Note: This is a very small chapter as it is just reactions to the match.

  (Jake Mallory's POV)

  I leaned forward in my seat, my knuckles white as I gripped the armrest. I had known the arena would be busy, but I wasn't prepared for this. The stands were packed to the rafters for what was supposed to be a simple two-badge match. I looked over at Lia; she was just as tense as I was. We knew our son was capable—he'd had a clarity of mind since he was a toddler that most adults never achieve—but seeing him down there on that dirt floor made him look so small against the prestige of the Celadon Gym.

  The match started, and Grey sent out that Exeggcute of his. I stared in disbelief as the seeds actually took flight, hovering and darting around. But Erika wasn't playing fair. She used a Pokémon I'd never seen before, some sleek, green thing that kept firing barrages of leaves that seemed to get faster and harder with every shot. When Exeggcute finally fainted, the roar from the crowd was deafening. They were all cheering for the Leader.

  Lia and I tried to cheer for our boy, to let him know we were there, but our voices were swallowed by the noise of the Erika fans. Lia grabbed my hand, her eyes welling up. "Jake, look at him. He's so still. Do you think he's okay?"

  I looked at Grey. He was silent, standing in his trainer box. To anyone else, he might have looked frozen in fear, but I knew that look. It wasn't just fear—it was that cold, calculating determination he got when he was solving a problem.

  Then he brought out that massive Shellder. My heart leapt when the Pokémon started spinning, creating a water tornado that looked like something out of a high-level tournament. It was incredible. When that foreign Pokémon went down, the crowd shifted. Some of the locals started remembering that Grey was one of their own—a Celadon boy. We cheered until our throats were raw.

  Then came the Ivysaur. It was a brutal back-and-forth, but Shellder eventually fell. The crowd went back to cheering for Erika. I started to worry; I'm no expert on gym battles, but I've watched enough TV to know a second-badge match shouldn't be this grueling. But Grey didn't flinch. He released Axew, his very first partner. After a struggle that had me holding my breath, Axew landed a powerful X-shaped slash that sent the big frog tumbling.

  The stadium erupted. This time, the cheers for Grey were just as loud as the ones for the Leader. I stood up, shouting his name, pride swelling in my chest so hard it hurt. My boy had done it.

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  (Nurse Joy's POV)

  I had managed to swap my lunch shift at the last second, arriving at the arena just as the tension was reaching its peak. Standing there in the crowded stands, I felt a strange sense of protective anxiety. To most people in Celadon, Grey was just a talented challenger on a screen, but to me, he was the quiet, diligent boy who had spent countless hours in my lobby, meticulously caring for his team.

  Watching him stand his ground against Erika's overwhelming pressure made me realize how much he had grown since he first walked into the Center. I wasn't just watching a trainer; I was watching someone I'd come to care for as a friend. When the final blow landed and the crowd erupted, I felt a lump in my throat. I knew the physical toll a match like that took on both the trainer and the Pokémon, and seeing him stand tall filled me with an immense sense of relief. He wasn't just "top of his class" anymore; he was proving he had the heart to back up his skill. I decided to leave back as the centre only gave me a small gap besides I would meet him back there as he comes to heal his pokemon.

  Officer Jenny's POV

  I leaned against the concrete pillar at the edge of the stands, adjusted my cap, and let out a long whistle. I'd seen Grey's grit back on the road when things got messy, but seeing him handle the pressure of a televised arena was something else entirely. It's one thing to fight for your life in the wild; it's another to keep your head cool when thousands of people are waiting for you to fail.

  I didn't care about the technicalities of the badge; I was just glad to see the kid come out the other side in one piece. There's a certain look a trainer gets when they've truly bonded with their team—a mutual trust that goes beyond commands—and Grey had it in spades. As I watched him bow to the crowd, I felt a genuine spark of pride. Celadon can be a tough place for a young man to make a name for himself without a clan's backing, but he had just kicked the door down.

  Pokenet Thread: [LIVE] Celadon Gym - Challenge Mode Broadcast (Erika vs. Grey)

  EricaFanNo1: Just walked out of the arena. Holy Mew. That match between Erika and that kid Grey was supposed to be 2-badge level, but it felt like a 5-badge circuit match. That kid is something else. Never seen a newbie play that tactically. He's got a bright future.

  Vines&Roses: RT. That Shellder "Water Shield" thing? I've been training Grass types for three years and I've never seen a Water type move like that. Who is this kid?

  KantoAnalyst99: Wait, did anyone see that green snake-like mon Erika used? Since when does she use non-Kanto species for badge matches?

  TheAllKnowing: It's a Servine, native to Unova. And for those asking why the match was so brutal: word from the grapevine is that Grey is a "Marked Candidate."

  YoungsterJoey_Official: Marked? What does that even mean? Is he in trouble?

  TheAllKnowing: Refuse to elaborate. If you know, you know.

  BattleTheory_Master: Let's talk about that Servine though. Did anyone notice it was getting stronger after using Leaf Storm? That move is supposed to tank your Special Attack. Some people in the thread are saying it's an Ability called "Contrary." If that's true, Erika went way overboard for a rookie match.

  CeladonLocal: Overboard or not, the kid won. I was there. He stayed calm even after his Exeggcute got wrecked. Some people are trying to find his background now. No one recorded the broadcast (Gym rules, duh), but the verbal reports coming in are all saying the same thing: this Grey kid is the real deal.

  Route7Scout: I've heard his name before. Think he's the one who topped the Trainer Exams this year. Keep an eye on this thread, he's going to be famous by the time he hits the Indigo Plateau.