If Viola had merely been curious about Yuga's Vivillon before the competition began, she now felt immense pressure. Mr. Burgh, who had put up a considerable fight, couldn't win, yet Yuga and his Vivillon had won effortlessly. The difference was striking.
"Impressive, indeed, to be the first in the preliminaries. You truly live up to your name," Viola praised Yuga, giving him a thumbs-up.
"You're too kind, Miss Viola," Yuga replied modestly.
"My sister wasn't exaggerating at all. With your skills, you're definitely among the best in your age group," Alexa chimed in, holding her camera.
As a journalist, she often dealt with various trainers and had a broad knowledge of talented trainers. Yuga's abilities certainly ranked high among them.
To be honest, Yuga wasn't entirely aware of his own strength. While he had received compliments before, they mostly came from young admirers like Hikari, Haruki, and Anya. Now, receiving praise from peers like Alexa and Viola made him feel somewhat self-conscious.
After the battle with Mr. Burgh concluded, Yuga, Alexa, and Viola were guided on a tour of the Castelia Gym by Mr. Burgh. Along the way, another guest arrived at the Gym, and it turned out to be Grant.
Grant had been invited by Viola, and the two were good friends who had decided to participate in the competition together.
Although Yuga had heard of Grant, they had never met before. However, Grant's friendly and outgoing nature made it easy for Yuga to get along with him.
They didn't linger too long at the Castelia Gym, as Mr. Burgh was understandably busy, especially with the competition about to begin.
After leaving the gym, Yuga parted ways with Viola and her group. They had just met, and they weren't exactly close friends, so it made sense not to stick together all the time. Besides, Yuga and Chatot had plans to try the famous Casteliacone, so it was a good opportunity.
Due to the upcoming competition, Castelia City was bustling with visitors who had come to watch the matches. Consequently, the place where the renowned Celestiacones was sold had long queues.
Yuga and Chatot patiently waited in line to purchase the coveted Celestiacones. When they finally got their hands on it, Yuga ordered multiple flavors: one for himself and another for Chatot.
Although Yuga wasn't particularly fond of sweets, the Celestiacones lived up to its reputation as a delicacy in the Pokémon world. Even with a relatively large order, Yuga had no trouble enjoying it.
With ice cream in hand, Yuga and Chatot found a bench in a nearby park to sit down and savor their treats. However, their relaxation was short-lived, as a Purrloin appeared behind them.
The Purrloin casually licked its front paws, giving a sly grin. Then, with a graceful leap, it landed on a large tree to the right of Yuga, peering through the layers of leaves to observe Yuga and Chatot.
Yuga held an Casteliacones in each hand, one for himself and one for Chatot. Just then, the shadowy figure swiftly descended from the tree and, in a flash, both of Yuga's ice creams vanished.
The speed of this shadow was astonishing, and Yuga couldn't catch a glimpse of its true identity. However, Chatot, with its sharp vision thanks to its Keen Eye ability, managed to get a clear view of the Pokémon responsible. Yuga recognized that the Pokémon had used the move "Thief" to steal their ice creams.
"It's a cat, a cat-shaped Pokémon that took our ice creams," Chatot exclaimed, clearly agitated.
Chatot had been thoroughly enjoying its ice cream, so losing it was a source of frustration.
A cat-shaped Pokémon? Yuga's mind raced. In the Unova region, there was only one cat-shaped Pokémon known for its thieving tendencies: Purrloin.
"Let's go, we have to chase it," Yuga said, stowing the remaining ice creams in his bag and signaling for Chatot to follow.
Without hesitation, Chatot flapped its wings and zoomed off in pursuit of the fleeing thief.
The shadow was incredibly fast, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
However, Yuga quickly noticed traces of melted ice cream on the ground.
He instructed Chatot to fly up and inspect the trail left by the shadow from a higher vantage point. Meanwhile, Yuga followed the ice cream trail on the ground.
Soon enough, Yuga and Chatot spotted the thief, a sly Purrloin, happily licking the stolen ice cream on the roof of a house. It had already devoured one of the ice creams.
"You cheeky cat! You dare steal from me? Are you tired of living?" Chatot shouted angrily.
Having never encountered a Purrloin before in the Sinnoh and Hoenn region, so Chatot could only refer to it as a "cat."
The Purrloin, upon seeing Yuga and Chatot approaching, didn't show fear. Instead, it grinned provocatively, then finished the last bite of the ice cream and discarded the wrapper.
Chatot, not known for its patience, couldn't stand such taunting. It was visibly angered.
Yuga, however, found himself surprised by this particular Purrloin.
Moves: Scratch, Pursuit, Torment, Fake Out, Hone Claws, Slash, Captivate, Night Slash, Fake Tears, Charm, Thief, Taunt.
Although this Purrloin was already at level 39, it hadn't evolved. Nevertheless, it possessed a rare hidden ability and a wide range of moves, making it quite impressive.
Seeing Chatot about to attack The Purrloin in a fit of rage, Yuga intervened to stop it.
This was a residential area, and if Chatot launched an attack, it would cause unnecessary damage to people's houses. Such behavior wasn't acceptable.
The Purrloin, witnessing Yuga and Chatot's hesitation, grew even more pleased with itself. It extended its paw and raised a defiant middle finger gesture towards Yuga and Chatot.
This proved too much for Chatot to handle, and it unleashed a blast of Heat Wave in The Purrloin's direction.
Yuga, resigned to Chatot's impulsive actions, sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
The red-hot blast scorched the roof tiles where The Purrloin was perched, but the agile feline used nearby objects to cleverly evade the attack.
There happened to be a chimney on the roof, and The Purrloin took advantage of it to shield itself from Chatot's assault.
The Purrloin didn't expect that Chatot was so powerful despite its petite body. It immediately wanted to run away, but as soon as it turned around, it found that it couldn't move.