The exhibition battle between Ace and Aaron was getting heated. Both trainers had five Pokémon remaining, though Ace had substituted Crobat earlier with U-Turn—and sent out an unexpected Pokémon.

"Greninja, use Gunk Shot!"

"Yanmega, counter it with Bug Buzz!"

The pulsating waves from Bug Buzz weakened Gunk Shot so that what would have been a burst of poisonous liquid spluttered and fizzed out. But Bug Buzz also didn't do much damage against Greninja, who appeared slightly purple.

"Protean," Kenny groaned.

Steven frowned with disapproval. "Flame Body over Swarm for a bug-type specialist is bad enough, but Protean is going too far. At this rate, almost any gym leader would use Greninja or some other Pokémon with a similar ability."

"I thought of that, too," Cynthia assured him. "Ace is only allowed to use Greninja in exhibition battles—not in gym challenges, unless the challenger specifically requests it."

"What challenger would do that?"

I could think of one; Ash Ketchum is a wildcard.

Aaron gritted his teeth. I could tell this wasn't his first time battling Ace's Greninja; he knew what he had to do. "Yanmega, return with U-Turn!"

"Greninja—Ice Beam!"

Greninja's coloration faded from purple to ice-blue, removing his resistance to bug-type moves. He outsped Yanmega, ice freezing the whole Pokémon when she charged at him.

I had to hand it to Ace—this trainer plays a fast game. Yanmega dropped to the ground. When the ice shattered, she didn't get up.

The drone announced, "Yanmega is unable to battle!"

That put Ace ahead.

Aaron returned Yanmega to her Pokéball. "You did your best, Yanmega. Nurse Joy will take care of you after the battle—for now, warm up in your Pokéball."

"What's next, Aaron?" Ace called out, stretching his arms alongside Greninja, who was gearing up for his next opponent.

"See, right now," Steven said to me, Kenny, and Cynthia, "Greninja isn't a poison type. And I know Ace has other Pokémon that actually are poison types. So as a poison-type specialist, he shouldn't be allowed to use Greninja."

Cynthia's silver gaze was ice. "We'll continue this discussion after the exhibition battle, Steven Stone."

Aaron sent out a Leavanny, which wasn't native to Sinnoh but looked elegant. Her lithe frame matched Aaron's lean muscle. I pulled out my Pokédex to scan it.

"Leavanny. The Nurturing Pokémon. Upon finding a smaller Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth. It keeps its own eggs warm with heat from fermenting leaves, which become warm wrappings for its pre-evolved form, Sewaddle."

Ace smirked. "Greninja, Ice Beam again!"

Aaron rubbed his hands maniacally. "Break it with Leaf Blade, Leavanny!"

Leavanny's arms elongated and sharpened into leaf-shaped swords that shattered Greninja's ice. Keeping the momentum, she got in close—and Greninja struggled in a close combat battle. Leavanny sliced and cut at Greninja, who staggered backward, buffeted.

"Greninja, get away with Gunk Shot!"

"Leavanny, Protect!"

Leavanny lifted up a protective barrier just in time to block the full impact of Gunk Shot.

"Go from the side with another Leaf Blade!"

Leavanny skirted around the barrier, which disintegrated an instant after. A bit of the wide-spreading Gunk Shot splattered onto her – she winced as part of her leaf body sizzled – but she persisted. Greninja's Gunk Shot looked weaker this time. Paul noticed too, his eyes narrowing; his Electivire scoffed.

"Greninja—Water Shuriken!"

With Leavanny already weakened from Gunk Shot, Greninja's Water Shuriken tore through Leavanny's arms, putting an end to her Leaf Blade. And with Water Shuriken, Greninja was back to being a water type—vulnerable to bug-type moves.

"You got this, Leavanny! Finish with Fell Stinger!"

Leavanny shot string from her mouth that congealed into a long needle, which she penetrated through Greninja.

"Greninja is unable to battle!" the drone declared. "Both trainers are down to four Pokémon!"

Kenny grinned at Steven. "Now that Greninja's out of the battle, you can't complain anymore!"

"I wasn't going to." Steven glanced at Cynthia. He took her request to postpone their discussion seriously. I thought that was professional of him, befitting the young head of the Devon Corporation.

Ace returned his honorary poison type to his Pokéball. "Brilliant job out there, Greninja. Take a good rest."

Leavanny stood still, but her arms had healed. Was it a healing ability? I scanned her with my Pokédex again.

"When a Pokémon uses Fell Stinger to knock out a Pokémon, its own attack rises drastically."

"So Fell Stinger's effect made up for the damage taken from Water Shuriken," I suggested.

"Not quite," Cynthia corrected me. "Leavanny is still tired, but she's hiding it for the audience and for her next opponent."

I leaned forward from my seat. "Who is Leavanny's next opponent?"

Ace brought a familiar Ultra Ball to his lips.

"Crobat!" Kenny and I exclaimed at the same time. Kenny pointed finger guns at me. "Smoochum-and-Jynx, Deedee."

I rolled my eyes but went along with it, pretending to zip and then unzip my mouth like a Banette. "Cynthia, you know how the only way to have Golbat evolve into Crobat is to be really close friends with it? Does that mean..."

Kenny caught on and finished my sentence. "Ace used an Ultra Ball on a Zubat?!"

Steven's mouth twitched into a smile. Cynthia's laughter was even prettier than a Chingling's chime. "I did an extensive background check on Ace before he became the Gym Leader of Hearthome City. Zubat was his first Pokémon, hatched from an egg. He and his big sister – a young woman called Angela – each received a Pokémon egg as a gift from Koga, who was traveling through Veilstone City at the time."

Koga was another poison-type specialist; many considered him to be the Master of Poison Types.

"The eggs were abandoned in a cave, and Koga had a good idea of what they'd hatch into, but he kept it a surprise for the kids. The two Zubat hatched around the same time. Baby Pokémon are very easy to catch, so most trainers just use a Pokéball."

I remembered when my Cyndaquil hatched. He was so peaceful, his flames not even fully formed yet. May's Glaceon and Ash's Noivern were also kept in Pokéballs.

"But Ace," Cynthia said, "used an Ultra Ball."

"On a baby Zubat?!" Kenny exclaimed. "Man, this keeps getting better."

"He had high expectations and much love for that Zubat from the start." Cynthia's tone grew somber as she continued, "Angela, however, detested her Pokémon. She pointed out all its flaws: its blindness, its inability to walk, its weakness."

"It's just a baby!" I cried out, horrified. I watched as Ace's Crobat flew around Aaron's Leavanny, dealing lots of damage and taking hits with a firm expression. Raising a Pokémon from an egg was difficult but rewarding. Like May's Glaceon and Ash's Noivern, Ace's Crobat was an exemplar for a newly hatched Pokémon reaching its full potential. I sent out my Quilava to watch the battle.

"Officer Jenny had Angela release her Zubat," Cynthia concluded. "Ace cried for a Pokémon that was never his. I think he wanted him and his sister to raise their Zubat together. Like their Pokémon, the two siblings became distant after. When I asked Ace about his family during the interview, he didn't mention his sister."

I swallowed. What a gripping story! "Do you know what happened to Ace's sister—to Angela?"

"I didn't ask or look into it. What happened to her isn't my business. Ace, after all, was the candidate to succeed Fantina."

Both Crobat and Leavanny must have been exhausted by now, but they hid it from the audience well. "Crobat, come back with U-Turn!"

"Dodge it, Leavanny!"

Leavanny tried to step aside, but Crobat struck hard and fast.