his vision, and he toppled right off the bed.
"Easy there. You've been out for two days," Flint said as he caught Caleb. "Save your strength."
"WHAT?! Two days?!" Caleb exclaimed in disbelief.
Was the aftereffect of Sweet Kiss really that intense?
As he recovered, his brows furrowed with a new question:
"Wait, why didn't anyone give me a Chesto Berry or Awakening to snap me out of it!?"
Flint scratched his head awkwardly and mumbled,
"Lorelei said you wouldn't die... and warned everyone that if anyone woke you up, they'd get a taste of Ice Doll + Sweet Kiss themselves... so…"
The more Flint spoke, the softer his voice became. His eyes dodged around, practically saying:
Bro, it's not that I didn't want to help you. But that woman is scarier than a Mega Gyarados...
That cursed menopausal hag!
No wonder she's still single at her age, Caleb cursed internally.
He staggered out of the room and saw the wine-red-haired woman sitting calmly in the living room.
Lorelei.
Caleb turned back and hissed to Flint, "Why is she still here!?"
Don't Elite Four members have work!?
Wasn't the Kanto Elite Four constantly doing undercover work as League agents? Weren't they supposed to be on duty 24/7!?
"Oh, she said her Jynx wanted fashion show inspiration from Elesa, and she happened to be on vacation. So she just tagged along with us," Flint explained.
"And Nessa's here too. She took a short break from work to hang out with us for a couple days."
Sure enough, Lorelei and Cynthia were currently huddled over a table with Nessa, examining a pile of Post-it notes.
Despite being an Ice-type master, four of Lorelei's Pokémon were Water-types.
As they say, Ice and Water go hand-in-hand. She was basically a Water-type expert too.
As for Cynthia—she happened to have a Milotic herself, so she shared her experience raising one.
"Scald, Recover, Mirror Coat...
Stockpile, Hypnosis, Triple Axel—who on earth taught you all this?" Lorelei massaged her forehead.
Nessa stayed silent.
"I think it's actually pretty clever," Cynthia smiled. "There are some great ideas in there."
"Wait... Toxic!?"
Lorelei's eyes widened. Right then, Maylene came running out into the courtyard, shouting—
"I did it! I finally did it! Lucario mastered Toxic! Yes!!"
Two days of brutal grinding had paid off!
You're... a Fighting-type Gym Leader... learning Toxic?
If Bruno heard about this, he'd probably exile you from the Fighting-type community.
Lorelei held back a sigh.
Then she noticed something else.
Nessa's Milotic and Maylene's Lucario had both learned Toxic.
Both girls had been hanging around Caleb…
Caleb, a Poison-type Gym Leader…
It all clicked.
"The culprit... is YOU, Caleb!" Lorelei dramatically pointed at him.
"Huh?! Me?!"
Caleb blinked, mid-bite of a Wiki Berry he'd just snatched from Pachirisu's tail.
"No, no, Elite Four Lorelei, it was my own choice," Maylene stepped forward quickly. "Caleb didn't force me."
"Same here. My Gym was falling behind. Caleb just offered some helpful advice," Nessa added.
Listening to the two girls defend him, Lorelei felt like she was watching naïve schoolgirls defending a shady old man.
Caleb! What kind of mind-control candy did you give them!?
"I didn't do anything," Caleb raised his hands in mock surrender. "Just shared some tactics, that's all."
Cynthia chimed in, "Actually, Caleb's helped me a lot too. He once drew up a full strategy for my Spiritomb—super detailed."
"Whoa... Caleb helped Cynthia come up with battle plans?!" Nessa was floored.
Most trainers were lucky to master even one type.
But Caleb? He was juggling multiple and even advising the Champion herself!?
Nessa now stared at Caleb the way fans stared at her.
In her eyes, he'd officially become her idol.
"Even you, Cynthia…?" Lorelei was at a loss.
She could accept change. She really could.
But a world where Toxic became the meta?
What was next—Poison-type Garchomps!?
She now understood why Koga saw Caleb as a kindred spirit…
Just please… don't let Agatha hear about this.
If she decided to take Caleb on as a disciple, the entire Kanto region might be doomed.
...
After lunch, Caleb devoured enough to make up for two days of missed meals and felt fully recharged.
Nessa stood up and announced, "Thanks everyone for the past few days! But my agency's been calling—I've got to head out now."
Then she turned to Caleb and smiled:
"Caleb, I'm gonna talk to Chairman Rose. I refuse to give up either job—model and Gym Leader. Next time you're in Galar, I'll show you a brand-new Hulbury Gym."
"I'll be looking forward to it," Caleb said, returning the smile.
They all waved as Nessa left.
Watching her figure fade into the distance, everyone felt a pang of emotion.
They'd already been in Unova for almost a week without realizing it.
And yeah... it really was time to return to their normal lives.
Not everyone could float around like Cynthia and Flint, living the dream.
Wouldn't it be great to love your job that much?
According to the itinerary, their flight back was scheduled for the next morning.
Which meant—they still had one free afternoon to enjoy.
Suddenly, Caleb spoke up:
"You know, there are still a few Unova Pokémon I wanted to catch…"