Chapter 23: The Calypso Island Gym Leaders

Seventeen hours later, Angelina called on all the other Calypso Island gym leaders to come to her mansion for an urgent meeting.

As the evening settled in, one by one, the most elite trainers of Calypso Island, and arguably the world, entered her villa. Most of them wore chic outfits and each represented their respective Pokémon type, chatting among themselves.

Once everyone had arrived, poured a drink, and found a seat, Angelina stood at the front of the room, commanding their attention. Her expression was more serious than usual, and the air quickly became thick with anticipation.

“Thank you all for coming,” Angelina began, her tone leaving no room for casual banter. “I’m sure you all have heard about the brave soul who is attempting the Divine Challenge.”

“You mean the dumb soul,” Gianna Mercury, the Steel-type gym leader, chimed in.

The other women chuckled at her comment.

Angelina’s face remained neutral but with a hint of amusement.

“However,” she continued, “we have a very unique challenger this time. His name is Ace Tomlinson, and after some research last night, I realized he’s not just another overconfident trainer attempting this Challenge.”

Angelina began a very detailed slide show presentation detailing everything she researched and discovered about Ace Tomlinson the previous night. As the presentation began, the room fell silent.

Angelina clicked through slides, showing Ace’s impressive records from Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, and Paldea, including his past region championship win in Kanto/Johto, and his current ones in Unova and Paldea.

The gym leaders exchanged curious glances, recognizing that this Ace guy had already proven his merit.

“He’s not just strong,” Angelina said, her voice measured. “He’s experienced in ways most trainers never even dream of.”

She pulled up a slide that contained a headline from nine years ago. The headline spoke about an unknown powerful Pokémon being sighted near Cerulean City.

Angelina highlighted a detail from the article stating that three trainers were seen leaving the Cerulean Cave after the Pokémon fled, and one of the trainers matched Ace Tomlinson’s description.

Angelina then showed another headline from seven and a half years prior where the article detailed that witnesses from Ecruteak City in the Johto region claimed they saw Ho-Oh reappear for the first time in centuries.

They also claimed that they saw a trainer battle it on top of Tin Tower. Reports were unconfirmed as of the result of the battle, however, the vague descriptions of the trainer who battled it were consistent with Ace’s profile.

Angelina clicked to another headline. Another report detailed what happened in Sootopolis City six years prior when the legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon appeared and fought each other. Rayquaza then appeared soon after and, with help from some powerful trainers, stopped these titans. Ace Tomlinson was confirmed to be at the scene.

Angelina clicked to the next slide that contained yet another report, this time from Sinnoh. The article was from nearly five years ago, and it detailed the strange distortions that appeared all around the region originating from Spear Pillar.

The article confirmed reports that Team Galactic was involved in the appearance of these distortions and were thwarted by Cynthia and three unnamed trainers.

“Noticing a pattern here?” Angelina said, smiling fully now. She was very clearly intrigued by all of this.

She clicked through several more reports from Unova, Alola, and Paldea. Afterwards, she put the clicker down and looked out intently at the other Calypso Island gym leaders.

“These reports would lead us to believe that Tomlinson has not only come in contact with legendary Pokémon but has possibly even captured one or more of them,” she said.

“Well, he has something in common with at least one of us,” Amber Pennebaker interjected. The fire-type gym leader was known for her fiery attitude and stunning looks.

Angelina gave her a stern look and then continued, choosing not to address the comment.

“The reports also suggest that he’s been involved in the takedown of criminal organizations like Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Team Magma, Team Aqua, and others,” Angelina explained. “He’s not someone who just battles in arenas. He’s dealt with forces that could reshape the world. You can believe what you want about these reports, but I brought you all here to give you a warning.” She clicked to a slide that had a large profile image of Ace Tomlinson displayed. “Do not underestimate this trainer. It’s more than likely that he will be the greatest challenge any of us will have ever faced.”