At the Hulbury Gym battlefield, the match between Gym Leader Nathan and Lina was nearing its end.
In the arena, two Pelipper were locked in fierce combat, their bodies crossing and clashing midair. Both glowed with pale gray light as they collided and split apart in rapid succession. Even the high-precision cameras around the field couldn't fully capture their movements.
Referee Ryan shouted, "Brilliant! Challenger Lina's skill is impressive, and her battle experience really shows. She's already defeated two of Gym Leader Nathan's Pokémon with her own two. Now they've both sent out their final Pokémon, Pelipper!"
From the edge of the field, Nathan spoke calmly. "Pelipper, use Hurricane."
The bigger and higher-leveled of the two Pelipper paused in the air. Its pure white wings beat slowly at first, then accelerated sharply until only a streak of white could be seen.
Lina, who'd been prepared for this, called out, "Pelipper, use Quick Attack! Follow with Wing Attack!"
Before the Hurricane could form, her Pelipper darted forward with incredible speed, slamming into Nathan's Pokémon. The sudden impact broke the focus of the move, and both wings struck from left and right in perfect sync.
In an instant, the larger bird let out a pained cry and plummeted from the sky.
Ryan immediately raised his voice. "Gym Leader Nathan's Pelipper has fallen! Has it lost the ability to battle? The gym leader has recalled his Pokémon! The battle is over!"
Lina smiled and lifted her hand in victory. After Nathan handed her the badge with in a symbolic manner, he quickly disappeared into the passage behind the field.
With her match concluded, the Gym Challenge entered its intermission.
It was break time.
During this short pause, a filming crew was being prepared to Route 5 on the western side to capture footage of Lina's upcoming roadblock challenge against Nessa.
Nathan was in a hurry. His movements were sharp and fast. For the next hour or so, he had no scenes to film and didn't need to appear on camera.
He left through the challengers' tunnel, crossed the corridors of the gym, passed through the lobby and the front doors, and stopped just outside.
"Come out, Pelipper!" he called.
The bird he had just used in battle appeared from its Poké Ball, looking lively and completely unscathed despite its earlier fall.
Nathan gave a small wave. Pelipper swooped lower, clutching his broad shoulders with its talons, and lifted his heavy frame into the sky. Together, they soared west toward Route 5.
From the shadows near the marble steps of the gym entrance, Shiro sat on his folding chair, watching the gym leader disappear into the distance. A thought rose in his mind.
'Where is he going?'
Standing up, he looked toward the Pelipper carrying Nathan westward and quickly folded his chair.
"A," he whispered.
The Unown floated from his shoulder. 'What is it?'
"Follow that Pelipper. See what's going on."
Unown A nodded slightly. A faint psychic light surrounded them both, and in the next moment, they vanished from sight.
* * *
Nathan needed to find Nessa fast.
With the Gym Challenge on break and both the company staff and the League workers distracted, no one would be watching the western outskirts where Nessa was waiting.
He had to seize the moment, steal her Gym-level Pokémon, and swap it with his own Advanced-level ones.
After the failure to stop Shiro, his daughter Lina had become his only hope. He had to make sure she won and reached the Champion Cup no matter what.
He didn't even need to think twice to know what Rose would do once the tournament began. That man would surely rig the rules and change the reward system at the last moment. Perhaps the Gym Leaders would be ranked according to the Champion Cup's results, with the winner crowned as League Champion, while the lower-ranked trainers could take over as new Gym Leaders.
If that happened, the older gyms would be in real danger… No, not all of them. The traditional gyms still had strong trainers and powerful Pokémon, so they would survive.
It was the fading ones like his, aging and declining, that were at risk of being replaced.
Macro Cosmos' chosen trainers, Marvin, Allister, Nessa, each one of them was handpicked for success. And Shiro wouldn't escape the company's grasp either.
Nathan's own strength was that of a Gym-level Water-type trainer at best. Compared to the vast majority of Advanced-level trainers, he was strong, but before the company, he was no more than a Blipbug by the roadside.
The future of the Hulbury Gym depended on Lina, and this brief window of opportunity.
He had already leaked information about his daughter's lineup. Now he had to weaken Nessa's team.
Nathan's expression turned grim, his heart cold as ice.
"Peeeli!"
Pelipper soared swiftly through the air, calling joyfully as the town shrank beneath them, neat and spotless from above.
Under his orders, the townsfolk stayed indoors, watching the Gym Challenge broadcast on their televisions or listening to the radio. Everyone had been told not to go outside.
He couldn't guarantee that every resident would behave properly or present themselves well on camera, but at least he could make sure they wouldn't appear at all. As long as the Galar viewers couldn't see them, Hulbury would seem clean and orderly as always. Its residents would appear polite and kind.
And tourists preferred quiet places anyway, didn't they?
As these thoughts crossed Nathan's mind, Pelipper had already crossed the western edge of the town.
The gray-white concrete road stretched westward, thinning out and fading into wild grass and green shrubs.
The area was almost deserted. From above, he could easily spot Nessa leaning against a large brown-colored boulder, tossing a red-and-white Poké Ball up and down in her hand.
She stared quietly at the sparse forest ahead, unaware of the Pelipper descending overhead.
"Perfect," Nathan muttered under his breath. "Found you already."
"Peelippeeer!"
Pelipper glided down gracefully, landing in the open space beside her with its trainer.
Nessa instinctively turned her head, startled. The Poké Ball she had just tossed barely landed back in her hand.
"Hulbury Gym Leader…Nathan?" she said, puzzled.
What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be hosting a challenge right now?
According to the planned schedule, it should still be Lina's turn to face him.
Bzzt!
Her communicator buzzed in her pocket. When she checked it, the message was from the company: Lina's gym match had ended. It was time for her to prepare for the upcoming roadblock battle.
Whhsshh!
A sudden burst of wind swept past her side. Acting on instinct, she stepped back sharply.
A razor-thin blade of air sliced past where she had stood and struck the large boulder behind her, scattering a faint cloud of dust.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!