"You want to battle me?" Julian pointed to himself, his eyebrows shooting up in genuine surprise.
"That's right!" Reggie nodded, his purple ponytail swaying with the movement. "You are the only Trainer I've met so far who owns a Floette and a Fairy-type Pokémon. If possible, I hope that my team and I can gain some firsthand experience. It's a type that's still a mystery to most of us in Sinnoh."
Reggie seemed to sense Julian's hesitation and added a reassuring wave of his hand. "Don't worry. Since you just started your journey two months ago, I naturally won't let my Pokémon use their full veteran strength. I'll scale it down to your level so we can focus on the technical side of the Fairy-type. You don't have to worry about your little ones getting hurt."
"No, that's not really the issue," Julian said, waving his hand dismissively while shooting a glance at Floette, who was currently sharpening her flower's stem with a look of extreme focus. "It's not about them getting hurt, it's just..."
"When your eyes meet, you must battle! This is a fundamental rule for Trainers!" Reggie interrupted, his gaze turning sharp and piercing, reminiscent of the cold intensity his younger brother Paul would one day be famous for. "I hope you won't refuse a sincere request from a senior."
Julian felt the shift in the air. The casual traveler was gone; in his place stood a man who had conquered sixteen gyms across two regions. The "Battle Aura" was palpable.
"Tch, since you've already put it that way, I accept your challenge!" Julian adjusted his hat, his own competitive streak finally flaring up. He wasn't about to let someone—even a veteran like Reggie—look down on his "rookie" status. "But since you insist on a match, how about we make a wager?"
"Are you sure?" Reggie asked calmly, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "I've traveled through Sinnoh and Hoenn. I'm not comparable to a New Trainer. Although I admit your Pokémon are incredibly well-raised, their actual combat levels shouldn't be very high. A wager might be... risky for you."
"Of course I'm sure~" Julian responded with an equally battle-ready look. "And don't worry, my wager isn't anything bank-breaking. I just need you to agree to take a commemorative photo with me after the battle ends. I like to record every meaningful step of my journey."
He paused, then added, "Oh, and since you happen to be returning to Veilstone City, could you also take a small package back for a friend of mine there? It's just some specialized supplies."
Julian pulled his camera out of his backpack with a flourish, holding it up like a trophy.
Reggie blinked, surprised by the simplicity of the request. He had expected Julian to ask for money or a rare item. "Just a photo and a delivery? If those are your only requests, then there's no problem at all. Even if you lose, I'll gladly take the picture and handle your delivery. Consider it my thanks for letting me witness a new type in action."
"Is that so? Then I'll thank you in advance, senior~" Julian grinned.
"In that case, let's begin! If we don't start now, we'll be battling in the dark," Reggie said, his tone shifting into professional mode.
The two Trainers backed away from each other, carving out a makeshift arena in the center of the vast, twilight-streaked grassland. Floette, Sylveon, Togetic, and Growlithe followed Julian, their expressions shifting from playful to disciplined.
"The rules are a standard 2v2 Single Battle," Reggie called out, his voice carrying over the wind. "One Pokémon at a time. Substitutions are allowed. The match ends when one side's two Pokémon are unable to battle. Is that acceptable?"
"No problem! Standard league rules," Julian shouted back.
"Then, since I'm the one who initiated this and requested specific types, I will lead!" Reggie pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and enlarged it with a sharp click. "I'm counting on you, Bibarel!"
With a flash of white light, a large, brown Pokémon materialized on the grass. It had a pale yellow underbelly and a face that looked like it was wearing a tan, heart-shaped mask. It tapped its two large incisors together, looking sturdy and experienced.
Julian squinted, his internal database immediately pulling up the stats.
[Bibarel. Normal/Water type. The ultimate 'HM' companion, but in the hands of a veteran, it's a nightmare. With abilities like Simple or Unaware, it can completely negate a Trainer's setup or snowball its own stats. Judging by Reggie's personality, this thing is probably a tank.]
"You've looked long enough, haven't you?" Reggie called out, noticing Julian's analytical stare. "Come on, Julian! Send out your first partner! Let me see what power the Fairy-type holds!"
"Sorry for the wait. In that case... Floette, you're up first!"
"Floette-flo! (Finally! Let's get this over with!)" 🌸
Floette drifted onto the field, her blue flower parasol spinning slowly. She looked delicate—almost fragile—compared to the bulky Bibarel.
"You can take the first move," Reggie offered generously. "I want to properly observe the capabilities of a pure Fairy-type from the start."
Julian's mouth twitched. He felt a wave of "Protagonist Energy" surging through him. "Are you sure about that, Reggie? Taking the first hit against a type you don't know might be... unwise."
Reggie chuckled, crossing his arms. "I'm sure. This Bibarel has been with me since the very beginning of my Sinnoh journey. She accompanied me through the Hoenn League and back. She isn't a simple character who falls to a single opening move. Go ahead!"
Julian let out a long, dramatic sigh. [Reggie, you're a great guy, but you're falling into the classic 'Veteran Pride' trap. You think because Floette is small and pretty, she hits like a Skitty.]
"Alright, Floette," Julian said, his voice dropping an octave as his index finger pointed forward with sharp precision. "Since our senior wants to see the power of the Fairy-type so badly... let's give him a front-row seat. Use Fairy Wind!"
Floette's eyes instantly turned from emerald green to a glowing, ethereal pink. Inside her head, she was already calculating the fastest route to victory. [If I finish this quickly, Julian will be so impressed he'll forget that I was laughing at him earlier! Plus, the sooner we win, the sooner we eat that Welcome Dinner!]
With a fierce cry, Floette swung her blue flower in a wide arc.
Immediately, the calm twilight air was ripped apart. A massive, swirling vortex of pink, sparkling energy erupted from the flower. It wasn't a "wind"—it was a localized hurricane of shimmering fairy dust and concussive force, screaming across the grass toward Bibarel.
Reggie's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The sheer pressure of the move was blowing his ponytail back. "What the—?! Bibarel, quick! Use Protect!"
"Bidoooof!"
Bibarel sensed the danger instantly and slammed its paws together, conjuring a translucent, light-blue hexagonal shield. It was a perfect, textbook Protect—the kind that should stop almost any opening move.
BOOM!
The Fairy Wind slammed into the shield. For a fraction of a second, the two forces struggled, but then a sound like shattering glass echoed across the meadow. The Protect shield disintegrated into shards of light. The pink vortex didn't even slow down; it engulfed Bibarel, lifting the heavy Pokémon off the ground and tossing it backward like a piece of drift wood.
Bibarel was blasted twenty feet through the air, carving a deep, jagged gash into the pristine grass before finally coming to a stop, its eyes swirled into fainted spirals.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Floette landed softly, daintily adjusting her flower as if she hadn't just leveled a veteran's starter.
"What...?" Reggie stared at his unconscious Bibarel, his arm still outstretched from his last command. His brain was struggling to process the math. A "weak" opening move from a "New Trainer" had just shattered a veteran's Protect and achieved a one-hit knockout.