They called it laying an egg.
Of course, Chansey couldn't possibly sit on a nest like a hen and physically lay a real egg.
Instead, the egg in the pouch on Chansey's belly—the one said to be extremely nutritious—suddenly lit up with a warm golden light.
Amid the gale laced with electricity, Chansey lifted both arms high. The egg in its pouch rose into the air as if responding to its summons.
The oval energy egg cracked and turned into countless golden motes of light that sprinkled down, merging into Chansey's body. The stamina it had lost tanking repeated Discharge and Hurricane was rapidly restored.
Iono was dumbfounded.
In the match against that Shuckle, its bizarre, disgusting moves had been annoying, sure, but at least Raichu's damage had been steadily adding up.
If Raichu's stamina hadn't hit its limit first, it definitely would've had a chance to beat Shuckle.
But this Chansey in front of her could even restore its own health. How was this supposed to be playable?
Since she'd been chosen by Geeta as one of the eight official, league-recommended gyms of Paldea, the owner of Levincia Gym, Iono, was no battle newbie.
She knew she had to break Lucas's tempo now. If this went on, Kilowattrel would be slowly and painfully stalled to death.
Kilowattrel's Ability was Wind Power.
After half a day of observing and working with it, Iono had forcibly helped this faculty-or-student-belonging Kilowattrel develop that Ability so that it could integrate it into its attacks.
In other words… when using Flying-type moves, it could partially convert the power of the wind into electricity!
"As expected of our new Champion, to actually force Iono to use one of her trump cards. Kilowattrel, crank up the wind speed!"
They were only a temporary pairing, after all; there was no way the coordination could compare to the partners that usually lived and trained by Iono's side. This call-out was one of the signals she and Kilowattrel had agreed on.
Kilowattrel's eyes sharpened. It began flapping its wings faster and faster. Within the roaring gale, faint, almost unnoticeable sparks of electricity formed and shaped themselves into a circular golden wave of light which, before anyone expected it, washed over Chansey!
Bzzzzt—
Sparks of electricity flashed all over Chansey's body, and under Lucas's previous command, its attempt to fire off a second Rock Slide was cut short.
"You pull that out now!?"
Hassel's eyes widened. He rubbed his bald head and praised them over and over.
"Whether it's young Iono or Lucas, the youngsters these days are really too impressive."
Tulip, standing to the side, raised a slender hand to brush back the strand of hair at her temple. With implied meaning, she said, "I'd say even this was probably already within that person's expectations."
Tulip remembered clearly how, in their own match, Lucas had calmly and methodically dismantled her Baton-Pass strategy that was built entirely around her Espathra.
She didn't believe someone like that would be thrown off by a mere Thunder Wave. He must have already prepared counters for status conditions.
And just as Tulip expected—
When Iono saw that Thunder Wave had successfully hit Chansey, putting it into paralysis and making its movements start to stutter—
She called out confidently, "Raise the gale of counterattack! Rain Dance into Hurricane! "
If she could, Iono would've loved to take this chance to set Electric Terrain as well, to prevent Chansey from using any Hypnosis or Sing. Unfortunately, this Kilowattrel didn't know Electric Terrain, and there was no way she could make it suddenly learn it in such a short window.
Still, the Rain Dance + Hurricane combo was enough to start establishing an advantage for Kilowattrel.
All she had to do from here was chip away at Chansey's HP step by step and stop it from using recovery moves, and victory would be hers!
Kilowattrel cried sharply to the sky. In an instant, dark clouds gathered. A torrential rain mixed with howling winds came crashing down, forcing the spectators nearby to retreat several steps, out of the downpour's range.
Then, within the ear-piercing roar of the storm, a clear, bell-like chime suddenly rang out—a sound that felt like it could soothe a weary heart.
Jingle, jingle, jingle—
In the downpour, Chansey endured the pain of paralysis and used Heal Bell!
Geeta smiled, as if everything was going according to plan. She glanced toward the Nurse Joy beside her and murmured, "For a Pokémon Center nurse, healing injuries and clearing status conditions are both core courses."
"Iono was still a bit careless. Perfect chance for Lucas to teach her a lesson."
To Iono's shock, Chansey cleansed its status with Heal Bell and, still wearing that kind and gentle Pokémon Center nurse smile, raised its hand to summon Rock Slide again—interrupting Kilowattrel's Hurricane during its startup yet again.
Flinch triggered once more!
Chansey's Ability truly lived up to its name: Serene Grace. Not only was it constantly proccing the flinch effect, even Rock Slide's accuracy seemed absurdly high. That was a small comfort to Lucas, who'd used to miss Hydro Pump all the time and felt that any accuracy under 100 basically meant "0."
Taking advantage of Kilowattrel's latest "crash landing" due to flinching, Lucas had Chansey set up a Light Screen so it wouldn't have to spam Soft-Boiled to stay healthy.
Moves like that consumed a fair bit of energy. If Chansey ran out and suddenly couldn't use Rock Slide anymore, now that would be boring.
In Iono's eyes, which were suddenly tinged with despair, a seemingly fragile wall of light slowly manifested before Chansey.
Larry clutched his stomach and said weakly, "My ulcer's acting up."
Grusha, who'd spent years up on snowy mountains, had the urge to tighten his scarf for comfort.
But his hand came up empty.
Only then did Grusha remember that when they'd just left Glaseado Mountain, he'd stubbornly worn his full snow-mountain gear—then promptly gotten schooled by the summer heat and passed out from heatstroke.
In the end, it had taken Ryme's iron-willed insistence to get him into his current, much lighter outfit. His scarf was back in their Mesagoza hotel.
"So cold…"
Grusha shivered quietly.
As the battle dragged on, Kilowattrel kept getting sent crashing down by Rock Slide, so much that Iono's fans were about to give it a new nickname: "The Crash-Test King."
Even boosted by the rain, with both power and accuracy greatly enhanced, Hurricane and Thunder did little more than tickle Chansey.
And if that were the whole problem, it would've been one thing.
The worst part was that Chansey's own attacks weren't much better—barely more than gentle scratches—so both Kilowattrel and Iono were being tortured.
The match time even crept close to a full hour.
In the end, a completely fed-up Iono ordered Kilowattrel to launch a "suicide assault." If ranged attacks didn't work, then she'd take the risk of heavy poison and go all-in at close range!
To be fair, this was actually Iono's best move from a tactical standpoint. Chansey's physical Defense was nowhere near as absurd as its Special Defense.
Unfortunately, Kilowattrel's HP had already been whittled down. Its power was flagging. When it finally went for Brave Bird, Chansey caught the opening and grabbed it, slamming it with a Seismic Toss.
As the minutes crawled on, the jokers in Iono's livestream chat went from gloating to genuine sympathy.
["Forget it, forget it, you can stop leeching free food off us now."]
["Watching this through a screen is making me nauseous."]
["It hurts. It really hurts."]
["Please… just put it out of its misery."]
["Fsssh…"]
Finally—
At Lucas's crisp command—"Egg Bomb!"—Chansey hurled the egg from its pouch, that oval egg that wasn't meant for its own offspring, at the exhausted, defenseless Kilowattrel.
Mid-air, the egg traced a graceful arc and began to glow gold once again.
But this time, the radiance wasn't gentle, healing light.
It was a golden light brimming with destructive power—ready to explode on impact.
Watching the Egg Bomb describe that beautiful arc in the sky toward it, Kilowattrel, wings too numb from constant Rock Slide impacts to flap, saw a faint spark of hope return to its dulled eyes.
With a deafening boom, Kilowattrel closed its eyes peacefully. The shockwave from the powerful blast swept out across the field, and this pain sufficient to knock it out of the battle somehow felt… reassuring to the bird.
At last, it was over.
When the smoke cleared and the rain stopped, the sky brightened.
The surroundings fell into a rare silence. The only sound was Iono, who looked like a toy that had been played with until it broke, babbling incoherently.
Whether they were Naranja Academy students, participating teachers, or Gym Leaders, everyone wore the expression of someone who'd seen a ghost, staring in horror at the still-smiling Chansey in its Pokémon Center nurse grin—and at Lucas, who had commanded it.
The barrage of messages in Iono's livestream chat raced past so fast they were unreadable. Someone even screencapped the final scene, posted it on social media, and gave it a title:
["The Pink Demon."]
Lucas's second-round opponent was Tyme, the math teacher who had won the sister showdown.
The moment the match started, Lucas took one look at Tyme's kind grandmotherly smile and immediately chose to forfeit.
That not only made Tyme, clutching her Bronzong, sigh with relief; it let the students and other competitors breathe easier too.
That was enough. If they had to watch another match like that, they really would throw up.
Hiding within the crowd, Arven and the others were at a loss for words.
Now they completely understood why Lucas had said he would only teach it once.
If this kept up, the next time they met him, it'd be with a fruit basket on their way to visit him in the hospital.
He was going to make too many enemies.
But while Arven, Penny, and Eri were all hesitating with things they wanted to say, Nemona and Paul had a very different take.
Nemona, though she didn't really understand the tactics, clung to the core belief that "Teacher is awesome!" and cheered non-stop.
Paul, on the other hand, looked as if a new continent had just opened up before him. His razor-sharp triangular eyes gleamed as he lowered his gaze to the Fuecoco munching an apple in his arms. A clear, focused resolve appeared in his eyes.
Once Fuecoco finished its final evolution, perhaps he could develop another tactic for it, one unique to it—but built around the same stalling core concept.
Under Geeta's introduction, Lucas—with Chansey prancing excitedly by his side, eyes shining from its victory and steps almost bouncy—finally met Chansey's Trainer.
The disguised Nurse Joy.
"Chansey~"
Chansey ran excitedly up to Joy, waving its little arms around and begging for praise.
Joy looked a bit guilty. She glanced left and right, as if making sure there wasn't someone squatting in the bushes ready to leap out and punch her, then slowly took off her disguise and hugged Chansey.
"You were amazing."
Praised, Chansey straightened up even more proudly.
Once she'd calmed Chansey down a bit, Joy stood up, a faint blush rising on her pale cheeks. She bowed to Lucas gratefully and said, "Thank you for helping me discover a different side of Chansey!"
She'd never imagined that Chansey's just for fun attempts at battle could actually let it defeat Electric-type Gym Leader Iono's Electric-type Pokémon in a straight fight.
"No need to thank me. If your Chansey hadn't learned so many moves, I wouldn't have been able to bring that strategy out."
Lucas's reply was modest.
Geeta, meanwhile, rubbed her chin. As if struck by an interesting idea, she suddenly spoke up: "This is worth trying."
Both of them turned to look at her.
Geeta pointed at Chansey with her gloved finger and said succinctly, "I think this Chansey-oriented strategy can be promoted across the Pokémon Centers of Paldea."
Joy and Lucas both froze.
Geeta, excited, continued, "Every city needs two core facilities: the police, who ensure the city's safety, and the Pokémon Centers, who save lives."
"Up until now, Leagues have always kept combat and logistics clearly separated. I think that division can be reformed."
"Take Pokémon Centers—key logistical hubs. I've heard that in Kanto they're often occupied or robbed by evil organizations, forcing the police to divert manpower just to protect the Centers."
"They don't need incredible offensive power. But if Pokémon Centers can at least defend themselves for a while and act as a deterrent, that would indirectly reduce pressure on the police."
Geeta's words left Joy completely stunned, while Lucas could only marvel at her sense of the bigger picture.
As expected of the person who held the real power of the Paldea region. While everyone else only felt disgusted by Chansey's toxic tactics, her first thought was whether they could be used to make Paldea a better place.
"Lucas, Chansey's held item just now was Eviolite, correct?"
"That's right."
"Then what item would suit Blissey?"
Lucas thought for a moment and answered without hesitation, "Leftovers."
Blissey had many possible builds, but if you were going for a Serene Grace flinch-stall set, Leftovers was the best, most universally useful item to increase its ability to stay on the field.
As for those full-offense Blissey builds that held Choice Specs or Assault Vest, their Ability was basically always Natural Cure, so you couldn't lump them together.
And as for Healer-Ability Blissey… that was a proper big healer. What kind of idiot would send their reliable main medic to the front lines?
Using this opportunity, Lucas gave Geeta a quick rundown of the different tactics you could build for Chansey and Blissey depending on what Ability they had and what movesets they used.
By the end, Geeta's eyes were glowing. She gave Lucas a big thumbs-up and promised, "Thank you for your cooperation. Once this is implemented, I'll give you a special Chairman's bonus."
Lucas was a simple man. If there was money in it for saying a few words, why not?
He agreed on the spot.
Then Geeta turned to Joy and Chansey and asked, "Would you two be interested in becoming instructors? You could travel to different cities and teach the local Joys your techniques."
"M-me?"
Joy grew flustered, not very confident in herself.
Chansey, though, was all in. It raised its little hand, chirping "Chansey! Chancey!" as it insisted on signing up.
Joy's smile never left her face.
Every Joy's Chansey partner was either one they'd trained since childhood, or a randomly paired partner from their family-run nurse school.
Whether in school or later in the Pokémon Centers where they worked, Chansey and Blissey with the Healer Ability—and their Joy partners—were always valued more highly and given more resources.
There was no real discrimination, no bullying, but all the Joys understood that Serene Grace Chansey and Blissey just weren't as favored.
In fact, among the three Joys at the Pokémon Center, she had the most seniority.
Yet the Joy in charge, whose partner had Healer, had far less experience than she did.
Joy never complained. She just felt a little upset on her Chansey's behalf.
Now, the opportunity was right in front of her. The most powerful voice in Paldea was personally inviting her. Even if she still lacked confidence, Joy wanted to seize this chance to change things for herself and Chansey.
Maybe she didn't have to stop at being a Pokémon nurse. Perhaps the path of a Trainer had always been open to her.
Eyes shining, Joy thought that with this opportunity and Geeta's support, she might be able to step onto the road to becoming a Trainer!
With that thought, a firm light flashed in her eyes. She bowed deeply to Geeta and said, "I'll do my best!"
Geeta waved a hand, still smiling, and added, "Don't be in such a rush. Even I can tell you only have a half-baked grasp of tactics—you don't really have any formal knowledge, and you're nowhere near as flexible in your strategy use as Lucas is."
"Like this, you wouldn't be fit to serve as an instructor."
Joy's fiery motivation was doused like a bucket of cold water.
She asked weakly, "Then what do you mean, Chairwoman?"
Geeta pointed at Lucas, who had been minding his own business, completely uninvolved.
Lucas had just been happily wondering how large the bonus would be, when he suddenly became the center of the conversation. Caught off guard, an ominous premonition crept up on him.
The next second, his premonition came true.
Geeta's amused voice floated over.
"I'll talk to your family, Joy, and have them assign someone new to take over your current duties. Before you officially become an instructor, you'll enroll in Naranja Academy and learn from Lucas how to properly use these tactics."
As soon as Geeta finished, it wasn't just Joy who froze.
Lucas's head filled with question marks as he let out an incredulous shout.
"HUH!?"
This Joy's growth route seemed pretty obvious, didn't it?