"And you are?"
Valerie covered her face with her wide, butterfly-edged sleeve. "Siebold's younger brother?"
She looked at him with some surprise—or rather, at the blond, black-eyed young man dressed in a white suit.
"Gym Leader Valerie, this has nothing to do with my brother. I'm simply challenging you as a Trainer."
The young man haughtily straightened his blue tie. "Shiki, from Snowbelle City. I look forward to our battle."
"Shiki, is it...?"
Gym Leader Valerie gave an intrigued smile. "I accept your challenge, but it will be a one-on-one battle."
Behind her, a girl also dressed in formal attire stepped forward, preparing to act as referee.
"Saoriko, wait."
Valerie raised a hand, signaling her to stop.
Smiling, she spoke with a Johto Region accent. "Gym Leader Dian, might I trouble you to referee this battle?"
"Ecruteak City!"
Dian finally understood where the music surrounding them and her distinctive bearing came from. She must have been from Ecruteak City.
He smiled at Ai'er, who stood beside him with a hand over her mouth in surprise, then snapped his fingers.
A spectral glow slowly enveloped him, and he rose into the air. "Gladly."
He glanced down at the young man. He must have been the person carrying a Key Stone whom Dian had met in the Land of the Earth in Unova. To think he was the younger brother of Siebold, one of the Kalos Elite Four.
Heh. Interesting.
Standing suspended in midair, he calmly announced, "The Scented City Gym Challenge will now begin. Each side may use only one Pokémon, and substitutions are not permitted."
Dian gestured for both sides to send out their Pokémon.
What he did not realize was that his appearance had sent the spectators below into an uproar, especially the Trainers.
They knew all the Gyms