That afternoon, Yong and Reggie were having a Pokémon battle in the courtyard of the Four Seasons House!
Swalot was pressing down on Pupitar, while Reggie and Yong kept shouting, their fighting spirits blazing.
"Swalot! Stockpile!"
"Pupitar! Iron Defense!"
"Swalot! Keep using Stockpile!"
"Pupitar! One more time! Iron Defense!"
"Now! Stockpile!"
"Hang in there! Iron Defense!"
Off to the side, Paul, the little brat holding a watermelon and watching his big brother compete with Yong with a look of utter disdain, felt the image of the brother he idolized crumbling...
It was the third day since Yong had earned the Veilstone Badge.
He had stayed in Veilstone City because he wanted to help Reggie regain his feel for battling.
His loss to Cynthia in the Sinnoh League's Lily of the Valley Conference, which had left him in the Top 8, had dealt the proud Reggie a heavy blow.
In fact, the Sinnoh League was only the second Pokémon League Reggie had challenged. Before that, when family circumstances meant he would soon be leaving the Johto Region, he had entered the Johto League's Silver Conference and achieved a respectable result.
After his decisive defeat at Cynthia's hands, however, Reggie had spent more than half a year letting himself go. That was why he and Akemi had gone traveling through Johto and Hoenn.
Yes... traveling in the literal sense.
Although he was talented, Reggie had always enjoyed smooth sailing, and his ability to cope with setbacks was actually rather poor. His ego was downright fragile.
Only after meeting Yong and being influenced by him had Reggie finally rediscovered his old self, remembering the days when he had traveled and fought alongside his partners.
That was why he had asked Yong to stay another couple of days, hoping their battles would help